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Eye Opener (Canadian TV series)

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Eye Opener
Genreexperimental drama
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producerMario Prizek
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBC Television
Release5 January (1965-01-05) –
23 March 1965 (1965-03-23)

Eye Opener is a Canadian experimental drama television series which aired on CBC Television in 1965.

Premise

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Experimental dramas concerning social topics were the focus of Eye Opener. Previously, experimental drama was featured on CBC's Quest series.[1]

Scheduling

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This half-hour series was broadcast on Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. (Eastern) from 5 January to 23 March 1965.

Episodes

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  1. 5 January 1965: The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear (Melwyn Breen producer; Leslie MacFarlane writer), concerning the Kitty Genovese murder in New York City; starring Bill Brydon, Maureen Fitzgerald, Cosette Lee, Jane Mallett, Aileen Seaton and John Vernon
  2. 12 January 1965: The Black Madonna (George McCowan producer; Muriel Spark story; Barrie Hale adaptation), starring Bill Glover, Mel Scott and Hilary Vernon
  3. 19 January 1965: A Borderline Case (Mario Prizek producer), starring Chicago's The Second City performers in sketches about Canada as seen by Americans
  4. 2 February 1965: Hear Me Talkin' To Ya (Paddy Sampson producer; Don Francks writer; Ron Collier music), a "jazz oratorio"
  5. 9 February 1965: Uhu. . . Huh? (George Bloomfield producer), included sketches by Harold Pinter and N. F. Simpson, starring Len Birman, Helen Burns and Jennifer Phipps
  6. 16 February 1965: The Tulip Garden (Mario Prizek producer; George Ryga writer)
  7. 23 February 1965: Blossoms, Butterflies, and Bombs, concerning war and peace, illustrated by three animated sketches
  8. 2 March 1965: eastern European sketches Playthings from Poland, Boomerang from Yugoslavia and The Red Trace from Czechoslovakia
  9. 2 March 1965: The Trial of Joseph Brodsky (Stan Jacobson producer and adaptation), concerning Brodsky's struggles in the Soviet Union, starring Frances Hyland, Martin Lavut and Cosette Lee[2]
  10. 9 March 1965: Sarah and the Sax (Mario Prizek producer; Lewis John Carlino writer), starring Sophia Reinglas and Mel Scott
  11. 16 March 1965: The Golden Bull of Boredom (Mario Prizek producer; Lorees Yerby writer), starring Budd Knapp and Paul Massie
  12. 23 March 1965: The Lonely Machine (Paddy Sampson producer; Jules Feiffer story; Sampson and Norm Symonds adaptation), based on the Feiffer cartoon, starring Rich Little

On 26 January 1965, Eye Opener was pre-empted by Wall of Ice, an hour-long documentary about a Canadian expedition to Mount McKinley.[3]

The Dutchman, a drama on racial relations by Leroi Jones, was planned for broadcast on Eye Opener, but there was no confirmation whether this production was cancelled or televised.[4]

Controversy

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The series, and its executive producer Mario Prizek, were in conflict with CBC management regarding various aspects of Eye Opener, leading to its short single season run.[5] Several planned episodes were modified or terminated by CBC management.[6] For example, A Borderline Case, the originally-planned debut episode of Eye Opener concerning Quebec separatism, was cancelled.[7]

The CBC schedule did not feature an experimental drama series until 1970's Program X, other than perhaps occasional formal experimental productions on Festival.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Corcelli, John (May 2005). "Eye Opener". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Eye Opener presents trial". Ottawa Citizen. 26 February 1965. p. TV Weekly 7. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  3. ^ "Today's TV Previews". Montreal Gazette. 26 January 1965. p. 9.
  4. ^ Miller, Mary Jane (1987). Turn Up the Contrast – CBC Television Drama Since 1952. Vancouver: UBC Press / CBC Enterprises. p. 313. ISBN 0-7748-0278-2.
  5. ^ Rutherford, Paul (1990). When Television Was Young: Primetime Canada 1952-1967. University of Toronto Press. p. 272. ISBN 0-8020-5830-2.
  6. ^ Rutherford, Paul (1990). When Television Was Young: Primetime Canada 1952-1967. University of Toronto Press. p. 294. ISBN 0-8020-5830-2.
  7. ^ Miller, Mary Jane (1987). Turn Up the Contrast – CBC Television Drama Since 1952. Vancouver: UBC Press / CBC Enterprises. p. 9. ISBN 0-7748-0278-2.
  8. ^ Miller, Mary Jane (1987). Turn Up the Contrast – CBC Television Drama Since 1952. Vancouver: UBC Press / CBC Enterprises. p. 316. ISBN 0-7748-0278-2.
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