Canada’s Most Memorable (English) TV Thing: Round of 64

November 13, 2017 9:22 AM

I’ll get straight to the point: you know what hasn’t been done before? A public vote, in the digital age, to see what is the most memorable piece of Canadian television. You know what we’re going to do? That. Right now.
posted by Alvy Ampersand (225 comments total)

Children's Bracket: Polka Dot Door (8) vs. Today's Special (9)

This is truly cruel.
posted by jeather at 9:37 AM on November 13, 2017 [17 favorites]

It’s a shame CODCO has been all but forgotten, because it should be kicking the Air Farts’ ass.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:41 AM on November 13, 2017 [6 favorites]

Team Space Pervert loosing out here.
posted by Artw at 9:42 AM on November 13, 2017

I will be erasing the existence of this competition from my memory, as the wrong choices made will devastate me.

Also, Double Exposure shouldn’t be there, the TV show being a shit adaptation of the firmly OK long-running radio show. Twitch City should be, to lose in the first round because no one else watched it or found it amusing.
posted by frimble at 9:43 AM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

It’s a shame CODCO has been all but forgotten, because it should be kicking the Air Farts’ ass.

Yeah, CODCO was not watched in our house, but I voted for it mainly for the circumstances behind its eventual demise.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:45 AM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

YCDTOTV is currently losing :(.
posted by Slothrup at 9:46 AM on November 13, 2017

Double Exposure shouldn’t be there

The real pisser is Double Exposure beat out Four On The Floor in the pre-lims.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:47 AM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Some of the seeding is a little awkward (Heritage Minutes vs Hinterland's Who's Who in the first round???) and I also think Twitch City should be there, but...not horrible?
posted by lumberbaron at 9:47 AM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

I can't even imagine how the children's bracket will go, it's a death match. I assume the heritage minutes will handily win misc AS THEY SHOULD. I don't really care who wins comedy, and the drama bracket is badly set up, with i think a much better set in 13 than 14.
posted by jeather at 9:48 AM on November 13, 2017

Mr Dressup is currently dunking hard on the Edison Twins. Casey and Finnigan are pounding the stuffing out of Rusty and Jerome.
posted by Beardman at 9:50 AM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

Interesting how some of these I identify strongly with, and some I've never even heard of. I suppose the results will depend on the demographics (age, province) of the voters.
posted by mantecol at 9:56 AM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

Slings and Arrows forever! But it won't win.
posted by old_growler at 9:56 AM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

This is the worst. Seriously, how's Seeing Things gonna win against Anne of Green Gables? It's not even fair to pit them against each other? Mr. Dressup vs the Edison Twins? How am I even able to process that? Jonovision vs. Alan Thicke Show? Seriously WTF human would willing watch Jonovision! AUGH!
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:58 AM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Is this a worthwhile Canadian initiative?
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 10:01 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

And Adventures in Rainbow County? Where is Adventures in Rainbow County? And Seaway? And Wojeck? Friday the 13th: The Series?
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:01 AM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

And no love for Strange Paradise? Or Zig Zag?
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:08 AM on November 13, 2017

Hilarious House of Frightenstein (which has enough fans that it was just re-released on vinyl) does seem at a bit of disadvantage, given that it only aired on an independent Hamilton station.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:12 AM on November 13, 2017 [8 favorites]

Cruel to put Hilarious House of Frightenstein up against Fraggle Rock. Dancing wolfman deserved better.

Twitch City was too good for us.
posted by rodlymight at 10:13 AM on November 13, 2017 [7 favorites]

My friend and I DJ'd a Halloween party at a Vancouver bar as Frightenstein's wolfman and Igor. A long night of getting recognized by nobody.
posted by Beardman at 10:15 AM on November 13, 2017 [7 favorites]

Can we please get a proper twitch city post one of these days? I want to see how many mefites remember that show as fondly as I do.
posted by Alex404 at 10:18 AM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

Is this a worthwhile Canadian initiative?

I enjoy lists and whatever as much as the next guy (chaos always wanting a little order imposed on it). But man, looking at all of this Canadian TV laid out in one elimination round graphic -- that's just depressing (The Beachcombers and Littlest Hobo as adult drama!?!?!). Reaffirmation of Canada's colonial backwater status. Ugly and embarrassing.

The Metro Vancouver brewery rankings have promise though.
posted by philip-random at 10:19 AM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Cruel to put Hilarious House of Frightenstein up against Fraggle Rock.

Agreed. This is bull crap.

Oohh Fraggle Rock was filled in Toronto. So what?

Frightenstein was awesome.


On a different note, I'm sad "what will they think of next" isn't on there. But maybe that isn't Canadian enough.
posted by jonnay at 10:24 AM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

CORNER GAS!!!

... is, uh ... a name of a show.

Just sayin’.

DON’T JUDGE ME!!!

... is not the name of a show, as far as I am aware. Just also, uh ... saying. That.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 10:25 AM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

I think the intentionally matched up similar items too early in the brackets.
posted by furtive at 10:27 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Did The Secret Railroad get axed in prelims? Because that was some trippy kid's stuff right there. Damn theme song has been stuck in my head for decades now.

And I'm not sure whether these are great initial brackets or terrible ones - on one hand it's apples-to-apples comparisons for the most part, on the other hand it's kicked out some strong shows too early on.
posted by GuyZero at 10:31 AM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

I mean, y’know ... Republic of Motherfucking DOYLE, B’y!

Is, umm, also the name of a show. With some other words in there.

Just sayin’, b’ys.

And, uh ... g’rls.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 10:31 AM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

Just commenting so my Recent Activity will remind me to keep voting.

Also it's "most memorable" not "best". So sadly/accurately, name recognition will beat quality. See: Twitch City.
posted by anthill at 10:41 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

This is unfair. At least three-quarters of them should win. Hinterland Who's Who, for example. There should be a single button there, and it should be impossible not to select it. And if The Friendly Giant doesn't make it through to the end, what good is anything anymore? I couldn't even choose between Don Messer's Jubilee and The Tommy Hunter Show.
posted by pracowity at 10:43 AM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

From my POV (a thousand miles south in the other CA), the comedy matchup between SCTV and Kids is tough but Andrea Martin and Catherine O'Hara give the SCs the edge because, you know, FUNNY WOMEN. Still, Red Green is the MOST Canadian TV show I ever saw, with Due South a close second. And for my aging generation, Littlest Hobo belongs in the Childrens category and Reboot in the Miscellaneous, but those are small qualms. But Fraggle Rock sure seems like a ringer, and a toonhead like me is so down with the NFB Shorts, because The Big Snit is the greatest anti-nuclear-war film ever made.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:49 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Due South is about as Canadian as that Anne of Green Gables village in Japan.
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:53 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Well, it's Canadian to a Californian...
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:57 AM on November 13, 2017

...and my first Canadian media exposure was Dudley DoRight.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:58 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Today I learned

1. CanCon definitely worked as intended while I was growing up because I have watched about 90% of the shows he listed

2. I get irrationally angry when forced to choose between disparate things like Friendly Giant and You Can't Do That On Television, or Trailer Park Boys and Being Erica--I mean seriously WTF with that last one

3. Justin McElroy was born around the time I was at UBC listening to my professors talk about Margaret Atwood and thus I am old
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:02 AM on November 13, 2017 [11 favorites]

Huh , there's more than one Justin McElroy on the web, I was really confused for a moment.
posted by GuyZero at 11:06 AM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

Canadian to a Californian

Right, that was its raison d'être.
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:08 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Due South is about as Canadian as that Anne of Green Gables village in Japan.

