Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion
Encyclopedia
Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion is a two-part miniseries
produced in 2003 by CBC Television
. It presents a fictionalized version of the Halifax Explosion
, a 1917 catastrophe that destroyed much of the city of Halifax
. It was directed by Bruce Pittman and written by Keith Ross Leckie. The Film Stars Vincent Walsh, Tamara Hope
, Clare Stone
, Zachary Bennett
, Shauna MacDonald
and Ted Dykstra.
The series was expensive by Canadian television standards with a budget of $10.4 million. It was heavily promoted by the CBC and paired with a number of non-fiction documentaries. The broadcast drew a sizable Canadian audience of 1.5 million viewers. It drew some praise for the adept use of special effects to show the destruction of the explosion. However the miniseries was poorly received critically. One critic at the Globe and Mail described it as "execrably written and acted" while another strained to find positive elements, "At times, there is a plodding workmanlike quality to Shattered City." The miniseries won some technical awards at the Canadian television Gemini Award
s in 2004 (photography, special effects, costume and sound) but was passed over for any direction or writing awards and won only a single supporting acting award for Ted Dykstra.
Serious concerns were raised over the depiction of history in the miniseries. Descendants of explosion victims and professional historians objected to the historical distortions and numerous liberties with historical truth. Significant deviations include:
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
produced in 2003 by CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
. It presents a fictionalized version of the Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
, a 1917 catastrophe that destroyed much of the city of Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
. It was directed by Bruce Pittman and written by Keith Ross Leckie. The Film Stars Vincent Walsh, Tamara Hope
Tamara Hope
Tamara Hope is a Canadian actress. Her starring roles include Guinevere Jones and The Nickel Children, a film about teenage prostitution, as well as a recurring role on CTV's Whistler as Leah McLure....
, Clare Stone
Clare Stone
Clare Stone is a Canadian actress. She has appeared in such films and television works as Would Be Kings, The Jane Show, Breach, Mom at Sixteen, Godsend, Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion, Beautiful Girl and Mr...
, Zachary Bennett
Zachary Bennett
Zachary Bennett is a Canadian actor and musician in Toronto, Ontario, who is best known for playing Felix King in Road to Avonlea. He also co-starred in the 2006 TV film Jekyll + Hyde.He was born in London, Ontario...
, Shauna MacDonald
Shauna MacDonald
Shauna MacDonald is a Canadian television and film actress and radio announcer.-Life and career:MacDonald was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She graduated from Dr...
and Ted Dykstra.
The series was expensive by Canadian television standards with a budget of $10.4 million. It was heavily promoted by the CBC and paired with a number of non-fiction documentaries. The broadcast drew a sizable Canadian audience of 1.5 million viewers. It drew some praise for the adept use of special effects to show the destruction of the explosion. However the miniseries was poorly received critically. One critic at the Globe and Mail described it as "execrably written and acted" while another strained to find positive elements, "At times, there is a plodding workmanlike quality to Shattered City." The miniseries won some technical awards at the Canadian television Gemini Award
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
s in 2004 (photography, special effects, costume and sound) but was passed over for any direction or writing awards and won only a single supporting acting award for Ted Dykstra.
Serious concerns were raised over the depiction of history in the miniseries. Descendants of explosion victims and professional historians objected to the historical distortions and numerous liberties with historical truth. Significant deviations include:
- The addition of a major subplot featuring German spies in Halifax (the Germans conducted little significant espionage anywhere in North America and none in Halifax during the war).
- The movie does not convey the tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
which followed directly after the explosion. - A conspiracy that frees the captain of SS Mont-BlancSS Mont-BlancThe SS Mont-Blanc was a French freighter which exploded while carrying ammunition in Halifax Harbour on December 6, 1917 causing the Halifax Explosion which killed 2000 people. The explosion was caused by a collision with the Norwegian ship SS Imo...
and the naval commander Frederick Wyatt leaving Mont-Blancs pilot, Francis Mackey, as the fall guyFall guyA fall guy is a person used as a scapegoat to take the blame for someone else's actions, or someone at the butt of jokes. One placed in the position of fall guy is often referred to as "taking the fall". In the film industry, a fall guy is a form of stock character.-Origin:The origin of "fall guy"...
