Canadian Made

Season 12012

Did you know that the Wonderbra is a Canadian invention? How about the gas mask? Standard time? The instant replay? Computer animation? How about electronic music? Or that famous "American" Superman? Canadian Made is a series about Canada's tradition of invention, innovation and discovery - astonishing in its range and genius, yet unheralded at home and abroad.

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14 Episodes

E01 Clothing Revolutions

Canadians are not widely regarded as fashionable, but we can proudly wear the label of fashionistas - because the clothing items we've devised were not merely stylistic flourishes but true revolutions that forever changed the way people dress. This episode looks at three very different upheavals in attire: the Wonderbra, the lumberjack shirt and the gas mask

June 1, 2012

E02 Time Shifting

Time may be unstoppable but its not as immutable as one might suppose. Here we tell the story of three brilliant inventions that transformed our use and perception of time. Standard time put the whole world on one clock. Key frame animation took Muybridge to the next logical step. And the Instant Replay reduced the squabbles that come up, from time to time, between players, fans and refs.

June 1, 2012

E03 Space Exploration

Canadian contributions to space exploration including the Canadarm, Dexter and Laydar.

June 8, 2012

E04 Foresting

'Hewers of wood and drawers of water' is how Canadians were traditionally (and pejoratively) dismissed, abroad and (shockingly) at home too. If Canadian Made proves anything, it's that this old image is a load of beaver dung. This episode tells the stories of three inventions that utterly change our view of trees: the totem pole, newsprint and the water bomber.

June 8, 2012

E05 Cultural Revolutions

Canada: home of the superhero, fighting for truth, justice and the Canadian way! Wait a minute... What do superheroes have to do with Canada? This episode looks at three very different Canadian inventions that had world-wide influence: Superman, electronic music (electronic sackbut) and Trivial pursuit.

June 15, 2012

E06 Working Watercraft

June 15, 2012

E07 Game Gear

Our official summer and winter sports are really variations on the same theme: brutally bulldozing through your opponents to hammer a hard thing past a poor fellow stuck in a net. But the main pieces of equipment behind the action have long and fascinating histories that come out of First Nations traditions.

June 22, 2012

E08 Sweet Treats

The traditional Canadian diet tends to be basic meat and potatoes. And perhaps it's proof that people must have delights in their lives, that most of the foods Canadians can claim to have invented are all about putting a little unnecessary sweetness into the daily routine. "Sweet Treats" is about the yummy stuff we've discovered: maple syrup, ginger ale and chocolate bars.

June 22, 2012

E09 Brilliant Amenities

This episode is all about how Canadians have translated our cheerful ability to attend to the little things in life into some brilliant amenities that have made a world of difference for people living in this country: screws that can be used with one hand, bags that harness stinking garbage and bins that keep out the hungry intruders.

June 29, 2012

E10 Experimental Vehicles

As long as Canadians have had garages and basements, there have been guys holed up in them tinkering with weird vehicular contraptions and dreaming big. Some turn out to be noisy boondoggles and some to be brilliant breakthroughs. This show features a jetpack powered by water, a helicopter you can build in your shed and an electric unicycle that converts into a motorcycle for high speed getaways.

June 29, 2012

E11 Imperviousness

Survival, as Margaret Atwood said, is our middle name. We have always had to get by in a landscape and climate which are blithely capable of killing us. This episode is about the technologies we have invented to help us scoff at the elements: a house built from the softest powder snow, a coat fashioned from good ole fur and a suit that cannot be crushed by even the weight of the deep blue sea.

July 6, 2012

E12 Revolutionary Perspectives

"Revolutionary Perspectives" reports on this wonderful trait through the stories of three visionary inventions: the microscope that reveals the building blocks of life; a form of surgery that allows doctors to operate on patients many kilometers away and an observatory that provides a window on the infinite mysteries of marine biology.

July 6, 2012

E13 Snow Crossings

Canadian innovations for getting around in the snow.

July 13, 2012

E14 Medical Breakthroughs

Just as we seem to be congenital peacemakers, so too are Canadians a nation of healers. In this episode we look at the remarkable Canadian stories behind the invention that keeps arrhythmic hearts ticking, the rebirth of a forgotten language that allows the mute to speak and the discovery of the basic building block of complex life forms - which promises to give medicine truly staggering powers.

July 13, 2012

Canadian Made

E01 Clothing Revolutions

E02 Time Shifting

E03 Space Exploration

E04 Foresting

E05 Cultural Revolutions

E06 Working Watercraft

E07 Game Gear

E08 Sweet Treats

E09 Brilliant Amenities

E10 Experimental Vehicles

E11 Imperviousness

E12 Revolutionary Perspectives

E13 Snow Crossings

E14 Medical Breakthroughs

Total Drama Action

Legend of Earthsea

An Idiot Abroad

All in the Family

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars

Camelot

This Is England '88

Vikings: Valhalla

Treadstone

The Colour of Magic

Galactica 1980

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Stove League

Big Al

Boardwalk Empire

My Family

Sahara with Michael Palin

Angels in America

Hung

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

E01 Clothing Revolutions

E02 Time Shifting

E03 Space Exploration

E04 Foresting

E05 Cultural Revolutions

E06 Working Watercraft

E07 Game Gear

E08 Sweet Treats

E09 Brilliant Amenities

E10 Experimental Vehicles

E11 Imperviousness

E12 Revolutionary Perspectives

E13 Snow Crossings

E14 Medical Breakthroughs