| This Is the Law | |
|---|---|
| Developed by | Nigel Napier-Andrews |
| Creative director | Jimmy Amaro (music) |
| Starring | Austin Willis (host) Paul Soles Robert Warner |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 min (time slot) |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBC |
| Release | 21 June 1971 – 6 April 1976 |
This Is the Law was a Canadian panel game show which aired on CBC Television from 1971 to 1976.
It presented short, humorous vignettes supposedly set in various towns and cities across Canada which ran with musical accompaniment rather than a soundtrack, and challenged panellists to guess which (obscure) law of that particular region was being broken by the "Lawbreaker" character (portrayed by Paul Soles), who was always arrested at the end of the vignette (Robert Warner starred as the police officer). The vignettes were quite subtle, and more often than not, despite many guesses, the panellists were unable to come up with the law that was actually being broken, as the laws featured were generally archaic - though, at the time of production, still on the books in the featured communities. (An example: in one vignette, the Lawbreaker is seen wearing a caveman-style costume at an event and engaging in dubious behaviour before being suddenly arrested. After the panel failed to correctly identify the indiscretion, Willis indicated it was because the Lawbreaker's costume did not fully cover his chest and in the Canadian locale where the vignette was set, it was illegal for individuals of any gender to expose their nipples in public.)
The vignettes alternated with depictions of actual court cases, presented in a series of still cartoons, in storyboard format, with narration. The narrator would end by asking a question about how the judge eventually ruled. The four panellists would each guess what the judge decided, and why, and each panellist would conclude by lighting up a large "Yes" or "No" in front of his or her seat. After all four panellists had guessed, the answer would be revealed.
Paul Soles was the first show host for the initial 1971 summer episodes. Austin Willis became host from the regular 1971 fall season until the end of the series.
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