Top Rated Programs
Buckshot Show, The
The Buckshot Show was a half-hour show from CFCN-TV with host and creator Ron Barge (Buckshot) who entertained children in the Calgary area daily from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. With a group of puppet characters led by Benny the Bear, Heathcliffe the Dragon, Dafney the Dragon, Foghorn the Firefly, Rodney the Rodent and Farley Frick fro ...
SCTV
SCTV was unlike any other comedy series on the air. What SCTV did for the most part was satirize television itself. Using the premise of a fictitious network, it mimicked existing media stars and no-talents from networks to the local backwater UHFs. The SCTV Network had its own talk shows and parodies of everything on television ranging from musical var ...
Do It For Yourself
Do it For Yourself was a half-hour how-to show which featured Mary Bellows doing the fix-it solo and there was also a segment dedicated to plants with Mary along with John Reeves. We produced 278 half hours and the show ran for 3 years on the CBC network. It also aired on the USA network, Lifetime and PBS in the United States. If I so say so myself it w ...
Romper Room
Romper Room was a daily half-hour program for pre-school children. An invited group of children took part in each show, which had several regular features including Mr. Doo-Bee, Paddington Bear, the Magic Mirror and Doc, whose main concerns were health and safety regulations for children. Basic physical activity to encourage an active lifestyle and the ...
Wok with Yan
In Wok with Yan, chef Stephen Yan demonstrated how to cook oriental dishes with a wok. A kind of Galloping Gourmet of the 1980s, Yan achieved notoriety for his energy and ebullience and for the bad puns on the word, "wok," printed on his apron.
Pig and Whistle, The
Set in a studio recreation of a British pub, Pig and Whistle starred British actor/singer John Hewer as the host of an inn that featured resident singers, dancers and an orchestra, plus guests, with members of the public forming the invited audience at tables round the room. Toronto singer Kay Turner was the barmaid, and the Carlton Show Band were regul ...
Mr. Dressup
Ernie Coombs hosted this simple format TV show as Mr. Dressup. With his puppet friends, originally Casey and his dog Finnegan, he taught pre-school subjects with games, music and simple activities. To add to the fun, Mr. Dressup would always open up his tickle trunk that contains any costume for any role he wants.
Mr. Dressup emerged from an earlier ...
North of 60
Beginning in December, 1992, North of 60 brought the world of Native Canada into the homes of city and suburban residents. It was a hugely successful series for CBC throughout the country, but especially so in the North, where small towns would nearly come to a standstill on Thursday evenings to watch the show.
Set in the fictional town of Lynx Riv ...
Beachcombers, The
If there ever was a show that continues to live on in the hearts and minds of people almost four decades after it was first broadcast, it is The Beachcombers. Gibsons, British Columbia was the setting for the series' 19 year run beginning October 1, 1972 and ending December 12, 1990.
Nick Adonidas was a law abiding and hardworking Greek bachelor. He ...
Friendly Giant, The
Bob Homme, as the good-natured Friendly Giant, introduces children to books and helps them see how these can answer their questions and enrich their everyday living. Puppets Jerome the Giraffe and Rusty the Rooster, a good story, a bit of music and relaxed conversation and laughter, make up each 15-minute program.
From 1958 until 1985, Homme wrote an ...
Littlest Hobo, The
The series follows the adventures of an extremely intelligent, wandering German Shepherd who walks into a different place in each episode of this long-running television series, and comes upon people down on their luck or in trouble.
Hobo always befriends and helps the struggling person or persons. Then, when his job is done at episode's end, decline ...
Bixby and Me
Bixby was a cat who lived in a tree and would encourage kids to stretch and exercise. After the routine, Bixby would say, "Bixby Says... Reeeeeelaaaax."
20 Minute Workout
Each show of this provocative aerobic exercise series started off slowly with stretching and limbering up before switching into high gear with an exhausting variety of movements that flowed into one another. The program had a fluid, sensuous look to it, unlike other exercise shows with their straight-on camera angles. The show's creator, Ron Harris, des ...
Kids in the Hall, The
The Kids in the Hall are a sketch comedy troupe, set apart by their cross-dressing antics and seemingly infinite supply of unique characters. Although writer Paul Bellini, various extras, and sometimes even an actual woman appear in the sketches, for the most part, the five main cast members portray every single character themselves. Recurring character ...
Wayne and Shuster Show, The
Wayne and Shuster started their regular appearances on CBC television with The Wayne and Shuster Hour in October 1954, and have provided comedy that ranged from clever and literate to god-awful corn, at a rate of one show a month in the beginning, reduced to four shows a season in later years. Exact titles for their shows have varied: The Wayne and Shus ...
Harrigan Featured
Harrigan was a half-hour show written, produced and hosted by Barry Dale. Beginning in 1969, it aired locally out of CJOH-TV in Ottawa for 2 seasons before moving to CKWS-TV in Kingston. There, it aired locally for another 2 or 3 seasons before being syndicated across Canada on CTV.
Harrigan was a 209-year-old leprechaun who sang, danced, told storie ...
Hilarious House of Frightenstein, The
The Hilarious House of Frightenstein was a Canadian children's television series which was produced by CHCH-TV. It was syndicated to television stations across Canada and the United States.
A quirky sketch comedy series, the show's cast included Billy Van, Fishka Rais, Guy Big, Mitch Markowitz, and Julius Sumner Miller. Van, in fact, played the vast ...
Lynette Jennings Homeworks
Lynette Jennings Homeworks was a weekly show that communicated affordable within-reach advice to consumers in the areas of renovation, home improvement design and decorating.
After studying architecture and performing arts at the University of Michigan and Chicago's DePaul University, she relocated to Canada in 1971. The following year, Lynette bega ...
Edison Twins, The
Join teen-aged science whizzes Tom and Annie Edison as they meet the challenges of everyday life with just the right combination of humour, courage, curiosity and scientific know-how. The Edison twins share more than a birthday; each has a special gift for solving problems. That's very lucky, since their daily adventures always seem to lead them to a pr ...
Camp Cariboo
As the title suggests, an attempt is made to bring all the fun of summer camp to television. Knowing that children of this age group are attuned to fast-paced action, the pace is moderated by the recognition that young viewers want to interact directly with the programming they watch. To that end, the show is set in an idyllic camp setting where there i ...