Also - Yet another Pyat and Teddog Exciting Lunchtime Adventure

[pyat]

Dragon's egg aside, I went on yet another ramble with commanderteddog today. We went to the dream factory, the place where Canadian childhoods were forged.


Yes, TV Ontario! Home of "Read All About It" and "Magic Shadows" and "Cucumber" and "Report Canada" and "Fables of the Green Forest" and "The Polka Dot Door" and "Prisoners of Gravity" and, in short, all good things fondly remembered by any right-thinking Canadian between the ages of 25 and 45. TVO introduced me to Flash Gordon serials and Doctor Who and televisions shows about fish and ants.



The future is now! (7:30 in Newfoundland)


Magic doors!


On this very street, scenes from Second Nature (the nature show that was inevitably pirated by Prisoners of Gravity) were filmed. They say that, on dark nights, one can still hear Enrico Gruen's moustache flapping in the wind.

We got chased away by a secretary. :( And went for a walk.


"Hey, buddy! You can't park that thing here!" It looks like a 1974 Winnebago Chieftan.


More relics of Empire.


The lion...


...and the unicorn.


Note the royal insignia. It's not "Elizabeth Regina," it's "Edward Rex." Edward VIII, in fact, who did not reign long enough to be crowned.


The post office was built on the ruins of Montgomery's Tavern, site of a bit of a brawl back in the unpleasantness of 1837, before Pax Britannica settled once more over the land, like a giant blanket smelling strongly of tea, marmalade and smallpox.


LUNCH!

And that is all.

Comments

[mrs-dm.livejournal.com]

I seem to remember the 1837 rebellion was featured in Margaret Atwood's book, "Alias Grace."

Hey, if you like Canadian history, check out the town of "Ridgeway" (near Fort Erie?) sometime in July during their festival days. As in "The Battle of Ridgeway" (Fenian Raid).

[pyat.livejournal.com]

All right! :)

[vandringar.livejournal.com]

I grew up on TVO kids shows!

[pyat.livejournal.com]

That explains your braininess!

[relee.livejournal.com]

Awwwe you guys visited TVO? I love TVO! I seriously ought to move to Hamilton and hang out with you. Or would that be a 'Three's a Crowd' situation?

[pyat.livejournal.com]

This is actually Toronto, where I spend most the daylight hours.

[relee.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know, but I can take a train too, and I'd rather live in Hamilton than Toronto. ^.^;;

[paka.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just reading the attitude in how you talk about things - I really envy your patriotism.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Maybe your shiny new president will help.

[momentrabbit.livejournal.com]

I still have my Childrens' Underground Club of United Moose and Beaver for Enthusiastic Reporters button. It's green. Yes, you may envy me now. n.n

[pyat.livejournal.com]

I do. I really, really do.

[nottheterritory.livejournal.com]

You know, I recognized every one of those landmarks (especially the Winnebago - I think I've been in three or four different restaurants in that same space) except the dinner at the end - where the heck was that? Still at Yonge and Eglinton?

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Yessir! More or less - it was across from the post office.

[summerfields.livejournal.com]

You didn't get to see the talking boot or anything? What fun is that?
Do they have a gift shop at least?

[pyat.livejournal.com]

He had an office, but I was too scared to knock. Just think of what he'd look like today... all old and gnarly and creepy!

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

the place where Canadian childhoods were forged

What? Are you covertly Icelandic?

(Which nation is, apparently, leaning towards applying for entry into the EU)

A curiously engaging expedition, nonetheless. ^_^

[momentrabbit.livejournal.com]

Nono, he means what he said. See, we're all cloned. It's too cold to.. uhm, y'know.. up here. So parents apply for a child permit from the Government, and if approved, nine months later a five year old child is delivered and installed in their home. Every night, the 'Blank' has to be hooked into the sensurround feed from TVO, to properly forge its childhood - inserting parent-provided photos and videos of the last few years amongst the various state-sponsored edutainment programs.

Literally, they forge our childhoods. This is what creates Canada's remarkable patriotism and resolve; we all have, with minor variations, the same childhood. Ein 'die heutige special', ein 'lesen sie entlang', ein polkaroo.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

TVO makes you think. Memories. We're talkin' about... memories!

[doc-mystery.livejournal.com]

I saw a lot on TVO, too, which really pushed its educational mandate in the 1970s and 1980s.

Our school showed episodes of the home-grown series Parlez-Moi to help learn French from a very dim and sad hobo clown named Sol.

Magic Shadows was a favourite every day, to see a movie chopped up into pieces, each introduced by Uncle Elwy and a movie serial episode. The opening animated credits were fun and quirky to watch:



Then there were the various British import shows they rented for viewing: Doctor Who serials (introduced by Judy Merril no less!), and fun BBC science shows like Don't Ask Me featuring Magnus Pike as one of the panelists (who reprised his role as eccentric scientist in Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me with Science" music video).

I also liked this kid's show, Vision On, that had these quirky little animations interspersing fun art projects with Tony Hart and others.



::B::

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Vision On had the 7th Doctor! Yaaay!

[mar2nee.livejournal.com]

I remember Sol!

[pyat.livejournal.com]

When I was little, he scared me.

[mar2nee.livejournal.com]

Well. He was really odd. And he spoke French, kind of.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

I think it was his gravelly voice, and I didn't understand why his clothes were ripped and torn. He was like a homeless drunk clown or something.

[mar2nee.livejournal.com]

Definitely drunk.

[postrodent.livejournal.com]

The Winnebago building is hilarious.

And... *eyes tear up, lip trembles* hurray for TVO!!1!!

[pyat.livejournal.com]

I fear it's not been the same since you left.

[postrodent.livejournal.com]

*sigh* As Bruce Sterling observes, our progress into the future is marked by the slow but thorough obliteration of everyone and everything we know and love.