Little House on the Prairie Filmed in Manitoba

The original Little House of the Prairie ran for 9 years on NBC and became legendary as family entertainment starting in 1974. Based on the experiences from the Ingalls family from 1872 to 1894 and becoming a popular series of children's books in 1935 and through the 1940s, it became a hot property when NBC bought the rights for what they would be family entertainment on the network. Michael Landon was called in to direct which he agreed to as long as he could star in it as well. Running from 1974 to 1983, it became beloved. Today it one of the most streamed shows in history.

There has always been politics associated with the books but the series was mostly associated with family storylines and resilience rather than libertarian politics. However, that who ended up editing the books and having the rights after. It can be tough with books of the time because today's attitude can find things like settlers repugnant. Others might think is a blueprint for tradwifes and lots of kids and agrarian spendour. Navigating all this will likely be walking on eggshells. Even Laura Ingalls getting married at 18 to a 28 year old will be a source of discussion of the series follows the history and the books.

The New York Times actually got a tour of the studio set and one of their first questions was: "Why were we in Winnipeg? Was there no affordable prairie anywhere in America?" The reaction of the producer standing outside the log cabin on a soundstage in Winnipeg was to sigh.

The question is not really answered. But no, there is not another place on planet earth that has a better tax credit for film and TV than Winnipeg. At 65%, it dwarfs California's 35 to 45% tax credit. The original Little House on the Prairie was filmed in Simi Valley, north of Los Angeles. The region has filled in with housing although the outdoor location is still visible although in 2003 much burned down in wildfires. Studio work was done at Paramount and then later at MGM Studios. Building an entire town on a studio was quite a feat but even then car sound and airplanes had to filtered out. 

Could it have been filmed in California? Sure. But the NBC series was filmed on the biggest studio soundstage in the city and Simi Valley for 22 episodes a season. Netflix is doing an 8 episode season. Even with the tax credit, that is a lot of bucks. HBO's The Pitt gets tax credits for a 15 episode season with very minor second location work in Pittsburgh. Even with that money, the pay for the actors follows a very set of payscales to make for the largest ensemble cast you can have inside one large set. The days of Friends and Seinfeld actors getting a million per episode each over 22 episodes are gone. And all of that being paid because of commercial sponsors? Impossible.

So New York Times, this is why in Winnipeg: The tax credit, the Canadian dollar, flight connections, locations, soundstages, crews and additional actors have made Manitoba prime filming territory. As far as the value to Manitoba goes, the conclusion has been that that a lot of the tax credit earned is plowed right back into production rather pocketed by big companies in LA. At least 2000 people are full-time in the film industry in the province. The estimates are that about another 2000 are indirectly employed full time. It is enough to satisfy all the political parties in Manitoba over a 25 year period.

This isn't out first involvement with Netflix in Manitoba and it won't be our last. The second season of Little House is being filmed just as the first season is released July 9, 2026. The publicity machine has been huge. The New York Times had the most inside story. The Los Angeles Times had the creative head writer and producer give their take. The CBC focused on the Canadian performers and the indigenous angle.  

I have not seen the new series myself. I watched the original Little House in the Prairie from time to time but the Wednesday broadcast night and then for the majority Mondays meant I was not home those days. It was hockey practice on those winter nights and in summer repeats soccer or Camp Manitou or family holidays. The year the series ended was when our family got a VCR when I was finishing high school. The final year of the show, the ratings had dropped probably because the audience was changing as they aged. Many rediscovered the show in syndication and now in streaming. Oddly enough, I've seen the musical two times in Minnesota with Melissa Gilbert as Ma with a former partner. It was a lot of fun.

The commentary of the New York Times was that the show was like slow cinema in showing the beauty of the terrain. The producers have tried to replicate Terrance Malick's 1978 movie Days if Heaven. The New York Times approves. The directors, many of who are indigenous and all women, Try to show 1869 Kansas. This requires that Manitoba around Cook's Creek show all it's beauty. Perhaps someone who knows the filming locations will want to arrange tours because that is the type of worldwide attention such a series can bring. The only time I ever did that was for Twin Peaks when I went Washington to see filming locations.

The very talented costumers in Manitoba show their skills in the bonnets and dresses and trousers. A lot of wool was used. The studio log happen is likely to make many in the audience swoon. The Kansas storyline will follow the book in that we will see indigenous and black interactions. This is post Civil War. It is exactly what is was like at the time. The populations were moving westward.

The original Little House on the Prairie is very influential but there is as much Anne of Green Gable, Road to Avonlea and Netflix's own Anne With an E in this according to the CBC. This is not unexpected. A lot of American shows end up here and the Canadian aspect creeps in. In the end, a lot of the prairie stories have  a similar feel. At that time of the century people and trade crossed the border very freely.

Most of the reviews have been positive so far. A few like Slate called it "Woke-ified" and said it would offend the right. Not sure how well that will go. The right tried to go after the kindness of Dolly Parton and it didn't go well. However, the Ingalls family move to territory where property rights were so uncertain meant they were squatting. This would not be something that the original series would really cover. In the end, even some critics were calling crowd pleasing.

I suspect a lot of families will be watching the whole series.

Television Miniseries Over the Years Part 1

Each decade has been marked by different strengths and weaknesses in content from the beginning of televisions' early beginnings till now. The Golden Age of Television began in 1947 for most Americans but it was very limited beyond the very biggest of cities there. In Canada, TV broadcasts began in 1952. Expansion of stations into Manitoba took till 1954 when CBC Winnipeg came on the air. It was no easy task to get signals out beyond the cities and reliable videotape didn't come along till 1957. This meant that almost everything was live or had been filmed earlier on actual cinema film. Nevertheless, the experience of radio played an important role in television development of movies and limited series.

 

From 1947 to 1957, anthologies were the nascent beginnings of the miniseries. That is to say, they were put together as content with a beginning, middle and end rather than serialized material. High culture was the focus and major sponsors came aboard so that shows like For Whom The Bell Tolls and Lincoln could be produced. Different casts, sets and the like would be put together for each production. It was expensive and technically difficult. However, it showed that there was interest by people in literary and biographical material in a limited series. It was also live material because video recorders were not in use till late 1950s.

The earliest material for TV originated in New York so there was very much a theatrical and literary bent to what was presented. Twelve Angry Men and Marty originated on TV before becoming Hollywood movies. Great writers from the literary and theatre world as well as directors came to TV for the new art form. It was a highly experimental time in the post war period that brought not just audio but video into the home of people around the world. 

Not surprisingly, the early development of TV attracted a fair amount of Canadians from theatre and later from the early development of TV in Canada. Actors like Lorne Greene and Christopher Plummer began the move from Stratford to the U.S. for Broadway and television and film. That migration to the States has been a decades long thing. Experience, training and opportunities come in Canada but the sheer volume of content created for the large population is a siren call. The fame, the money and all that goes with it helped create a whole new industry.

Television was an existential threat in Canada. Many Canadians bought TVs in the east and aimed the antennas south from 1947 on to receive signals. The government tasked CBC (already a national presence in national radio) to create both an English and French broadcaster so in 1952 they hired hundreds of technicians, directors and talent to learn the medium for a launch that year. One of those young directors was Norman Jewison who went on to become the Oscar winning filmmaker.

The private network cooperative CTV didn't even get started till 1960-61. All the heavy lifting in Canada was done by the CBC and the National Film Board. The squabbling network seemed to grudgingly create programming for Canada aside from news and live children's programming. Most of their content was U.S. produced. However, this allowed many Canadians to see mini-series from the U.S. when they were broadcast. By 1976, the CRTC began to assist broadcasters in getting monetary gains in exchange for Canadian content. It has resulted in regular serialized series but only lately in more limited series when paired with Bell Media properties like Crave.

As the CBC rolled out stations and programming across Canada, they tried anthology series of high art. Ballet, plays and the like were performed live. They were categorized as anthology series because they were between 30 and 90 minutes of individual productions with different casts and across different theme. So much of the CBC was investing in infrastructure, staffing and programming. The technology changes were coming fast too. Video recorders and colour TV being phased in the 1950s and 60s made keeping up a challenge. Budgets were always an issue.

Based on the year I was born, I don't recall much of anything miniseries-wise from 1965 to 1970. Our family didn't get cable until 1971. In fact, cable didn't arrive in the city until 1967. Some people had antennas to receive KCND in Pembina, North Dakota but most of the shows were syndicated from 1940s and the 1960s shows. It was only in the 1970s that I began to take note of material that would meet broadly the characterization of being a miniseries or limited series.

Some say a William Holden series shown over four nights called Blue Knight was the first miniseries in the U.S. on NBC. The four hour cop show in LA was from a Joseph Wambaugh book. Holden was a big film star so getting him for a TV was coup. The following year he'd be one the cast on Towering Inferno in theatres. Funnily enough, I didn't see Blue Knight but I did see how Towering Inferno. My dad took me to it while serving with Big Brothers. Even I was too young for the movie, he didn't want me to feel left out. My dad often let me stay up late on a Friday to watch some of the movies that played such as World War II movies. I had nightmares about the disaster movie for sure.

