Eye Opener (Canadian TV series)


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

Premise

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

Scheduling

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

Episodes

  1. 5 January 1965: The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear, 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, starring Bill Glover, Mel Scott and Hilary Vernon
  3. 19 January 1965: A Borderline Case, starring Chicago's The Second City performers in sketches about Canada as seen by Americans
  4. 2 February 1965: Hear Me Talkin' To Ya, a "jazz oratorio"
  5. 9 February 1965: Uhu... Huh?, included sketches by Harold Pinter and N. F. Simpson, starring Len Birman, Helen Burns and Jennifer Phipps
  6. 16 February 1965: The Tulip Garden
  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, concerning Brodsky's struggles in the Soviet Union, starring Frances Hyland, Martin Lavut and Cosette Lee
  10. 9 March 1965: Sarah and the Sax, starring Sophia Reinglas and Mel Scott
  11. 16 March 1965: The Golden Bull of Boredom, starring Budd Knapp and Paul Massie
  12. 23 March 1965: The Lonely Machine, 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.
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.

Controversy

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. Several planned episodes were modified or terminated by CBC management. For example, A Borderline Case, the originally-planned debut episode of Eye Opener concerning Quebec separatism, was cancelled.
The CBC schedule did not feature an experimental drama series until 1970's Program X, other than perhaps occasional formal experimental productions on Festival.