''Going Great'' is a Canadian

newsmagazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...

type show that originally aired on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

and premiered in the United States on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

on October 1, 1983. Produced by

Michael Maclear Michael Maclear, OC (1929 – December 25, 2018) was an award-winning Anglo-Canadian journalist, documentary filmmaker, and former correspondent for various CBC programs and for CTV's '' W5''. He is the great-great-grand- nephew of South African ...

and hosted by Chris Makepeace, ''Going Great'' focused on kids of all ages who did very amazing feats in the world some people couldn't do. New episodes aired on Tuesdays and Thursdays until February 14, 1984 (39 episodes).

History

Originally produced by CBC for 13 episodes, Nickelodeon was so impressed by the show that they ordered an additional 26 episodes, bringing the total number of episodes to 39. ''Going Great'' was one of Nickelodeon's lowest rated TV shows, receiving a 2 out of every 6 people watching it. '' Against the Odds'' is the lowest with 1 out of 6 people watching it. ''Going Great'' focused on being able to do amazing, extreme things. Kids were shown and asked about their bravery, and they always said: "I'm not brave". With help from Nickelodeon, kids were able to do great things, hence the name ''Going Great.'' In 1984,

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor and musician. The recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades, he is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public imag ...

was a correspondent for the show.YouTube clip
CBC RetroBites: Keanu Reeves

Response

While ''Going Great'' focused on child prodigies, it left normal kids with low self-esteem when Nickelodeon took it to focus groups, with the common response being "Well, I'll never be that good so I won't try that."

References

1980s Nickelodeon original programming 1983 American television series debuts 1984 American television series endings {{US-child-tv-prog-stub