Network: CTV Television Network
Broadcast Run: 1981 to 1984
Broadcast Medium: Television
When a new prime time Canadian half-hour series did dismally in the ratings on its launch in the fall of 1981, CTV moved swiftly to cannibalize ‘best of’ excerpts from their Alan Thicke daytime strip (which had premiered in the previous season) to make up a weekly replacement half-hour, which they called Fast Company.
This series managed to hold down a prime time slot for the balance of that season, and returned for 1982-83. However, Alan Thicke was then lured south to do a syndicated (and, as it turned out, short-lived) late-night U.S. series, Thicke Of The Night, and as a result Fast Company and CTV had parted company by the time the 1983-84 season got under way.
The editing of the Alan Thicke Show to produce Fast Company was done at BCTV Vancouver, where the daytime strip had been produced. Fast Company played at 7:00pm on Fridays.
Written by Pip Wedge – February, 2003