I like the course of this discussion! What's even more fun is that it's entirely on-topic with regards to this timeline! There's obviously broad enough interest in this subject from both of our constituent Realms on either side of the Pond; though I
would like my readers Down Under to weigh in on the subject as well, as my knowledge of Australian programming is not as thorough as I would like beyond the cliche: frothy soaps; shows with young people on the beach in various states of undress; quirky kiddie shows; and, of course, Australianised versions of British and American "reality" programming (up to and including your version of
Turn-On, which is
Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos, famously
interrupted by an episode of
Cheers). For that matter, Kiwi readers are also welcome to discuss
their homegrown programming, though I know that, as with Canada, many shows are produced and filmed in New Zealand, only to be
set elsewhere (be it
Ancient Greece or
Angel Grove).
Do you see a change in the CRTC approach to Canadian network purchases of U.S. programming? Recently, there's been a lot of bidding-up of prices, financed by fees from cable companies (& ultimately cable
customers
) based on "simulcasting" (jamming
), & now the demand for payment again for local programming. (In essence, the OTAs want cable customers to pay twice for U.S. programs they never get to see.
)
Cable is going to be something of a thorny topic for me, because I have an
extreme vested interest in thwarting the success of a certain megalomaniacal company whose head will stop at
nothing until everything in the known universe is named after him. (Yes, I
may be extremely bitter about the renaming of a certain stadium, why do you ask?) However, this is a question that I can't easily answer, because the changes in this timeline are going to lead up to it.
phx1138 said:
It appears "Night Heat", like "Forever Knight",
"Diamonds", or just the last couple of years, "Rookie Blue", were designed for export as much as domestic consumption. (They did appear on U.S. network TV. "Diamonds" actually wasn't bad, even for a Canadian show.) If I were writing the regs, I wouldn't want to discourage creation of product that could be exported; in fact, I might be looking to
encourage it. (Which
might lead to a lot more insipid game shows...
since I don't see
"Definition" translating well to Russian or Czech.
{Not unless it's a format export, like "Jeopardy" or "Deal or No Deal".}
"Headline Hunters" might.) If the government managed to give "Definition" and edge in the U.S. market & it butterflied the creation of "Wheel of Fortune" entirely, I'd be very happy indeed.
I understand where you're coming from here, but as subsequent posters have stated,
British and
Australian shows don't seem to have this pathological need to conceal their origins. Now, granted, it's a lot harder for them to do so because of their accents, but British
culture is very much in evidence in
all of the most successful of their exports (witness
Coronation Street, which might as well be called
Oop North). Even the comparatively neutral present-day incarnation of
Doctor Who is Very, Very British (particularly Welsh, I understand, as that's where it's filmed and produced). Likewise with Australian shows, replete with these gorgeous, tanned people with their very...
distinctive accents, living in houses on or near the beach. Why is that when I watch Canadian shows that actually
state or even
emphasize their Canadian setting, I feel awkward and almost
embarrassed? I think that's cultural conditioning, due once again to the
Canada Does Not Exist trope. (To be fair, not
all Proud To Be Canadian shows elicit that reaction from me.
Red Green,
Corner Gas, and
Degrassi are all shows that, in
very different ways, work to suppress it.)
As a side note,
Rookie Blue (which was developed under the working title of "Copper") always reminds me of one of my favourite incredibly awful pieces of allegedly "witty" TV journalist writing, courtesy of
Bill Brioux: "
What happens to copper when it sits too long? It turns blue." Ha! You get it? He's being "clever" by linking the two names together using a real-world analogy! Except that copper (and bronze) turns
green when it "rusts", as anyone who has ever seen
the Statue of Liberty, one of the most famous monuments in the
world, would know. (It's even called
verdigris, for crying out loud!) But thanks for playing
phx1138 said:
On
Eagle, it wasn't the exact number, it was the hull designator I question. IDK if RCN actually uses "CV-xx"... (I'm embarrassed to admit it.
)
It did indeed (all three OTL carriers used CVL, though, as they were all classified as "light" carriers, which
Eagle was not).
What I could see for television (music is another matter, and I don't know if a directly comparable analogy would work) is:
OTL: 60% of all programming / 50% of primetime programming must be CanCon
ITTL after Commonwealth FTA: 50% of all programming / 40% of primetime programming must be CanCon; 10% (in each category)may be Commonwealth FTA partner originated programming; remainder open, except that no more than 35% may originate from any single country.
Which would have the effect of cutting American programming on Canadian stations by up to 30%.
Your estimate seems very reasonable and well-thought-out, pending some confirmatory number-crunching of my own.
The Blue-Eyed Infidel said:
Of course, this proposal would mean that the current obession of thread commenters would be even more popular north of the border ITTL.
