''Man Alive'' is a Canadian television program about faith and

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

. It took its name from a poem by

St. Irenaeus Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greeks, Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christianity, Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, mor ...

, a 2nd-century Bishop of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

who wrote: ''The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.'' The program debuted in 1967 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-l ...

, and was hosted by

Roy Bonisteel Roy Earnest Bonisteel, (29 May 1930 – 16 August 2013) was a Canadian journalist and, from 1967 to 1989, host of the CBC Television program '' Man Alive''. Life and career Bonisteel was born in Ameliasburg, Ontario and was a seventh generat ...

for more than two decades. After several seasons of co-productions with

Vision TV VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic. VisionTV is currently owned by ZoomerMedia, a company ...

and the

Life Network Slice is a Canadian English language discretionary service channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts reality shows targeting young adult women, typically dealing in subjects such as fashion and lifestyles. This cha ...

, the last episode aired on CBC Television on December 17, 2000. Bonisteel retired in 1989, and was replaced by

Peter Downie Peter Downie is a Canadian journalist, broadcaster and academic. For 25 years, Downie worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. On CBC Television, he was best known as the co-anchor of ''Midday'' from 1985 to 1989 and the host of '' Man Ali ...

who left in 1993.

Arthur Kent Arthur Kent (born December 27, 1953) is a Canadian television journalist and author. He rose to international prominence during the 1991 Persian Gulf War during which he acquired the nickname "The Scud Stud". He is the brother of Canada's forme ...

succeeded Downie for one season, and then R. H. Thomson hosted until the program was cancelled. ''Man Alive'' took a diverse

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

approach to religious and spiritual matters. The program covered a wide range of topics:

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...

UFOs An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

development, family relationships, people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

, the

Vatican Bank The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by a ...

scandal and profiles of religious figures such as

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

and the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

References

External links

Queen's University Directory of CBC Television Series
via archive.org)

* ''Man Alive'' segment; last updated 7 April 2005.
CBC Digital Archives – ''Man Alive''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Man Alive (Canadian Tv Series) Canadian religious television series Religious mass media in Canada CBC Television original programming 1967 Canadian television series debuts 2000 Canadian television series endings 1960s Canadian documentary television series 1970s Canadian documentary television series 1980s Canadian documentary television series 1990s Canadian documentary television series 2000s Canadian documentary television series