As a rule with standards and practices, more adult drama would be reserved for last hours of primetime. More family material would be in early hours so we'd see a lot of music and variety shows. And Disney of course would be the kick off every Sunday evening. I don't know when Blue Knight aired but likely over four nights at 9 PM Central time. East and West coasts it would have aired 10 PM. Often too late for kids under 10 who would be asleep by then. Central time prime time ended at 10 PM so it was much easier for many to watch drama and get to bed early enough.

While I don't remember Blue Knight, the miniseries of 1973, I do remember the Blue Knight TV series starring George Kennedy. Alas, I didn't catch the two season show. Given then time and a very active sports and after school activity as well getting to bed earlier, there was a number of shows I was aware of but couldn't or chose not to watch. In 1974 and 1975, Winnipeg saw the addition of PBS and CKND/Global to the dial so there was a flood of older movies and the introduction of limited series, mostly from the British. The miniseries of Forsyte from the UK kicked off what we could expect to see from across the pond. I can't say my tastes were as refined back then. The British started the Forsyte back in 1967 so had the jump on everyone. The British influence was enormous and many titles were copied.

Canada didn't have the population or budget that the British and Americans did. We did, however, create one of the most expensive docudramas filled at that point in the world called The National Dream based on the book by Pierre Burton. The 8 episodes miniseries was the highest watched drama at the time. Oddly, the CBC has never made this show available to video or streaming. Our family watched it and it added to the lore of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Canada was also doing influential work in teleplays. Not as long as miniseries but at half hour to two hours were entertaining. One such movie was Flight into Danger starring future Star Trek actor James Doohan and written by Arthur Hailey, both World War II vets. Doohan, born Canadian and Hailey naturalized Canadian. Hailey found success as an author, famously for Airport. The 1956 live production on CBC became the inspiration for drama and comedy in film and television for decades to come.

The National Dream Miniseries in Canada and QB VII in 1974 had huge influence in historical dramas based on historical events. With star writers like Pierre Burton, Timothy Findley, William Whitehead and Leon Uris, it kept to the tradition of using top notch literary writers for complicated shows. I did not see QB VII when it came out. It wasn't until about 1975 when the explosion of cable channels created the demand for pull out TV and a daily listings of what was on. In 1977, TV Guide created a Canadian version of U.S. TV guide. This became super important to planning your week and for networks to promote appointment TV.

In Winnipeg in the 1970s, the Winnipeg Free Press and the Winnipeg Tribune had pull out TV listings and reviewed TV shows. I delivered the Winnipeg Tribune and it was the plucky competitor to the Free Press. It used to be that you were a Trib subscriber or a Freep subscriber. There were no Sunday editions of either paper. The TV listings for the week came out Saturday. Because Sunday was a day when literally everything was closed, we got both papers on Saturday so that there would colour comics, TV listings and classified ads. There were no video recording machines so if you missed a show, you missed it. If there were 22 episodes of a season on average, they would likely repeat again in the summer and you could catch them then. But did it really matter if you missed one Starsky and Hutch? No. Because a year long storyline was not what they were about.

The miniseries, as mentioned, were different as they were special programming all at once over consecutive nights (or serialized over a short time) with a beginning, middle and end. They were long form storytelling. As listed above, Blue Knight starring film actor William Holden was aired in 1973 and earned Emmys for the acting. The story was largely filmed on location in Los Angeles following a beat cop. It holds up well today as a snapshot of the 1970s in LA. As opposed to Dragnet which relied on stock footage of LA and rarely referred to the personal lives on the officers. Just the facts.

The critical acclaim, ratings and overall publicity for networks in the 1970s was focused on big events that would draw sponsors and eyeballs. The dominance of CBS, NBC and ABC was growing in entertainment, sports and news. Cable was just beginning but for many years was just trying to bring network TV to areas that could not pick up signals from affiliates far away. Such was how things developed in much of Canada bringing U.S. signals into homes. Before 1967, it was near impossible to get reliable signals in Winnipeg even with giant broadcast towers in Fargo. Even after, as Videon cable customers will attest, it was possible to lose your cable signal with terrible weather as we have had in the last weeks. I remember losing the last few minutes of Where Eagles Dare fuzzing out in a storm when Richard Burton was going to reveal the traitor spilling to the Nazis. It would be a few years before I would see the movie again and learn the secret.

On network TV, they would show Hollywood movies such as James Bond movies from the 1960s in prime time. By the mid 1970s, stations such as CKND and PBS Grand Forks would show movies from the 1940s through the 1960s. Syndication meant series like Star Trek had new life. Everyone was making money. It was good for newspapers and magazines, good for studios creating movies, good for networks, cable operators and advertisers reaching new audiences. There were still missteps studios could make on budgets and film. There never seemed to be the end of someone who thought they could make a big budget blockbuster. A lot of times they were wrong. However, the libraries of many studios such as MGM proved to exactly what independent stations wanted for content and it came to fit with cable and the need for content.

There was still some regulation and corporate separation that kept TV, music and film in their own silos. Antitrust prevailed and broke up the studio system that tied up all aspects of distribution, exhibition and production. The studios had to compete and be more innovative. It took a Supreme Court ruling to get them to break up and ten years to do it. However, without it, it is unlikely we would have had the production companies in the 1960s and 1970s creating in the same way as the vertically integrated media was back then.

There were a number of reasons why TV networks started creating their own movies and miniseries. One main reason is that they didn't want to rely completely on the movie studios for content. Certainly, showing James Bond on ABC could draw ratings but it often took a while for a new Bond to come out. The networks needed material on a more regular basis. It is why in the 1950s and 1960s, it was not uncommon for series like Gunsmoke to have nearly double the episodes that were the standard in the 1970s and 1980s. The development of a season of episodes and repeats usually meant the network still had days to fill  up with programming.

The networks had to satisfy their advertising sponsors and their affiliates. Getting enough sponsors meant it paid for your content which kept affiliates from seeking other affiliation or filling their space with syndicated content. This was indeed a real issue as affiliates could change their affiliation. Even networks themselves might look to switch to a different local station if that station had been reception or local composition of news. Such is the case when NBC WDAY/WDAZ became the new ABC affiliate over ABC KTHI in Fargo in 1983.

To attract the people with the money and the means to broadcast it, the networks began to begin bring people to Hollywood to see what they would be showing to kick off their fall seasons. By the 1970s, this was an elaborate star-studded affair that was attended by media, advertisers and affiliates.  Aside from the regular programming of series, sports, variety shows and news, network exec wanted to buy literary material that was popular and turn it into movies and miniseries. This was a time of epic storytelling though.

Hollywood studios, as well as some overseas studios, often dramatized historical events and great works of literature. However, the maximum length many could stay in a theatre seemed to cap off at about 4 hours and only for the biggest blockbusters such Cleopatra on the Greatest Story Ever Told in the 1960s. TV broadcasts of those movies were broken up in two parts over consecutive nights to boffo ratings. This certainly clued in the networks that there was an appetite for movies over two or more nights.

The antitrust breakup created many production companies that TV and movie studios contracted with to create productions. It is of note that this is how Stephen Spielberg rose up. He directed a made for TV movie Duel from an original story in Playboy magazine in 1971. Dennis Weaver starred. At the time, he had become a star of his own TV limited series of McLeod. This was two different examples of what networks were doing to start the 1970s. Made for TV movies and a revolving wheel of mystery movies such as McLeod and Columbo.

This innovation and insatiable need for content led to miniseries. Trying to get Hollywood talent to sign up required a limited number of episodes and a hot script. It was this type of time, budget and script that drew Richard Holden and Lee Remick to Blue Knight in 1973. Four hours over for four nights of compelling TV that landed both actors awards. While there had been some miniseries before then, this triggered a flurry of activity from all three American networks and from other across the world to create miniseries.

I was just too young for some the earlier miniseries like Rich Man, Poor Man in 1976 and with it being 12 episodes long, I was likely missing a few of them because of sports since it aired in February of that year. I would have turned 11 in the middle of it. I did see it much later though. It would be 1977 before I'd be watching a miniseries from beginning to end and that was Roots. Although from an American experience, it was as much watched in Canada as the U.S. and contributed to discussion. Roots, unlike Rich Man which broadcast every Tuesday, broadcast each night for a week. The story of slavery over generation ran every night in January that year. It was the first time we'd see the introduction of LeVar Burton. He'd go onto long time success on Star Trek: Next Generation a decade later.

The same year of 1977 I would see The Godfather series composed of the two theatrical films and edited and arranged for network TV. There were quite a few miniseries back then that I watched. Some so long ago that the memory has faded. Between 1977 and 1979, there were so many. The minsieries sequel to Roots and Salem's Lot in 1979 left lasting memories. It was the first time we saw a miniseries of a Stephen King book. Salem's Lot was pretty scary for network TV!

The local pullout TV listings was how you planned the week. In the 1970s, there really wasn't the time wasting on scrolling through the phone or Internet since it didn't exist. No home computers and no video games either. Some TV shows like Stranger Things tend to mythologize those times as suburban Narnia. It wasn't but it certainly didn't have the type of varied distractions of today. Having being born in 1965, I can say the very limited TV of two channels before cable was not as compelling as going outside. I came to think of the TV as something you watched the U.S. space program on and this strange war being fought in a place called Vietnam. All of this on black and white TV.

