Over the years we have had great luck in recovering some elusive gems which were thought long lost; however, there still remains lots of absent classics out there. This list is only a small snapshot of what we are looking for at any given time. Please get in touch if you know the whereabouts of any of the below!
1. THE UNCLE BOBBY SHOW (1970s-80s) CFTO, YTV
Looking for any episodes or clips!
2. READALONG (1970s-80s) TVOntario
Looking for any episodes or clips!
3. REPORT CANADA (1970s-80s) TVOntario
Looking for older episodes, late 70s or early 80s
4. WUTV BUFFALO 29 SIGN OFF, 1970s-1980s
Looking for any sign-off from WUTV Buffalo 29 from the 1970s or 80s
5. DOCTOR DATOR/JUDITH MERILL POST-DOCTOR WHO CHATS, TVOntario, 1970s-early 80s
TVOntario got away with screening cult UK sci-fi institution DOCTOR WHO by filling out the 30 minute slot with scientific discussions led by Doctor Dator during the Jon Pertwee era, and noted Sci-Fi author Judith Merill during the Tom Baker era.
6. HOW DO YOU DO (1988-1989) TVOntario
Strange educational show made for people learning English as second language, starring Billy Van as a silver robot (alien?) travelling the TTC in Toronto speaking with people.
7. COMMANDER TOM’S WORLD, WKBW, 1960s-80s
There are a few clips of WKBW Weatherman/Hero Tom Jolls out there on Youtube, but as yet no one has found the psychedelic intro or outro which Sunday morning viewers may recall brought them DAVID & GOLIATH, PROFESSOR KITZEL, and many other cheap-as-chips station filler.
8. HAMMY HAMSTER’S ADVENTURES ON THE RIVERBANK (1970s-80s) Global TV
Another early morning institution, the colour episodes of Hammy haven’t turned up anywhere. You can find the B&W originals from the UK, and the rebooted YTV series from the 1990s, but nothing of 70s/80s variant which ran alongside THE TOOTHBRUSH FAMILY and HERCULES.
9. BOOGIE, CityTV, 1970s
The original ELECTRIC CIRCUS was roughly the same idea (sweaty in-studio dancing; risqué outfits), only it was sound tracked with disco and not R’n’B.WUTV BUFFALO 29 SIGN OFF, 1970s-1980s
10. MONSTERS WE KNOW AND LOVE, CityTV, 1970s
Toronto’s first Horror/Monster movie show with a host – Gene Taylor
11. DEAR AUNT AGNES (1986-1989) TVOntario
Looking for many episodes.
12. CITY TV PLANET OF THE APES WEEK PROMOS, MARK DAILEY, 1980s
At least twice a year in the 1980s, CityTV would run “The Planet of the Apes” week, where they showed 2 films night (including omnibus versions made from the TV series).
13. ACTION ADVENTURE THEATRE, WUTV, 1980s
Saturday afternoons in the early 1980s meant one thing on WUTV – badly dubbed, pan-and-scanned, tatty prints of Kung-Fu and Godzilla movies on ACTION ADVENTURE THEATRE! Mostly notable for its vaguely offensive theme song “Turning Japanese” by the Vapors.
14. METRO TORONTO ZOO COMMERICALS, early 1980s
Fondly recalled jingle-heavy spots which showed glimpses of the long defunct Monorail, alongside the groovy 70s design which has now mostly been renovated. You could practically smell the African Pavilion through the screen.
15. THE SECRET RAILROAD (1980s) GLOBAL TV
Looking for any episodes or clips of the English language version
16. ELMER THE SAFETY ELEPHANT PSAs, 1970s
Everyone remembers Elmer’s flag on the pole (if your school kept it safety record up), but sadly the old Elmer street wise Public Service Announcements remain lost to time.
17. TVOntario ID Slides, 1970s-90s
Gorgeous artwork usually accompanied by John DeLazzer’s familiar voice intoning “This is TVOntario.” We have uncovered a lot of these, but recall there being many variants.
18. SUPERCHANNEL LAUNCH NIGHT, 1983
On the evening of February 1, 1983, Canadian TV was forever changed with the launch of Pay-TV. Superchannel did it up proper with a screening of STAR WARS, and two hosts who were beyond excited at the prospect. This event was legendary, possibly even more so for those who’s parents opted not to splash out on Pay-TV.
