Airwaves (TV series)
| Airwaves | |
|---|---|
| Starring |
Roberta Maxwell Ingrid Veninger Roland Hewgill |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
John Frizzell Michael MacMillan Seaton McLean Janice Platt |
| Running time | 26 min |
| Production company(s) | Atlantis Films |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBC |
| Original release | 27 January 1986 – 8 June 1987 |
Airwaves is a Canadian television dramedy series, which aired on CBC Television in 1986 and 1987.[1]
Plot
The Toronto-filmed show starred Roberta Maxwell as Jean Lipton, a radio talk show host and widowed mother, who lived with her daughter Zoe, played by Ingrid Veninger, and her father Bob, played by Roland Hewgill.[2] Maxwell has indicated that Canadian journalist-activist June Callwood was a basis for her portrayal of Jean.[3]
The show's cast also included Taborah Johnson, Alec Willows and Kimble Hall.[4] Writers for the series included Judith Thompson, John Frizzell, Susan Martin, Rob Forsythe, Linda Svendsen and Paul Gross.[4]
Production
Some of the early episodes were criticized as clunky, with Ross McLean of The Globe and Mail writing that the show seemed unsure of its identity,[5] and even the producers later acknowledging that they had tried to fit too much into a half-hour show.[2] The show was retooled slightly in its second season, with the writers getting a firmer grasp on the stories they wanted to tell and adding two new characters: Christopher Bolton in the role of Matt, Jean's nephew, and Patrick Rose as Dale, Jean's new coworker at the radio station.[2] Critics responded favourably to the changes, with even McLean himself noting by 1987 that the show had significantly improved.[6]
The show was modestly successful, with an average audience of 850,000 viewers per week in its first season.[2] and 761,000 viewers in its second.[7] Although the CBC was willing to order a third season, the producers decided to end the series as they felt it was better to move on to other projects than to continue tinkering with a show that wasn't getting the ratings they wanted.[7] However, CBC subsequently reran the first two seasons, outside of prime time, in 1990.
The series was repeated on Vision TV from 1989 to 1991.[8]
Episodes
Season one
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pot Roast" | TBA | TBA | 27 January 1986 |
| 2 | "Blast from the Past" | TBA | TBA | 3 February 1986 |
| 3 | "Turkey" | TBA | TBA | 10 February 1986 |
| 4 | "Breakfast Man" | TBA | TBA | 17 February 1986 |
| 5 | "Angelfish" | TBA | TBA | 24 February 1986 |
| 6 | "Too Hot" | TBA | TBA | 3 March 1986 |
| 7 | "Chameleon" | TBA | TBA | 10 March 1986 |
| 8 | "The Runway" | TBA | TBA | 17 March 1986 |
| 9 | "Laundry" | TBA | TBA | 24 March 1986 |
| 10 | "Paul" | TBA | TBA | 31 March 1986 |
| 11 | "Fair Game" | TBA | TBA | 7 April 1986 |
| 12 | "Rockets" | TBA | TBA | 14 April 1986 |
| 13 | "On Air" | TBA | TBA | 21 April 1986 |
Season two
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Welcome Matt" | Scott Labarge | TBA | 2 March 1987 |
| 2 | "Splashdown" | TBA | TBA | 9 March 1987 |
| 3 | "Cordon Blues" | TBA | TBA | 16 March 1987 |
| 4 | "Too Good to Be True" | TBA | TBA | 23 March 1987 |
| 5 | "Design for Living" | TBA | TBA | 30 March 1987 |
| 6 | "Scene from a Balcony" | TBA | TBA | 6 April 1987 |
| 7 | "Reunion" | TBA | TBA | 13 April 1987 |
| 8 | "Love Interests" | TBA | Linda Svendsen | 20 April 1987 |
| 9 | "Happy Sixteenth" | TBA | Dan Sexton | 4 May 1987 |
| 10 | "A Second Look" | TBA | TBA | 18 May 1987 |
| 11 | "Charge!" | TBA | TBA | 25 May 1987 |
| 12 | "The Write Stuff" | TBA | Linda Svendsen | 1 June 1987 |
| 13 | "Dinner at Eight" | TBA | TBA | 8 June 1987 |
References
- ↑ "Airwaves a show with a difference - and mother doesn't know best". Montreal Gazette, May 2, 1987.
- 1 2 3 4 "Airwaves gets back to basics after reaching too far". Ottawa Citizen, February 27, 1987.
- ↑ Posesorski, Sheri (25 January 1986). "Chance meeting brings actress back to Toronto". The Globe and Mail. p. P9.
- 1 2 Corcelli, John (April 2006). "Airwaves". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
- ↑ "Airwaves fails to live up to its potential". The Globe and Mail, March 15, 1986.
- ↑ "Shaking down hosts and bolstering Airwaves". The Globe and Mail, March 21, 1987.
- 1 2 "Snapped off". Toronto Star, June 10, 1987.
- ↑ "Year later, YTV and Vision TV mature". Ottawa Citizen, September 6, 1989.