Truly network TV had its greatest moments in the 1970 when there was literally no other competition in drama, comedy, variety, news and sports. It was only the 1980s that cable channels themselves began to compete. HBO was the movie channel most sought out when people just wanted movies. It used to be on the marquees outside hotels. HBO included.

Miniseries have always been great for historical events or sweeping literary stories. In the 1970s, Little Women was a miniseries, Harriet Taubman was miniseries and The Holocaust was a miniseries. Those type of series attracted top talent and many Canadians watched although some were more specific to the U.S. experience.

By the 1980s, it seemed the miniseries had tripled in numbers. Lonesome Dove, The Thornbirds, V, Amerika and the Winds of War were massive series that demanded attention. Big stars were cast and big stories were old from the best of the book world, historical events and speculative fiction. There were far too many to see, some might later turn up on cable or around 1982, many families starting getting VCRs. Ultimately, this helped people not miss episodes of something hugely long like Winds of War.

It should be mentioned that in the rise in tandem of networks and cable, newspapers began to struggle. In Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Tribune went under in 1980 along with the Montreal Star. The free classified ads and media ownership that preferred a monopoly. However, more ads were going to radio and TV. he Winnipeg Sun started shortly after and made sure that they competed on days the Free Press passed over such as Sundays. It was an indication of how market conditions were changing. USA Today began to publish in 1982 and their newstands looked like TV boxes and their format was to remind people of TV programming. No long form stories for them.

There was probably a 30 year period where the media of print, radio, movies and television all elevated themselves through cross promotion and ad revenue. Even the beginnings of the Internet helped promote other media for many year. It was only when giants such as social media began to hoover up other companies and ad money while manipulating things with algorithms that some of the pillars started to collapse. 

It was roughly halfway through 1990s that the Internet started to be used for newsgroups, mail lists and ways of engaging with fans. The Internet Movie Database and Wikipedia were ways for TV and film audiences to really engage. Had the Internet been more like that always, it might have been a less permissive thing now. 

From the 1980s to the 1990s saw cable start to take on more miniseries. Big name directors who were once attracted to networks looked to cable and premium cable to tell stories. The networks were still very powerful but HBO and USA Network started doing miniseries with big names and bigtime directors. It was still networks though that were able to really muster audience side and promotion. Stephen King had a number of network miniseries such as The Stand (ABC) in 1994, The Langoliers (ABC) in 1995 and The Tommyknockers (ABC) in 1993. 

By the 2000s, there was a shift to ever greater number of miniseries from cable networks. This was not a terrible problem because cable subscriptions had risen to levels not seen before. The problem was that the packages were rising every year. And still do now. To get the premium channels like HBO required a very high price. I will write more in the next part. However, miniseries became some of the highest rated shared programming we had as a culture. The fracture was to come and is still happening now.

Starfleet Academy Cancelled After One More Season

In the many decades after the original series, I heard numerous times that they were musing about a Star Fleet Academy based show. It was all for naught though. Until 2026, when they 12th series based of Gene Roddenberry's concept was launched. For quite some time the idea was this to be a movie where Kirk and Spock meet. The re-launch of the Kelvin timeline in 2009 had an origin story for Kirk that had him go to the Academy but it was all sped along to where he was acting Captain of the Enterprise. Quite a bit for one movie but it was exciting.

The truth is that there are so many producers, writers and actors proposing stuff in the Star Trek universe that it just dies in development. The best chance anyone ever gets to see a Star Trek TV series or movie is when someone has a development deal and they let them run with the ball. It can still end up being tanked by new executives at CBS Studios or Paramount. Even today that studio has more problems than the average bear.

As a rule, I watch all Star Trek series and movies. I don't love all the series. And I don't love every season of the series I do love. And I don't love every character of every series. I often find series that incorporate kids in a drama series do terrible jobs of it. For Next Generation, I think Wesley was a weak a character and annoying. This is a reflection of the writing as Will Wheaton and Levar Burton were the best knows in the case when the show came on the air. Likewise DS9 had two young actor and I felt their storylines were weak. 

Shows that run as long as Star Trek have different versions and timelines. The animated series is not considered canon. It was darn entertaining through. The reboot movie in 2009 led to a different timeline. It shared enough Trek lore as to win fans. The TV series changes often makes it difficult when creative choices are abandoned along the way. Ask Star Wars about that.

The problem with trying to to keep decades long running franchises going is that you have to satisfy old fan while building a base with new fans who have never seen the series before. The original series had a diverse cast with women in senior positions on the crew. However, the network pushed back and did not want a women as second in command. They also pushed back on Spock's ears which they called demonic. The battle on Spock's ears was won, senior officer as a woman lost.

Science Fiction was an allegory of real world issues in the 1960s. And while the FCC and network censors might not allow certain drama in a police or medical show, they let things slide in Star Trek. Hence, the Klingons were Russians, the Romulans were Chinese, issues on black and white American discourse were raised in an alien species in dispute because one side of their face was while and one side of their face was black. And let's not forget the first back and white kiss on TV with Kirk and Uhura.

Gene Roddenberry was trying to push a positive outlook on the future even if was one where war, slavery, political interference and violence happened fairly regularly. Beware if you have to wear a red shirt on Star Trek. You're toast! The criticism on some of the later Star Trek iterations is that they were too to negative. However, if all was well after, it struck many as overly optimistic. For example, Voyager was always back to a clean, well run ship after every awful encounter. Many called it "the re-set" because there were never any long lasting effects from the battle to get home. It was the introduction of Seven of Nine that helped define the series in later years.

Starfleet Academy had quite a backlash from MAGA conservatives for too many characters and storylines they thought were woke. Some of these conservatives professed to be fans of the old Star Trek. It seems some forget how the show has always been progressive. William Shatner, Captain Kirk, dismissed those criticisms even though he wasn't part of this iteration of the series. Just another example of him defending the show's long history. If anyone knows the fans of the series, it is him.

The corporate takeover of Paramount/CBS Studios by Skydance and subsequent purchase of Warner Brothers has meant and will probably mean lots of layoffs. Old deals with the studio are not necessarily being renewed. And television and cable are thought to be dead mediums. The focus is on streaming. And now just by Paramount. By all of them. Star Trek is just another asset purchased. However, for now, debt has to be paid and producer deals will change or end. By 2027, there will be no Star Trek anywhere in film or TV unless the studio orders something soon. Even hot producer Taylor Sheridan of Yellowstone fame didn't get a new deal.

As for what I thought of Starfleet Academy? I liked the idea of a ship and earth-based school. However, I thought the idea of it landing and taking off excessive and a logistical nightmare. Gene Roddenberry invented the transporters because the cost of landing and taking off a ship as a physical effect was a lot. I'm assuming the producers got a budget for various sets and wanted to make sure they had a ship that could function like this. This was a cost issue for the show. Visual effects seem to have a huge budget.

To be sure the series is as glossy as you are going to see. Bursting with colour and graced with designs that are as posh as you can imagine. Costuming and make-up are amazing. They still struggle to provide pockets for anything. This is something Babylon 5 managed to do. Garibaldi shrugging his shoulders with hands in his pockets was a thing. Star Trek has never been exactly practical on these things. Of course, I did notice pockets on the Artemins crew so maybe they still have a function in space?

I have no problems with the characters per se. However, there is a lot to go through and speeding along as they do, it is too superficial. Teleporting aboard a ship and it puts you in a uniform and cuts your hair seems over the top again. It is jarring. You would think writers and producers would think these things over. A teleport device that could undress you and cuts your hair without consent is not funny. It also raises questions of consistency in technology. Even the Star Trek movies have had to address some of their outrageous tech plot points. The 2009 movie has Scottie and Kirk teleport aboard the Enterprise halfway across the galaxy. The next movie explained that Section 31, took the tech away from Scottie. Still, why travel by starship at all if the teleporter could place you anywhere in the world?

Star Trek has at least tried to keep technical aspects consistent but it would appear that some of those people who are historians and tech writers on the show, are not present. Or perhaps the producers think we'll fall into the technobabble and not see that it can wreck the show just as any continuity error in film and TV does. Nothing more obvious that characters who go from wet to dry in by next scene. This would be the original Star Wars and the garbage chute scene. In terms of tech questions on Star Wars, the Han Solo Kessel Run measured in parsecs as if it was a speed drove some people nuts.

For some, this inside baseball knowledge is not important. What is more important is story and character. Old Star Trek has fewer characters and more episodes. It must seem shocking now but series in the 1960s could have as many as 30 or more episodes a season. And with fewer characters, you would get to see a lot of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. New Star Trek is lucky if they get 10 episodes and you have more that a dozen regulars in the cast. The budgets are insane for new TV which means Starfleet Academy, like previous recent Treks, is filmed in Canada. The tax credits and just better costs has made it necessary. And the skill level of the crews is amazing. This isn't early Degrassi level of TV crews.