19. C-CHANNEL, 1983
Debuting alongside SUPERCHANNEL and FIRST CHOICE in 1983, this Pay-TV service promised the finest in Arts & Entertainment; 4 months later it was off the air. Pretty much any recordings from this channel would shed much needed light on what went wrong… was it too intellectual? Too dry? Too boring?
20. CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO PSAs, 1980s
Like mini-horror films, these PSAs scarred an entire generation. Illustrating in graphic detail how construction site mishaps result in mutilation and disfigurement (and death, of course), what is most strange is how they ran in constant rotation during afterschool cartoon slots, thus ensuring many young kids becoming traumatized for life about losing an eye to nail shrapnel.
21. CITY LIMITS with Christopher Ward (1983-89) CITY TV & MUCH MUSIC
Looking for any episodes or clips.
22. THE ADVENTURES OF TIMOTHY PILGRIM, 1970s, TVOntario
Gritty, shot in Toronto sci-fi show about a time travelling kid. Was paired with TVO’s other spooky sci-fi serial READ ALL ABOUT IT! for late afternoon reruns in the mid-1980s. We have a copy of this, but it is almost unwatchable. Would be great to give this show the attention it deserves!
23. THE ALL-NIGHT SHOW WITH CHUCK THE SECURITY GUARD (1979-1980) CFMT Channel 47 (aka MTV)
Looking for any episodes or clips.
24. BLUE JAYS BANTER, 1970s-80s, CKCO
Vintage CKCO talk show with over 400 episodes that aired over 14 seasons, which ended when CTV lost the television rights to Blue Jays games.
25. THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BEANS BAXTER, CHCH & GLOBAL, 1987
Created by “Savage” Steve Holland, this teenaged sub-James Bond comedy series was one of the first comissioned by the fledgling FOX network, and amazingly carried by both CHCH 11 and Global TV. Somehow it has managed to fall through the cracks, with nary a repeat or DVD release in sight.
26. ONTARIO – YOURS TO DISCOVER, Various, 1980s
Perhaps the most effective, patriotic series of pro-Ontario spots ever comissioned by the Government, pretty much every child of the 1980s remembers these, each sung by a different vocalist and full of fist pumping imagery which sealed YOURS TO DISCOVER as our provincial mantra – forever.
27. WHAT ON EARTH? 1970s-80s, TVOntario, YTV
“What on Earth” was a series of short films which used stamps and a scary narrator to explore emotions. We remember them from the early days of YTV (1988) when their schedule was such that NFB shorts, PSAs and various other weird things would show up between programs. They all have the copyright date of 1970. Any info on these would be muchly appreciated, as no one (even the programmers who bought them!) have any idea where they came from…
28. PIERRE BURTON’S MY COUNTRY, YTV
Another mainstay from the 1970s which showed up daily on YTV in it’s first year (at 3:30pm, right before THE TOMORROW PEOPLE fact fans!), this boring show was 30 minutes of Pierre Burton freestyling about Canadian history. Only now we reckon it wouldn’t be boring, it would be illuminating…
Have you any access to older television commercials that were broadcast in the 1970’s? Do you recall the name of the half hour magazine type show that would be broadcast on the local CBC affiliate CBLT (Channel 5 or 6) after the evening news at either 6:30 or 7:00. The show might have been shot in B&W as that was the type of TV we had. This show was hosted by a man in his 40’s with a black moustache and dark hair where local stories of interest were aired? I can’t find it in the CBC Archives. Do you have any contacts that might know?
For Pierre Burton’s My Country, I just found list list from the McMaster archives. It contains descriptions of boxes of materials from Pierre Burton, including production information for many of his TV shows. This includes a list of My Country episode titles, which I haven’t seen anywhere else. Looks like there’s a few cassettes in there too (Episode #104: Samuel Hearne)
https://library.mcmaster.ca/archives/b/berton.11.htm
Any Blue Jays games aired on CBC from the summer of 1979 to 1980 & Leafs games aired on CFTO from the 1970s & CHCH from the 1980s?