Space: The Imagination Station
Encyclopedia
- For the Latin American channel with the same name, see Space (Latin American TV channel)Space (Latin American TV channel)Space is an Argentine cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System and Time Warner. It airs movies, series and television shows. It is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina...
.
Space (styled SPACE) is a Canadian Category A specialty channel
Specialty channel
A specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic....
owned and operated by Bell Media. It features science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, and paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
programming including film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, scripted television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
and more. SPACE originally used the subtitle The Imagination Station following its name; although, it is still sometimes used informally by fans today.
History
CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited was a media company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1945 to 2007. Immediately prior to its acquisition, it held full or joint control of two Canadian television systems — Citytv and A-Channel — comprising 11 local stations, and one CBC Television affiliate, one...
, airing the film Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and its plot contains certain...
, followed by a commentary on that film by author Robert J. Sawyer
Robert J. Sawyer
Robert James Sawyer is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 20 novels published, and his short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, Nature, and many anthologies. Sawyer has won over forty awards for his fiction, including the Nebula Award ,...
, followed by the film Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks! is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Tim Burton and based on the cult trading card series of the same name. The film uses elements of black comedy, surreal humour, and political satire, and claims to be also a parody of multiple science fiction B movies...
. The Sawyer commentary was the first example of the interstitial materials — mostly produced by Mark Askwith
Mark Askwith
Mark Askwith is a Canadian producer, writer, interviewer , and a familiar name in the fields of science fiction and comics.-Early life:...
— that have become SPACE's signature: short, snappy, mini-documentaries on science fiction and science topics shown between programs, collectively known as "SPACE Flow". Daily installments include Space News (formerly SPIN, for "Space Information and News").
As with Teletoon
Télétoon (Canadian TV channel)
Télétoon is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel that specializes in animation programming. Télétoon is owned by Teletoon Canada Inc; a 50/50 partnership between Astral Media and Corus Entertainment...
and MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
, Space was created specifically to prevent the import of a similar American television network, thereby maintaining Canadian content
Canadian content
Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...
whenever possible. In this case, Space was introduced in lieu of Canadians receiving the Sci Fi Channel (now Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
); it has been criticized for not carrying the same type of programming as its U.S. counterpart, although most (but not all) original SyFy programming eventually finds its way onto Space. There are some delays, however. For example, the popular Sci Fi series The Invisible Man
The Invisible Man (2000 TV series)
The Invisible Man is a Sci-Fi American television series starring Vincent Ventresca, Paul Ben-Victor, Eddie Jones, Shannon Kenny and Michael McCafferty...
didn't begin airing on Space until after it had finished its run on Sci Fi. It ran Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
delayed from its initial airing on Sci Fi, and as of January 22, 2006, began airing the companion/spin-off series Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
. There are some shows that air on Space that do not air on SyFy, such as Relic Hunter.
CTVglobemedia
CTVglobemedia
CTVglobemedia , was one of Canada's largest private media companies. Its operations include newspaper publishing , television broadcasting and production , radio broadcasting , and their respective Internet properties.Originally established by BCE and the Thomson family in 2001 combining CTV Inc.,...
took over Space on June 22, 2007, as a result of a takeover of CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited was a media company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1945 to 2007. Immediately prior to its acquisition, it held full or joint control of two Canadian television systems — Citytv and A-Channel — comprising 11 local stations, and one CBC Television affiliate, one...
.
Ownership changed hands once again when on April 1, 2011, BCE Inc.
Bell Canada
Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
(parent company of Bell Canada) gained 100% control of the assets that CTVglobemedia did not already own, CTVglobemedia was replaced by Bell Media.
Annual events
- The Spacey AwardsSpacey AwardsThe Spacey Awards are awards presented by the Canadian cable network Space. Awards are presented in the areas of sci-fi, fantasy and horror films, television series and video games...
: Space presents its own awards called the Spacey AwardsSpacey AwardsThe Spacey Awards are awards presented by the Canadian cable network Space. Awards are presented in the areas of sci-fi, fantasy and horror films, television series and video games...
to the best in sci-fi, fantasy and horror films, television series and video games. Some of the awards are voted on by viewers and the others by Space.
- Santa Claus Conquers the MartiansSanta Claus Conquers the MartiansSanta Claus Conquers the Martians is a 1964 science fiction film that regularly appears on lists of the worst films ever made. It is regularly featured in the "bottom 100" list on the Internet Movie Database, and was also featured in an episode of the 1986 syndicated series, the Canned Film...