The result is a that all the new Treks, Starfleet Academy included, look absolutely slick and have some of the best effects seen on TV. Picture, sound, editing, costuming are top notch. Casting attracting top flight performers like Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti drew everyone's attention. A suitably diverse young cast made up the cadets. There were also some familiar faces of Trek series such as The Doctor in the cast. But with ten episodes how does any actor get enough to work with? And add action, I had a hard time telling who was who in the show and why I should care.

Paramount+ put in so much money (estimated between $10 to $15 million) and looked to the series to be a reason to subscribe to the streamer. In Canada, Starflect is first broadcast on CTV Sci-Fi Network. With so much riding on the series, it not difficult to imagine the pressure. It is a soup where everyone is putting something in which is sometimes just too much. And without, the show was trying to attract teenagers and young people in general. A lot of series often get cut even when ratings are solid but corporate is not happy with the demographic. 

So, how did they do? It appears the ratings were around 2 million per episode. And the demographic was all wrong. Too many older audience members and not enough Gen Z and Alpha. Which raises the question? Can any TV show attract teenagers. The answer is yes and the show would surprise you. It is ABC's The Rookie. It is getting great TV ratings and streaming ratings for episodes after. Many kids watch Hulu when they want to watch a show. The ratings are younger and higher than they have ever been. The show is also far more affordable for ABC than Starfleet Academy.

How is this possible? It would appear that The Rookie has one of the most watched social media platforms out there bar none. Other shows have tried to copy a bit but have paled in comparison. If you haven't seen any of their stuff, do look. It isn't promotional stuff of The Rookie. It is mostly of them on set, in costume goofing around, dancing and enjoying themselves. And the teens are there for it. As a result, they are watching the show in big numbers. Recurring characters, guest stars from shows the kids love and a general mission to just put it out there is winning fans. I'm talking about your Rookie Zombie episode.

Now there was some social media from Starfleet Academy but you have a young cast, they should have been there every day letting people get to know them. The media push in general was flat. Meanwhile, you have Nathan Fillion, a middle aged guy with a podcast find a show that hits with the kids. Do better Paramount.

As for the cost of the show, both The Rookie and Starfleet Academy get production tax credits. The Rookie gets them from Los Angeles and California. Starfleet uses Canadian tax credits. The Canadian tax credits are more but how a show does it's budgets really matters. Special effects really can take up a lot of money. But it is possible to do sci-fi that is good and not break the bank? The Canadian movie Cube is an example. A small set with character development can go a long way. The original Star Trek kept getting their budgets trashed and still managed to stay entertaining

I personally enjoyed the show but I figured it needed far more than ten episodes to hit its stride. So I don't judge too harshly. It took ER at least ten episodes to become the show it eventually grew to be. Strange New Worlds needed some time before they could do a musical show and hit it out of the ballpark. That series was able to find their way and it shows.

Paramount has brought to an end both Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy. I will watch both as as I always do and hope that both have great final seasons. As for Paramount and producers for their shows, they will have to figure how to appeal to the demographic they want without being asses about it. The Rookie has figured it out. And they still do an entertaining show. I expect Strange New Worlds will leave people wanting more. The question is whether Starfleet Academy does that as well.

Lastly, beware of toxic fan bases. Or as a producer cater to fanbases overly so. Let some of the humour, tension and character development grow even if it is only a limited ten episodes. And for gosh sakes, leave a little bit of mystery there.

Firefly TV Series to Return as Animated Series

Firefly was a TV series that was briefly on the FOX network in 2002 for a two hour pilot and 13 episodes before being cancelled. Low ratings got it cancelled before all 13 episodes were aired. This left three unaired episodes which had many begging for their release. Oddly enough, it would take the British Sci-Fi cable to air the entire series in syndication in 2003. In Canada, the whole series would eventually air in full on Space, the sci-fi channel, a few years later. For many people, the opportunity to rent of buy the series came a year after it was cancelled and the fandom grew accordingly. I tried watching on FOX but they kept changing the airdates and I just missed episodes. I eventually watched the whole series on Space and the movie that came out in 2005. Serenity was not a box office success the year it came out.

Creator of the show, Joss Whedon, was a FOX network fave with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and movie writing credits to his name. The reputation of FOX was to aim for younger audiences in the 1990s and and it was bolder than other networks in choosing material. However, it was also a time when NBC dominated and networks like CBS were coming up with things that would lead to their own dominant ratings. FOX was putting things in the window but unless it really built an audience like The Simpsons or X-Files, it was quickly pulled out of the window. A long list of show that were pulled left audiences in North America disappointed.

Pre-empting shows by networks for sports, holiday, presidential addresses and the like has a fundamental negative impact on those shows. In some cases, the networks can't help it but other times it is the programmers who cripple the show. Not to mention networks that want to put the series order out of whack as in the case of Firefly. Studio execs decided another episode should be first. The lack of consistency was too much to build an audience.

Nathan Fillion, who played Captain Mal, is presently lead and executive producer of The Rookie has been teasing some sort of revival of Firefly and has been showing clips of the cast agreeing that "it's time." The final piece was Alan Tudyk who played Wash in the series. Fillion and Tudyk are leading the charge but this is a full cast push. Creator of the series Joss Whedon has given his support but has not taken a role in whatever new project that might result from the gathering of the actors. This may be to give them a clean slate with the studios and networks who might not want to be accused of giving Whedon a free pass from work harassment that he was accused of going back to the 1980s.

The cast of Firefly actually seem to like each other and officially just announced, they have agreed to a second season of Firefly as an animated series. Showrunners have been announced and presumably script idea. What still hasn't been worked out is a network or streamer to carry the series. This won't be the only live action series to bring back the stars in an animated series. Star Trek did it with much of the old cast and Babylon 5 did it with as many as the living members left from the their series.

Sci-Fi fans and their conventions keeps shows alive in way that comedies and dramas of other series don't as often have. Star Trek owes any extension past its 1960s series to conventions and any product they could put out whether it was comics or animated series. The original actors and writers were able to work during the writers strike at the time. Animated writing was not in the Guild at the time.

Firefly already has had books and comics made  following the series. An animated series would support the building of a franchise. It is hard to see if it will lead to more live action series or movies but many studios are looking to bring back beloved programs. I don't think I'd ever live to see the day a show like Matlock back. None of this would be possible if the actors from the show were on board and promoting it so heavily. Let's hope a broadcaster picks it up!

Noble House on Amazon Prime

I had seen some of Clavell's work before I ever read any of his books. In Winnipeg or possibly on vacation trips to North Dakota, I had seen The Fly and eventually King Rat on late night TV in the 1970s. I think I saw Watusi on late night TV in the 1980s. And of course, many people got to see Clavell's work in the Great Escape. The WWII movie was exciting in a way that King Rat wasn't even though it too was a prisoner of movie as well. The latter movie was a character story and a grim one at that. Both showed a side of the war though that showed Clavells's storytelling ability.

It was his book Shogun that starred Richard Chamberlain in 1980 on NBC where everything took off. Or to be fair, the book Shogun, released in 1975, became a bestseller just as Tai-Pan had  in 1966. It often took Clavell years of research to write his Asian series of books. Noble House came out in 1981. It was shortly after Shogun came out in 1980 as a huge mini-series that the Clavell books popped up everywhere in paperback. And so I began my reading of the doorstop thick books of Clavell.

The Chamberlain Shogun series was a monster hit in North America (a total failure in Japan). While there had always been fascination with Japan especially after WWII, this introduced an interest in the early origins of contact between west and east. A theatrical version of an earlier Clavell novel was made in 1986 in China and was box office failure. It focused on the origin of Hong Kong but tried to cram too much into a movie format.

Noble House, written in 1981, raced up the bestseller list in the year after Shogun was aired. Not surprisingly, U.S. networks raced to acquire it for mini-series broadcast. The subjects for mini-series such as Roots and Shogun focused on large casts and more detailed stories than one hour police or hospital procedurals and the like.

The casting for Noble House suggests that some of TV and film's leading men were considered and either rejected the role or weren't able to do it. Timing is everything and for 1988, Pierce Brosnan became available when his series Remington Steele ended but his chance to play James Bond passes when Timothy Dalton was cast instead.

The series Remington Steele was one of the most popular and influential show in the 1980s. Airing on NBC, it starred Stephanie Zimbalist as Laura Holt, a woman who runs a private investigation service but creates a fictional male owner to overcome doubts about a woman-led company.  Pierce Brosnan, played a con-man who took on the persona of Remington Steele and the two formed a partnership. While he lacked her skill as a investigator, he quickly learned.

The show innovated the "will they or won't they" romantic sub-plot used used often now. With no Remington Steele, it is unlikely there would have been no Moonlighting. The show had legions of fans who loved Zimbalist as a relatable character who got things done but usually did so with some guy who got credit, in this case a fictional person who eventually became real.

Pierce Brosnan was an incredible actor to have available for Noble House. Deborah Raffin was cast in the female lead. Surprisingly, one of Raffin's films in the U.S. has become popular in China and she was one of the most famous of Hollywood leading ladies in that country. Filming took place in Hong Kong while still under British rule. Instead of the 1960s storyline of the books, the TV series bumped the time to 1980s Hong Kong.

