JPTV-CBC: What I'm Reminiscing About Tonight
What did I watch on TV when I was a small child, when I wasn't watching high-minded social dramas about stroke-suffering steelworkers? I was lucky enough to grow up in Michigan, within broadcasting range of Canadian TV, and so had greater opportunities than those of you in warmer but less blessed parts of America. That meant The Friendly Giant, TV Ontario's The Polka-Dot Door, and, most important to a parapsychology-obsessed grade-schooler, Beyond Reason.
I started thinking about Beyond Reason after I started seeing the inescapable promos for tonight's NBC psychic* competition Phenomenon. Except that Beyond Reason was far cooler than any show with Criss Angel could ever be. On this game show--kind of What's My Line? with ESP--a panel that usually included an astrologer, a graphologist and a psychic (I believe there was sometimes a palm reader or a numerologist) tried to guess the identity of a mystery guest. In this episode, viewable at the awesome CBC archives website, the psychic nails the challenge with eerie precision. Mind freak!
Someone remake this show, now, please. Anyone else have a Canadian-TV madeleine to share?
*Update: Or "mentalist," whatever that is
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1
Phenomenon is a psychic competition?
I was thought it was gonna be Illusionists showing us their stuff...
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2
They say they're looking for a "mentalist," whatever the hell that is. "Psychic" may be the wrong word.
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3
I have the uncanny ability to undress women with my eyes. Do you think I would qualify for the competition?
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4
Hey, thanks for the thumbs-up. This is gonna be weird coming from a Canadian to an American, but I really miss John Byner's old show, Bizarre. It's even weirder considering that Byner and his sidekick, Bob Einstein (who played 'Super Dave Osborne') were in fact American themselves -- which I didn't know until very recently.
A recent Canadian show you may want to check out if you get the chance is the CBC's Intelligence, which is a dark thriller about the (strictly) professional relationship between a young up-and-comer in the Canadian Security & Intelligence Service and a pot baron, based in my hometown of Vancouver. Rumour has it Fox is looking to import it down south as a pilot. Here's hoping; I think you'll like it.
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5
Thanks. Now I'll be fighting sleep tonight while "The Friendly Giant" flute intro tortures my mind...
Actually if you think about the tone of TFG, it was sort of Mr. Rodgers-like. Hmm...did Fred rip off TFG????
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6
Got to love Canadian television. I remember shows like Mr. Dress Up and Romper Room. My sister once belonged to the fan club of Romper Room. Also it was strange to everyone else but, instead of Spanish the Canadian Sesame Street taught French. I also remember the original Degrassi Junior High with all those Canadian teen problems, eh
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7
I live in southeast Michigan. But the only thing I have ever watched on CBC is "Hockey Night in Canada" on Saturday nights. I've actually never considered to tune in for scripted programming but I will definitly check some shows out now that you got me thinking about it.
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8
"The Friendly Giant" was great (yep, maybe Mr. Rogers was inspired by TFG), but the CBC stuff that sticks in my mind is "Hinterland Who's Who." Sedate little nature/wildlife documentary shorts [and they are still being produced] that were skewered by the likes of SCTV and others:
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9
Hockey Night in Canada is the be-all and end-all of hockey commentary and play-by-play excellence, bar none. Even the commentators in Original Six markets in the US pale in comparison to the excellence that comes from the CBC broadcast. If you can ignore/withstand/roll with Don Cherry at intermission, it's well worth getting the Center Ice package just to TiVo HNIC (with the added bonus of seeing all of your team's games when you no longer live in the Philadelphia area!).
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10
I live and grew up in SE Michigan and became addicted to Degrassi Jr. High and Degrassi High. CBC is the only place for hockey. The glowing puck was the nail in the coffin for US Hockey coverage.
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11
How about all the great Canadian TV Nickelodeon ripped off in its early days? You Can't Do That on Television? Turkey TV? Anyone?
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