The Struggle for Democracy

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The Struggle for Democracy is a Canadian documentary television series, which premiered in 1989. [1] Hosted by Patrick Watson, the series profiled the birth and evolution of democracy, including both the challenges and the opportunities that lay ahead for it in the future. [2]

Contents

The series was also paired with a companion book, co-written by Watson and Benjamin Barber, and published by Lester & Orpen Dennys. [3]

Production on the series was first announced in 1987, when Watson stepped down as host of the business news series Venture to begin work on the project. [4] The series premiered January 8, 1989, airing simultaneously in English on CBC Television and in French on Télévision de Radio-Canada. [5] It later aired on PBS in the United States in 1989, [6] and ITV in the United Kingdom in 1990. [7]

The series did face some minor criticism for the fact that due to the rapidly-changing geopolitical climate of the late 1980s, it had been completed too early to cover some noteworthy events at all, including the Tiananmen Square protests and the Soviet Bloc Revolutions of 1989. [6] Following the original ten-episode 1989 series, Watson created a sequel special in 1990, covering the events in China and Eastern Europe. [8]

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal airdate
1GenesisJanuary 8, 1989 (1989-01-08)
2Reborn in AmericaJanuary 15, 1989 (1989-01-15)
3Chiefs and StrongmenJanuary 29, 1989 (1989-01-29)
4The Tyranny of the MajorityFebruary 5, 1989 (1989-02-05)
5The Rule of LawFebruary 12, 1989 (1989-02-12)
6The Last CitizensFebruary 19, 1989 (1989-02-19)
7The First FreedomFebruary 26, 1989 (1989-02-26)
8The Price of DemocracyMarch 5, 1989 (1989-03-05)
9A Soldier's DutyMarch 19, 1989 (1989-03-19)
10Whither Democracy?March 26, 1989 (1989-03-26)
11The Curtain RisesJune 24, 1990 (1990-06-24)

Awards

AwardDate of CeremonyCategoryNomineesResultReference
Gemini Awards 1989 Best Documentary Series Ted Remerowski Won [9]
Gordon Sinclair Award Patrick Watson Won [10]
Best Original Music for a Series Micky Erbe and Maribeth Solomon, "The First Freedom"Won [11]
Best Picture Editing in an Information or Documentary Program or SeriesJohn Gareau, "Chiefs and Strongmen"Nominated [12]
Fred Gauthier, "The Tyranny of the Majority"Nominated
Sound in an Information or Documentary Program or SeriesIan Challis, Wesley J. Blanchard, Tibor Gyokeres and Paul Massey, "Reborn in America"Won [11]
1990 Best Photography in an Information/Documentary Program or Series Michael Boland, "The Curtain Rises"Nominated

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References

  1. ↑ Mark Abley, "Patrick Watson's quest, the search for democracy; Man of ideas embarks upon ambitious TV challenge". Montreal Gazette , December 4, 1988.
  2. ↑ Tony Atherton, "The Struggle for Democracy; 10-part series rife with Watson's personal convictions". Ottawa Citizen , January 7, 1989.
  3. ↑ Henry Mietkiewicz, "Rights to Watson book sold in 6-figure deal". Toronto Star , June 30, 1988.
  4. ↑ "Venture host to leave for series on democracy". Ottawa Citizen , January 15, 1987.
  5. ↑ Warren Gerard, "The Struggle for Democracy". Toronto Star , January 7, 1989.
  6. 1 2 Judith Michaelson, "Current Events Overtake PBS Democracy Series". Los Angeles Times , June 23, 1989.
  7. ↑ "Struggle for Democracy". BFI. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Antonia Zerbisias, "Watson has new look at democracy". Toronto Star , April 5, 1990.
  9. ↑ "Watson's Struggle for Democracy wins Gemini for best documentary". Montreal Gazette , December 6, 1989.
  10. ↑ "Glory Enough for All shines in Gemini technical awards". Montreal Gazette , December 5, 1989.
  11. 1 2 "Geminis awarded last night". Montreal Gazette , December 5, 1989.
  12. ↑ "This year's TV Gemini nominations". Toronto Star , October 26, 1989.
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