View from the Cheap Seats is kind of an extension of the newsroom. Whenever our three regular reporters, Calvin Daniels, Thom Barker and Randy Brenzen are in the building together, it is frequently a site of heated debate. This week: In honour of the Yorkton Film Festival what is the best Canadian Television show ever made?
No mystery here
This week, we tackle the best Canadian television shows ever made in honour of the Yorkton Film Festival.
At first glance, it seems like it might be a pretty shallow pool, but when you get down and really think about it, there is a pretty lengthy tradition of quality programming in this country.
And what about the grand Canadian tradition of comedy? Corner Gas, SCTV, King of Kensington, The Kids in the Hall, CODCO, This Hour Has 22 minutes, The Newsroom and Little Mosque on the Prairie, just to scratch the surface. I will not, cannot, am loathe to, include Trailer Park Boys. Despite its popularity, let’s face it, that show is complete and utter crap.
There have been innovative and deeply loved kids shows like Mr. Dressup, The Friendly Giant and Fraggle Rock.
And, what celebration of Canadian television would be complete without the internationally award-winning genre of news and documentary including This Week Has 7 Days, Adrienne Clarkson Presents, W5, The Fifth Estate, Daily Planet, The Agenda with Steve Paikin and The Nature of Things.
So, what might appear to be a no-brainer, turns out to be a difficult choice. When it comes to awards shows, however, drama is king and comedy, children’s series and documentaries are relegated to genre status.
There have been great dramas. The Littlest Hobo, Da Vinci’s Inquest, The Border, North of 60, The Degrassi franchises and The Tudors leap to mind. And, of course, who could forget The Beachcombers. For all the flack and joking around about that series, it was full of great characters and quintessentially Canadian.
For me, there are two Canadian dramas that stand head and shoulders above the rest. And, the runner up is: Street Legal. This courtroom drama originally ran from 1987 to 1994, but I didn’t discover it until after I had gotten into the news business. It was really refreshing to see a legal drama that (more or less, with dramatic licence) accurately depicts the Canadian justice system. Plus, I developed a bit of a crush on Cynthia Dale (apologies to Peter Mansbridge).
My number one Canadian television show of all time, though, has to be Murdoch Mysteries.
It is smart and funny. It weaves what was then, at the turn of the 20th century, emerging science into good, old-fashioned detective stories with compelling narratives and excellent screenwriting. It tackles social issues of the day and relates them back to the present.
The acting is exceptional with no shortage of cameos from famous non-actors and a plethora of stories involving real historical figures in fictional roles.
Murdoch Mysteries is a great show and has achieved massive popularity both at home and abroad.
-Thom Barker
Heading North of 60
Whenever you start talking about the ‘best-of’ anything, you are in for some debate and argument.
In this case the idea of picking the best Canadian television series led to a number of inner debates.
The first was determining what type of series should legitimately be considered.
There have, as an example, been a number of high profile comedies through the years, with the more recent Corner Gas and Little Mosque on the Prairies coming to mind.
Better than both the above were King of Kensington and Beachcombers, the latter the best if the genre, but I can’t quite think of a comedy as the best produced.
Then there are shows for children. The Friendly Giant, Chez Helen and Mr. Dressup were a big part of my younger days, and all were long-running and excellent. But again even Mr. Dressup falls a bit short in terms of best Canadian television series.
Which brings me to the realm of the one-hour drama.
While we sometimes belittle the quality of Canadian film, there have been a number of stellar series over the years which have rivalled their American-made peers.
Currently the Murdoch Mysteries, which happens to be based on a series of books by a Canadian author is easily the best Canadian drama on TV.
The Border, which aired 2008-2010 was very well done, as was the same era Flashpoint.
And from there the list extending back grows rather quickly with some first rate options, among them Street Legal and Da Vinci’s Inquest, the latter having a seven-season run and still seen in syndication.
But the best for me remains North of 60 which aired from 1992 through ’98.
The show was “set in the fictional community of Lynx River, a primarily Native-run town depicted as being in the Dehcho Region,Northwest Territories,” noted Wikipedia.”Most of the characters were Dene. Some non-native characters had important roles: the restaurant/motel owner, the band manager, the nurse and (during the show’s first season) the town’s main RCMP officer.”
What made the series stand out then, and makes it my choice here is that it explored themes of Native poverty, alcoholism, cultural preservation and conflict over land settlements and natural resource exploitation, issues of importance then just as they are today. It was well done, and powerful, and as good as TV from any country gets.
- Calvin Daniels
Straight to the crease
There are many different shows one could choose when it comes to what the best Canadian television show of all-time is.
Corner Gas is one that instantly comes to mind for its perfect display of just what small town Saskatchewan exactly is. Let’s be honest, everyone knows a Brent, an Oscar or a Hank.
But while Corner Gas is, in my mind brilliant television, my personal choice for best Canadian television show is one that existed for just three seasons from 2006-2008 and only aired very late on a Friday or Saturday night on Showcase, a channel known more for its inappropriate television than its intelligent and witty programs.
The show: Rent-a-Goalie, filmed in Toronto and starring Christopher Bolton as Cake, a man who runs a business in which he rents goalies out to local beer league teams.
It’s a rude comedy with very lowbrow humour (VERY lowbrow), however I feel it’s underappreciated and I was actually saddened when I had found out it was cancelled.
I’m sure my colleagues will select shows that are much more well-known, but whatever they choose rest assured it won’t be as good as Rent-a-Goalie.
—Randy Brenzen
