Canadian Science Fiction Television

Canadian Science Fiction Television

Science fiction in Canada was produced by the CBC in its early years, notably the series Space Command (1953-1954). Actors such as James Doohan and William Shatner first appeared on Canadian television, before finding success in the United States. In the 1970s, CTV produced The Starlost in its Scarborough studios. In the 1980s, many animation houses, most notably Nelvana, began producing a growing proportion of the world market in animation; Canada has become the world leader in 3D animation with shows like ReBoot and Tripping the Rift. Only in the 1990s, with changes in exchange rates and tax legislation, plus a growing skills set among local production companies which had had success in local production and in producing films for American and international markets, that Canada became an important player in live action speculative fiction on television, with shows like Forever Knight, RoboCop, and most notably The X-Files and Stargate SG-1. The merger that produced Alliance Atlantis found itself with a large stable of science fiction shows, while Lions Gate Television, Fireworks Entertainment, CanWest Global, and CHUM Television produced shows of their own. American-based companies like Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount, and Universal also built substantial operations in Canada for their productions. During the 1990s and early 2000s, dozens of science fiction shows were produced in Canada, taking large market shares in American and international markets. A large body of shows have been produced for youth and children's markets, including Deepwater Black, 2030 CE, and MythQuest; many of these are mainly distributed outside North America.