: For several years at Christmas, Space aired Santa Claus Conquers the MartiansSanta Claus Conquers the MartiansSanta Claus Conquers the Martians is a 1964 science fiction film that regularly appears on lists of the worst films ever made. It is regularly featured in the "bottom 100" list on the Internet Movie Database, and was also featured in an episode of the 1986 syndicated series, the Canned Film...
.
- The Twelve Days of Space-mas: Twelve days of marathons, either of popular Space programs or of similarly themed science-fiction or fantasy movies, traditionally starting with the "Trekmas Day Movie Marathon", the airing of all Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
movies released prior to the 2009 film on Christmas Day.
Programs
First-run shows
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Nikita (TV series) La Femme Nikita is a Canadian action/drama television series based on the French film Nikita by Luc Besson. The series was co-produced by Jay Firestone of Fireworks Entertainment and Warner Brothers. It was adapted for television by Joel Surnow... Rabbit Fall Rabbit Fall is a Canadian television supernatural drama series, which airs on Space, APTN and Saskatchewan Communications Network.The series stars Andrea Menard as Tara Wheaton, a police officer of Métis descent who takes a job in Rabbit Fall, a remote town in northern Saskatchewan with a history... Stormworld StormWorld is an Australian-Canadian television drama series aired on the Nine Network in 2009 in Australia and first aired on Space March 2009 in Canada with a repeat in August 2009.... Stargate Universe Stargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way... Supernatural (TV series) Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they... Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series) -Production:At April 2005's Star Wars Celebration III, Lucas stated that "we are working on a 3-D continuation of the pilot series that was on the Cartoon Network; we probably won't start that project for another year." In July 2005, pre-production had begun on the series, according to Steve... The Listener (TV series) The Listener is a Canadian science fiction drama set in Toronto about a young paramedic named Toby Logan with the ability to listen to people's minds. The series premiered on Fox International Channels beginning with the Arabic-speaking area of northern Africa and south-western Asia on March 1, 2009... Torchwood Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from... |
Re-run shows
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Lost (TV series) Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island... Night Stalker (TV series) Night Stalker is a television series that ran for six weeks in the Fall of 2005 on ABC. The series starred Stuart Townsend as Carl Kolchak, an investigative reporter whose wife was murdered. Kolchak spends his time investigating other strange murders, believing they are linked in some way to his... Prisoners of Gravity Prisoners of Gravity was a Canadian public broadcasting television news magazine program that explored speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic books — and its relation to various thematic and social issues... Relic Hunter Relic Hunter is an anglophone Canadian television series, starring Tia Carrere and Christien Anholt. Actress Lindy Booth also starred for the first two seasons; Tanja Reichert replaced her for the third... Roar (TV series) Roar is an American television show that originally aired on the Fox network in the summer of 1997. In the year AD 400, a young Irish man, Conor , sets out to rid his land of the invading Romans, but in order to accomplish this, he must unite the Celtic clans.-Premise:Roar chronicles the... Robotech (TV series) Robotech is an 85-episode adaptation of three different anime television series made between 1982-1984 in Japan, the adaptation was aired in 1985. Within the combined and edited story, Robotechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South Pacific... The Sentinel (TV series) The Sentinel is a Canadian-produced television series that aired on UPN in the United States from 1996 to 1999. It premiered on March 20, 1996, and ran for 65 episodes . The series later reaired on Syfy.-Plot and characters:... Smallville (TV series) Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October... Star Trek: The Original Series Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969... Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production... Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe... Star Trek: Voyager Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while... |
Star Trek: Enterprise Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001... Stargate SG-1 Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich... Stargate Atlantis Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself... Steve Smith Playhouse Steve Smith Playhouse is a Canadian English language television series produced by S&S Productions that debuted in 2004.The series consists of 13 half hour episodes starring Canadian actor and comedian Steve Smith... Surface (TV series) Surface is a science fiction television series that premiered on NBC on 19 September 2005. The program aired fifteen episodes before going on hiatus on February 6, 2006 due to NBC's coverage of the 2006 Winter Olympics... The Dresden Files (TV series) The Dresden Files is an American television series based on the books by Jim Butcher. It premiered January 21, 2007 on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States and on Space in Canada. It was picked up by Sky One in the UK and began airing on February 14, 2007.The series ran for a single season of... The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne is a 22-episode science fiction television series in the steampunk genre that first aired in June 2000 on CBC Television in Canada and in syndication in the United States.... Threshold (TV series) Threshold was a science fiction drama television series that first aired on CBS in September 2005. Produced by Brannon Braga, David S. Goyer and David Heyman, the series focuses on a secret government project investigating the first contact with an extraterrestrial species.The series was first... Total Recall 2070 Total Recall 2070 is a science fiction television series first broadcast in 1999 on the Canadian television channel CHCH-TV and later the same year on the American Showtime channel. It was later syndicated in the United States with some editing to remove scenes of nudity, violence and strong... True Blood True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana... Unexplained Canada Unexplained Canada is a show that aired on Space, a Canadian cable television station. It was a six-part series coming from many different perspectives of historical/social mysteries. It was hosted by John Robert Colombo and premiered January 2006. The show was produced by KarowPrime Films in Canada.... |
Mini-series
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The Lost Room The Lost Room is a science fiction television miniseries that aired on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States. The series revolves around the titular room and some of the everyday items from that room which possess unusual powers. The show's protagonist, Joe Miller, is searching for these objects... |
Original programming
- InnerSPACEInnerSPACEInnerSPACE is Space 's leading Sci Fi genre news program holding an average audience of 52,000 during winter January 2010, up 27% from winter January 2009. Not to be confused with the Sci-Fi film Innerspace .-About:...