In what way? It was produced in Canada, by Canadians, starring Canadians. That it was a minor success south of the border is more the result of a CBS dry spell than anything else.

My Secret Identity, though.... Barely Canadian. They shot it here (my friend Paul was an extra in it once), but that’s about it. Jerry O’Connell’s from frigging Manhattan!
posted by Sys Rq at 11:12 AM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

If there is any justice in this world (spoiler alert: there isn't), Wok With Yan will Wok away with some bragging rights. You'd think there's only so many Wok puns out there, but he managed to Wok them all in. And almost every single one of them Wok-ed.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:15 AM on November 13, 2017 [12 favorites]

Due South should get kicked off by The Littlest Hobo (which is a weird, weird choice for DRAMA, but every time someone mentions that show I sing the entire theme song so it embedded somewhere deep in me).
posted by jeather at 11:18 AM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

The real question is whether "Chinese wonder powder" was MSG for flavour or just cornstarch for thickening the sauce.
posted by GuyZero at 11:19 AM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

In what way?

Co-produced and takes place technically in the US. The show is a string of clichés that had been long out of date in Canada but still had traction in the US and elsewhere. Its a pantomime Canada made for export like that Japanese Anne village. I'm not saying you can't like the show or that it is intrinsically bad I just think in the context of Canadian identity it is about as authentic as a representation of who we are as Dudley Do-right.
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:22 AM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

I think you’ll find it’s making fun of Americans’ idiotic stereotypes of Canada, which is about the most Canadian thing ever.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:25 AM on November 13, 2017 [7 favorites]

I just think in the context of Canadian identity it is about as authentic as a representation of who we are as Dudley Do-right.

You say that like there's no market for that in Canada when there really, really is.
posted by GuyZero at 11:25 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

The show is a string of clichés that had been long out of date in Canada but still had traction in the US and elsewhere.

Which was... kinda the point? Canadians were in on the joke, and Americans were oblivious to it? A more genteel version of Rick Mercer's Talking to Americans segment?
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:26 AM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

If Fraggle Rock doesn't go all the way, there is something seriously wrong with the voters.
posted by 256 at 11:26 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Due South should get kicked off by The Littlest Hobo (which is a weird, weird choice for DRAMA, but every time someone mentions that show I sing the entire theme song so it embedded somewhere deep in me).

Ever since I first heard the punk rock cover of the theme by Montreal's ahem Vaginal Croutons, it's the only version I can hear in my head. You're welcome.
posted by 256 at 11:33 AM on November 13, 2017 [6 favorites]

Maybe I need to read this more carefully but Ctrl+F does not generate any search results for Emily of the New Moon and I'm quite upset about this oversight. I guess it's more niche than Anne of Green Gables but I also feel that it's a better tv series.
posted by Fizz at 11:34 AM on November 13, 2017

I'm actually angry about most of these. Ugh, people are voting all wrong.
posted by Fizz at 11:36 AM on November 13, 2017 [5 favorites]

I think you’ll find it’s making fun of Americans’ idiotic stereotypes of Canada, which is about the most Canadian thing ever.

Yeah not seeing it. That might have been the initial intent but in the execution not so much. I'd buy that take if the show had an edge. I concede I'm not the audience.

You say that like there's no market for that in Canada when there really, really is.

It depends. It is sort of a generational thing and it depends on how it is implemented. If it is too Canadian it usually results in a disinterested audience (see philip-random's comment above).
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:39 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Most of ENG is on youtube and its compuslively watchable.
posted by PinkMoose at 11:44 AM on November 13, 2017

Due South is about as Canadian as that Anne of Green Gables village in Japan.


It was set in Chicago but (very obviously) filmed in Toronto. That's pretty Canadian.


Of course, the actual most memorable (English) Canadian TV thing is "Doctor Penfield, I can smell burnt toast!"
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:45 AM on November 13, 2017 [6 favorites]

The Logdriver's Waltz wins everything by a landslide. No contest. Ever. Don't @ me.
posted by Yowser at 11:59 AM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

The Logdriver's Waltz vs Burnt Toast is almost as cruel a bracket as Today's Special vs Polka Dot Door.
posted by jeather at 12:01 PM on November 13, 2017 [6 favorites]

Reading more closely, I guess that means what I'm saying that is if National Film Board Shorts doesn't win, there will be strong Canadian words. Strong. Words.
posted by Yowser at 12:03 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Traders with the shockingly high 25% vs Degrassi.

This is going to get messy, people.
posted by Yowser at 12:08 PM on November 13, 2017

Elwood Glover vs. Elwy Yost
posted by pracowity at 12:15 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Do people remember Elwood Glover?
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:23 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

there will be strong Canadian words. Strong. Words.


I'M SOMEWHAT DISAPPOINTED! I KNOW THEY TRIED, BUT THEY COULD HAVE DONE BETTER!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:25 PM on November 13, 2017 [8 favorites]

Pierre Burton vs. The Cusinart (Blood, David Steinberg) VS. Don Cherry vs. Scott Thompson (Homophobic language, Don Cherry)
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:31 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Is it milkshake ducking if it happened almost three decades ago?
posted by Yowser at 12:34 PM on November 13, 2017

Due South should get kicked off by The Littlest Hobo (which is a weird, weird choice for DRAMA, but every time someone mentions that show I sing the entire theme song so it embedded somewhere deep in me)

jeather, the theme song to The Littlest Hobo is embedded deep within each of us
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:35 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Peter Gzowski interviews Iggy Pop!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:35 PM on November 13, 2017 [5 favorites]

Do people remember Elwood Glover?

I watched Luncheon Date now and then when I was home for it. There wasn't much else on at midday. I could never make myself watch a soap or a game show.
posted by pracowity at 12:40 PM on November 13, 2017

I mean, if I had to pick JUST ONE (English) Canadian TV Thing...

"I am Astar, a robot. I can put my arm back on. You can't. So play safe!"
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:43 PM on November 13, 2017 [18 favorites]

I could never make myself watch a soap or a game show.
I think I might have been too young for it but I have some memories of him. He's sort of what my grandmother thought English Canada was like.

jeather, the theme song to The Littlest Hobo is embedded deep within each of us

True story - my friend's parents learned English from watching Littlest Hobo (also from Elvis movies but that's another story).

Don Cherry vs. Scott Thompson

Wow, speechless. Completely forgot about that show Friday Night. How about Bruno Gerussi vs. everybody?
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:45 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

They really should have included a non-binding bracket for honourary Canadian. I'm feeling the distinct lack of Fables of the Green Forest.
posted by Yowser at 12:48 PM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

It would have to be Fables of the Green Forest vs. Jeremy the Bear.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:51 PM on November 13, 2017 [6 favorites]

If Wayne and Shuster doesn’t win all the things forever, it is an injustice. W & S da best.
posted by juv3nal at 12:56 PM on November 13, 2017 [5 favorites]

Can we please get a proper twitch city post one of these days? I want to see how many mefites remember that show as fondly as I do.