for the explosion. In fact, Wyatt was the only person sent to trial for the explosion and was subsequently acquitted by a jury of Halifax citizens. - Commander Wyatt is depicted as a British officer (he was Canadian) and is shown pushing for relaxed regulation of ammunition handling (he actually argued for stricter regulation) and refusing to approach the burning Mont-Blanc (he was in fact boarding a harbour tug to direct firefighting when the explosion occurred). Similarly, captain Le Medec is depicted as a coward who was first to abandon his ship when in fact he was the last to leave it.
- In the aftermath of the explosion the film depicts only minimal emergency relief capability until American assistance arrives by train, when in fact there were ample Canadian resources available, and the first American aid did not arrive until two days afterward.
Cast
- Vincent Walsh - Lil Wayne
- Shauna MacDonaldShauna MacDonaldShauna MacDonald is a Canadian television and film actress and radio announcer.-Life and career:MacDonald was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She graduated from Dr...
- Dr. Barbara Paxton - Ted Dykstra - Francis Mackey
- Tamara HopeTamara HopeTamara Hope is a Canadian actress. Her starring roles include Guinevere Jones and The Nickel Children, a film about teenage prostitution, as well as a recurring role on CTV's Whistler as Leah McLure....
- Beatrix Collins - Zachary BennettZachary BennettZachary Bennett is a Canadian actor and musician in Toronto, Ontario, who is best known for playing Felix King in Road to Avonlea. He also co-starred in the 2006 TV film Jekyll + Hyde.He was born in London, Ontario...
- Ernest Masterson - Clare StoneClare StoneClare Stone is a Canadian actress. She has appeared in such films and television works as Would Be Kings, The Jane Show, Breach, Mom at Sixteen, Godsend, Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion, Beautiful Girl and Mr...
- Constance Collins - Max MorrowMax MorrowMax Morrow is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles in Monk as Benjy Fleming, The Christmas Shoes, and The Great Goose Caper.-Movies:-Television:-External links:...
- Courtney Collins - Paul DoucetPaul DoucetPaul Doucet is a Canadian actor. He won a Prix Gémeaux for Meilleure interprétation premier rôle masculin - série dramatique for his portrayal of Jean Duceppe in the Jean Duceppe episode 5. His most recent work includes a leading role in Les 3 P'tits Cochons...
- Capt. Le Medec - Lynne GriffinLynne GriffinLynne Griffin is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in film, television and stage.Griffin was born in Toronto, Ontario, the daughter of Kay, an actress, and James Joseph Griffin, a fashion photographer and soccer player. Currently, she is married to fellow actor Sean Gregory Sullivan.-...
- Millicent Collins - Richard DonatRichard DonatRichard Donat is a Canadian actor known for his roles in Canadian and American television. He is currently into his second season as a cast member of the Canadian-American TV series, Haven...
- Patrick Collins - Gordon Michael WoolvettGordon Michael WoolvettGordon Michael Woolvett is a Canadian-born actor from Hamilton, Ontario Canada, best known for his work as Seamus Zelazny Harper on the television series Andromeda . Previous to Andromeda he starred in another science fiction TV show, Deepwater Black...
- Sgt. Sam Barlow - Brian DowneyBrian Downey (actor)Brian Downey is a Canadian actor perhaps best-known for his portrayal of Stanley Tweedle, in the science-fiction television series Lexx....
- Capt. Horatio Brannen - John DunsworthJohn DunsworthJohn Dunsworth is a Canadian actor known for playing the frequently drunk trailer park supervisor Jim Lahey on the hit TV show Trailer Park Boys. He has also appeared in Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion, a CBC film about the 1917 Halifax explosion...
- Officer McNabb - Leon PownallLeon PownallLeon Pownall was a Welsh Canadian actor and director.He was born in Wrexham in Wales and came to Hamilton, Ontario with his family in 1957...
- Cmdr. Frederick Wyatt - Mitchell Landzaat - Mont-Blanc helmsman