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Inside Stories is a Canadian television drama anthology series, which aired on CBC Television from 1988 to 1991.[1] The series aired half-hour short dramas telling stories written and directed by members of ethnic minority communities.[2]

The series was created by Paul de Silva.[3] It was initially produced for CBC Toronto, before being expanded into a national network series for the 1990–91 season.[4] The network cancelled the series in 1991,[5] although repeats continued to air on occasion until 1993.

Episodes

[edit]

The series consisted of three 13-episode seasons; however, not all episode titles have been located. Known episodes included:

  1. "Cement Soul" — An Italian Canadian mother whose construction worker son is dying tries to find a way to honour his wish to have his body entombed in cement instead of being buried in a traditional coffin.[2]
  2. "The Twin" — Marc Gomes stars as twin brothers, one an ad executive who was raised as the adopted child of a wealthy Toronto family while the other remained in their native Jamaica and grew up to become a Rastafarian, who are reuniting for the first time.[6]
  3. "Looking for Nothing" — Hrant Alianak stars as the administrator of an Armenian club, who is convinced that there's a security threat when the Premier of Ontario is coming to his facility to give a speech. Directed by Atom Egoyan.[7]
  4. "Be My Guest" — A couple tries to help a new Polish immigrant adapt to life in Toronto.[2]
  5. "Gracie" — Gracie (Rachael Crawford) is caught in the middle of a family feud between her mother (Taborah Johnson) and grandmother (Jackie Richardson).[8]
  6. "In Limbo" — Deepa Mehta stars as a Sri Lankan doctor building a new life after emigrating to Canada.[9]
  7. "The Comic Book Chase" — A young Chinese Canadian boy saves his mother and himself from eviction after finding a valuable rare comic book.[10]
  8. "Here Comes the Groom" — A Black Canadian law student who is about to get married needs to find out more information about her estranged father whom she never knew.[10]
  9. "Welcome Home Hero" — Two estranged indigenous Canadian brothers (Tom Jackson, René Highway) reunite after their father's death.[11]
  10. "Baby Pinsky" — Two generations of a Jewish family disagree about the morality of circumcision.[12]
  11. "Heartbreak Hoteru" — Denis Akiyama stars as Aaron Iwata, a Japanese Canadian man working as an Elvis Presley impersonator, who enters a bowling competition to win the money to buy out his younger brother's share of the family motel after their father's death.[13]
  12. "Voodoo Taxi" — Two Haitian Canadian taxi drivers in Montreal exact revenge on a racist boss.[14]
  13. "Home on the Range" — An Indo-Canadian lawyer from Toronto (Sugith Varughese) moves to rural Saskatchewan.[15]
  14. "The Peggy"[5]
  15. "Dayglo Warrior"[5]

Awards

[edit]
Award Date of Ceremony Category Nominees Result Reference
Gemini Awards 1989 Best Short Drama "Gracie" Won [16]
Best Leading Actress in a Dramatic Program or Miniseries Rachael Crawford, "Gracie" Nominated [17]
Deepa Mehta, "In Limbo" Nominated
Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Miniseries Atom Egoyan, "Looking for Nothing" Nominated
Best Original Music for a Program or Miniseries Glenn Morley and Lawrence Shragge, "In Limbo" Nominated
Multiculturalism Award Inside Stories Won [16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Helen Bullock, "Insider's report". Toronto Star, September 3, 1988.
  2. ^ a b c "Ethnic side of city profiled". Toronto Star, September 1, 1988.
  3. ^ John Haslett Cuff, "Film draws engaging portrait". The Globe and Mail, July 23, 1987.
  4. ^ Tony Atherton, "Last year's produce in bumper CBC crop; Teen soap, three more new shows will join some old favorites for the coming season". Ottawa Citizen, June 21, 1990.
  5. ^ a b c Tony Atherton, "Important memo to the CBC: We don't need more Canadian news, we need more Canadian drama". Ottawa Citizen, June 24, 1991.
  6. ^ William Thomas, "Dinner date". Toronto Star, September 10, 1988.
  7. ^ Eirik Knutzen and Jane Widerman, "The sheik of Araby". Toronto Star, August 20, 1988.
  8. ^ Greg Quill, "Gracie shouldn't be missed". Toronto Star, May 1, 1989.
  9. ^ Tony Atherton, "Television: A guide to the week". Ottawa Citizen, June 18, 1989.
  10. ^ a b John Haslett Cuff, "Uneven start for promising series: The CBC turns the camera on Canada's visible minorities in a commendable if clumsy venture". The Globe and Mail, October 3, 1990.
  11. ^ John Haslett Cuff, "'Lighter moments' aren't always necessary to hold an audience Drama undermined by feeble humor". The Globe and Mail, October 17, 1990.
  12. ^ Elizabeth Aird, "Film clips". Vancouver Sun, September 7, 1990.
  13. ^ Greg Quill, "Elvis-like bowling wizard gets a strike". Toronto Star, October 31, 1990.
  14. ^ Brian Gorman, "Civil War returns this week". Toronto Star, March 17, 1991.
  15. ^ Erica Smishek, "Saskatoon-raised actor sees parallels to own life in drama". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, January 23, 1991.
  16. ^ a b Greg Quill, "R.H. Thomson's Banting best Glory Enough For All the big winner at Gemini Awards". Toronto Star, December 6, 1989.
  17. ^ "This year's TV Gemini nominations". Toronto Star, October 26, 1989.
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