The series had a mix of exotic and western at the same time and Pierce Brosnan as Ian Dunross was dashing and debonair for the whole four episodes. John Rhys-Davies made just as suave villain as Quillan Gort. The Clavell plot was slimmed down but still retained a bit of romance, espionage, action and thriller all at once. And the Noble House headquarters building using the the Jardine Matheson building was breathtaking.

Noble House has appeared on Prime before but it is never there for long and sometimes it seems like 10/15 years before it reappears but this is a great movie if someone has seen the old Shogun and new Shogun and loved Clavell's books. The original series was up against Winter Olympics programming and didn't fare as well as Shogun But make no mistake, Noble House is worth binging now.

Saturday Night Live - Winnipeg Fan 1975-2025

It was October 11, 1975 when Saturday Night premiered on NBC. The Saturday Night Live moniker would not be used till the following year. I was a ten year old kid at the time still getting used to cable. It only arrived at our house in 1971, the same year we got a colour TV. By 1974 CKND arrived and in 1975 Prairie Public TV was in place. For kids though, it was an avalanche of programming from CBS, NBC and ABC aimed at youth. Saturday morning cartoons was not something that was found on our CBC, CKY and CKND channels.

By 10 years old, most Saturdays were filled with sports but soccer and hockey were largely played outdoors. It still left young kids able to watch cartoons which started at 8 AM or earlier in the central time zones and ran to noon-ish. Most kids in sports were home early enough for dinner and Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday. 

In 1975, almost everything was closed on Sundays in Manitoba except church which generally had 11 am services. This meant that if kids were going to stay up later hours, it was going to be Friday and especially Saturday because of being able to sleep in a bit later than all the rest of the week. Entire families watched Hockey Night in Canada on Saturdays. Back then it was only one game on that night. And while Winnipeggers loved the WHA and the Winnipeg Jets from their start in 1972, they could love an NHL team as well because it was different league. In our house and many homes in Winnipeg, it was the Montreal Canadiens.

After a game, my parents were usually exhausted and whereas, week nights where they had lunches to make and kids to organize, no extra child care was needed when all that was happening was church the next morning. Stores were closed, workplaces closed. It was very sleepy most Sunday except for maybe some kids sports. 

So what did Gen X kids do on a Saturday? At 10 years old, as long as I wasn't outside, I was able to stay and watch TV in the living room as my parent's slept. My siblings sometimes stayed up but were often asleep as well by 10:30. Most networks would show movies before going off the air shortly after midnight. There were no 24 hour stations back then. But what could I watch?

I was a Winnipeg Tribune carrier which was delivered 6 days a week after school or afternoons Saturday. Both the Free Press and Tribune had TV guides in their Saturday papers and at 10, I had several part of the paper that I read first: comics, sports and TV guide. It was there and other places I noticed something on NBC called Saturday Night which was going to be on after the hockey game.

At the time, I didn't know the show format had been pitched to the CBC and rejected or that that executive producer was a Canadian named Lorne Michaels. I was too young to remember the Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour in 1970 that was on Saturdays at 9 PM on CBC. Lorne Michaels had been working on both sides of the border for comedy. There were so many variety/music shows in the 1970s. The TV guide just said there was a live comedy variety show on Saturday after the hockey game.

NBC already had a musical variety show called the Midnight Special. In central time zone it came on at midnight but in east and west zones it was at 1 AM.  It was the first time I got to see Wolfman Jack. The Royal Canadian Air Farce was a comedy sketch series in Canada that started on CBC Radio in 1973 so I was familiar with the format so a live TV comedy/music show sounded awesome.

In the end, when everyone else went to bed, I watched the very first episode of Saturday Night and was introduced to the characters  of John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Dan Ackroyd along with the rest of the cast. I was delighted by the sketches, the musical guests and the whole rebellious demeanor of the show. It felt very Canadian and of course, I didn't know that so many of the people involved were Canadian.

For young people who had few options for going out Saturday night or who were coming home from hockey, movies and the like, watching Saturday Night Live at 10:30 PM was a real treat. The show started a little rough but by the fourth episode or so started to take shape. I saw Weekend Update with Chevy Chase and it was a fascinating and funny look U.S. news. It would be Chase who would be the first big film star to emerge from the cast. But soon after Belushi and Ackroyd would go to take their SNL characters of the Blue Brothers to film.

The show has ebbed and flowed for the 50 years it has been on. Some amazing years and some awful ones. In some years I was busy and sometimes was doing things on a Saturday night but I have kept coming back in years when things are really top level. And nowadays, segments will appear on social media if I miss an episode.

I do still try to see the show on and off. Sometimes it will be a guest music act or a host that will bring me in. Sometimes it will be the outstanding performances. In 2025, I think they have an excellence in their cast that has really made for a new relevance. It is curious though if the medium of TV continues to be relevant long into the future.

The Sandbaggers on Tubi

A few years ago I mentioned the the BBC's Sandbaggers has been one of the best spy series ever to air on TV. It might come as a surprise to some that the series preceded the BBC/PBS series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by a year. Like Tinker, it had a creator linked to MI-6 or SIS, the foreign intelligence service. From 1978 to 1980 the series was on British TV and did appear on CBC. However, while I remember Tinker and watching it with family on PBS, I don't recall seeing Sandbaggers. I was in junior high and it might have been on later that I would normally be up during the week. This was often true of the original Hawaii Five-O that was on later than I'd be up.

The 1970s were the days when the national news programs of CTV and CBC were at 11 PM. Networks liked to put in programming in the 10 PM slot in central time or later that might not fit in the prime time schedule. No one had 24 hour TV back then including the stations down in North Dakota. The CBC would often squeeze in shows like Fawlty Towers and Sandbaggers at end of day schedule. I know I missed both when they aired on CBC but by early 1980s Fawlty Towers was endless played on PBS. It would take years before I'd catch The Sandbaggers to watch in it's entirety. Prairie Public Television carried a lot of British TV but they were often comedies and dramas. That remains true today.

Tubi has got the Sandbaggers on now which is rather amazing since it will bring a whole new audience to the show.  Some find their way to show by following the work some of the actors did through the 1970s and 1980s. This is very much the case for Roy Marsden who gained fans on both sides of the Atlantic for the P.D. James series Dalgliesh. Many loved his cool performance as a detective. And if they liked that, they searched out and loved his acting in Sandbagger as director of operations for SIS.

The writing of Ian Mackintosh was exceptional and nuanced. His background as a naval officer had served him well as a writer on the BBC series Warship. However, it was rumoured he had experience with the Security Intelligence Service as well. This contributed to the sense of realism. Any variance from the actual SIS was probably to avoid running into the Official Secrets Act. In fact one episode was torpedoed because of the act.

The series was filmed in Leeds and some location work in London and Malta. The large population of Leeds made it possible to film many locations as eastern European. Casting was also done in such a matter that scenes felt authentic. The budget for The Sandbaggers was not huge. The studio work was shot on videotape and location on cheaper 16 mm film. A lot of stock footage was used to great effect. It is striking that filming took place inside McDonald's or featured Hilton Hotels. Such things seem less likely nowadays. It seems to provide a time capsule of what Britain was like in the late 1970s/80s.

In 1978,  the time of Britain's Winter of Discontent weighed heavy. Massive strikes were happening all over and the Labour government of James Callaghan struggled to keep the country going. Strikes even shut down Sandbaggers producer Yorkshire Television. Even the BBC was shut down by the end of the year. Shows about corrupt and violent police were more likely to be seen in the UK over an urbane and realistic spy series. James Bond series and The Saint were more likely to be seen than The Spy that Came Out of the Cold- type of series.

The Sandbaggers name was used for the Special Operations Section of the SIS consisting of three operatives who take on the most dangerous or politically sensitive assignments around the world. The term came from how thugs would fill socks with sand to beat someone for their goods. Neil Burnside was D-Ops and responsible for sending Sandbaggers 1 through 3 out on jobs. As former Sandbagger 1, Burnside knew what it took. Burnside reports to the Deputy Chief and Chief of SIS (known as C) and is often in conversation with the Permanent Undersecretary of the  Foreign Office Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, his former father-in-law.

For non British watching, they often miss the class visuals. Ties that indicate Oxford colleges or military background abound. Top administrators are often knights with the title Sir added to their name. The Deputy Chief Peele seems to aspire to that type of recognition. 

The Sandbaggers themselves such as Willie Caine and Laura Dickens seems to come from more common folk. Caine has a military background but not particularly fond of guns. Dickens wants to serve her country as an intelligence analyst but in her introduction shows her deliberately overturning a car to make a contact with the son of a foreign leader. Her relationship with Burnside ends tragically when under his orders she is shot in a prisoner exchange to prevent the French from interfering with the special relationship with the U.S. government.

It is the sad and singular life that Burnside lives. A dedicated intelligence service man, divorced and with no outside interests. His best friends are the CIA station Jeff Ross chief and his Sandbagger 1 Willie Caine. He resists pretty much any attempt to set him up with a date. And the one person he does form affection for he has to order to be shot. It is likely we have never seen this type of storyline before on TV and may never see again.