Sock it to me!
posted by Beardman at 1:00 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Party Game vs. Definition, let the brawling begin (winner gets a set of car seat covers).
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 1:01 PM on November 13, 2017

Party Game vs. Definition, let the brawling begin (winner gets a set of car seat covers).

oh man now I've got that theme stuck in my head.
posted by GuyZero at 1:03 PM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

I was always confused about The Littlest Hobo because where I grew up in BC there was a diner called The Little Hobo. As far as I know, they just sold soup or whatever, but I always thought of it as a restaurant for dogs, and by the same token I thought of The Littlest Hobo as a show about that restaurant.
posted by Beardman at 1:03 PM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

I always thought of it as a restaurant for dogs,

I know that these exist already. I'm just saying, we need more of this.
posted by Fizz at 1:08 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

jeather, the theme song to The Littlest Hobo is embedded deep within each of us

Which is why it deserves to win as best drama.

Now I have The Green Forest song stuck in my head. And Dr Snuggles, which played right before or after it.
posted by jeather at 1:35 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

I don't care how much that hobo song is in everybody's head, Night Heat has to take the bracket. Not to mention its theme song is almost as catchy.

I'm also insisting that Reach for the Top top Front Page Challenge, which yes had the Canadiana factor bumped up to 1,000, but we have to give it to high school students who were doing trivia long, long, long before it was cool.

I was expecting an Adderly vs. Forever Knight bracket somewhere, but it doesn't appear to exist (which is a relief because there is no way to break that tie).
posted by sardonyx at 1:35 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'm traumatized after the Polka Dot Door vs. Today's Special one. My poor heart. I'm sorry, Polkaroo and Humpty and Dumpty and Marigold and Bear. I had to go with Jeff and Jodie and Muffy and Sam.

And, while I ultimately went with The Friendly Giant and Mr. Dressup over YCDTOTV and the Edison Twins, let's have a moment for Alisdair Gillis and Christine "Moose" McGlade and Tom, Annie and Paul Edison, because there's no way either of those shows beat out TFG and Mr. Dressup.

God, that was cruel beyond the telling of it.
posted by juliebug at 1:36 PM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

Anne of Green Gables versus Seeing Things? Oh, I hated Seeing Things, that's an...

Oh, they're including the third Anne series from 2000? Suddenly this is much more difficult.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 1:48 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm sorry, Polkaroo and Humpty and Dumpty and Marigold and Bear. I had to go with Jeff and Jodie and Muffy and Sam.

Senator, I knew Marigold*. Marigold was a friend of mine. Muffy and Sam are no Marigold.

*Live action Marigold. Srsly.
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:58 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Don't Put It In Your Mouth! Oh my god I have no idea how that made it on air. Every single person working on that MUST have known, and yet they still went ahead with it.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 2:05 PM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

Needs more 'Live It Up!'.
posted by ovvl at 2:28 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

As long as they have the Log Drivers Waltz and that freaking loon, I'm happy.

Double extra bonus points if you watched them as filler either before sign-off at night on CBC, or while waiting for saturday morning cartoons to start.
posted by blue_beetle at 2:35 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Remember, if you want The Log Driver's Waltz to win, vote for National Film Board Shorts up and down the ballot.

Democracy is on the line here.
posted by Yowser at 2:36 PM on November 13, 2017

Another argument in favor of the NFB: Blackfly.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:40 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Nothing is as Canadian as socialized TV, under the circumstances.
posted by blue_beetle at 2:40 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Hilarious House of Frightenstein (which has enough fans that it was just re-released on vinyl) does seem at a bit of disadvantage, given that it only aired on an independent Hamilton station.

I wager most of us actually saw it on YTV when they played it every morning at 8am. My baby sister was legit scared of the opening theme to the point that she'd start to cry if my other sister and I started to repeat the lines.
posted by Space Coyote at 2:59 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

The woodchuck and its fate.
posted by pracowity at 3:00 PM on November 13, 2017

FWIW, both the songs for the Blackfly and the Log Driver's Waltz are written by the late great Wade Hemsworth. He didn't write many songs but "The Black Fly Song" and "The Log Driver's Waltz" have had an outsized influence on Canadian culture, perhaps greater then performers with larger and deeper catalogues.
posted by Ashwagandha at 3:15 PM on November 13, 2017 [5 favorites]

Red Green is the MOST Canadian TV show I ever saw

When I was a pre-teen, my family drove up to New Hampshire to see Steve Smith do a meet and greet at the PBS station (Boston's WGBH was always too full of itself to air Red Green). We dressed in matching flannel and got our picture taken with him in costume.

It was really weird to hear his actual voice.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 3:26 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

No Chez Hélène ?
And I cannot forgive no Lexx, Canada's best SF show (not counting ReBoot.)
And where are the Pierre Berton shows like The National Dream, not to mention his own interview show? (Spoiler: Front Page Challenge loses in its bracket, thus leaving no Berton at all. The quiz-maker is an anti-Bertonian.)
*grumble* What a pitiful list! /rant

(Sociologists and serious critics might note a lack of war shows -- the US had many from Combat to Baa Baa Black Sheep -- also no westerns or detective shows.)
posted by CCBC at 4:41 PM on November 13, 2017 [5 favorites]

I am sad that Made In Canada is not doing better, but I realize very few people ever actually watched it.

Also, making me choose between Street Legal and Da Vinci's Inquest is needlessly unfair.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:42 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Tragically, there is probably no Lexx because the dead do not vote in Canadian TV polls.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:51 PM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

I am sad that Made In Canada is not doing better, but I realize very few people ever actually watched it.

Didn't it run for five seasons? I remember watching it in the early 2000s when it aired on BRAVO of all places as "The Industry"
posted by RonButNotStupid at 4:59 PM on November 13, 2017

Yes, but it was on the CBC. That means nothing except that sometimes, after you've repeated all the episodes of Road to Avonlea back-to-back, you have to put something else on the air.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:06 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

I watched Frightenstein on Alberta public television (Access). I remember the days as a toddler finding the uhf dial and striking paydirt with channel 13 on the family black and white TV...

Damn. I'm old.
posted by jonnay at 5:34 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Is this a worthwhile Canadian initiative?

Making Canadians pick favorites and express opinions? We’ll be rending our garments by the elite eight.

Hilarious House of Frightenstein (which has enough fans that it was just re-released on vinyl) does seem at a bit of disadvantage, given that it only aired on an independent Hamilton station

It got picked up in syndication, because I grew up a long way from Hamilton and Frightenstein was one of my absolutely favorite kids show in the 70s. Like, I knew exactly when it aired and if the schedule changed I kinda lost my shit until I found it again. I can’t remember much of anything about it beyond that love for it, though.
posted by nubs at 5:46 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Just curious here, but on what grounds is Hockey Night in Canada excluded from this?
posted by wats at 5:54 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

It's less of a TV thing, and more a branch of government.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:55 PM on November 13, 2017 [7 favorites]

Ah,, because it's still airing.
Carry on then :)
posted by wats at 5:57 PM on November 13, 2017

Did The Secret Railroad get axed in prelims? Because that was some trippy kid's stuff right there. Damn theme song has been stuck in my head for decades now.

The Secret Railroad may be the single most influential piece of culture on my life. Got me at an impressionable age and burrowed in deep. BUT for a long time I wasn’t completely sure that it was real or just something I had imagined or seen in a dream, as none of my friends in my teens had any memory of it all. It’s like one of those things in a Phillip K Dick story that tip you off that reality is broken somehow (another one is a version of The Sorcerors Apprentice by the same people, narrated by Vincent Price!).
posted by rodlymight at 5:58 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Some CHCH history here:

CHCH-TV came on the air June 7, 1954, live from its broadcast headquarters, the old Southam house on Jackson Street West. Since then, the station has had its ups and downs. The downs almost closed the station five years ago, but the "ups" are certainly worth celebrating, which is what CHCH plans to do in a one-hour special, 60 Years Strong, Friday at 8 p.m.

