''Nightcap'' is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

comedy and variety television series which aired 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 ...

from 1963 to 1967.

Premise

This series featured satire and music sketches on topical issues in the news and society with regular performers Bonnie Brooks, Jean Christopher (until 1965),

Alan Hamel Alan Hamel (born June 30, 1936) is a Canadian entertainer, producer and television host. Early life Hamel was born in Toronto of Jewish descent. He was in the television arts program at Ryerson Institute of Technology in 1954 but did not gradu ...

, Vanda King (after 1965), June Sampson and

Billy Van William Allan Van Evera (11 August 1934 – 8 January 2003), known by the stage name Billy Van, was a Canadian comedian, actor, and singer. Biography Van was born in Toronto, Ontario, and dropped out of Bloor Collegiate Institute in Grade ...

. The Rubber Band was the series' musical quintet, featuring

Guido Basso Guido Basso, (born 27 September 1937) is a Canadian jazz musician who was a member of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass big band. He is a trumpeter, flugelhornist, arranger, composer and conductor. Life and career Basso was born in Montreal, Quebec, ...

who often performed in segments with the other regulars. The series also featured interviews, serious and not, with famous guests as well as a

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

parody, "

Flemingdon Park Flemingdon Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the city's North York district. It is part of the Don Valley East federal and provincial electoral districts, and Ward 26: Don Valley East (South) municipally. In 2011, it ...

", "A cesspool of desire in the heart of suburbia", named after a suburban Toronto neighbourhood. ''Flemingdon Park'' was spun-off as a six-part television series in 1967.

Scheduling

This approximately hour-long series was broadcast 39 weeks a year on Wednesdays at approximately 11:37 p.m. (Eastern) from 2 October 1963 to 16 June 1965. The time slot was moved to Tuesdays at 11:41 p.m. from 5 October 1965 to 28 June 1966. The time slot was returned to late Wednesday nights, 11:45 p.m. for its final season from 19 October 1966 to 31 May 1967. Initially the broadcasts were confined to Toronto and other Ontario cities such as Barrie, London and Windsor. By 1966, the series could be seen in Montreal, Ottawa, Pembroke, Quebec City and Vancouver.

Reception

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'' television critic Bernard Dubé described the series as "wild, corny, raunchy, lively and irreverent". Roy Shields, a Toronto columnist, panned the series as "the worst TV show in the world."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nightcap (1963 Tv Series) 1963 Canadian television series debuts 1967 Canadian television series endings Canadian late-night television programming CBC Television original programming 1960s Canadian sketch comedy television series Canadian news parodies 1960s Canadian variety television series