I'm lying a bit here - I didn't see much of it, but I feel it needs to be mentioned: For at least the next decade, Jalna was a running joke when dealing with Canadian programming. Those that designed and pursued the project wanted a great classic mini-series in the same successful strain as Upstairs Downstairs in Britain and various mini-series becoming popular in the United States, but with a Canadian story to try to demonstrate the relevance of the nation's literature. Unfortunately, a story that was somewhat slow and formula-bound when RKO did it in 1935 became very slow and over-played as the main suspense was wondering how long it would take for something interesting to happen, or even develop. Was it poorly done? Not really, it was just the wrong story for the time given to tell it, and not really a competitor to what was being developed by American and British producers.
It took a generation for CBC drama to live down the memories of The Whiteoaks of Jalna and bring back a willingness among the audience to give Canadian television drama a chance. It also gave English Canadian private broadcasters an excuse to *not really try* with drama on the argument that it wouldn't have a chance of getting an audience.
It took a generation for CBC drama to live down the memories of The Whiteoaks of Jalna and bring back a willingness among the audience to give Canadian television drama a chance. It also gave English Canadian private broadcasters an excuse to *not really try* with drama on the argument that it wouldn't have a chance of getting an audience.