Don Messer, Main Street Jamboree, Billy Van, Bill Lawrence, Albert J. Steed, Captain Andy, Tom Cherington, Norm Marshall, the Red Wings live from The Forum, 130 episodes of the Hilarious House of Frightenstein, Maple Leaf Wrestling, Dick Beddoes and his hats, Jack Duffy, The Party Game, Club 11, the Red Green Show … and so much more.

In 1974, CHCH even hosted the worldwide television première of The Godfather, beating out the entire ABC network in the United States by a few days. It was a colossal television coup.

[...]

Van would become best known, however, by playing The Count, The Wolfman, The Librarian, The Maharishi, The Gorilla and Grizelda, The Ghastly Gourmet on the Hilarious House of Frightenstein. All 130 episodes were produced in 1971, but the program lives on across North America in syndicated reruns. Legend has it that famed gothic horror star Vincent Price filmed some 400 of his poetry spots for the show in just four days for $13,000.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:05 PM on November 13, 2017 [9 favorites]

The Friendly Giant vs. You Can't Do That On Television

Oh come on that's not fair or right.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:09 PM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

WAIT, NO URBAN PEASANT???
posted by wats at 6:10 PM on November 13, 2017 [7 favorites]

Here's a picture of Sharon and Bram (RIP Lois) I took at the 2016 Toronto Pride parade.

So, tough choice but I had to go Elephant Show on that vote.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:14 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

also no westerns or detective shows

You're right. Murdoch Mysteries was omitted for some weird reason.

Remember the episode where the true inventor of the airplane was really Canadian and sinister American agents kidnapped him and then Murdoch snuck across the border to mount a rescue and he ended up flying the very first airplane back to Canada over Niagra Falls?

That is the most Canadian thing I've ever seen on television.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:19 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Murdoch Mysteries is still on the air.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:21 PM on November 13, 2017

I'm holding out for Forever Knight, about a vampire who's also a Toronto police officer.

Also, crossover from another thread about meeting celebrities who were super nice? I once met Jeff from today's special, and was too awestruck to talk.
posted by Valancy Rachel at 7:11 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Is Metafilter entirely composed of Canadians? Geez, I never knew there were so many of us, here.
posted by kaymac at 7:26 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

WHERE IS PASQUALE'S KITCHEN EXPRESS?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:32 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

MetaFilter: Ugh, people are voting all wrong.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:42 PM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

Degrassi only getting 75% vs Traders is really making me question the sanity of the voters.
posted by Yowser at 7:51 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Enjoying the twitter comments where they made the brackets.

"I'd nominate Just For Laughs Gags, solely because it's so Canadian that everyone in that show dresses like they're in a high school French textbook from 1995."
posted by jeather at 8:23 PM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

Pffffff. As if it's not plainly obvious who the winner should be.

This literally must be the introduction to the opposites.
posted by panama joe at 8:32 PM on November 13, 2017

starring

BILLY VAN
BILLY VAN
BILLY VAN
BILLY VAN
BILLY VAN
BILLY VAN
BILLY VAN
BILLY VAN

seriously that show was my favourite thing as a kid in the 70’s
posted by chococat at 8:51 PM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

Do people not think Corner Gas is a good show? I'm in the US but my husband heard of it somehow and now we've watched each episode an uncountable number of times. It still cracks us up and we have a quote for just about every occassion. Somewhere between the knock knock jokes and Bananarama lyrics. I mean, it's a vast country, Brent, VAST.
posted by bleep at 9:54 PM on November 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

I mean, I see its winning in its bracket, I just mean on here.
posted by bleep at 9:55 PM on November 13, 2017

Murdoch Mysteries is still on the air.

It's funny that CBC is still at it, it had seemed somewhat out of steam by the time that CBC picked it up. Some interesting Edwardian script writing.
posted by ovvl at 10:27 PM on November 13, 2017

Do people not think Corner Gas is a good show?

Hey, easy, lady, this is a family junkyard.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:24 PM on November 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

Do people not think Corner Gas is a good show?

Not here, apparently, but I'm still planning a post about it for Canada Day 2018.

Brent Leroy [about Lacey's chicken Kiev]: "You've gotta have it. It's like an angel crapped on your plate."
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:28 PM on November 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Do people not think Corner Gas is a good show?

Quite the opposite. In terms of Canadian sitcoms, Corner Gas is indisputably the best (critically and popularly, across absolutely all demographics) by a considerable margin. In a nation of thirty million, it pulled in over a million viewers per episode. I guess no one’s saying much because it’s pretty much a given that Corner Gas is the best Canadian sitcom. It just goes without saying. We’re really, really not good at sitcoms most of the time, and it’s rare that we even try. And then for a hot second we did, and we were, and everyone was like, “Huh. Whaddya know, we can do that.” And then we all agreed to never do it again.

The only others that come close in quality are Twitch City, Made In Canada, and maybe that Kids In The Hall: Death Comes To Town miniseries, all of which are great, but none of which have anywhere near the broad appeal of Corner Gas. And there are probably many others with the same problem that I’m not so aware of because I’m not their audience. Oh, Mr. D, maybe? Les Parent? Those are okay. But they’re no Corner Gas.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:30 PM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

In terms of Canadian sitcoms, Corner Gas is indisputably the best (critically and popularly, across absolutely all demographics) by a considerable margin.

Popularly maybe, but Trailer Park Boys is just better ok fite me.
posted by juv3nal at 11:34 PM on November 13, 2017

Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that. Call it a tie?
posted by Sys Rq at 12:11 AM on November 14, 2017

Murdoch Mysteries is still on the air.


"Tonight on the CBC: that show your mum really likes."
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:16 AM on November 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

I am so pissed that Four On The Floor doesn't even make the cut. As a result I cast my vote filled with impotent, polite rage.
posted by ChrisR at 6:30 AM on November 14, 2017 [4 favorites]

It just goes without saying. We’re really, really not good at sitcoms most of the time, and it’s rare that we even try.

A big part of the reason for that is money and how our industry is structured. We don't have the ability to churn out sitcoms at a loss like the US. Each of our productions is precious. We can't produce dozens of homegrown sitcom pilots that don't get picked up. It isn't economically feasible. Also with that huge producer to the South it drowns out local product and our Canadian channels generally just license those US shows. Further training us to believe Canadian productions are some foul medicine we got to choke down. That's why often we see co-productions and secretly Canadian productions designed for export.

I guess no one’s saying much because it’s pretty much a given that Corner Gas is the best Canadian sitcom.

In terms of ratings during its run Corner Gas was remarkably successful and long lived. Certainly not a ground breaking series but consistent and appealed to a large portion of the audience. Something a multi generational family could watch without conflict. I always thought of it as the Everybody Loves Raymond of Canada. It wasn't something the cool kids would admit to watching but likely did when they visited their family. But in regards to my above point (to add a bit of a perspective of what Canadian TV is up against), Corner Gas (though successful) often placed below US offerings in the ratings for its time slot. Sometimes even against shows which happened to be repeats.

