''Switchback'' was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

television show for children and teenagers, created by Nijole Kuzmickas which aired on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

in the 1980s."Switchback a Cinderella tale". '' The Globe and Mail'', March 23, 1984. An interactive youth

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a com ...

which aired on Sunday mornings, the series mixed music videos, celebrity interviews, cartoons, comedy and puppetry segments, and viewer contests. The show was produced in several Canadian cities simultaneously, sharing some segments but each featuring their own local hosts and predominantly local content."The joys of live TV; Fumbles don't bother host of Switchback - they're part of the fun". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newsp ...

'', October 11, 1986. Editions of the series were produced in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

Regina Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * ...

Halifax Halifax commonly refers to: *Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * Halifax, West Yorkshire, England *Halifax (bank), a British bank Halifax may also refer to: Places Australia *Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook *Halifax ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, with each also seen on some other CBC stations that did not produce their own ''Switchback''. Hosts of the show included Rick Scott, Gordon White,

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part of ...

, Richard Newman, Andrew Cochrane and

Stu Jeffries Stuart Robert (Stu) Jeffries (born May 10, 1960)"Morning man: Day in the Life". ''The Province'', June 25, 1989. is a Canadian radio and television broadcaster. Best known as the host of CBC Television's ''Good Rockin' Tonite'' from 1986 to 1993,"G ...

in Vancouver; Stan Johnson in Halifax;

Shawn Thompson Shawn Alex Thompson (born January 13, 1958, Berwick, Nova Scotia is a Canadian actor, screenwriter, television producer, and television director, as well as a professional magician. Notably he is one of the producers of ''Puppets Who Kill'', which ...

Howard Busgang Howard Busgang is a Canadian comedian and television producer."A comic with chutzpah: He opens a Montreal-style deli in B.C". ''Montreal Gazette'', August 25, 2018. Comedy career Originally from Montreal, Quebec, he studied political science at Mc ...

Dale Martindale Dale Martindale (born January 21, 1961), is a Canadian born vocalist best known as the lead singer for the new wave band Images in Vogue. In addition to his work with Images in vogue, Martindale has had several side projects, including 69 Duster ...

and

Eric Tunney Eric Tunney (September 9, 1964 – March 28, 2010) was a Canadian writer, comedian and television host from Windsor, Ontario who hosted several television shows produced in both Canada and the U.S. and was a regular on the North American live com ...

in Toronto; Laurie Mustard and Jim Ingebritsen in Winnipeg; Howard Glassman, Ian MacGillvray and Keith Sandulak in Calgary; Brigitte Robinson, Tom New, Johnson Moretti, Natalie Gray, Terry Dimonte and Don Westwood in Ottawa; and Bill Wright in Regina. The Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary editions of the series were cancelled in 1988, with viewers in those areas receiving one of the remaining editions thereafter. At the same time, the Halifax edition went through some controversy when it dismissed popular longtime host Stan Johnson. All of the remaining editions of the program were cancelled in early 1990, amid budget cuts at the CBC."Switchback falls victim to CBC budget cuts". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', February 4, 1990.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Switchback (Cbc) CBC Television original programming 1981 Canadian television series debuts 1990 Canadian television series endings 1980s Canadian children's television series 1990s Canadian children's television series 1980s Canadian comedy television series 1990s Canadian comedy television series 1980s Canadian variety television series 1990s Canadian variety television series Canadian children's comedy television series Canadian television series with live action and animation Canadian television shows featuring puppetry