I'm going to get into Canadian responses to
Doctor Who as a sideshow in the pending "Yank Years" update; suffice it to say that, though it didn't "take" when the CBC aired the first Hartnell season (two years late!) in 1965, it
did, to a much greater extent, once their hands were forced by NBC carrying the show starting in 1971. It's
also going to tie into Stanfield's
other plans for television ITTL, as I've got something in my back pocket which, I think, most of my Canadian readers would find
very satisfying
The Blue-Eyed Infidel said:
As to export production: there must be some middle ground between "Great White North" and "Night Heat"; there are plenty of OTL British and Australian productions that get exported which make no particular attempt to disguise their origins.
Very well said, and I'm in complete agreement with you. Note that there
have been popular Canadian exports to the United States that have done exactly that (some of which I mentioned above). Meanwhile, "ambiguous" shows like
Flashpoint (featuring
Mathesar and
Kimberly) have generally seen far more marginal results.
Maybe
Due South managed to hit that middle ground - it was reasonably popular in the UK.
Really?
Due South, of all shows, was popular over there? Not that we didn't love it either - we were so
proud that it did so well in the US - but I'm genuinely surprised to hear that you Brits cottoned to it as well. Maybe everybody just really loves the Mounties
But you're right in that it very convincingly hits the "middle ground" - it's filmed in Toronto but
clearly set in Chicago, and its trappings are pure Canadiana (with Paul Gross proving that not
all great Canadian actors leave for the United States after all).
Nice work on the Wiki infoboxes, I always feel they add a certain shocking sense of reality to a timeline--particularly when your audience is fellow AHers used to looking up election results, wars etc on Wiki and thus being used to looking at the infoboxes.
Thank you, Thande - I agree, the verisimilitude is very appealing to me. If TWR ever gets its own wiki (right after LTTW and P&S, I imagine
), I would probably spend days on end making those things for just about
everything (note that
TV shows have their own infoboxes, too!
Hmmm...).
In the case of British TV, the idea that Aliens influence Earth History has nothing to do with the Idea of Ancient Astronauts.
You misunderstand my terminology. Ancient Astronauts is the name of the trope that refers to aliens having influenced Earth history (because any such aliens would, of course,
be astronauts, having left their home planet to explore our own). It's a "blanket" term to refer to any extraterrestrial intervention.
Which is another factor; if the arrangements are somewhat reciprocal (i.e. Canadian programming is given a special allowance in Britain, Australia & New Zealand), then there is less incentive to have a "generic" setting in shows which have export potential; these audiences would be more used to shows with a recognisably non-native setting.
Again, very true. I can tell that you've given this idea a lot of thought
(Not that I mind at all; I like it a lot.)
Reciprocity could give a whole new meaning to "Little House On The Prairie" ITTL.
Funny you should mention that
particular show...
Falkenburg said:
Australian Soaps have long been a (cheap?) staple of UKTV IOTL[...]Maybe they get a head start here?
That's a very likely possibility.
If it gives better access to stuff like "Special Squad" &...what was it called, the fire station show, so much the better.
I'm going to have investigate
all of these programs that you're all name-dropping.
Even in the seventies, British audiences seemed to be quite comfortable with non-native settings. An interesting example is
Van der Valk - a detective series set (and partially filmed) in Amsterdam. The main characters were Dutch but played by British actors.
What an
intriguing series! You can assume that at least the initial two seasons were also made ITTL - I see no reason to butterfly them.
Forgot about that but a good show. Also had things like Daktari, although that may have been more of a children's show, I remember liking it as a child. Not to mention there were often foreign imports they quite often showed in quite periods. [Remember something called Flashing blades which I think was repeated ad nausimu and another French based programme centred around a couple of Mirage pilots, and something else set I think in medieval Romania].
British television
does seem a good deal more cosmopolitan than American (and Canadian, if you don't count American programming) television, with foreign imports relegated to the PBS (or cable) ghetto, with a few prominent exceptions. Americans, of course, are inordinately fond of adaptations, as TTL has made clear (and will continue to do so).
"Did you hear about old Van der Valk?
He powders his bottom with talc.
When they asked him 'what for?'
He said 'My bum's red raw!
You can tell by the way that I walk!'"
Thank you for sharing that piece of... poetic genius with us, Thande. (Having looked it up, I corrected the third line, as the meter was slightly off. I've heard
far too many limericks in my day.) Nice to know that limericks have some popularity over there. I know the
name comes from Ireland, but I always thought them as more of an American... art form (I blame the ubiquity of the "girl from Nantucket"; is she as popular across the Pond?). And in your honour, I will now post my final electoral infobox:
In light of the remarkable interest in cultural trade relations between the Commonwealth Realms, I will devote an update to the subject, to come in the later 1970s (probably the 1977-78 cycle, to help frame the elections, as you will note that both the Canadian and British Governments will drop the writs in 1978). I once again welcome any Australasian readers to chime in with their thoughts on their native popular culture (and imports) at this time, or barring that, cultural protectionism in general (particularly in New Zealand). A few Australian readers have made their presence known in the past, but you
are all welcome to post more than once
If all goes well, the next update should be ready in the next couple of days!
