West (TV series)
Encyclopedia
West is a Canadian
documentary television series which aired on CBC Television
from 1973 to 1974.
productions featured life on the Canadian prairie provinces (Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan).
Television in Canada
Television in Canada officially began with the opening of the nation's first television stations in Montreal and Toronto in 1952. As with most media in Canada, the television industry, and the television programming available in that country, are strongly influenced by the American media, perhaps...
documentary television series which aired on 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...
from 1973 to 1974.
Premise
This series of National Film Board of CanadaNational Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
productions featured life on the Canadian prairie provinces (Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan).
Scheduling
This half-hour series was broadcast Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. from 19 December 1973 to 17 April 1974. There were rebroadcasts from 23 June 1974, Sundays at 1:00 p.m..Episodes
- "Catskinner Keen" (Donald BrittainDonald BrittainDonald Brittain, O.C. was a film director and producer with the National Film Board of Canada.Fields of Sacrifice is considered Brittain's first major film as director....
producer and director), featuring Bob Keen - "Cavendish Country" (Donald Brittain producer and director), about Cal Cavendish, a country musician
- "Every Saturday Night" (John Taylor producer; Tom Radford director), concerning the Depression-era hoedown band the Badlanders
- "I Don't Have to Work that Big" (John N. Smith producer; Michael McKennirey director), featuring Joe FafardJoe FafardJoseph Fafard, OC, SOM is a Canadian sculptor.-Biography:Born in Sainte-Marthe, Saskatchewan in 1942 to Leopold Fafard and Julienne Cantin whose families both date back centuries in Canada. Joe is a descendant of Jacques Goulet. He received a B.S.A from the University of Manitoba in 1966 and a...
's sculpting - "The Jews of Winnipeg" (John N. Smith producer; Bill Davies director), a community profile with interviews of entertainer David SteinbergDavid SteinbergDavid Steinberg is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, director, and author. At the height of his popularity, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was one of the best-known stand-up comics in the United States...
, singer Judy Lander and lawyer Joseph ZukenJoseph ZukenJoseph Zuken was a popular Communist politician in Winnipeg and the longest serving elected Communist party politician in North America.... - "The New Boys" (John N. Smith producer and director), featuring Saint John's Cathedral Boys' SchoolSaint John's Cathedral Boys' SchoolSaint John's Cathedral Boys' School was founded in Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada in the early 1960s by Ted Byfield and Frank Wiens, who believed that boys were not challenged by the education system or by society in general. The two started an Anglican lay order called the Company of the Cross,...
in Selkirk, ManitobaSelkirk, ManitobaSelkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located about 22 km northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg on the Red River, near . As of the 2006 census, Selkirk had a population of 9,515.... - "Ruth and Harriet: Two Women of the Peace" (Cynthia Scott producer; Barbara Greene director), set in the Peace River CountryPeace River CountryThe Peace River Country is an aspen parkland region around the Peace River in Canada. It spans from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where the region is also referred to as the Peace River Block.- Geography :The Peace River Country includes the...
area of Alberta, profiling two of the homesteading women - "Some Natives of Churchill" (Cynthia Scott producer and director), concerning life in Churchill, ManitobaChurchill, ManitobaChurchill is a town on the shore of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" that has helped its growing tourism industry.-History:A variety of nomadic...
- "Starblanket" (Donald Brittain producer and director), a profile of First Nations reserveIndian reserveIn Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
chief Noel StarblanketNoel StarblanketNoel Starblanket is a First Nations leader in Canada. For two terms from 1976 to 1980 he was chief of the National Indian Brotherhood .... - "This Riel Business" (Ian McLaren producer and director), featuring Regina's Globe TheatreGlobe Theatre, ReginaThe Globe Theatre in Regina, Saskatchewan, was founded in 1966 by Ken and Sue Kramer. It was the first professional educational theatre company and the only professional theatre company in Saskatchewan.-Background:...
production of Tales from a Prairie Drifter, a comedy play set in the North-West RebellionNorth-West RebellionThe North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...
and features Louis RielLouis RielLouis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
as a character - "Van's Camp" (Les Rose and Donald Brittain, producers and directors), set in a Lac la RongeLac la RongeLac la Ronge is a glacial lake in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the fifth largest lake in the province.It is approximately 250 km north of Prince Albert, on the edge of the Canadian Shield. La Ronge, Air Ronge and the Lac La Ronge First Nation are on the west shore. The lake is a popular...
, Saskatechewan fishing camp - "We're Here To Stay" (Ian McLaren producer and director), set in Lestock, SaskatchewanLestock, Saskatchewan-Footnotes:-External links:*******...
, featuring the efforts of farmers to run their Agri-Pool farm cooperative