A few weeks ago, CBC reporter Justin McElroy started an informal bracket tournament on his blog to determine what was Canada's most memorable tv show. He started with 64 shows that went through these sets of qualifications:
- Ended its original run by 2012
- Couldn't have been specific to one province
- Primarily made in Canada
- Primarily Canadian audience
- Primarily Canadian creators/cast
There were four brackets for Comedy, Drama, Children's and Miscellaneous.
The tournament started to gain attention on twitter and some people went to weird lengths to try and get their show to the next round like creating bots. FB pages of these old shows would spur their fans on, actors from some of the nominated shows would like tweets to boost visibility, and people making YouTube videos or podcast pleas to soapbox for their show of choice.
In the end, it came down to Kids in the Hall vs Mr. Dressup, and the declared winner was a show about a man from Lewiston, Maine (who later became a Canadian citizen) who played dressup with items from his "tickle trunk" and talked to an androgynous puppet and mute dog.
The top 16
The full bracket
Comedy Shows:
Kids in the Hall, Double Exposure, Royal Canadian Air Force, CODCO, Trailer Park Boys, Being Erica, King of Kensingto, Slings & Arrows, SCTV, The Trouble with Tracey, Kenny vs Spenny, The Newsroom, Corner Gas, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Red Green Show, Made in Canada
Drama Shows: The Littlest Hobo, Night Heat, Due South, North of 60, Road to Avonlea, E.N.G., Anne of Green Gables, Seeing Things, Beachcombers, My Secret Identity, Da Vinci's Inquest, Street Legal,
Degrassi, Traders, Danger Bay, Flashpoint
Children's Shows: Friendly Giant, You Can't Do That on TV, Polka Dot Door, Today's Special, Fraggle Rock, Hilarious House Freightenst, Fred Penner's Place, Sharon Lois and Bram,
Mr. Dressup, Edison Twins, Breaker High, Reboot, The Raccoons, Forest Rangers, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Student Bodies
Misc Shows: Street Sense, Wok With Jan, Don Messer's Jubilee, Tommy Huner Show, Body Break, Telefrancais, Alan Thcke Show, Jonovision, Wayne and Shuster, Bumper Stumpers, Reach for the Top, Front Page Challenge,
Heritage Minutes, Hinterland's Who's Who, PSAs, NFB Shorts
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4What's your favorite Canadian tv show?