''Bordertown'' is a

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television series that aired 78 30-minute episodes from 1989 to 1991. It is set during the 1880s in a small town that straddles the United States and Canadian border, and law enforcement duties are shared between a U.S. Marshall and a

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territo ...

corporal.Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, '' The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 - Present, 7th Edition'', pages 119 - 120, Ballantine Books, 1999 The series was a co-production between Canada's Alliance Corporation and France's Tele-Image.Rick Forchuk, This western’s a mean shot for authenticity, ''The Leader-Post'' (Regina, Saskatchewan), October 13, 1989, page 84
/ref> It first aired on the American cable network The Family Channel on January 7, 1989, and was seen on Canada's

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

beginning in 1990.Old west comes to life in Bordertown, ''The Vancouver Sun'', February 23, 1990, page 103
/ref> A 1989 newspaper article stated that contracts were being prepared for the series to air in France, Italy, and several other European countries.

Premise

A small town on the United States - Canadian border had been named Pemmican (the name of a traditional indigenous food) but when the area was surveyed it was discovered that the 49th parallel, which divides the two countries, went through the middle of the community, and bisected the law enforcement office. NWMP Corporal Clive Bennett and U. S. Marshal Jack Craddock shared the same office (divided by a painted line on the floor) and patrolled the town that is half in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

and half in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. The officers also shared an interest in Marie Dumont, the town's doctor, and owner of the general store. In an interview series star Richard Comar stated that the "whole premise of the show is based on the border." How lawmen from two countries reacted to events showed the differences between the Canadian and American legal systems.

Production information

The series was a co-produced by Alliance Entertainment Corporation of Canada and Tele-Images of France. French directors were often used, and Sophie Barjac was hired to play a main character who come from Paris in order to broaden the series' appeal to French investors. The town was built on a ranch east of Vancouver, Canada. Sixty-five carpenters worked for six weeks to build the half-million-dollar complex. All buildings were complete inside and out.Jerry Buck, 'Bordertown’ western filmed in the real thing – almost, ''The Gazette'', (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). August 26, 1989, page 46
/ref> No soundstage work was done during the filming of the series; everything was shot inside or outside of the buildings that had been constructed for Bordertown. Effort was made to have the series look as authentic as possible. A 1989 article stated that the general store held "an array of merchandise worthy of the finest western museum." The saloon was stocked with antique bottles, and the livery stable had hundred-year-old saddles.

Cast

*Richard Comar - Marshal Jack Craddock (United States lawman) *John H. Brenna - Corporal Clive Bennett (Canadian lawman) * Sophie Barjac - Marie Dumont (French-born doctor and store owner) * Beverley Elliot - Sally Duffield (owns boarding house, works in Marie's store) *Fritz Bergold - Otto Danzinger (original livery stable owner) * Duncan Fraser - Zachary Denny (Southern saloon owner) *Gregory Togal - Willie Haddon (boy befriended by Jack Craddock) *Domenico Fiore - Dominic Bertino (saloon bartender) *Paul Batten - Wendell MacWherther (banker who later bought livery stable) *Patrice Valota - Gabriel Couteau (Metis man who helps track criminals) *Sarah Sawatsky - Lucy Walker (orphaned girl adopted by Marie)

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1989)

Season 2 (1990)

Season 3 (1990–91)

DVD releases

Platinum Disc Corporation released 4-volume collections of ''Bordertown'' on DVD in Region 1 between 2003-2005. These releases have been discontinued and are now out of print. On February 1, 2011,

Echo Bridge Home Entertainment Echo Bridge Entertainment is an American independent distribution company. It acquires and distributes feature films, scripted and non-scripted series, documentaries, and children’s programming for home video, digital and television in the United ...

released 2 volume collections on DVD in Region 1 (US only). These releases contain the same 28 episodes as the previous Platinum Disc releases. On July 26, 2011, Alliance Home Entertainment released ''The Best of Bordertown'' on DVD in Canada only. The set is exactly the same as the 4-disc set released in the US in 2005 and February 2011, even right down to the Platinum Disc Corporation logo appearing as soon as the disc boots up. On December 12, 2012,

released ''Bordertown- The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1. On January 6, 2015

released ''Bordertown & Gold: Complete Collection'' on DVD.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0096551, Bordertown 1989 Canadian television series debuts 1991 Canadian television series endings 1980s Canadian drama television series 1990s Canadian drama television series CTV Television Network original programming 1980s Western (genre) television series Royal Canadian Mounted Police in fiction Television series by Alliance Atlantis 1989 American television series debuts 1991 American television series endings 1980s American drama television series 1990s American drama television series United States Marshals Service in fiction 1990s Western (genre) television series The Family Channel (American TV network, founded 1990) original programming Canadian Western (genre) television series