| Airwaves | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Roberta Maxwell Ingrid Veninger Roland Hewgill |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Producers | John Frizzell Michael MacMillan Seaton McLean Janice Platt |
| Running time | 26 min |
| Production company | Atlantis Films |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBC |
| Release | 27 January 1986 (1986-01-27) – 8 June 1987 (1987-06-08) |
Airwaves is a Canadian comedy drama television series that aired on CBC Television in 1986 and 1987.
Plot
The Toronto-filmed show stars Roberta Maxwell as Jean Lipton, a radio talk show host and widowed mother, who lives with her daughter Zoe, played by Ingrid Veninger, and her father Bob, played by Roland Hewgill. Maxwell has indicated that Canadian journalist-activist June Callwood was a basis for her portrayal of Jean.
The show's cast also includes Taborah Johnson, Alec Willows, and Kimble Hall. Writers for the series included Judith Thompson, John Frizzell, Susan Martin, Rob Forsythe, Linda Svendsen and Paul Gross.
Production
Some of the early episodes were criticized as clunky, with Ross McLean of The Globe and Mail writing that the show seemed unsure of its identity, and even the producers later acknowledging that they had tried to fit too much into a half-hour show. The show was retooled slightly in its second season, with the writers getting a firmer grasp on the stories they wanted to tell and adding two new characters: Christopher Bolton in the role of Matt, Jean's nephew, and Patrick Rose as Dale, Jean's new coworker at the radio station. Critics responded favourably to the changes, with even McLean himself noting by 1987 that the show had significantly improved.
The show was modestly successful, with an average audience of 850,000 viewers per week in its first season. and 761,000 viewers in its second. Although the CBC was willing to order a third season, the producers decided to end the series as they felt it was better to move on to other projects than to continue tinkering with a show that wasn't getting the ratings they wanted. However, CBC subsequently reran the first two seasons, outside of prime time, in 1990.
The series was repeated on Vision TV from 1989 to 1991.
Episodes
Season one
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pot Roast" | Unknown | Unknown | 27 January 1986 (1986-01-27) |
| 2 | "Blast from the Past" | Unknown | Unknown | 3 February 1986 (1986-02-03) |
| 3 | "Turkey" | Unknown | Unknown | 10 February 1986 (1986-02-10) |
| 4 | "Breakfast Man" | Unknown | Unknown | 17 February 1986 (1986-02-17) |
| 5 | "Angelfish" | Unknown | Unknown | 24 February 1986 (1986-02-24) |
| 6 | "Too Hot" | Unknown | Unknown | 3 March 1986 (1986-03-03) |
| 7 | "Chameleon" | Unknown | Unknown | 10 March 1986 (1986-03-10) |
| 8 | "The Runway" | Unknown | Unknown | 17 March 1986 (1986-03-17) |
| 9 | "Laundry" | Unknown | Unknown | 24 March 1986 (1986-03-24) |
| 10 | "Paul" | Unknown | Unknown | 31 March 1986 (1986-03-31) |
| 11 | "Fair Game" | Unknown | Unknown | 7 April 1986 (1986-04-07) |
| 12 | "Rockets" | Unknown | Unknown | 14 April 1986 (1986-04-14) |
| 13 | "On Air" | Unknown | Unknown | 21 April 1986 (1986-04-21) |
Season two
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Welcome Matt" | Scott Labarge | Unknown | 2 March 1987 (1987-03-02) |
| 2 | "Splashdown" | Unknown | Unknown | 9 March 1987 (1987-03-09) |
| 3 | "Cordon Blues" | Unknown | Unknown | 16 March 1987 (1987-03-16) |
| 4 | "Too Good to Be True" | Unknown | Unknown | 23 March 1987 (1987-03-23) |
| 5 | "Design for Living" | Unknown | Unknown | 30 March 1987 (1987-03-30) |
| 6 | "Scene from a Balcony" | Unknown | Unknown | 6 April 1987 (1987-04-06) |
| 7 | "Reunion" | Unknown | Unknown | 13 April 1987 (1987-04-13) |
| 8 | "Love Interests" | Unknown | Linda Svendsen | 20 April 1987 (1987-04-20) |
| 9 | "Happy Sixteenth" | Unknown | Dan Sexton | 4 May 1987 (1987-05-04) |
| 10 | "A Second Look" | Unknown | Unknown | 18 May 1987 (1987-05-18) |
| 11 | "Charge!" | Unknown | Unknown | 25 May 1987 (1987-05-25) |
| 12 | "The Write Stuff" | Unknown | Linda Svendsen | 1 June 1987 (1987-06-01) |
| 13 | "Dinner at Eight" | Unknown | Unknown | 8 June 1987 (1987-06-08) |
References
- "Airwaves a show with a difference - and mother doesn't know best". Montreal Gazette, May 2, 1987.
- ^ "Airwaves gets back to basics after reaching too far". Ottawa Citizen, February 27, 1987.
- Posesorski, Sheri (25 January 1986). "Chance meeting brings actress back to Toronto". The Globe and Mail. p. P9.
- ^ Corcelli, John (April 2006). "Airwaves". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
- "Airwaves fails to live up to its potential". The Globe and Mail, March 15, 1986.
- "Shaking down hosts and bolstering Airwaves". The Globe and Mail, March 21, 1987.
- ^ "Snapped off". Toronto Star, June 10, 1987.
- "Year later, YTV and Vision TV mature". Ottawa Citizen, September 6, 1989.