1 of 1- RadioActive
- Moderator
Offline 
Last Saturday Was W5's Last Ever Episode. Watch Its Final Moments.
This didn't get a lot of hype, but a sad milestone passed on Saturday night. It was the very last episode of CTV's news magazine show "W5" after more than 55 years on the air. It's not that the show has worn out its welcome even after five decades. Instead, it's part of the sad Bell Media reduction in staff and programming, although the company says the type of journalism it practiced will be incorporated into its news programs.
You know, the very same news shows it's promising to cut back on because it feels the federal government isn't giving them enough money to sustain the expensive programming.
As for the final segment:
"The final couple of minutes were a small synopsis of the program’s history. There were a few scenes involving some award-winning investigations, several clips with well-known Canadian celebrities like Jim Carrey and Justin Bieber, a few canned farewells from past hosts like Ken Cavanagh, Eric Malling, and Helen Hutchinson, and a final send-off from three recent hosts – Lloyd Robertson, Kevin Newman, and Avery Haines."
It deserved more than that. But if you missed it, that final segment is in the video below. It starts at 21:50 and runs for about two minutes - hardly a fitting ending to such a prestigious series. But you can thank Bell for that.
There will never be another program like W5 on Canadian TV
- DX
- Member
Offline
Re: Last Saturday Was W5's Last Ever Episode. Watch Its Final Moments.
What an incredible run W5 has had.
The two who stand out the most for me are Eric Malling and Victor Malarek.
- Binson Echorec
- Member
Offline
Re: Last Saturday Was W5's Last Ever Episode. Watch Its Final Moments.
W5 and The Fifth Estate are the closest to appointment tuning for me. I wouldn't necessarily watch every episode but I always wanted to know what they covering - just in case the content interested me.
- RadioActive
- Moderator
Offline
Re: Last Saturday Was W5's Last Ever Episode. Watch Its Final Moments.
I find it especially disappointing that the final broadcast wasn't an hour-long retrospective on the show. Imagine the stuff they have in the vault after more than 50 years on the air.
For me, it's another black eye to Bell for allowing what is believed to be the longest running news magazine in North American TV to go out with a whimper and not a bang. Instead, it got a hurried two minute reel of fairly random shots and host sign-offs.
Given the fragmenting state of the industry, there isn't likely to ever be another show that will run that long in Canada. What a shame it didn't get the send-off it deserved.
- •
Thread Starter- MJ Vancouver
- Member
Offline
Re: Last Saturday Was W5's Last Ever Episode. Watch Its Final Moments.
RadioActive wrote:
I find it especially disappointing that the final broadcast wasn't an hour-long retrospective on the show. Imagine the stuff they have in the vault after more than 50 years on the air.
For me, it's another black eye to Bell for allowing what is believed to be the longest running news magazine in North American TV to go out with a whimper and not a bang. Instead, it got a hurried two minute reel of fairly random shots and host sign-offs.
Given the fragmenting state of the industry, there isn't likely to ever be another show that will run that long in Canada. What a shame it didn't get the send-off it deserved.
Most of that footage was recycled from the 50th anniversary special in 2016, including the signoffs from Jim Reed, Helen Hutchison and others.
On a side note, they did a 35th anniversary special in 2000 (a year early) that was hosted by Tom Clark that had lots of footage from the early days - and some emphasis on Pierre Trudeau as the special happened to air a few days after his death. I have it on a VHS tape which I’ve never digitized.
Last edited by MJ Vancouver (March 27, 2024 3:09 pm)