On the Spot (Canadian TV series)

On the Spot was the first television series made specifically for TV by the National Film Board of Canada, and aired on CBC Television from 1953 to 1955.[1] Each episode reported on a different aspect of life in Canada and was introduced with the line "The National Film Board’s up-to-the-minute report of what’s happening somewhere in Canada”.[2] The series was originated by Bernard Devlin, with Robert Anderson as executive producer.[3]

The series debuted on October 6, 1953, at 7:45 pm and ran until June 30, 1955, for a total of 66 episodes. Episodes were from 13 to 30 minutes, with the CBC running one or two in one time slot. The series changed time slots frequently, playing as late as 11:45 pm on Monday nights before going to Sundays at 4:30 pm. The second season aired on Sundays at 10 pm. Cancelled after the 15th episode of the third season, On the Spot was replaced by Perspective, a 30-minute show that mixed documentary reports and dramatizations on contemporary Canadian issues.[4]

Episodes included Survival in the Bush, with producer Robert Anderson, acting as host, apparently dropped off in northern Quebec armed with just an axe; The Dresden Story, looking at racism in a small Ontario town, where the town's white and black populations insisted on being filmed separately; and Artist in Montreal, written and directed by Jean Palardy, looking at the Automatistes movement.[4][5]

Transpacific Flight involved an account of a flight across the Pacific Ocean in 1953, based on first-person interviews of the flight crew by Fred Davis.[6] Another aviation-themed episode was Radar Station (1953). The documentary involved an account of a visit to a radar station while it was involved in a simulated air attack and was based on first-person interviews, by RCAF Squadron Leader Bill Lee, of the station's staff.[7]

One episode that was cancelled was Backstage at Parliament, on the workings of the Canadian Parliament, with a mock session with actual members of Parliament. When the film was shown to the Prime Minister's Office, there were complaints about showing a session of Parliament without including the PM and the NFB was forced to shelve the episode.[4]

The episode Alcoholism won the Frigon Trophy for Best Canadian Television Programme on Film at the 1957 Gala Radiomonde et Télémonde.[8]