Todays Podcast - Episode 1: Join In! The Reunion!!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2024
- Welcome to Todays Podcast. We are dedicated to the history and the stories of some of your favourite Classic Canadian TV Shows from the People who made them!
Our Very First Show is Join In!
Join In! was a Canadian educational children's television show which aired on TVOntario between 1989 and 1994. It was created and produced by Jed MacKay, who also wrote all of the show's original songs.
The series revolved around three adults named Jacob Bennett, Nikki, and Zack, who shared a studio loft together. After the second season, Nikki moved away and was replaced by Kia.
We were able to reunite the original 3 cast members, Marty Brier, Pamela Sinhu and Rudy Webb for the first time since 1994 along with Producer and Creator Jed MacKay. Unfortunately, Mishu Vellani who performed as Kia in seasons 3-6 was unable to make it.
So Get Ready to Cast Your Cares Away with Join In! The Reunion!
Hey Kevin! Loved chatting and seeing the "Join In!" gang! How the heck does Rudy never age? A couple of things that should've been mentioned...
"Join In!" came to life because of the belief and support of Ruth Vernon, the head of TVO's Children's Dept during its tremendous re-imagining of what educational TV could be for kids. The bar was set high by shows like "Today's Special" - we wanted to build on that and yet add a different flavour.
I didn't come into the chat until after you'd started, but just to clear up Pamela's memory, she was on the show for the first two seasons (and did a terrific job before going on to greater success). As you state in your intro, Mishu Vellani replaced her for the final four seasons and was equally beloved.
Pamela jokes about not liking Nikki's costume, but that was my decision, not Ethel Glinert's! As is readily apparent from a couple of the clips you've included, Ethel was a brilliant costume designer, routinely knocking it out of the park for our story sequences, all on a very tight budget.
The toughest time for a show is its first season - particularly when the production team is overly ambitious and you just have to go straight into it! Doug Williams was handed an extremely challenging, and sometimes exasperating task, and he was more than up to it. I'm not sure Marty or Pamela, both doing their first pro gigs on a TV series, understood what Doug had to put up with from his Producer! Wayne Moss took the reins for seasons 3-6, with Ricki Glinert shooting 6 shows in the final year. We couldn't have done it without them.
And as I say in the chat, we really couldn't have done it without everyone on the crew and the production and post-production team. TVO may not have had the biggest budgets - and we didn't! - but we had a talented and dedicated team who really put their hearts into everything we did. They're the ones who deserve all the thanks.
This was absolutely wonderful that the four of you participated in this. This was awesome, and it was obvious you all had a wonderful time. Thank you so much.
Talk about a blast from the past! I remember watching this show as a kid. The one episode that I remember the most was the one about Mr. Sports Jacket and Miss Summer Dress. I wish I could watch that episode again.
My childhood favourite show!🤩
We Love Join In! too!!
I don't remember Join In! as a big part of my childhood, but this was still magical. Thanks, Kevin, for bringing this together. Great view of Children's TV in the 1970's and 80's.
This is amazing! Join In was a huge part of my TVO viewing in very early elementary school.
OMG Marty! You’re a child!