old Canadian shows

[leach]

I know of course one can find many classic ( and not-so-classic ) American and even British TV shows on DVD but what about old Canadian shows?

Awhile back I received a copy of the book TV North which is all about Tv from Canada. Quite a bit of stuff in there !!

Some of these shows look interesting such as the drama Wojeck and The King Of Kensington. Mike Myers I heard got his start on this show as a kid. Years before SNL and Waynes World/ Austin Powers.

Coming Up Rosie is another one. Wasn't this the show that launched the carrers of both Dan Aykroyd and John Candy?

SNL's Lorne Michaels did a comedy show back in the early 70s called "Terrific Hour" (?)

The Trouble With Tracy: I heard this show was pure bad. But despite that, it should be interesting to see just how bad it really was.

Wayne & Shuster, The Littlest Hobo, The Hilarious House of Frightenstein ( with the great Vincent Price !! ), Mantrap, Nightcap, Check it Out with Get Smart's own Don Adams, etc...

A friend of mine says that the late-great Gilda Radner did a sitcom in Canada years before she hit it big on SNL.

Strange Paradise: Canada's version of Dark Shadows.

Are any of these shows available on VHS? DVD? I did a quick search and turned up nothing. If not, wonder why? CBC/CTV/Global thing?

Or is it that Canada thinks people in the states just aren't interested in watching their television? With the success of BBC America, one would think there may be a market ( though I am sure it would be smaller ) for Canadian shows to air south of the border.

My cousin on the other hand disagrees. He says Canadian TV is bad, which is the reason why CTV for example could easily pass off as an American network since they show so many US Shows.

Then again Pink Lady & Jeff is available on DVD now. Surely a good deal of Canadian TV must be better than that.

 

[TimL]

> Strange Paradise: Canada's version of Dark Shadows.


Interestingly enough, Strange Paradise was run in US syndication for a year or so in the very early 1970's I believe WKBF-61 Cleveland aired it..Another show I'd like to see again is "Check it Out!" with the late Don Adams, which, while Canadian-produced was shown on USA cable in the 1980's.

 

[ccmfan]

> > Strange Paradise: Canada's version of Dark Shadows.
>
>
> Interestingly enough, Strange Paradise was run in US
> syndication for a year or so in the very early 1970's I
> believe WKBF-61 Cleveland aired it..Another show I'd like to
> see again is "Check it Out!" with the late Don Adams, which,
> while Canadian-produced was shown on USA cable in the
> 1980's.
>

I've seen DVD sets of SCTV and have seen DVDs of The Red Green Show on their website, although I know that's probably not a big seller. <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by ccmfan on 02/11/06 02:42 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[bpatrick]

> > > Strange Paradise: Canada's version of Dark Shadows.
> >
> >
> > Interestingly enough, Strange Paradise was run in US
> > syndication for a year or so in the very early 1970's I
> > believe WKBF-61 Cleveland aired it..Another show I'd like
> to
> > see again is "Check it Out!" with the late Don Adams,
> which,
> > while Canadian-produced was shown on USA cable in the
> > 1980's.
> >
>
> I've seen DVD sets of SCTV and have seen DVDs of The Red
> Green Show on their websits, although I know that's probably
> not a big seller.
>
I don't know if Strange Paradise had a large syndication;
I know of only two stations in my part of the country that
carried it: WSPA/7 Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville and
WDEF/12 Chattanooga.

Two Canadian shows I do remember: Anything You Can Do, a
game show similar to Beat The Clock. I first heard of
future Family Feud announcer Gene Wood when he emceed this
show; he quit after several contestants were injured (he'd
been assured that all the stunts were safe). Wood then
replaced Jack Narz as host of Beat The Clock, where he'd
been the announcer. Don Harron, a/k/a Charlie Farquharson
(sp?) on Hee Haw, then became host of AYCD.

The other is Hangin' In, which was aimed at kids and aired
in Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville in late afternoon back
around 1986. It was a sitcom that took place in a community
center where kids and teens hung out after school, as I recall.

 

[Braves2005]

> I know of course one can find many classic ( and
> not-so-classic ) American and even British TV shows on DVD
> but what about old Canadian shows?
>
> Some of these shows look interesting such as the drama
> Wojeck and The King Of Kensington. Mike Myers I heard got
> his start on this show as a kid. Years before SNL and Waynes
> World/ Austin Powers.

The King Of Kensington starred Al Waxman who would later become best known in the United States as the police chief on Cagney and Lacey. King Of Kensington aired in reruns on TV Land Canada although I never have seen it listed in reruns in America.

Michael J. Fox also starred in a Canadian kids show back in the mid 70's before playing Alex on Family Ties. I forgot what the name of the show was but it was mentioned during a biography about Michael not too long ago.

 

[rugrats1]

> King Of Kensington aired in reruns on
> TV Land Canada although I never have seen it listed in
> reruns in America.
>
It was syndicated to US stations in 1977-1978, though it wasn't as successful as it was in Canada. In Tampa Bay, WTOG showed "King of Kensington" at that time on Saturday nights.

Apparently, it was still in syndication in the US through the 1980s, at least -- someone here mentioned earlier that Pensacola's WFGX had "King" on the schedule in 1987.

 

[Markxxx]

> The other is Hangin' In, which was aimed at kids and aired
> in Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville in late afternoon back
> around 1986. It was a sitcom that took place in a community
>
> center where kids and teens hung out after school, as I
> recall.
>
Don't forget Degrassi Junior High That was a pretty cool teen age soap opera. <P ID="signature">______________
Once I figured out the meaning of life....Then I forgot to write it down.</P>