Adventures in Rainbow Country

Just been through David Letterman and MAD TV, and expecting some crap like 'Whose Line Is It Anyway' to come on, and I get this bizarre offering from our Channel Nine. I wonder who was the programmer with the sense of humour.

Actually this show looks ahead of it's time - if I hadn't checked IMDb I would have placed it in the 70's - what with that big, ropey hair on those kids. I don't know what the hell is going on - I'm in no state to figure it out anyway, and I really don't think it would matter if I were.

Sheesh, the acting's bad - but that makes it all the funnier. But there's lots of flannel shirts, boots with tassels, canoes, Injuns, rapids, and some guy who looks like an uglier, TV answer to Robert Mitchum. Some guy gets rescued from some slightly dangerous looking rocks next to a raging river ... and now they're doing one of those cheesy rap-ups where everyone is gathered around discussing the episode's events, something supposedly profound is said, followed by a bad joke where everyone laughs to end it all on a light note, and the credits roll.

Heh - whatever.

Trivia Questions about "Adventures In Rainbow Country" would be really hard to answer. How many people have even heard of this show? I know a lot about it, and it brings back a lot of memories when I watch the episodes that I have managed to tape from repeat showings of it. The show was a serious show but I always found myself laughing at parts in almost every episode. The scenery was the best thing about it. It was shot on location up around North Bay & Sudbury Ontario. The Williams home was tucked away in a cove on a beautiful lake. Lois Maxwell played "Nancy Williams" the widow & mother of two teenagers (Billy & Hanna). It's hard to believe that Lois Maxwell went from playing Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films to this low budget Canadian production.

"Adventures In Rainbow Country" was produced in 1969 with only 26 shows being made. A few of my favorites are:

1)The Boy Who Loved The Animals. It's the story about a deaf mute who loves animals, and is nearly shot by hunters. The boy was played by Tim Pellet.

2) La Du Lab. It's about this man called Big Joe, who lives deep in the woods, but is terrified of this lake that he feels is haunted. This show has a lot of funny parts in it. Classic Line: "I don't like it when people don't trust Big Joe!! Another funny part is when he claims to know the area 500 miles around him. He also has really funny hair (the big wrap).

3) Skydiver. This is the show where a champion skydiver loses his nerve & can,t jump right anymore. Classic Line: "He Blew It!!!"

4) Bush Panic. It's the show where Billy Williams gets lost in the woods & has to be rescued by his good friend Pete Gawa....

I loved all of the episodes that were done & I am glad to have almost all of them recorded on video tape. I look forward to when recordable DVD players come out (2000?) so I can have this classic canadian tv show for years to come.

I caught one episode and watched it with interest since as a Canadian it is rare to find old Canadian shows since they rarely make it to vhs tape and DVD. (Still trying to find the first 3 or 4 seasons of the Beachcomers.) This show is supposed to be set in Canada, but aside from Lois Maxwell who does have a real Canadian accent here, my jaw dropped as the young blond actor who played Billy came on the screen. He spoke with such a cockney British accent that I thought I was listening to Eliza Doolitle from 'My Fair Lady'. And then next comes the actor who played Roger, and I swear if you close your eyes you would think this guy sounds more like John Lennon speaking in an interview than John Lennon himself sounded! Just wow. Canadians don't sound like that. What on earth were the Canadian casting directors thinking back then?

This series took place in our backyard. I distinctly remember Lois Maxwell as being a very respectful, distinguished, beautiful woman who brought a wonderful presence to the series. All of the cast and crew were very nice people. Today,First Nations people is the proper term to use when referring to 'Indian'; which is still the technical-governmental term. At the time of the shooting of this series, many of the First Nations people were from our little village, Birch Island (Whitefish River First Nation). I was in the series as a little girl in the 'Long, Tough Race. At a time in our struggle for better rights and literally, a 'long, tough race' for our own people, this series affected our little village in a positive way. We took great pride in being a part of 'Adventures in Rainbow Country'. Many good things were spun out of this series and still remain today ie. provincial tourism names this area Rainbow Country. Very often, older Canadians still remember the series. A search on the web should bring up the latest information on the series. I think it is a vital part of Canadian television history.

Short-lived but good for its time.

The Beachcombers was the one set in B.C. and much more successful and enduring, staring the unforgettable Bruno Gerussi and Robert Clothier.

Easy to get these two shows confused, especially if you watched them as a child.