Good Lookin’ STV

By on April 28, 2011 in Nerd, Regina, TV, Uncategorized

I was weaseling around the information superhighway a couple nights ago (it can’t all be porn and wedding cake) and came across this deliriously cheery video from the launch of STV. It’s amazing stuff. Open up a yogurt cup or a pack of Soda Licious and check it out.

Incredible, right? The pep! The enthusiasm! The enthusa-pep! It’s all there in one big beautiful dorky package. It’s kind of hard to imagine a Regina television station in 2011 working on knocking out a silly song like this. Especially one with the weird sort of swagger that this launch video has. I mean part of the lyrics are STV proclaiming “you’re a part of us, we’re a part of you” like they’re indoctrinating people into the Children Of God cult. Their slogan was “Good Lookin’ STV” for goodness sakes. The balls on those guys.

I’m from Manitoba originally (/opens up umbrella for the inevitable shitstorm in the comments) so my interaction with STV was checking it out when I visited my Regina-based grandparents. I always had a lot of questions about their logo. What was the red stuff in the V? Strawberry jam? Werewolf blood? A delicious combination of both? It didn’t matter because there were sitcom reruns and syndicated programs of varying quality for my grade school brain to soak in.

It kind of bums me out that the station got absorbed into the Global television brand and ultimately lost most of the quirks that made it unique. Sure, all the local over-the-air stations have their distinctly Saskatchewan touches, but those touches aren’t as flamboyant as they used to be. It’s not just a Saskatchewan thing either. Winnipeg/Portage’s indie station MTN was gobbled up by CHUM in the 2000s and City-TV lost the majority of its soul after a couple ownership shuffles in the same decade. It’s cable that has to pick up the eccentricity slack.

Thankfully we still have the insane programming practices of Geoff Sterling at NTV holding things down in Newfoundland.

About Dan MacRae

An Italian inventor often referred to as the father of long distance radio transmission. Known for his development of Marconi's law and his vocals in Love Inc.
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16 Responses to Good Lookin’ STV

  1. Gordeaux April 28, 2011 at 2:36 pm #

    It’s OK bro. I’m living in WPG and am originally from Saskatchewan. Moved here in the 90s to find work. Apparently I’m dyslexic because I thought I was moving to Calgary.
    Just out of curiousity… have you ever been able to cheer for the ‘riders yet? Because I’ve been here since ’93, and I just can’t go Blue.
    ;-D

  2. Dan MacRae April 28, 2011 at 2:41 pm #

    I can’t bring myself to cheer for the Riders (in fact the Rider dislike has amped up a bit since moving, I’m not quite sure why). As someone born in Winnipeg, I thrive on having a sports franchise steeped in soul-crushing defeat and failure. The Riders only have some of those elements.

    Now if Winnipeg gets a professional ice hockey team, will you be rooting for them?

  3. Cookie April 28, 2011 at 3:08 pm #

    Dan! You are EVERYWHERE!

  4. Aidan Morgan April 28, 2011 at 3:22 pm #

    Those lyrics are going to give me nightmares of being absorbed into the vast gelatinous body of STV. It’s like the peppy Borg or something.

  5. Dan MacRae April 28, 2011 at 3:25 pm #

    I may be everywhere, but sadly I’ll be missing the premiere bout of the season on Saturday, Cookie. Be sure to pulverize dem Dames.

  6. Dan MacRae April 28, 2011 at 3:28 pm #

    I could picture a version of the Borg where the Queen was the presenter from Size Small.

  7. Stephen Whitworth April 28, 2011 at 3:53 pm #

    Dan MacRae isn’t just everywhere, he’s on FIRE!

  8. Cookie April 28, 2011 at 4:01 pm #

    Sad Face! Roller Derby wont be the same without you cheering and lending your fame to our humble sport…

    Dan is totally approaching “local celebrity” status, I think you get a key to the I heart Regina fountain in front of city hall for that.

  9. Gordeaux April 28, 2011 at 4:27 pm #

    Dan — Will I cheer for any future NHL team here? Likely. Closest I’ve ever come to a team is the Habs, but I’m not exactly died in the wool…

    Soul crushing defeat and failure? I refer you to the 1979 and 1980 seasons, when I first really started following the Riders. It was the start of a pattern, really.
    ;-D

  10. Dan MacRae April 28, 2011 at 9:30 pm #

    No soul-crushing defeat that the Riders can provide is stronger than the shame Winnipegists feel seeing the mustache on Burton Cummings.

  11. Brett Bell April 28, 2011 at 11:03 pm #

    If you are ancient like me, and have been around here forever like me, then you may remember this…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVJ7qpHd4UI

  12. Madeline April 28, 2011 at 11:13 pm #

    Wow, check out the announcer’s outfit toward the end of the clip. With shoulder pads like that, she could have played in the CFL.

  13. Dan MacRae April 28, 2011 at 11:50 pm #

    Teletheatre? Holy smokes!

  14. Stephen LaRose April 29, 2011 at 10:25 am #

    Madeline: If that isn’t the woman who hosted the creepy Size Small kids television show from Winnipeg, it’s her twin.

  15. Aidan Morgan April 29, 2011 at 10:41 am #

    Stephen – That’s her – Helen Lumby, host of Size Small.

  16. Matchbook April 29, 2011 at 7:39 pm #

    Who remembers Wide Shot???

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