Some have called Sandbaggers the best spy show there ever has been. Since I enjoy many spy TV/movies like James Bond and Tinker Tailor, I wouldn't want to limit myself. I can say that many probably enjoy the show so much is because the characters are very well developed. The friendship between the intelligence officers, especially SIS and CIA, seems sincere and authentic.

The show ended suddenly with the death of the producer/writer Ian Mackintosh in a small plane crash in Alaska. The network didn't believe anyone else could write the show like he could. A lot of mystery surrounded the death of the show and some even wondered if it was related to espionage. 

Sadly, unlike other shows that the British have done, the Sandbaggers has never been set for a sequel, remake or anything of the like. This is a mystery since so many American shows or productions from other countries seem to be re-made. If Matlock can come back, why not Sandbaggers?

Watch while you can on Tubi.

Tubi Finds New Fans in Canada

It is hard to imagine that Tubi is more than a decade old launching in 2014. During that time, it has tried to ensure that it is part of what comes installed or connected to any digital device from phones to televisions to computers. Netflix had no real competition when it launched in 2007 and they certainly were not alarmed by Tubi. The major studios were content to distribute series and films to Netflix and most of them were only in the concept plan for their own streaming services. Tubi was given less desirable option to distribute and had no big budget to produce their own works of substance.

Most of the studios still regarded streaming as something like  saw with YouTube which started in 2005. They thought of it as poor quality home videos or pirate material from their own shows. Even Google acquiring YouTube didn't make TV networks and studios think they'd be supplanted by future cord cutters. Netflix was a form of distribution they had established with the company with DVD being mailed out so when streaming started to emerge, they were at least working with a group they knew.

Technology had to catch up. Smart phones were still not around, high definition television and high speed Internet were a few years away. If there was one industry that was going all in on digital, it was the adult industry and it was Canada that was a leader in that field. In 2007, many of the major studios cooperated and created Hulu so that people would have a place to go to watch recently aired TV episodes. In 2025, Hulu has been largely swallowed into Disney. Content deals still exist with many other studios though. This is probably because the federal government would intervene if competition suffered. Already Disney has absorbed a major studio.

Some of the major streamers have dropped series and movies even when they were the original producer. It always catches fans by surprise because the expectation is that shows will always be there. This is the catch when it comes to digital media. In the past, you could always count on a media such that you physically possessed. When it came to rentals in the VHS/Beta and DVD days, there were a lot of variation from store to store. Some like Blockbuster would have all the hits in quantities and then sell them off over the weeks. They would have some regular popular item that would fill out the store. Some rental places like Movie Village would have a wide variety of material from British movies to every Oscar winner they could get their hands on.

Today streaming services are like those days of video stores. Netflix has all the hits but creates content based on internal data that will tell them which star and which genre will generate interest in subscribers and keeping subscribers. And now with commercials revenue has climbed even as Netflix grows more popular. They have announced their fees are up again despite the profits. The best guess why fees are going up is that Netflix is going after more live sports and will need the money to beat competitors.

One of the reasons cable was so popular was because news, shows, sports and everything in between was on there. For Canadians, it was cable that gave us ever more insight and interest in the U.S. And if polls are any indication, bigger supporters of Canada being different. In Canada we don't really have homegrown streaming services save for CBC's Gem. It has very light offerings on Canadian and international fare and is free. Each network has a streaming version of their service. There is Crave which a premium subscription service that has HBO. 

Canadian material is on all services. However, there is nothing to compel U.S. services to place Canadian content on their platform. It certainly put TV and radio stations at a disadvantage in Canada. Laws are going into effect that would work to change that. However, the election in the U.S. has put pressure on change to laws in this regard. Also, a future election in Canada could see the end of the CBC and Gem. It could see the end of all Canadian TV, radio and newspapers. There just seems so little interest in keeping them going.

There are a lot of unknowns. All this brings us back to Tubi. It has been around a fairly long time. From time to time, many of us have checked in because it was free. Likely, the first feeling people might have had was that there wasn't anything current. It's true. If you are looking for the latest TV series or movie, you won't find it here. Famous series like Fast and Furious and Mission Impossible won't likely be found here. However, what will be found here is increasingly surprising. There is a lot of independent film and horrors. A ton of kids programming. 

Original material is being produced and has been since 2021, a year after the purchase by FOX in 2020 for $440 millions. Other FOX subsidiaries that produce animation and documentaries have found a home on Tubi. And now Tubi produces its own animation, documentaries, genre series and movies. It even has a regular talk show. The quality keeps rising. FOX doesn't use the channel for repeats of its popular series like Simpsons but they have sufficient product elsewhere that they can add.

Tubi has recently received offers of $2 billion to FOX to buy the company. Although they have sold 20th Century FOX studio to Disney, they seemed disinclined to sell their free streaming service. With the huge value increase, it should surprise no one. Tubi has also signed deals with major networks worldwide and other Hollywood studios. The only one not included it seems is Disney. Not that it matters, Tubi has now got a library easily the largest of any studio out there. At last count around 40,000 items to watch.

In Canada, Tubi is available everywhere and Shaw/Rogers distributed it to even further places. While Netflix continues to produce some of the better stuff out there and has some of the most popular series and movies that have recently come out, it is a pay service while Tubi remains free. 

Tubi, like a lot of streamers, is getting into sports. For big events, they often have the repeat of it about a half hour after it has aired. In some cases Fox Sports broadcasts the games they cover on Tubi. This isn't unlike Gem in Canada that often puts CBC sports events that can't be shown on main network such as Olympics on Gem. Canada is a separate market though so some games are blacked out in favour of the Canadian broadcaster.

The biggest coup for Tubi is that they have landed the Super Bowl and will be airing the FOX broadcast. They will be even having their own pre-game show. It is unclear whether the game on Tubi will be blacked out. CTV/TSN own the NFL rights. When this happens, Amazon and Netflix games appear on CTV. In any event, it is a huge new move for Tubi.

The amount of material available on Tubi today has likely taken it to a level where ads can sustain it as long as they don't seek to do what the big studios do which is spend hundreds of millions on original work or sports. Many producers in the world now have a platform to get their work seen if some of the majors drop them or don't even consider their productions.

The CBC, CTV and Global only seem interested in their apps and distributing a limited number of productions that are not their own. They are not terrible but they are so limited in what they license. And there are aspirations to go world-wide like BritBox, the BBC service has done. Crave TV is a premium streamer and HBO material often drives its subscriptions.

There is nothing Tubi in Canada. And Tubi distinguishes itself in the U.S. as well.  For those who long for the days of the video store with staff recommendations and discovery walking down an aisle, this is the streamer for you. In this case, the walking is with your clicker. And perhaps you hum the Toooo Beee...Tubi opening tune much more often. And what's best, unlike Netflix, you can watch free with ads.

Series Finale of SEAL Team

Seal Team started in 2017 when network television was still a big deal and had huge promotional parties celebrating the dozen or so series that were getting a 22 episode order for the new season. CBS likely greenlit the series following the success of History Channel's Six which ran two seasons starting in 2017. It was a SEAL team series as well.

Unlike History Channel though, the might of CBS meant they could 22 produce episodes a season and have the budget to do it. David Boreanaz, a consistent lead actor in television for many years was the eventual choice to head series. CBS has found success with a Delta Force series called The Unit from 2006 to 2009 so had some familiarity with a special forces series,

Embarking on a series like this generally means a smaller but dedicated audience as many women will tune in other shows. Still, for most of the time it was on television it held a fair sized audience. It was an expensive show though and CBS decided they wanted to make room on the network for other series so it was decided to make SEAL Team one of shows going to their new Paramount + Network.

It is the first and perhaps only program to start as a network series and continue as an original streamer series, SEAL Team was able to spice up the language if not the violence of the series. Swearing was featured on the streaming episodes.  One major difference was that instead of 22 episodes, the series had 10 episodes a season. Netflix, Amazon Prime and streamers like Paramount+ just don't producer as many episodes. It is their major weakness.

Boreanaz as Master Chief Hayes was the main character and the stories featured both his missions and family life. Writers on the show often had a military background including special forces which lent to the authenticity of the series. By it's nature fewer female characters appeared as regular cast but the ones that did were important to the show. 

Canadian actress Jessica Pare who played a CIA officer Mandy Ellis almost didn't get the role when CBS higher ups tried to torpedo her. It is still not known why the president didn't want her but producers fought to get her and she was a regular and recurring character throughout. It is shame they didn't use her more in the last two years as a CIA officer attached to Bravo because it was a very interesting role. They did try to have the relationship blossom between her and Hayes. In typical TV series drama, a wedding took place but it was Hayes's daughter but all of the cast was there and Hayes and Mandy were together as a couple ready to take it to the next step of happiness.

The main female character throughout the series was Lisa Davis played by Toni Trucks whose evolution from Specialist to Lieutenant was something to see on the show. In the end Sonny, played by Canadian actor A.J. Buckley, gives up his trident to follow Davis to a big promotion to Washington. 

