Not My Department

Last updated
Not My Department
Starring Harry Ditson
Shelley Peterson
Country of origin Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
Network CBC Television
ReleaseOctober 2 (1987-10-02) 
November 14, 1987 (1987-11-14)

Not My Department is a Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CBC Television in 1987. [1] The show lasted only a single season. Based on Charles Gordon's comedic novel The Governor General's Bunny Hop, [2] the show was essentially an attempt to create a Canadian version of the British sitcom Yes Minister . [3] Prior to its premiere, its original working title was Welcome to Ottawa. [4]

The series starred Harry Ditson as Gerald Angstrum and Shelley Peterson as Margaret Simmons, civil servants in Ottawa working for the Department of Regional Incentive Targets, a government ministry whose sole job was to inherit files that other government ministries did not want to deal with. [1] Robbie O'Neill appeared as Robert, a junior assistant whose distinguishing trait was that he had learned French from watching Bleu Nuit , resulting in him saying things like "You must be hot in all those clothes" in bilingual meetings; [5] Alpha Boucher appeared as Henri, the blunt-talking operator of the chip stand outside the department office. [6] The cast also included Barry Stevens, Pierre Chagnon, Chris Wiggins, Robert Benson, Bonnie Brooks, James Edmond and Suzanne Coy. [1]

Peterson was the wife of then-Premier of Ontario David Peterson. [2] (Long after the series ended, a few media references mistakenly claimed that David Peterson made a bit part appearance on the series in the role of a janitor, although in reality this occurred on Shelley Peterson's later series Dog House .) [7]

The series premiered on October 2, 1987 on CBC Television's owned-and-operated stations, [8] although some private affiliates aired it in an alternate time slot or failed to carry it at all. [9] Its debut episode attracted 743,000 viewers, [10] but critical reviews were highly unfavourable [5] [6] and the show almost immediately dropped fully a third of its initial audience, with just 498,000 viewers in the second week. [11] The CBC cancelled the series on November 14, 1987, after just six episodes had aired. [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Made in Canada</i> (TV series) Television series

Made in Canada is a Canadian television comedy which aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2003. Rick Mercer starred as Richard Strong, an ambitious and amoral television producer working for a company which makes bad television shows. A dark satire about the Canadian television industry, the programme shifted into an episodic situation comedy format after its first season.

The Trouble with Tracy is a Canadian television series produced by CTV for the 1970–1971 television season, with intended distribution by the U.S.-based National General Pictures. It is considered by some to be one of the worst situation comedies ever produced.

An American in Canada is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television in 2003 and 2004.

<i>CBC Prime Time News</i> Canadian television newscast

CBC Prime Time News was a Canadian nightly newscast which aired on CBC Television from 1992 to 1995.

Hangin' In is a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC from 1981 to 1987. It aired briefly on Nickelodeon and in syndication in the United States.

Venture was a weekly Canadian business news television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1985 to 2007. The show aired both news reports and documentary features on news and issues in business and finance.

In Opposition was a Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CBC Television in 1989. The show lasted only a single season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seán Cullen</span> Canadian actor and stand-up comedian

Seán Cullen is a Canadian actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for combining improvisation with mimicry and music. He is known for providing voices of characters in shows like Best Ed, Seven Little Monsters, and Almost Naked Animals.

<i>Street Legal</i> (Canadian TV series) Canadian legal drama television series

Street Legal is a Canadian legal drama television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1987 to 1994, followed twenty-five years later by a six-episode season with a substantially different cast. Street Legal was the longest-running one-hour scripted drama in the history of Canadian television, holding the record for twenty years before being surpassed by Heartland's 139th episode on March 29, 2015.

<i>Night Heat</i> Canadian police crime television series

Night Heat is a Canadian police crime drama series that aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes were broadcast from 1985 to 1989. Night Heat was the first Canadian original drama series that was also aired on a United States television network during its original broadcast. It was also the first original, first-run drama series to be aired during a late night time slot on a television network in the United States.

Mosquito Lake was a short-lived Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CBC Television in the 1989–90 television season. The show, a family sitcom, starred comedian Mike MacDonald as Bob Harrison, the father of a family spending the summer in a dilapidated cottage on Mosquito Lake.

Rumours was a Canadian television sitcom, that aired on CBC Television in 2006 and 2007. The show centred on Ben and Sarah, co-editors of a women's magazine in Toronto.

Switchback was a Canadian television show for children and teenagers, created by Nijole Kuzmickas which aired on CBC Television in the 1980s. An interactive youth variety show which aired on Sunday mornings, the series mixed music videos, celebrity interviews, cartoons, comedy and puppetry segments, and viewer contests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaniehtiio Horn</span> Canadian actress (b. 1986)

Kaniehtiio Alexandra Jessie Horn, sometimes credited as Tiio Horn, is a Canadian actress. She was nominated for a Gemini Award for her role in the television film Moccasin Flats: Redemption and she has appeared in the films The Trotsky, Leslie, My Name Is Evil, and The Wild Hunt, as well as the streaming television horror series Hemlock Grove and the sitcoms 18 to Life, Letterkenny and Reservation Dogs.

The Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role is an annual Canadian television award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best leading performance by an actor in a Canadian television series. Previously presented as part of the Gemini Awards, since 2013 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.

The Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role is an annual Canadian television award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television to the best leading performance by an actress in a Canadian television series. Previously presented as part of the Gemini Awards, since 2013 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.

Dog House is a Canadian comedy television series broadcast by YTV in the 1990–91 season.

The Vestibules, formerly known as Radio Free Vestibule, is a Canadian comedy troupe composed of Terence Bowman, Paul Paré, and Bernard Deniger.

Red Serge is a Canadian television comedy-drama series, which aired on CBC Television in 1986 and 1987.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Not My Department. TVarchive.ca.
  2. 1 2 "Shelley Peterson says new sitcom won't embarrass hubby David". The Gazette , September 26, 1987.
  3. "Shelley Peterson in the spotlight". Windsor Star , October 3, 1987.
  4. "Networks try big-budget series for new season". The Globe and Mail , May 30, 1987.
  5. 1 2 "CBC comedy show filed under wrong department". Vancouver Sun , October 2, 1987.
  6. 1 2 "Just whose department of unfunny affairs is this?". Toronto Star , October 2, 1987.
  7. "Peterson in Doghouse". The Gazette , October 13, 1990.
  8. "Shelley juggles politics, sitcom like a trouper". Toronto Star , September 17, 1987.
  9. "Comedy series should be cancelled". Toronto Star , October 14, 1987.
  10. "CBC 'pleased' with ratings for TV comedy". Toronto Star , October 28, 1987.
  11. "Peterson show should be killed now". Toronto Star , November 4, 1987.
  12. "CBC suspends production of Not My Department". Ottawa Citizen , November 14, 1987.