PRODUCTION NOTES How It All Happened In the early stages of his career, television producer Nick Orchard worked as the production manager on Beachcombers. He and Jackson Davies collaborated on various projects over the years, and when the two started talking about Jackson’s upcoming documentary about the original series, the concept for The New Beachcombers reunion pilot began to take shape (an idea that Orchard had been idly toying with for over four years). Both Davies and Orchard felt that the time was ripe for a family show to compete against what seemed like a wall-to-wall television schedule of gritty cop shows and reality television. After all, in over 16 years, Jackson Davies, who played 'Constable John Constable,' never fired his gun on the show. The producers also knew that while the famous faces of the series - 'Relic' and 'Nick' especially - were gone, the show was also about a small town on the edge of Canada, a place with colourful characters, water, boats, beautiful scenery and Molly’s Reach. Beachcombers had a strong sense of place, and life in Gibsons Landing, although subtly changed by the march of “progress”, still harkens back to a time when living seemed simpler, and more fun. The New Beachcombers retains all the charm of a world removed from big city life, while addressing the inevitable changes that have occurred over time; changes like the demise of the beachcombing industry, the invasion of upmarket “weekenders,” eagerly snapping up waterfront cottages, and the encroachment of condo developments and retirement complexes. The show also explores the disparate townsfolk who make Gibsons Landing their home – from the unique characters who cling fiercely to their self-determined lifestyles and defiantly march to the beat of their own drum, to the entrepreneurs determined to make a fortune by exploiting the beauty of the place, and those who shook off the small town dust for bigger vistas, and come back – still hungering. The Setting Molly’s Reach was a central part of the original series, and a character in its own right. The story for the new show, written by Marc Strange, who co-created the original series with Lynn Susan Strange, and who came on board as an Executive Producer with Davies, revolves around the fate of the old diner when unscrupulous developers are about to tear it down to make way for a new waterfront development. Like the series itself there’s a nostalgic theme to the script, and an examination of what is of value from the past. The quirky quality of Gibsons Landing and its denizens, plus the unsurpassed natural beauty of the town’s setting, also were key to the success of the original show. The series sold to over 60 countries around the world from Abu Dhabi to Mexico to Poland and between 1972 and 1990 over 10,000 tourists came to B.C.’s sunshine coast to see where the show was filmed. During production days on the original series in downtown Gibsons the “live audience” became so prolific that bleachers were built so people could be comfortable watching the filming. Some traditions never die and on this new MOW passers bye picked up the habit again. New Beachcombers star Deanna Milligan found that acting with an “audience” added an unexpected element of excitement to her role and Jackson Davies could barely make it from one end of the street to the other without being stopped by well-wishers and autograph hunters. As for the community itself, nothing could have exceeded their excitement about The New Beachcombers, or their willingness to not only support it, but appear in it. An open casting call for extras and six speaking roles resulted in over 500 of the locals coming down to the auditions. Orchard and Davies also decided that to do full justice to the beauty of their surroundings they would not only incorporate production elements like aerial shots, camera cranes and insert units, they were also going to shoot on 35 mm film. Comments Orchard, “much of the appeal of the original series was the scenery of the Sunshine Coast, particularly with overseas viewers - by moving to 35 mm we enhance the whole look of the show.” The Cast Jackson Davies is at the core of the cast, straddling both the past and the present. It was an off-the-cuff idea of his that brought another Canadian icon to the show - Dave Thomas from SCTV and Grace Under Fire. Davies and Thomas were long-term friends but had never worked together before. “Nick and I were idly tossing around ideas for the new show and I said – we could have Dave Thomas as “Molly” – just because it sounded funny,” is how Davies describes that inspired piece of casting. Thomas not only immediately said yes to the concept, but without even having seen a script, flew himself to Toronto to add “star power” in the pitch to the CBC to produce the MOW. Armed with a “yes” from Thomas, Davies and Orchard then set out to find their “dream cast” and the process proved surprisingly easy. Academy Award-nominee Graham Greene agreed to play eco-reporter “Colin Reid” and Cameron Bancroft, who went to Beverly Hills 90210 directly after a stint as a regular in the original Beachcombers series, came back as a brand new character. Veteran actors Duncan Fraser and Matt Walker signed on for small, but meaty, roles. The original show had been heavily weighted to male characters, but with the MOW Davies and Orchard wanted to reflect contemporary society with strong female roles, and cast a stellar line up of actresses to play them. Deanna Milligan, who worked with Nick Orchard on his critically acclaimed teen series Northwood signed on. She had never worked on the original but it was more than familiar, as she explains, “I grew up watching the