The loss of the character of Clay Spenser played by Max Theriot affected every other member of Bravo company and their families. It took the show down a path to show just how much military service and the aftermath affected those who served. 

There have been a number of shows about military conflict over the years that have marked certain times in world history. MASH, Band of Brothers, Combat! and others have been as important to our understanding of those times even if it has been told by Hollywood. The change from network TV to streaming service might make these type of shows a more rare item. 

Many streamers are not making any money but then again network TV is struggling too. The issue of how to make money in this new environment and it is a major concern. Paramount as a studio is going through its second series of cutbacks this year. Hollywood has many unemployed people in California. The government in the state is looking at tax credits. They'd be wise to do so as Manitoba is having a boom in filming because of the tax credit, the crews, the locations and facilities.

Shows like SEAL Team are expensive because of the location work. However, when places like Manitoba work with the film companies, you have more of a recipe for success. The final season of SEAL Team was filmed in Columbia. The realism is what drew fans to the show. It will be missed by many.

 

The Best TV Canadian Series - Drama Edition

We are pretty hard on Canadian entertainment whether it is music, theatre, television or movies. Being next to an entertainment goliath like the U.S. which has ten times the population and churns out English production in every field of entertainment far beyond it's borders sometimes means Canadian material is lost in the avalanche. And even today Canada acts as a service provider creating material for the U.S. pretending to be American. This is very much true for Hallmark Christmas movies where everything might be Canadian from cast to crew to writer to director but the setting will be Colorado.

When CBC created The Beachcombers in 1972, it was for the home market with no real thought but entertainment for Canadians, particularly family viewers. Given the budget CBC had, it didn't have a piles of money so a lot was riding on it. Previous drama series like Wojek and Quentin Durgens m.p, in the 1960s were very much for an older audience so CBC was looking for something for the family to watch. The Beachcombers became a staple of the family audience along with the Wonderful World of Disney on Sundays. It showed there was a market for Canadian production in TV but the only way to grow it was to fund it and put rules in place to ensure it would get made and shown in Canada.

Private networks repeatedly said there was no market for anything Canadian whether it was news, sports, drama, music or comedy. Certainly there was nothing they wanted to pay for when broadcasting ready made material from the U.S. was so lucrative.

So was the Beachcombers one of the best shows in Canadian history? By the standards of the time, it ranked as one of the most watchable programs of the 1970s and 1980s. Bruno Gerussi became a star of Canadian TV and even had a celebrity cooking show that lasted years. Our family watched it regularly. I would have to categorize it as one of Canada's best and I still think fondly of it. Still, I see a list of Canadian drama production from the 1960s and 1970s and realize that so much of it was shown once and never repeated. And never syndicated. Why don't we have Wojek on any platform? I'd love to see older stuff somewhere. I know they tried for a few years on YouTube and then gave up. That is sad.

CBC learned from making family productions and building the teams of people to perform and make them. Danger Bay (1984-1990), a 30 minute drama series also filmed in Vancouver and partnered up with Disney followed that same format and lasted years in the process. I watched less of that series but then family shows have a time and place. CBC more or less perfected the family show with Heartland which is the longest running drama it has ever produced from 2007-2024. Heartland is also a show that has U.S. partners but there hasn't seemed to be a compromise on the Canadian aspect of the story.

CTV often tried to create programming that could be sold elsewhere after to recover their costs. It was that type thinking when Starlost was created in 1973. The show was sold in syndication to American markets. It was a fascinating experiment in sci-fi but ultimately, the budget and lack of drama, kept it to a one year outing. It was repeatedly for decades afterwards. In almost all cases of CTV created drama, the network has looked how it can leverage U.S. partnerships.

A year later, CTV created Swiss Family Robinson along with ABC which ran for one season with 26 episodes. It repeated for decades after that on Canadian television. It was okay entertainment but CTV often treated their shows like an obligation rather than an opportunity. It wasn't until the 1980s that CTV began to put some Canadian effort into production as well as storylines. Still, you ended up a lot of times with shows like Sue Thomas, FB Eye (2002-2005) which was about American law enforcement but otherwise a completely Canadian show,

English Canadian production even when unique culturally is a small percentage of what is generated in North America. It is easy to get overwhelmed and often the production in Canada is criticized as inferior or low budget. Quite a bit of what is made, even when high quality, can be generic to sell to American and world markets. As noted above, some are American shows but completely Canadian in cast and crew. In recent years, a few very Canadian productions have broken through in ratings both in the U.S. and Canada. In some cases, an American production becomes more Canadian in terms of the production team and actors while receiving funding that is largely American. Such a series might be Stargate SG-1 which saw Canadians take over more and more of the writing, directing and acting in the series. It can be confusing because a show about Americans largely is a Canadian show in every other way.

TV continues to evolve into streaming but the majority still watch broadcast and cable TV for now. In a world with so many choices, it is difficult to say where Canadian drama might end up. It seems odd that as a country the population continues to grow as does production but it is so hard to break through as singularly Canadian. In 2024, it sometimes means being part of a U.S. franchise like Law & Order as in the the case of Law & Order Toronto Criminal Intent. Drama is not the only area where we use imports. Variety and game show formats from around the world are adopted into Canadian programming such as Canadian Idol and Family Feud Canada. 

Drama series were a fairly rare thing ever since Canadian TV began in the 1950s. The CBC was generally one of the only sources of drama on English TV. In early the 1970s, a young Canadian could only really get two Canadian channels. Cable only really started to take off in the 1970s. Cities close to American markets could pick up border channels and the selection from the main U.S. networks of CBS, NBC and ABC were overwhelming. However, in Manitoba, only KCND from Pembina, North Dakota could be really be picked up and only with antennas. I remember watching fuzzy broadcasts as we didn't have a rooftop antenna. 

CBC tried to be everything to everyone with educational, variety, news, comedy and drama and in some areas they were outstanding. For a drama series, as mentioned, one of the breakthrough series was The Beachcombers. When it came out in 1972 there was nothing quite like it on TV anywhere. It is for this reason that it lasted as long as it did. It took till 1979 before Littlest Hobo would be debut on CTV. It too had lasting power probably because no one had done a dog series since Lassie.

The picture at the top was a series I thought hit all the marks and that was Due South and it was on CTV and CBS. However, CBS cancelled it after one season but the huge success in Canada and the UK kept the show on the air from 1994 to 1999.

Anyways, I will attempt to make a list of best of Canadian dramas that I've enjoyed. It isn't definitive. Some amazing series have been on the air and I might not have watched because I wasn't drawn to a supernatural story, or a family series or was just too busy. I will attempt to list chronologically.

The Beachcombers (1972-1990)

One of the shows our family watched together on Sunday when everything was truly closed and families were together on that evening. One hour episodes.

I can't list any others for the 1970s as many just came and went so fast and never got repeats as so often happens now on CBC. An honourable mention to The Littlest Hobo for CTV (the second version of it on CTV) from 1979 to 1985. I didn't watch it but CTV stuck with it as their family entertainment and to that end, it served their audience. 

The Kids of Degrassi Street (1980-1985)

I was just entering high school at the time so it wasn't really my age group and that was true for the entire Degrassi franchise. However, it was hard not to see Degrassi as it was CBC Canada's version of Sesame and remains a powerhouse today. Half hour episodes.

Seeing Things (1981-1987)

A fantasy twist to the crime drama story. At the time nothing quite like it on TV when CBC gave this a shot. Was popular in its time and and helped create momentum in later year for more series with a slight twist into supernatural. Louis Del Grande won acting awards for his performance.

The Hitchhiker (1983-1991)

Perhaps one of the better horror anthology shows of the 1980s but not seen by as many Canadians because it was on First Choice/HBO pay channels. Had a secondary life in syndication.

Night Heat (1985-1989)

A generic police show that ran on CTV and late night CBS that was better than average. It was a Canadian show but like Hill Street Blues, did not reference the city it was in. Just a large North American gritty metro. And it won awards for being authentic.

Streel Legal (1987-1994)

Perhaps one of the first guilty pleasure shows for Canadian drama and the longest running series until Heartland came along. A short six episode run in 2015 tried to kickstart the series but didn't work. Truly CBC's best and glossiest drama for many years.

Degrassi Junior High (1987-1989)

Hugely influential continuation of the CBC series and became part of the top rated nights on Canadian TV. Shown on PBS as well. Led to ever more Degrassi later on.

E.N.G (1989-1994)

One of CTV's honest attempts at doing something Canadian and having it be successful. A fictional TV newsroom. At the time, very different from police, medial and lawyer shows. The show did not fair well in the U.S. where in syndication it probably was too Toronto for Lifetime. However, in Canada, it was neck and neck with Street Legal for popularity.

Degrassi High (1989-1991)

More of the popular CBC show. It proved to hot for BBC but the Australians loved it and American audiences were captured by it as well.

Road to Avonlea (1990-1996)

Another CBC breakthrough hit on their family night of television. A sweet and strong Canadian story based on the famous work. Anne of Green Gables was a true hit for the network.

Due South (1994-1998)

A CTV guilty pleasure. A drama comedy with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Paul Gross was delightful and the series won fabs overseas but only lasted a season on CBS. It took an international coalition to finance the beloved series till the end. It is hard to believe we have not done more RCMP series in Canada.

