TV Time Machine
Total 50 Posts
There was a time in my life when staying up and watching late night talk shows was rather important to me. The first late night talk show I dug was The Late Show with David Letterman. His irreverent sense of humour appealed to me, and he seemed to have interesting
A frequently discussed topic when Ed "Retrontario" Conroy visits me for an episode of Toronto Mike'd is the Magic Shadows theme song. Magic Shadow, for you youngins, was a TVO show hosted by Elwy Yost that ran on weekday evenings from 1974 to the mid 1980s. Elwy would present classic
In the late 80s, when I was first discovering rap music, I bought a collection entitled Rap Traxx. It gave you a taste of music by Run DMC, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Erik B. & Rakim, Salt N' Pepa and a Philadelphia outfit known as DJ Jazzy
Man, did the PSAs of my youth ever leave an imprint. These public service announcements were frightening, I was afraid to light a cigarette, lose a limb or ask my old man to fix my toy General Lee. My bud Retrontario put together a fantastic compilation of the most shocking
A few days ago, Bell announced that CraveTV had merged with The Movie Network, with both services being renamed Crave. This ends the TMN: The Movie Network era, which began in 1993. Prior to being re-branded The Movie Network, the pay-tv channel was known as First Choice. But before that,
Periodically, I'll break into my best Peter Silverman imitation and exclaim "Watch it, buddy!" At some point in the 90s I saw CityTV's Silverman do this during one of his Silverman Helps segments and it stuck. Thanks to Retrontario, I now have the exact clip. You'll hear it at the
When I was growing up in the early 80s, ParticipACTION PSAs ran often. This ad, for example, is forever etched in my mind. I will sing this song on demand. Then, there's Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod. Their Body Break clips were everywhere. If they look like a couple, it's
Twelve years ago, I sang the praises of Hammy Hamster. I remember fondly being mesmerized by Hammy Hamster. Hammy Hamster was the lead character in a television show entitled Hammy Hamster and he was indeed a hamster. Not a cartoon hamster, but an actual hamster. His best friend was G.
At some point in the very early 90s (or was it the very late 80s?), I stumbled upon a YTV show called "The Ron Oliver Show". I was hooked. For some reason, this show tickled my funny bone. It was great fun while it lasted, which wasn't very long. I've
Meet John Wells, Jim Van Horne, Michael Landsberg and Terry Leibel from your new TSN. British gymnastics!
Before MuchMusic appeared on my television, I got my video fix from two sources: Toronto Rocks on CityTV and Video Hits on CBC. I preferred the rougher feel of Toronto Rocks, but I also enjoyed hearing from Samantha Taylor at 5pm. Here's a clip of Samantha Taylor hosting Video Hits
Fables of the Green Forest was one of my very first favourite television shows. I watched it on TVOntario in the late 70s. I wrote about it here, and on Saturday morning, I awoke to a new comment on that entry informing me of a new Fables of the Green
As I just mentioned, few unauthorized YouTube clips survive the years with one pleasing exception. Retrontario's clips have held up extremely well, which pleases this home-grown 70s child. Here's the opening of The Waterville Gang, a CTV show from the early 70s starring Billy Van. Thanks, Retrontario!
I have a vivid and frightening memory of watching Polka Dot Door on TVOntario in the very early 80s (or was it the late 70s?) and getting spooked by the opening theme of Doctor Who. I first wrote about this scarring memory almost 7 years ago but now, thanks to
YouTube user Retrontario frequently uploads fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips never fail to bring back a ton of memories for me, so I feature them from time to time. A couple of years ago I wrote about Polka Dot Door. In the comments of that entry, someone asked about The
YouTube user Retrontario frequently uploads fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips never fail to bring back a ton of memories for me, so I feature them from time to time. I used to watch Dear Aunt Agnes on TVOntario in the mid-80s. It was about as low budget as you can
It happened again today. I pulled a neat little trick with PHP and exclaimed "Clickety click, Barba trick!" I've written about Barbapapa before. I used to watch this cartoon on TVO in the late 70s and early 80s and it was one of my favourites. Barbapapa was a pear shaped
If you were a kid in the 80s, you remember "Today's Special". It ran on TVOntario from 1982 to 1987 and starred Jeff, Jodie, Sam and Muffy, that mouse who spoke in the most annoying rhymes. Sam was the store's security guard and his trusty computer was TXL Series 4,
YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks. I've written extensively about the children's shows I grew up watching in the late 1970s and
YouTube user WNED17 recently uploaded some fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips have brought back a tonne of memories for me, so I'm going to feature them one by one over the next few weeks. When I wrote all about The Polka Dot Door, one of my favourite television shows as
I almost fell over when I was walking by the television James was watching and heard Fat Albert. Teletoon is now airing the '70s classic, bringing Fat Albert and his life lessons to a new generation. Yeah, I know they made a movie, but I don't think anyone saw it.
As you might have noticed from my TV Time Machine, my childhood television diet was comprised of shows aired on TVOntario. TVO gave me Fables of the Green Forest, Jeremy, Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, Read All About It, Dr. Snuggles, Barbapapa and Polka Dot Door. Immediately following
