''Northwood'' 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 ...

teen drama television series created by Nick Orchard. It centres on the lives of teenagers living in the eponymous fictional North Vancouver suburb. It ran on the CBC from March 4, 1991 to January 15, 1994. Most initial reviews of the series were mixed, with criticism given to its excessive melodrama, lack of comic relief, and production values, though praise was given to the acting performances. Having replaced ''

Degrassi High ''Degrassi High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series and the third series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. A direct continuation of '' Degrassi Junior High'', it debuted on CBC in Canada on November ...

'' in its time slot, ''Northwood'' also drew multiple comparisons to the outgoing show. As it progressed, reviews became more positive. A soundtrack album, ''Let It Be Me'', was released in 1992. It is composed of adult contemporary covers by cast members of the show.

Cast

Lochlyn Munro Lochlyn Munro (born February 12, 1966) is a Canadian actor. His most notable film roles include ''A Night at the Roxbury'' (1998), ''Scary Movie'' (2000), ''Freddy vs. Jason'' (2003), ''White Chicks'' (2004), '' The Predator'' (2018) and ''Cosm ...

as Jason Williams * Brigitta Dau as Maria Giovanni * Byron Lucas as Kirk Huber * Trevor Hughes as Peter Anderson * Tasmin Jones as Karin Anderson * Darrell Dennis as Brian Potter *

Maggie Blue O'Hara Maggie Blue O'Hara (born March 16, 1975), born Blueberry Sunshine, also credited as Maggie O'Hara, is a Canadian actress noted for her voice acting. She is well known as the voices of Madison Taylor in ''Cardcaptors'' and Shadowcat in '' X-Men ...

as Nicole Williams *

Gabe Khouth Gabriel Forest Khouth (November 22, 1972 – July 23, 2019) was a Canadian voice and television actor who worked for Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. Career Khouth had played several roles in anime, most notably Nicol Amalfi in '' ...

as Michael Thomas * Deanna Milligan as Jennifer McBride

Reception

Those involved with the show, including creator Nick Orchard and actor Lochlyn Munro, stated it to be "grittier" and "meatier" than the outgoing ''

'', of which ''Northwood'' replaced in the 8:30pm Monday timeslot. Despite this, most early reviews of Northwood were mixed, with negative reviews drawing comparisons to ''Degrassi''. Bob Remington of the '' Edmonton Journal'' rated it two stars and criticized what he felt to be the excessively melodramatic and humourless behavior of its characters, although he acknowledged the actors' competence. He also referred to ''Degrassi'' character Joey Jeremiah multiple times as an example of comic relief that he felt ''Northwood'' lacked. Janice Kennedy, writing for the '' Calgary Herald'', was more lenient in her criticism, saying that while the show cut corners and fell into soap opera cliches unlike ''Degrassi'', it boasted "solid acting" and "credible portrayal" from its actors, and stated that it had potential if it evolved beyond its trappings. Tony Atherton of the ''Ottawa Citizen,'' while also giving it a mixed review, rejected the ''Degrassi'' comparisons. Mike Boone, writing for the ''

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 ...

'', gave a more positive review, stating the show set itself apart from others because of its characters' "quintessential Canadian stoicism and unhipness", and praised the "strong cast of gifted young actors". Similarly, ''

The StarPhoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out six editions each week and publishes one weekly, ''Bridges''. It is also part of the canada.com ...

'''s Erica Smishek opined: "Strong performances by a well-rounded cast, effective location shooting and a grainy visual quality enhance the gritty appeal of Northwood. Now all its creators need is an audience for the six-episode test run.".

Streaming

In 2019, the series was made available for free on Canada Media Fund's Encore+ YouTube channel. The channel shut down on November 30, 2022.

References

External links

* 1991 Canadian television series debuts 1994 Canadian television series endings 1990s Canadian teen drama television series CBC Television original programming North Vancouver (city) West Vancouver Television series about teenagers Television shows set in British Columbia Television shows filmed in British Columbia {{Canada-drama-tv-prog-stub