The Newsroom (1996-1997...2003-2005)

CBC Newsroom was bang on although it was inspired by British and Australian series of the same vein. The Newsroom aired on PBS which was a turn from their usual British fare. Some said it might have been the greatest series produced in Canada.

Traders (1996-2000)

One of Global's best series that held its own against ER on Thursdays. Appeared on CBC for two years as well because the series was expensive to shoot. I thought it was some of the finest work, acting and direction for anything Global had ever done.

John Woo's Once A Thief (1997-1998)

I loved the show. It started off with high ratings but sank by the end. I found it funny, action packed and loved the episodes. Really thought the show would be super successful but I think some people were not sure what to make of it.

Lexx (1997-2002)

I am adding Lexx from Global because it was truly sci-fi, truly bizarre and right out of left field for Global. I don't think anyone really knows what was going on in this crazy series but they embraced the insanity and ran with it.

La Femme Nikita (1997-2001)

The show oozed cool in a way the movie could never match. This might have been a generic intelligence and action force but the strong Canadian writing, acting and settings made for the coolest thing on TV.

Da Vinci's Inquest (1998-2005)

CBC does another coroner show. If Wojek was a success, why not Da Vinci? And it was. Second mention for Nicolas Campbell who also appears on the list with The Hitchhiker. Vancouver never looked so good and so bad at the same time with activist Da Vinci on the case.

Los Girl (2005-2010)

A supernatural series that found an audience with the queer community and women. The first of a number of Canadian sci-fi series to actively write for an audience that had not been considered before.

Continuum (2012-2016)

An exceptional series on cable Showcase. Canadian sci-fi often focuses on how corporate future is a threat and this series was no exception. It looked good, the action was exciting and the storyline was clever.

 Vikings (2013-2020)

A Canada/Ireland co-production. A ratings blockbuster and although about Vikings, has Canadian writing, acting and locations along with the Irish work. Almost single handedly put some heft in historical storytelling and showing it could be popular.

Orphan Black (2013-2017)

Certainly has to be one of the better sci-fi series out there and acting triumph for Tatiana Maslany. Huge online fan base and a show begging for a comeback which it looks like is this year. This series got a lot of attention in the States and around the world for excellence.

Killjoys (2015-2019)

One of a series of space opera series that appeared on the Space Channel in Canada. This one had the bigger sense of humour. It also had the same anti-corporate message that permeates Canadian sci-fi. A wonderfully fun series.

Dark Matter (2015-2017)

Same year as Killjoys and a little more dramatic but an amazing series nonetheless. Canada was home to sci-fi this much was clear. So much action and fun.

Wynnona Earp (2016-2021)

A supernatural western horror that had a large queer audience. A co-production with the U.S. but with a large Canadian talent team. More indication of just how much sci-fi Canada now does for the world.

Honourbable mentions to Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe that had largely become Canadian over the course of the series in the 2000s. It is that skillset in sci-fi that has attracted so many sci-fi series to Canada. It isn't just about cheaper production but the quality of the acting, directing, production design and so many producers and writers to make a series look good.

Canada has come a long way but the advent of streaming has disrupted so much production that it is hard to tell where things are going. One thing is clear is that the free market doesn't have a clue either.

CTV Cuts 4,800 Across Canada

CTV blames the federal government for the 4,800 cuts and the loss of noon hour and weekend news shows. They received $40 million from the federal government just last year. They cited uncertainty in the regulatory system. What they wanted was to get out of the news business for the network except for Toronto while holding onto their licenses across the country. To be clear, the company is reporting hundreds of millions of profit in the last quarter and an increase in dividend for the 20th straight year.

Last year, CTV gutted their evening news broadcast and cut reporters in London, Washington, Los Angeles and in Ottawa. In Winnipeg they shuttered AM radio station 1290 which was presenting comedy and titled Funny. It was ranked last in the ratings. No radio stations lost this time in Manitoba but 45 sold across the country. More on that later on.

Now, CTV isn't the only one making cuts. CBC and Global have also cut. Newspapers as well like Toronto Star. Postmedia too which includes Winnipeg's Sun newspaper. The cuts in Winnipeg are such that they don't send a reporter to cover the Jets or Bombers when they are out of town. Is it is no wonder teams hire their own reporters now?

Some critics are saying that Bill C-11 and Bill C-18 which try to get online companies like Facebook and Google to pay into a system that supports journalism are to blame. Google will pay $100 million and Facebook has opted out and blocked Canadian media. Assuming a new Conservative government ends these bills and dissolves the the CBC and allows CTV, Global and others to drop all news in favour of U.S. programming, what will we actually have in Canada? In all likelihood, no Canadian programming at all in news, sports, music, drama, comedy or weather. 

It is highly probable that the Canadian companies would ask to be sold to U.S. or international players since their argument is their is no economic basis for anything Canadian to exist. Is Canada economically not viable? In our quest to have products from all over the world in Canada including cultural, does this mean Canada really produce anything that Canadians and the rest of the world wouldn't like?

It should be pointed out that all over the world, digital giants are changing every cultural industry. Companies are merging over and over again, often to the detriment of workers, other industries and countries themselves. Monopolies have been broken up over the decades because by their very nature they are not competitive. In some cases they are anti-democratic. There likely would not have been an Internet as we know if AT&T had not been broken up.

CTV wants out of the news business. In two years they have cut nearly 10,000 workers. If capitalism can't be part of the grand bargain of providing a public service then government has no choice but to intervene. It goes back to the point above about whether there is a business case for Canada's very existence. And if there is, what is the consensus on that?

For the government, the question is how to support journalism without it becoming state journalism? If it is radio or TV, listen to or watch it. The advertisers will support it without you having to pay for it. If you can afford it, subscribe to a newspaper or magazine. The government can support directly or indirectly. Directly, by money to media or indirectly by tax supports to advertisers to buy ads locally.

Winnipeg is lucky in that it has one of the last large independent newspapers in the country in the Free Press. They have at least one reporter travel with the Jets and the Bombers which is now unusual in Canada. Sadly, they don't have an Ottawa-based journalist now. The Winnipeg Sun makes it a two newspaper town. The city has a digital news service with ChrisD.ca. There are a number of ethnic newspapers. CJOB remains largely a news, sports and information station. CBC Radio and Television have fair sized newsrooms. CTV has quite a few reporters in Winnipeg although they no longer cover sports or have a national correspondent. Global and City have smaller units but do their part on covering the city. And let's not forget the APTN News team based in Winnipeg. The Athletic has a Winnipeg-based NHL reporter.

The podcasts from sports to news such as Illegal Curve, Hustler's Winnipeg Sportscast, The Great Canadian Talk Show are covering Winnipeg in detail. All of those reporters once worked in radio in Winnipeg. There are a few music podcasts as well. And Tik Tok has a few influencers out there who cover things in the city.

However, where do young people get their news? When it comes to local stuff, it seems probably Tik Tok. Or other social media such as Discord, Telegram, Instagram or many others. Those social media sites can be hit and miss and for those that do have news in them, they probably source it from other news gatherers and only do a little research themselves on it or express an opinion on it. While this is useful and interesting, it may put you in algorithm that reinforces that point of view.  It is hard to know what is true since deep fakes in music, politics seem to be first tested out on social media. And now AI has got everyone scared since it can cause outright harm equivalent to shouting fire in a crowded movie theatre.

CTV's cuts hurt when the level of talent, loss of regional and international correspondents and variety of areas journalists cover is taken into consideration. I like a number of choices for news and information. But how do we ensure Canadian voices get heard and how do you monetize it? Most of the industrialized nations have some form of public broadcasting support. Even NPR and PBS in the U.S. receive over a billion in direct federal support through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The support rises if the 100% tax-free savings donors get from their donations by the U.S. government is counted. Even Manitobans donating to Prairie Public (Manitoba) receive a tax deduction although many other jurisdictions of Canada have lost that ability. About 1/4 of Prairie Public's budget comes from Manitoba. 

The Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre have said they want to end the CBC. They haven't indicated if they support a PBS Canada model either. If they end all public support for CBC, for news of any kind, it is possible we see most if not all radio and TV collapse in Canada? In comparison to 20 other industrial countries, Canada ranks near the bottom for public broadcasting as well as cultural spending. Ending public broadcasting would put Canada below the U.S. is spending.

This could politically backfire for the Conservatives if Canadian media groups become absorbed by U.S. or international interests who might not want to spend money on hockey broadcasts or Canadian Olympic coverage. This isn't a wildly speculative thought. If Bell Media is angling to be sold outside of Canada decisions will be made outside of Canada. ABC/ESPN and Turner  do not cover as much of hockey as Canadian channels do. What happens when there are no Canadian channels? I can't imagine that would be too popular in Canada. 

Bell Media and CTV have to figure out how to turn things around. Becoming a pure play streaming company to escape Canadian regulation seems doubtful if even big companies like Paramount can't make money at it. Seems radio and TV and cable are more profitable by far. And Bell Media knows this because they keep increasing the dividend each year.