I've always thought that Canada, instead of attempting to emulate the US production style should more try to emulate the UK - shorter show runs, regional productions, a system that cultivates a diverse acting pool from which to draw. Productions that aren't simply aping other successful international shows. It is impossible to go up against the US in quantity but producing distinct, quirky product might be a better way forward. Trailer Park Boys is an example or the Youtube series Just Passing Through or Letterkenny. Though none of those shows I could imagine watching with my in-laws.
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:26 AM on November 14, 2017 [2 favorites]

Oh my god. Traders is in the lead now.

WHAT IS HAPPENING
posted by Yowser at 11:27 AM on November 14, 2017

Someone is clearly rigging the vote. I can’t believe Degrassi would lose, and I say that as someone who never really liked Degrassi.
posted by nubs at 11:35 AM on November 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

Traders is mildly entertaining as a kind of uncanny valley pastiche of a soap opera, but as nubs says, even as someone who never cared much for Degrassi, there’s no way it should be losing.
posted by juv3nal at 11:37 AM on November 14, 2017

Twitter says it's a bot of about 2500 votes and probably they'll just be subtracted from the total.
posted by jeather at 11:53 AM on November 14, 2017

Is there no low to which the Russian hacker bots will refuse to stoop?
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:56 AM on November 14, 2017 [4 favorites]

Ballot stuffing in a poll on favorite Canadian TV shows? This is a scandal worthy of a Royal Commission. Could there be Russian involvement?
posted by nubs at 11:57 AM on November 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

It would not shock me that Russians were Patrick McKenna fans. Or perhaps they are ticked off that Lexx wasn't on the list. Russians really seemed to like Lexx... a lot.
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:01 PM on November 14, 2017

I'm sure the three people that watched Lexx (that includes me) are very disappointed that Mantrid ate the Universe where it was on the ballot.

(OK someone else made that joke in this thread already... I think.)
posted by Yowser at 12:09 PM on November 14, 2017

I'm not saying it was the Russians, but it was the Russians.
posted by Yowser at 12:13 PM on November 14, 2017

Back in my earlier days, I worked security at the CBC. The most exciting moment for me was doing a 2 am patrol visit to the studio where Mr. Dressup was taped, where I patted Casey and Finnegan, and opened the tickle trunk. Adult me was unable to contain the joy that child me felt at that time.

If Mr. Dressup isn't at least in the final four, then I'm going to have to have strong words with everyone. Followed by violence.
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 12:47 PM on November 14, 2017 [5 favorites]

This will all end in tears and bloodshed, assuming our attention holds for as long as *log 2 64* six weeks?

Whatever distracts us from the ever present threat of the Conservatives winning 2019 and rolling out the red carpet for Nazis, I guess.
posted by Yowser at 12:55 PM on November 14, 2017

(for those keeping track, I was joking about the Russians, and serious about the Nazis. OK I've really hijacked this thread I'm going to just watch from now on)
posted by Yowser at 12:56 PM on November 14, 2017

Look, it was all started off by this channel that has piles of old Canadian tv!
posted by jeather at 12:59 PM on November 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

If Mr. Dressup isn't at least in the final four, then I'm going to have to have strong words with everyone.

My wife's grandfather apparently always used to call him Mr. Messup when the show came on, which infuriated her young self.

People mess with Mr. Dressup at high risk, is what I'm saying.
posted by nubs at 1:02 PM on November 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

Would I get a bop on the nose for pointing out that Ernie Coombs was American?
posted by Sys Rq at 1:56 PM on November 14, 2017

So over on his twitter feed, McElroy has posed this question:

What should I do about apparent bots that have given Traders 2,500 extra votes overnight, giving them the lead over Degrassi

- New poll
- Take away 2,500 votes
- If Traders wins, it wins
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:35 PM on November 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

...could there be Russian involvement?
It wouldn't be the first time the Russians interfered.
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 2:46 PM on November 14, 2017 [2 favorites]

Hey Giorgy!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 3:32 PM on November 14, 2017

"Tonight on the CBC: that show your mum really likes."

When I visit my mum, we watch Heartland on CBC together. It's the sort of show that I would usually hate, but I've gotten drawn in over time, and now I care about what happens next. When possible, I try to time my visits to when 'The Nature of Things' airs. It's funny that despite it's obtuseness, CBC is often the best thing on broadcast TV.
posted by ovvl at 4:08 PM on November 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

It's funny that CBC is still at it, it had seemed somewhat out of steam by the time that CBC picked it up. Some interesting Edwardian script writing.

I always imagine the writer's room for Murdoch Mysteries being like something out of Made In Canada.

Season 10 not only had H.P. Lovecraft as a special celebrity guest red herring, but it also featured murders at a dog show and a roller derby and a very special episode where Murdoch and Julia use their recently purchased houselot as an experimental body farm only to discover that someone's already buried a bunch of bodies there.

The show is so far off the rails, it has become a thing of beauty.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:42 PM on November 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

> Back in my earlier days, I worked security at the CBC. The most exciting moment for me was doing a 2 am patrol visit to the studio where Mr. Dressup was taped, where I patted Casey and Finnegan, and opened the tickle trunk. Adult me was unable to contain the joy that child me felt at that time.

12 years ago I worked at the CBC, in the radio archives. It wasn’t a job I liked, but I always got a kick out of walking past the Friendly Giant’s tree on the way in.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:21 PM on November 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

I know I promised to stfu, but.

ROUND 2! Don't forget to vote for National Film Board Shorts!
posted by Yowser at 1:14 AM on November 15, 2017

goddammit how is Wayne and Shuster losing to Reach for the Top
My school had a reach team. All it is is basically jeopardy with high school students, lower production values, and fewer easy questions.
posted by juv3nal at 2:03 AM on November 15, 2017

How is Raccoons, which I remember fondly but come on, winning against Are you afraid of the dark?, which as I recall had someone in my high school in one episode and which I can actually remember episodes of?

The Littlest Hobo continues to do well, as it should.
posted by jeather at 5:15 AM on November 15, 2017

I remember Raccoons fondly, and I've never even seen Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Apparently there are more people like me than people like you.

But there are no people who can't sing the theme song to The Littlest Hobo.

🎶Every stop I make, I make a new friend! 🎶
posted by jacquilynne at 10:06 AM on November 15, 2017

Log Driver's Waltz 4ever. Man, he should just call it that instead of National Film Board shorts. But NFB versus Hertiage Minutes is a tough, tough match.
posted by nubs at 11:08 AM on November 15, 2017

Looking ahead, I am both psyched and scared for the Friendly Giant vs. Mr. Dressup match in the Elite Eight.
posted by nubs at 11:14 AM on November 15, 2017

People are supporting Raccoons vs AYAOTD on my very own facebook! (Like all the children's shows matchups, I know my feelings are irrelevant as the Friendly Giant and Mr Dressup brackets can be filled in already. I have no idea who will win there, though I'll vote for the Friendly Giant.)

This is why all my hopes are pinned on The Littlest Hobo winning drama. And then (appropriately) dying to whichever of the other brackets it faces in the semi-finals.
posted by jeather at 12:48 PM on November 15, 2017

Log Driver's Waltz 4ever. Man, he should just call it that instead of National Film Board shorts.
The Waltz is aces and all, but it can't hold a candle to the greatest NFB short: The Sweater.
posted by chococat at 1:13 PM on November 15, 2017 [3 favorites]

McElroy: So this happened, and suddenly Corner Gas is back ahead of The Red Green Show #CanadianTVBracket

I'm ok with that because I've always found Red Green annoying.

