Adventures in Rainbow Country

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.

For 35 years I thought this show was based in the interior of BC and filmed on the coast. Interesting to find out that I was wrong. Sure looks like the BC coast though.

I remember this show from my youth and thought it was OK. I didn't mind watching it, which means that for a Canadian show it must've been pretty good. I haven't seen any episodes in the past 30 some odd years but today I stumbled across it on a digital channel so I sat down to revisit a bit of my youth. Storyline was very familiar and I enjoyed reliving my youth by watching the episode. While I was glad to see the show survived it was unfortunate that the media that the show was recorded on (film?) hasn't stood the test of time very well. I've seen colour film from the 40's in better shape.

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?

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.

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.