Hello all! So excited to announce the publication of my first book! Releasing this Fall from Dundurn Press, ImagiNation: The Golden Age of Toronto Kids’ TV is a memory-filled trip for anyone who spent their weekdays after school or Saturday mornings staring at the squawk box. Featuring a complete chronology from the birth of Television in Canada right through to the new millennium, ImagiNation spans all of our TV favourites from Uncle Chichimus, The Friendly Giant, Mr. Dressup, Razzle Dazzle, Uncle Bobby and Mr. Rogers through The Littlest Hobo, Polka Dot Door, Degrassi, Today’s Special, The Edison Twins, Fraggle Rock, Nanalan’ and lots more! The story of each Toronto-produced series is covered — from inception through production to broadcast — along with the tales of local stations and the people who made it all happen. Drawing from decades of my celebrated work with Retrontario, ImagiNation shines a light on the uniquely Canadian creators, innovators, and iconic moments that helped shape our shared cultural landscape. Combining archival materials, exclusive interviews, and never-before-told anecdotes, the book serves as both a nostalgic trip and an eye-opening history lesson for readers of all generations.Now available for pre-order! https://imagination.retrontario.com/

Shorty Wave wrote:

Cheese2RF wrote:

damn my mom had so much cityline stuff i just tossed out a bunch of books! i do have some episodes on VHS tho

 
I would look into the VHS tapes, some of that stuff goes on eBay.

Or, could be donated to Retrontario where we can digitize them and share them online!

And of course, the debut of Uncle Chichimus!

Why is anyone giving credence to the list put out by this putz?

Muffaraw Joe wrote:

Wasn't Xaviera Hollander on air with a TV Show back in the early days of CITY-TV

"Beauty and the Beast" co-hosted with Bob Guccione of Penthouse infamy. Perhaps the greatest and most mysterious of the early Channel 79 productions.

Re. Baby Blues, many of the 2" original Baby Blue tapes were returned to the MZTV Museum in Liberty Village a few years ago. 

My favourite Cable Access material we have found thus far is the Trillium/Scarborough Cable 10 Star Trek call-in show "Ten Forward" from the late 80s/early 90s.


 

Thanks for the plug!

Some folks here might enjoy the original Elmer the Safety Elephant statue & school flag we have in the display. Elmer was a huge presence on the Uncle Bobby Show shot at CFTO in Agincourt, we couldn't leave him out!
https://www.blogto.com/arts/2023/05/toronto-exhibit-brings-kids-tv-shows/

I recall reading that evening, The All-Night Show on CFMT (aka MTV) with Chuck the Security Guard was randomly calling pay-phones in NYC to speak with people about the shooting. Anyone know if this was true?

Retrontario is Livestreaming vintage Citytv content all-day!
https://youtu.be/b_q_nV7jY6s

I always thought it remarkable that in the 70s and early 80s, both Global TV and Citytv signed off with a song by Tommy Ambrose:

"Point of View"



"People City"


 

I hope he hung on to it as CTV has gone on record that no episodes of Trouble with Tracy survive. The 2" master tapes were all junked

R.I.P.
Bill even turned up in an episode of the kid series TODAY'S SPECIAL on TVOntario explaining the ins and outs of CFRB.


 

The Prisoner also aired on TVOntario back in the day. In order for it to qualify as educational, they had Warner Troyer do pre and post-episode analysis (later, they did the same with Dr. Who using Jim Dator and Judith Merrill).

TVO also produced this great interview with Patrick McGoohan, puffing away with Warner in a Toronto studio full of Prisoner fans. Top stuff!


 

Here's a nice vintage clip of Doug Riley playing with Tommy Ambrose. 

Don't forget Ivan Reitman, who got his start directing GREED on Citytv (with Dan Aykroyd as the announcer) and always thanks Moses for giving him an early break!