There. I said it. #notsorry
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:36 PM on November 15, 2017 [1 favorite]

But who will lobby for the National Film Board Shorts

:(
posted by Yowser at 2:41 PM on November 15, 2017 [1 favorite]

Voting on the 32 now. Fuck. Anne of Green Gables vs. Road to Avonlea? Can I just poke myself in the eye with a pencil?

Ah. He's anticipated this reaction:

THAT’S RIGHT YOU HAVE TO PICK ONE. NO CONFLATING THE TWO INTO ONE GOOEY PEI PANACEA PROTO-GILMORE GIRLS. PICK. ONE. CHOOSE. NOW. I’M. A BAD PERSON.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:44 PM on November 15, 2017 [1 favorite]

Children's Bracket: The Friendly Giant (1) vs. Polka Dot Door (8)

Please don't make me make this decision.

*weeps*
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:45 PM on November 15, 2017 [1 favorite]

But who will lobby for the National Film Board Shorts

I voted National Film Board Shorts with a fuckin' vengeance.

Although I don't think the force with which I strike the mouse button affects any outcomes, sadly.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:49 PM on November 15, 2017 [1 favorite]

But who will lobby for the National Film Board Shorts

I will!

The NFB shorts are wonderful things, that would randomly show up on TV when I was a child when a station had a brief period of otherwise dead air to fill - like, after a sporting event or a movie ended and they needed minutes of filler to reach the top of the hour or something. They were hard to find in the wild, those NFB shorts - unpredictable not only in timing of appearance, but in what you were going to get - something amazing and whimsical, like The Log Driver's Waltz? A wonderful personal story like The Sweater? The wonderful animation of Fine Feathers? Something quasi-abstract like Dance? all of these celebrated the wonder of being Canadian.

Some might say they should be their own Heritage Minute; but I go further, good gentlefolk, and suggest to you that the Heritage Minutes are the spiritual descendants of the NFB shorts - that without them, we would not have our vignettes of Burnt Toast or Naismith inventing basketball or have learned that Superman is really Canadian or had the amazing Sam Steele facing down that pistol totin' Yank.

My fellow Canadians: Vote for where the Heritage Minutes began, with the NFB shorts! Thank you.

(I wonder if the NFB has ever thought of selling shorts, the clothing item, with the NFB logo on them, because I would be down for a pair. These are my NFB shorts, I could say, proudly).
posted by nubs at 3:58 PM on November 15, 2017 [4 favorites]

Heritage Canada's twitter account has lobbyefed.

There is a great disturbance in the @NFB_Education
posted by Yowser at 4:14 PM on November 15, 2017

(and by disturbance I mean they're silent, because they're a government agency so of course it'd take months to put out a tweet)
posted by Yowser at 4:15 PM on November 15, 2017

The final is going to be trailer park boys vs. the friendly giant.

It's gonna be uuuuugggggllllly.
posted by jonnay at 4:16 PM on November 15, 2017

I think things are going to get really messy when Littlest Hobo meets Beachcombers.
posted by Yowser at 4:19 PM on November 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

Oh, and here's the tweet where Heritage Minutes sticks the kinfe in.

I'll never watch a minute again! Never!

(Lies, all lies)
posted by Yowser at 4:20 PM on November 15, 2017

Incredibly, NFB has responded! But they've put it in a tweet reply :(

I'm assuming they're just sending it up the chain so that Justin Trudeau put all the force of his account behind a truly official response. Yup.
posted by Yowser at 4:23 PM on November 15, 2017

nubs:

(I wonder if the NFB has ever thought of selling shorts, the clothing item, with the NFB logo on them, because I would be down for a pair. These are my NFB shorts, I could say, proudly).

A longtime friend of my parents worked for the NFB for years and her job was eliminated in a round of budget cuts in the early 90s. She had (and I think still has) The Big Snit T-shirt that I’ve coveted forever.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:57 PM on November 15, 2017 [1 favorite]

But yeah! NFB Short shorts would be AMAZING.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:58 PM on November 15, 2017

Oh, and here's the tweet where Heritage Minutes sticks the kinfe in.


Can't they see this is going to tear us apart? What have we done with this bracket? What have we done?
posted by nubs at 5:22 PM on November 15, 2017 [3 favorites]

Huh...weird. I made that exact comment just over two years ago. Sigh. I guess I've run out of things to say.

I stand by it, though.

You hear me, NFB? I WILL GIVE YOU EXTRA MONEY FOR SHIRTS.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:44 PM on November 15, 2017 [1 favorite]

I had a conversation along those lines with someone at the NFB many years ago (around 2000). It did not compute. They literally couldn't (or wouldn't) understand selling merchandise other than the odd T shirt with the classic logo. Those communists!
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:36 PM on November 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

NFB certainly doesn't have anyone that knows that replies are mostly hidden on Twitter, so I believe it.
posted by Yowser at 8:38 PM on November 15, 2017

I just voted in the round of 32. Some of them kind of stressed me out!

I think Canadians are taking this at least as seriously as the last federal election. Maybe agonizing over it even more--because let's face it, Steven Harper vs. Anyone Who Isn't A Nazi isn't a difficult decision, but Friendly Giant vs. Polka Dot Door, or (THE WORST ONE) Heritage Minutes vs. NFB Shorts Is just cruel.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:40 PM on November 15, 2017 [1 favorite]

Heritage minutes just retweeted me, so now my life is complete.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:38 AM on November 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

Friendly Giant vs. Polka Dot Door, or (THE WORST ONE)

I had to stand up and leave my desk to really mull this one over.
posted by Kabanos at 10:14 AM on November 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

Speaking of Heritage Minutes, thanks to a very thoughtful Canadian Mefite, my shoulder bag sports a couple of these Heritage Minute buttons, which are totally a thing and very amazing.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:37 PM on November 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

You've made a powerful enemy, Jacquilynne. A. Powerful. Enemy.

(Congrations on the retweet btw. Nice.)
posted by Yowser at 8:35 PM on November 16, 2017

Voting for the 16 is now open.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:36 AM on November 17, 2017

And with all the 1-4 seeds making it through, except Road to Avonlea which was mysteriously ranked 4 to Anne of Green Gables' 5.
posted by jeather at 5:42 AM on November 17, 2017

Wayne and Shuster vs. Heritage Minutes.

Finally, one I didn't need to agonize over.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:32 AM on November 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

I think I'm just going to vote once at home and once at work and cancel out my own votes on some of these Round of 16 matchups. Because, I mean, KiTH vs TPB? Hobo vs. Anne? Beachcombers vs. Degrassi? WHHHHHHYYYYY?

Then I can double up on Mr. Dressup, Heritage Minutes and Body Break.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:45 AM on November 17, 2017

Important update on #CanadianTVBracket: In the Degrassi vs. Traders first round matchup, a total of 6,417 votes for Traders came from two IP addresses

?

Who is so devoted to Traders that they would post extra votes?



Also, is this where I lament a lot of these shows aren't available on DVD?

Like, is Edison Twins on DVD? I can't find it. Or Beachcombers? Which I would have sworn was a comedy, not a drama, based on the episodes I vaguely remember. (There's one where everyone has a problem that's the fault of someone who dropped a doughnut? This ring a bell for anyone?)
posted by RobotHero at 6:12 PM on November 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Also, is this where I lament a lot of these shows aren't available on DVD?