show and my favourite character was Relic - I loved his comedy.” Kendall Cross plays her nemesis ‘Katt’ - who epitomizes independence and ambition – with her own float plane and manipulative plans to change the face of Gibsons - and make a fortune in the process. Actress and Hong Kong action star Francoise Yip agreed to don the less than flattering RCMP uniform to play the rookie cop and Susan Hogan, who recently performed opposite Davies on stage, agreed to play his Pediatrician wife in the movie. For some of the actors, like Jackson Davies, Cam Bancroft, Pat John ('Jesse') and Charlene Aleck (Sara), appearing on the MOW was like coming home, and coming full circle. In common with many of his cast mates, Bancroft grew up watching the show. “It was our Sunday night ritual – we’d watch the Wonderful World of Disney, followed by the Beachcombers. I grew up in Vancouver but I didn’t know it filmed in my backyard until I was actually cast on the show.” Contracted in 1985 to play 3 episodes as 'Graham Blake', the series marked Bancroft’s very first television appearance and when his role expanded to six seasons, Bancroft found himself being mentored by not only Bruno Gerussi but also Jackson Davies – who ended up helping him with honing his craft as an actor and advising him on the business side of The Business. As Bancroft comments, “coming back to Gibsons is a wonderful, strange, surreal experience – these are people who taught me so much.” Bancroft’s character played Charlene Aleck’s first boyfriend. Aleck grew up on the show – she was cast at the age of five – made her first appearance as a tiny six year old, and was almost twenty when the show was cancelled. Ironically, when she auditioned no one knew that she was Chief Dan George’s granddaughter. She and Bancroft shared their first on-screen kiss on the original series, and the two had not seen each other in years. Davies also contacted other series alumni who agreed to briefly appear, just for the joy of it, like Dionne Luther ('Pat') and Bob Park ('Hughie'). The Crew The Beachcombers was remembered as an idyllic summer working camp by so many of the cast and crew that, once the word of the new show spread, it became an easy matter to entice alumni back to shoot the new show. Many of them just picked up the phone to offer their services. Marc Strange came aboard as the screenwriter, re-creating the Beachcombers “feel” without having 'Nick' and 'Relic' in his arsenal. Brad Turner, who directed several episodes towards the end of the original series’ run, including the final show, quickly signed on. Director of Photography Rob McLachlan, who cut his teeth on Beachcombers and worked alongside Turner in the final season, reluctantly turned down the MOW because of prior commitments in Los Angeles. When they fell through he called Davies from a cell phone on the highway to let him know “I am on my way.” Original crew members started signing up in droves; many of them had settled or brought property in the area as a direct result of working on the series. Production Designer Randy Chodak and Art Director David Croal, who started work on the original as an assistant designer in 1979, took on the task of recreating the interior of Molly’s Reach (which had been remodelled when it opened as a fully-functioning restaurant after the show was cancelled) in the local curling rink. Fortuitously, they had rescued original design blueprints to keep as a memento twelve years earlier when the original Beachcombers artifacts were being dismantled and destroyed. The design team also did such an excellent job of making the restaurant exterior on Gibsons' main street look ready for demolition that tourists coming for a long-anticipated lunch were devastated. The fact that the owner had refurbished the outside just months earlier made the contrast very stark. Key Grip Tony Hyland, who married Charlene Aleck, came back, as did Dave Gordon. Gordon, who began his career as a Grip and moved on to a highly successful career working in the States, had, at 50, recently taken early retirement back to the Sunshine Coast to play golf. He put away his clubs just to come back and work in the lowly position he first started in. As Nick Orchard comments, “there were so many original crew members on the shoot that it was suggested at one point that we institute a collection pot…one dollar for every story about ‘the good old days’.” A mid-shoot baseball game pitting the “oldcombers” with the “newcombers” also gave rise to a lot of good-natured rivalry and greater storytelling. Along the theme of family and coming full circle, there were also countless moments of pure charm during production. When Cam Bancroft joined the original series as a teenager Jackson Davies had a four year old and a newborn that were frequently on set. Those now-grown young adults performed as stand-ins for Milligan and Bancroft – who now has his own newborn and two-year-old in tow. Charlene Aleck grew up on the show – and her four young daughters appear as extras in the MOW– marking the fourth generation of actors from her family who have appeared in the Beachcombers franchise. Other Canadian luminaries picked up the phone to offer Jackson Davies and Nick Orchard their services, including Valdy, who created a song (It’s The Water) specifically for his scene, Long John Baldry and original soundtrack composer Michael Conway Baker. The soundtrack for the show is rounded out by songs from two quintessentially Canadian artists – Sarah McLaughlin, who cites the scenery she saw as a child on Beachcombers as her inspiration to move to the West Coast – and Bobby Curtola – an early '60s homegrown “teen idol”. For Davies, the