Network: CBC Television Network
Broadcast Run: 1968 to 1969
Broadcast Medium: Television
Aired Saturday nights, after hockey, from September 1968 to January 25, 1969.
Broadcaster, writer and journalist Alex Barris had a long association with the CBC by the time this show was produced. As the host of the Barris Beat and a regular panelist on Front Page Challenge, Barris was familiar to most Canadian viewers. So a late night music, variety and talk show wasn’t much of a risk. Unfortunately, it suffered from production problems, [it was a LIVE broadcast] and poor critical reviews. Half of the staff were replaced within a few weeks of the show’s debut. Barris tells his version of the story in a chapter of his memoir, The Pierce- Arrow Showroom is Leaking
[ Ryerson Press, 1969], called it The Saturday Night Problem. The show’s production team featured in some later successes in spite of the show’s cancellation after a few months.
Head Writer: Alex Barris
Writers: Lorne Michaels, Hart Pomerantz, Bill Lynn, Ken Gunton, Aubrey Tadman and Garry Ferrier
Announcer: Alex Trebek
Music Director: Guido Basso
Producers: Stan Jacobson, Bob Jarvis
Director: Patrick [Pat] King
Written by John Corcelli – May, 2005