There's a handful of shows that are available but overwhelmingly most of that stuff is not. A common problem with Canadian TV (as well as our Movies to a lesser extent) is that they are simply not available in any form. The production companies and studios who own them have them under lock and key (if the masters exist at all - a lot of early Beachcombers episodes don't exist in Canada though there are rumours they exist internationally) and think the general public has no interest in old shows. Repeats are a rarity. Streaming services are confused. Physical media is an afterthought (few of these classic shows ever made it even to VHS let alone DVD or blu-ray). Its one of the biggest pet peeves of mine - Canadian cultural output is willfully neglected, ignored and forgotten.

I reached out to a few property rights owners over the years. One was for a short run of a silly but cultish show. I was told by the fellow, who owned the masters and the rights, that he was hoping for a better offer. That was about 10 years ago and so far only clips on YouTube exist. I doubt it'll surface until after the owner's death (if at all). Another was a small film that I spent about a month working on trying to track down the rights ownership. I'd call studios and production companies. I talked to the director. I talked to the director's more famous director friends. Nobody had a clue. I even had access to a 35mm print and famous people willing to talk about it but I couldn't release it legitimately because nobody had a clue who owned it.
posted by Ashwagandha at 1:11 PM on November 19, 2017 [4 favorites]

If no one has a clue who owns it, would an Orphan Works licence through the Copyright Board give you what you needed? At the very least, it might bring the real owner out of the woodwork to claim the value of the licence. I'm not certain they would give you a licence to just do a straight commercial DVD release of a full work, but you might be allowed to copy your print and allow it to be shown in theatres, for example.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:37 PM on November 19, 2017

Good question. I'm not a copyright lawyer but my understanding is that an Orphan Work license wouldn't allow for a full film or television programme to be released commercially. If you look at the list of approved Canadian orphaned licenses here, you'll note that it is usually just excerpted works. The rejected applications are interesting as well.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:59 PM on November 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

You can probably skip voting in The Elite Eight, I'm sure the wisdom of crowds will prevail.
posted by anthill at 4:30 AM on November 20, 2017

Most people do use it for excerpts and to reproduce individual songs. There are some instances where they're granting a full film telecommunication to the public licence. And instances where they've allowed a new print run of an entire (if short) book. Still not sure that they would grant a reproduction licence to do a DVD release, but it at least gets closer to the mark.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:43 AM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

I was unfamiliar with the story of Bye Bye Blues. I think they likely were helped that one of the people championing it was a law professor. No physical release but it got a streaming release via Mongrel Media. And obviously a labour of love - at $20000, that's a lot for a company to make nothing on. But still that's an interesting case. Regardless, the case is worth looking at and thanks for bringing it to my attention.
posted by Ashwagandha at 6:20 AM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

AUGH, the Elite Eight has broken me.

Degrassi vs. Littlest Hobo is bad.

But the worst...

MR. DRESSUP VS. FRIENDLY GIANT?!

/sobs/
posted by juliebug at 11:10 AM on November 20, 2017 [2 favorites]

I know, juliebug. I thought the last round was bad enough but I have lost a piece of my soul choosing between Mr. Dressup and Friendly Giant. (There is now a Rusty and Jerome-shaped hole in it.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:55 AM on November 20, 2017 [2 favorites]

I can accept Mr. Dressup winning, but 75-25? What is wrong with everyone?
posted by jeather at 12:33 PM on November 20, 2017 [2 favorites]

The biggest blowout is, of course, Heritage Minutes over Body Break, but that's only 80-20!
posted by jeather at 12:35 PM on November 20, 2017

MR. DRESSUP VS. FRIENDLY GIANT?!

That was some tough voting. Ugh. I went Friendly Giant. I had to. It was NOT a vote against Mr. Dressup.

*sigh*

Bruno Gerussi said it right.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:49 PM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

Kids In The Hall: defeated Double Exposure (95% of the vote), Royal Canadian Air Farce (67%), Trailer Park Boys (80%)

I'm a TPB fan, but I've had to stay strong with Kids in the Hall.

SCTV is deeply important and spawned the careers of many important people who would ably represent Canada in the field of comedy, but Kids in the Hall speaks more directly to me - it was cutting edge for me in a generational way in the same way SCTV was cutting edge for earlier generations. I'm sorry, SCTV. Very sorry.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:54 PM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

Also, RIP Téléfrancais in the earlier voting.

Tu parle? Mais tu es un ananas!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:57 PM on November 20, 2017 [2 favorites]

The Elite 8 were all super easy choices for me, which is weird considering that the round of 16 was heartbreaking.
posted by 256 at 6:15 PM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm sorry, SCTV. Very sorry

Guy Caballero sends his regards.
posted by nubs at 7:43 PM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

hurdy gurdy girl - I felt so wrong voting Mr. Dressup over Friendly Giant, but that's what I ultimately did. And I hope the Giant and Rusty and Jerome will forgive me, the way the Littlest Hobo will undoubtedly do so after I chose Degrassi.

Oh, the humanity.
posted by juliebug at 8:12 PM on November 20, 2017 [3 favorites]

Every stop he made, did he make a new friend? Maybe not so much. At least not on Degrassi Street.

It's OK though. He knows how to move on.
posted by nubs at 8:32 PM on November 20, 2017 [3 favorites]

Every stop he made, did he make a new friend? Maybe not so much. At least not on Degrassi Street.

Wait! That someone’s talkin’ to him! Hey, he’s got a new friend!
posted by Sys Rq at 8:38 PM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

The "Encore" YouTube channel has posted a ton of Canadian TV, including many shows from this competition, some eliminated earlier, (Due South, Are You Afraid of the Dark) some in the 'elite 8' (Mr. Dressup, Degrassi, Littlest Hobo).
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:28 PM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

In that vein, allow me to share this Wayne & Shuster retrospective also on youtube, for anyone not familiar.
posted by juv3nal at 8:44 AM on November 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

There's also this guy on Youtube. CODCO fans take note that he's posted the unreleased on physical media and not on Netflix film "The Adventures of Faustus Bidgood" among many other great pleasures. And this guy posts a ton of Canadian TV from yesteryear. And of course RetroOntario.
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:43 AM on November 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

KitH v Degrassi and Mr. Dressup v every single thing this country ever did right. The Final Four.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:57 AM on November 22, 2017 [3 favorites]

Yeah, ultimately this wasn't very difficult; KITH & Mr. Dressup are responsible for 58% of my interests and perspective.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:26 AM on November 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

Yeah, pretty anticlimactic decision-making in this round. If I had to guess, I would say KiTH on its own forms about 58% of my interests and perspectives, which are a complicated film.

The four most memorable pieces of television in our history are a bizarre sketch comedy series that didn’t really catch on outside Canada, a teen drama that was a decade ahead of its time but offered no giant leap forward in storytelling, a series of 60-second commercials telling Canadians about their heritage through stilted dialogue and powerful white men being skeptical about things, and a kindly middle-aged man talking to an androgynous puppet and his mute dog about the things he found in his “tickle trunk.”