overwhelming enthusiasm to be part of the The New Beachcombers mirrored the response of everyday Canadians he ran into. “A while ago, a young woman in her thirties stopped me and shared her stories of being a kid and watching Beachcombers Sunday nights with her parents and all the wonderful feelings that brought back. She couldn’t wait for the Movie so she could watch it with her kids and recapture that feeling again.” Davies continues, “You know what, I can’t either.” Jackson Davies With The Old Beachcombers - A Brief History – 1972-2001 • The series was co-created by Marc and Lynn Susan Strange, and developed by Philip Keatley. • The premise was based on the fact that, for five dollars, anyone in British Columbia could get a license to beachcomb floating logs, selling them back to a logging consortium for 50% of their market value. • When the CBC found out that Bruno Gerussi was interested in playing 'Nick Adonidas', a Greek who makes his living on the water, the Network gave it a green light. So what if Gerussi was Italian couldn’t swim and had a morbid fear of water? • The rest of the cast was assembled: veteran actor Rae Brown ('Molly') and three kids who had never acted before - Pat John ('Jesse'), Nancy Chapple (the first of two 'Margarets') and Bobby Park ('Hughie'). • In 1971 six shows were filmed but one of those were quickly dumped. 'Nick' needed a foil; enter 'Relic' played by Robert Clothier. The CBC still thought that they had a Vancouver-made disaster on their hands - but they were already committed to the first season – so they had to go ahead. • The Beachcombers debuted on CBC Television Sunday night, October 1, 1972. That first episode, entitled “Partners”, was written by Gary Dunford, now a columnist for the Toronto Star. The story line was about forming the beachcomber partnership between 'Nick' and 'Jesse'. It was a unique blend of magnificent scenery, fast boats, water, action and slapstick but the official cementing of the partnership was far from politically correct….“Deal Indian?” “Deal Greek?” • Beachcombers was up against Sonny and Cher, Wild Kingdom, Sandy Duncan and I’ve Got a Secret. CBC held its breath -- would anyone watch? Oh yeah, they watched…stayed….and grew in number. Soon the CBC had a hit that was drawing bigger audiences than the American competition. • The audience kept growing and, along with this, the cast expanded. In 1974 Jackson Davies ('Constable Constable') appeared in the small role of an RCMP officer, and stayed for the next 16 years. He got the part on the series because he fit the only extra RCMP uniform the CBC had. • A Vancouver Sun review from the early ‘70s tells the story. “The Beachcombers sits atop the ratings in its class and is in a knockdown fight with Hockey Night in Canada as the most popular of all Canadian programs. Last week it outdrew Hockey Nick in Canada with an audience of 3.4 million.” • It was a training ground for actors like Helen Shaver, Bruce Greenwood, Ryan Stiles, William S. Davis and Evan Adams, and the series would train crew and production personnel who became part of the machinery that power ‘Hollywood North’ and have gone on to international success. • Despite its light-hearted tone, the show broke new ground both in casting Native Canadians as series regulars and in tacking tough topics ignored across the rest of the TV dial, like First Nations Land Claims. • The show’s theme song was instantly recognizable to millions and the series influenced bands like Bruno Gerussi’s Medallion from Vancouver, Alberta’s Molly’s Reach (their first album was called ‘Persephone’) and Regina’s Beachcombers. Footage from the series is even featured in a recently released rock video from the Maritime band, The Flashing Lights. • It was even magic for Americans. Conan O’Brien said, after watching The Beachcombers and tracking down 'Jesse' in 1986 that, “it was, without a doubt, the defining moment of my life.” • In 1990, after 19 years and 387 episodes, Beachcombers was cancelled, and replaced by the American sitcom Sydney. • At the final wrap party in 1990 most of the residents of Gibsons, and the rest of the Country, said their goodbyes in the local ice rink as the rock band Bruno Gerussi’s Medallion played well into the night. • The CBC thought that The Beachcombers would last, at the most, 3 years; Gerussi thought maybe even 5. It outlasted shows like MASH and Laugh In. In the end, Beachcombers was the longest running drama in Canadian TV history and came within one year of the US leader, Gunsmoke. Life After Beachcombers • Bruno Gerussi ('Nick') continued to act on stage and film and was enjoying travel and golf when he suddenly passed away on November 21st, 1995. He was 67 years-of-age. • Robert Clothier ('Relic') had a stroke in 1996 and was confined to a wheelchair, but continued acting and sculpting up until his death in February 1999, age 77. • Rae Brown ('Molly') passed away in 2000 in her late 80s. • Pat John ('Jesse') is now a fisherman who also has a beachcombing license for clams and shell fish on the coast just north of Gibson’s Landing. • After leaving the series Bob Park ('Hughie') worked in northern Alberta then, in the ‘90s, returned to the Lower Mainland and is now the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the B.C. Lions football team. • After nine years as a Los Angeles-based actor Dionne Luther ('Pat') has recently returned to British Columbia to continue his career in Canada. • Even 8 years after the series was cancelled the show maintained its unique place in the Canadian television landscape; a 1998 TV Guide website audience survey placed The Beachcombers as the most popular CBC TV Show of All Time.