*Thanks to Steve for suggesting some Canadian television for us! You can check out his
In Search Of podcast
here.
*
Alpha Flight is a Marvel Comics Canadian superhero team that first appeared in
The Uncanny X-Men in 1979.
*
The Beachcombers aired 1972-1990, 19 seasons, a staggering 387 episodes! it aired in more than 50 countries, topped many "favorite show" polls, and was the longest-running "drama" series in Canada until Degrassi junior High
*We believe Season 14's episode
Blue Light Special premiered Sunday night, February 2, 1986.
On United States TV that night, ABC's
The Wonderful World of Disney premiered
Help Wanted: Kids, which was followed by that other family-friendly instant classic...
Octopussy.
CBS aired
60 Minutes and Part 1 of
Sins. NBC's lineup was
Punky Brewster,
Silver Spoons, a rerun of
The Cosby Show,
Amazing Stories, and Part 1 of
Peter the Great.
*
Here is a lot of info on the origins of the series.
*
And here is the article that refers to the show as "widely panned by critics."
*Spinoff
Constable Constable lasted 4 episodes in 1985.
The New Beachcombers TV movie (with Dave Thomas) aired in 2002 but didn't lead to anything except another movie, Beachcombers Christmas in 1984.
*The series seems to have been mostly snubbed in awards competition, with Robert Clothier (Relic)'s Gemini win for Best Supporting Actor in 1986 standing out.
*For our favorite bacon and liver recipes, head to...no, just kidding. How could we pick ONE favorite bacon and liver recipe?
(NOTE: We made a casual reference to Molson in this episode, which we taped before the shooting that occurred at a factory in Milwaukee. No mockery of that serious situation was intended)