Put in these terms, this just feels right as an outcome, which I didn't think would happen based on the sturm und drang of some of the previous rounds.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:30 AM on November 22, 2017

Yes, I am finding the final four easier than any previous round; the tougher match-ups were when things were competing inside their own categories. But somehow it feels right that this is our final four, as mandolin conspiracy says. Maybe, in the end, it will be a very Canadian thing - we'll all be ok with the outcome, but politely disagree about some of what happened in the earlier rounds.

I would love to see a generational breakdown on the voting in general on the brackets; even in this thread, I can tell that there's some age differences in play in terms of what I thought was more important than what younger people perceive. For example, I love KitH but I viewed SCTV as the better/more important show because it hit me at just the right time, age wise - KitH I enjoyed, but it didn't speak to me the way it did to people just slightly younger. Plus, I think SCTV launched the careers of some big names - John Candy, Martin Short, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy, Cathrine O'Hara, Rick Moranis, and so I've always viewed it as a bigger thing; and I also wonder about the cascading influence of these properties over time - without SCTV before it, does CBC take a chance on KitH? Who knows?

Until the final round, then. In the meantime, keep your stick on the ice.
posted by nubs at 9:46 AM on November 22, 2017

When people think of Degrassi, as on this list, do they think the entire franchise or Degrassi Junior High (I guess in French it was just Degrassi but I only watched it in English) or the later iterations? The reason I ask is that I have stronger memories of and a deeper fondness for the Kids of Degrassi.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:46 AM on November 22, 2017

I have stronger memories of and a deeper fondness for the Kids of Degrassi.

Me too - for me, the relative connection faded as the franchise moved through its iterations. I mean, I guess that has a lot to do with aging out of the target audience, too.

Here's a pretty interesting 1989 time capsule about the series (from the NYT arts section) when Degrassi Junior High was picked up by PBS:

TELEVISION; 'Degrassi': A Series For Children That Goes for the Gut

The plots have pulled few punches. In the series seen last season, ''Degrassi's'' appealingly ragtag cast was seen struggling with such issues as lesbianism, abortion and more mundane dilemmas of awakening sexual consciousness, including one episode in which a young couple's passions were short-circuited when the girl's mother saw her daughter's 14-year-old suitor buying condoms.

[...]

In Britain, at least some of the material has proved too strong for the BBC; four of the initial 26 episodes, including the one dealing with lesbianism, were held off the air by BBC1, the channel with the widest viewing audience, and finally run in a later time slot by BBC2. In the United States, according to Mrs. Taylor, negative reactions have been sparse.

Huh.

Joey was the first character who:

Felt mortified when purchasing condoms at a drug store. The second was Jimmy Brooks.

That's right - Drake's big break was playing a character named Jimmy who gets flustered buying jimmy hats.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:08 AM on November 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

The honest truth is that, for some reason, in high school, the -- whatever we called the guidance-y classes? -- played DEGRASSI TALKS: COAST TO COAST (whenever there's trouble, they're there on the double) a lot, and that is what I think of. (I did watch Degrassi Jr High, but not all the time -- I wasn't a big tv person until I was an adult.)
posted by jeather at 10:10 AM on November 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh wow. I totally forgot Degrassi Talks was a thing!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:12 AM on November 22, 2017

I remember (a) the theme song [this is pretty common with Canadian tv for me] and (b) mocking it a lot in classes. I could not tell you a single other thing about that show.
posted by jeather at 10:20 AM on November 22, 2017

Wow I never saw Degrassi Talks but I wasn't in Canada at that point.
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:38 AM on November 22, 2017

We watched Degrassi Jr. & High for health class. It's a big reason why I never dropped acid at a Gourmet Scum concert, and for that I thank them.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:50 AM on November 22, 2017

I never got Degrassi in school sadly. We did get the odd TVO show though.
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:16 PM on November 22, 2017

for me, the relative connection faded as the franchise moved through its iterations. I mean, I guess that has a lot to do with aging out of the target audience, too
For me, it felt like post-Degrassi High they tried to become all slick and trendy and Hollywood and lost the quirky low-budget Toronto-ness of it and wrecked any honesty the show once had.
Probably nobody remembers this, but they did a sort of spin-off/next gen show in the 90's called Liberty Street, which aimed to be a twenty-something, Toronto's-answer-to-Melrose-Place kinda thing (they all live in a big 'ol artsy warehouse building! 2 of them are bike couriers! There's a kooky retro diner in the basement!) and it totally sucked. I was a boom operator on that show and many was the time I had to put a wireless mic on Joey Jeremiah (but he was called something else, I forget. Nice guy, though.) Anyhow I hated that job and they fired me after 3 weeks but still invited me to the wrap party and then the show got cancelled really fast.

Anyway I voted for KITH.
posted by chococat at 2:44 PM on November 22, 2017 [2 favorites]

I remember Liberty Street, and can confirm that it sucked.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:19 PM on November 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

I watched that too, the Cowboy Junkies theme song was good, as was the boom operation.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:12 PM on November 22, 2017 [3 favorites]

Looking through some of the clips of You Can't Do That on Television, I forgot the great Les Lye was on that show. While I watched YCDTOT, my brother and I were deeply obsessed with Willy and Floyd. It had a weird quality to it - cheap, old fashioned and corny but man we loved it. Sadly there's virtually nothing online about it.
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:31 PM on November 22, 2017

I can't choose.
posted by Yowser at 12:38 PM on November 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

I forgot the great Les Lye was on that show.

Hadn't thought about him in years!

Barth was my favourite part of that show.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:01 PM on November 24, 2017

Canada’s Most Memorable (English) TV Thing: Final Round also has a third place voting option between the semifinal knockouts - Degrassi and Heritage minutes.

I think Degrassi's a tough one because it's got the full mix of the franchise which is problematic?

But I guess if we're talking "memorable" Degrassi's kinda it for me? I think?

And given that I could do pretty much the entire Buddy Cole prison monologue off the top of my head right now (along with an entire Chicken Lady sketch, in her voice), I feel like I have to go with KiTH on the final.

But it's not easy.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:10 PM on November 24, 2017

Alright. I voted.

Here's to everyone Having an Average Weekend ahead.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:11 PM on November 24, 2017

McElroy on Twitter a few hours ago:

How places #3-#16 ended up

T-13th: The Beachcombers, The Raccoons, Wayne & Shuster, Corner Gas
T-9th: Trailer Park Boys, Street Cents, Fraggle Rock, Anne of Green Gables
8th: Body Break
7th: The Littlest Hobo
6th: The Friendly Giant
5th: SCTV
4th: Degrassi
3rd: Heritage Minutes

Also, finishing in 3rd place, with 57.7% of the vote over Degrassi, was Heritage Minutes!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:16 AM on November 27, 2017

62% for Mr. Dressup!
posted by jeather at 7:57 AM on November 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

Understandable result!

In honour of the occasion, here's a link to some related clips and interviews with Ernie Coombs in the CBC archives.

This, I had NO idea about:

Coombs first came to Canada in 1963 to work for the CBC on a precursor to PBS's Mr. Rogers' Neighbourhood, a show called Misterogers, featuring fellow American Fred Rogers. Rogers soon acquired the rights for his show from CBC and moved its production to the U.S., but Coombs stayed in Canada to work on a CBC-TV kids' show called Butternut Square. Butternut Square aired on CBC from 1964 until 1967.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:10 AM on November 27, 2017

I discovered via CBC that it was Mr. Dressup's birthday and he would have been 90 yesterday...the day he won as most memorable. Seems fitting!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:10 AM on November 28, 2017 [3 favorites]