Viewers remember great television. Uncle John helps you keep in mind the not-so-great.
THE WORST TV SHOW EVER?
Canadians have very few television shows that are known outside of Canada. Second City Television (SCTV) is famous for all the comedians that got their start there—John Candy, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, and Rick Moranis, to name a few. The Kids in the Hall is well-known for its innovative, absurd comedy, and the teen drama Degrassi Jr. High became a huge franchise. Still, there aren’t too many shows that have become famous outside the country, but one more is known by many television buffs—mostly because it has been called one of the worst television shows ever made. The Trouble with Tracy was a sitcom from the early 1970s made by CTV to meet requirements of a law mandating that it air at least 60 percent Canadian-made content. CTV had very little money to spend, so it decided to use old scripts from a dated 1940s radio comedy called Easy Aces.
HOW TO MAKE A FLOP
The sitcom was filmed on a single set in Toronto with one camera. The actors had been criticized for lacking any sense of comedic timing, and the production value often seems worse than cable public access. The laughtrack couldn’t save the show, either, and in fact, probably made the program a whole lot worse by forcing laughs where none were to be found. Flubbed lines and bloopers often made it into the program because CTV could not afford to reshoot any scenes.
The Trouble was about a young advertising executive and his wife trying to make it in New York City. In fact, the young couple were actually named the Youngs. The ditzy and naïve Tracy Young usually wears a miniskirt, and her ever-loving husband, Doug, rolls his eyes and puts up with her antics while never losing his temper. In a typical episode, Doug doesn’t want to watch Tracy’s favorite TV show because he thinks the cheesy mystery is beneath his intelligence. However, many of the events in the TV show start playing out in real life, starting with a neighbor who needed help carrying a truck to his car. Many eerie coincidences unfold, leading to comedic misunderstandings. The show was not only bad, there was so much of it. CTV filmed and aired 130 episodes of the stinker in just two years (1970 and 1971). The 60-percent Canadian content meant that CTV couldn’t simply cancel the show. It needed the programming by law.
Jerry Seinfeld got his start opening for Anne Murray.
NOT EXACTLY AN ENCORE
The actors survived the show, but they didn’t exactly rise to stardom. Steve Weston (Doug) appeared on The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour, starring Lorne Michaels. Diane Nyland (Tracy) returned to TV only once more in 1992 to act in Street Legal, a hit drama. Franz Russell, who plays Doug’s weirdo brother-in-law Paul, became a well-known voice actor and lent his voice talents to advertisements for AT&T, Budweiser, Chevron, Duracell, Juicy Juice, PBS and Shake & Bake.
In March 2003, The Comedy Network in Canada announced that it was reviving the show, sending a shudder through TV viewers everywhere. Nyland even appeared at the press conference. Fortunately, they made the announcement on April 1 and it turned out to be a practical joke.
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UNEXPECTED CANADIAN EXPORTS
Hot dog mustard. Saskatchewan is the largest producer of mustard in the world with 300,000 to 400,000 acres dedicated to growing the plant. In 2005 speech, Saskatchewan’s Premier Lorne Calvert said, “Every drop of mustard on a Yankee Stadium hotdog now comes from Saskatchewan.” He isn’t wrong. Canada is also the world’s largest exporter of the mustard seed.
Uranium. In 2008, the Saskatchewan uranium mines accounted for more than 20 percent of the world’s total uranium production.
Potash. Potash is a potassium compound or salt used in fertilizers. It gets its name from the Dutch word potaschen or pot ashes. The potash substance can be obtained by leaching wood ashes—the white residue left behind is “pot ash.” Most of the world’s reserve of potassium started as sea water deposits that evaporated. The potassium salts crystallized into beds of potash.
John Lennon’s favorite cover of “You Won’t See Me” was by Anne Murray.