(formerly The Circuit) - News and information as from the entertainment industry with a sci-fi and fantasy slant. - Behind the Scenes - A look at the creation and bringing to life of various sci-fi series and specials, features interviews with writers, editors, stars and others
- Fanboy ConfessionalFanboy ConfessionalFanboy Confessional is a Canadian documentary series exploring fan subcultures. Subjects of the series have included Cosplay, Furries, LARP, Steampunk, and Real-life Superheros. Created by Toronto based production company Markham Street Films, the series currently airs on Space.-Episodes:-External...
- An celebration of geek and nerd cultures. Each episode focuses on an individual group such as LARP, FurryFurry fandomFurry fandom is a fandom for fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk on two legs, and wear clothes...
, SteampunkSteampunkSteampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
, and Real-life superheroReal-life superheroReal-life superheroes are people who engage in different forms of activism using the thematic device of the costumed superhero, many of them adopting pseudonyms and wearing custom-made outfits. They perform services that they believe benefit the community in a variety of ways, but which may be...
. - HypaSpace - News and information as well as the latest gossip from the entertainment industry, specifically science fiction and fantasy genres
- It Came From The Basement!It Came From The Basement!It Came from the Basement! is a Canadian television series original programme on Space. The show is hosted and produced by Natasha Eloi, who takes a look at people's collections related to science fiction memorabilia. Debuting in 2005, it airs interstitially on the Space television schedule....
- A look at people's eclectic collections of sci fi related material - Shadow Hunter - A series that focuses on the paranormal as seen by a ghost hunter (hosted by Darryll Walsh)
- Shelf Space - A look at and interviews with authors of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and science fact
- The SpaceBar - Late night movie "host segments" wrapped around a science-fiction movie, vaguely reminiscent of Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
- Space Interstitials
- SpaceNewsSpaceNewsSpaceNews was a daily news segment on Space, a Canadian television station. Videographer Natasha Eloi looks at "what's new" in space and the sciences. SpaceNews Monthly is a best-of show based on these interstitials. Both programs finished their runs at the end of September and October 2005,...
- News tidbits relating to space, NASA, CSA and Earth-based satellites - Space Top 10 CountdownSpace Top 10 CountdownSpace Top 10 Countdown is a TV show on the Canadian cable television channel Space. It counts down the Top 10 characters of a movie genre and shows clips of these films/characters...
- Space counts down what’s hot and what’s caught our attention in genre film and television, from superheroes, movie villains, aliens and killer cyborgs. Hosted by Space on-air personalities Kim PoirierKim PoirierKim Poirier is a Canadian actress, singer, film producer, and television host.-Personal life:Kim Jacinthe Poirier was born in Drummondville, Quebec, the daughter of actress/model Carol Laquerre who was Miss Toronto in 1976, she has one sister. She enjoys watching movies, writing, meditating,...
and Jonathan LlyrJonathan LlyrJonathan Llyr is a Canadian actor and TV personality.Llyr is best known for his work as an on-air personality for Space, Canada's science fiction specialty channel...
.
Space HD
On July 6, 2011, Space launched Space HD, a high definition simulcast of the standard definition feed. It is currently only available on Bell TV and Bell Fibe TVBell Fibe TV
Bell Fibe TV is an IP-based television service offered by Bell Canada in Ontario and Quebec. It is bundled with Bell Fibe Internet, and uses the Microsoft Mediaroom platform....
.