What It's Like Being Alone
Encyclopedia
What It's Like Being Alone is a Canadian
television program
which aired on CBC Television
in 2006
. It is a black comedy
created by Brad Peyton
, and combines clay animation
with voice work by Stacey DePass
, Adam Reid, Dwayne Hill, Julie Lemieux
, Peter Cugno, and Andrew Sabiston
.
Having debuted on June 26, 2006, the series lasted only until September 18 of that year. The storylines of the thirteen episodes that aired during this timeframe center on the many attempts of fictional mutant
children living in an orphanage
to get adopted. Princess Lucy, a grey, fat, and warty orphan, is the main character, and the plot begins with her arrival at the orphanage. Critics regarded the series as unusual, and it received notably poor ratings
. Commentators considered these ratings to reflect a generally poor performance of CBC programming in 2006.
, and it may be set in a bog
on the Canadian island of Newfoundland.
of the series aired with some anticipation. Beforehand, columnist Randall Denley had written that "I suspect [it] will be the highlight of the evening," noting the series had been described as "wondrous and fiendishly humorous." The first episode, titled "The Gurney Orphanage For Beginners," features Princess Lucy and her suitcase falling from the sky in front of the orphanage and killing three rabbits. Upon getting up and seeing the orphanage, Princess Lucy believes she has found her castle
and royal family
. Instead, she is surprised to find the building is full of mutant orphans, and devastated to learn she is an orphan herself. She tries to escape, but finds any way out blocked by a lake monster
and a dangerous forest, among other things.
Eventually, a woman agrees to adopt Lucy. However, the other orphans see that the woman will probably not provide the best home for her, and intervene. Lucy ultimately decides that she belongs in the orphanage more so than her ideal castle.
, pop culture
references and humour."
"Do Orphans Dream of Electric Parents?" is the second episode. It is about Brian Brain inventing robot
s and making them his parents, only to find that the robots want to divorce each other. In the next episode, "An Orphans Life Indeed", Princess Lucy seeks a best friend, but her vanity causes her to decide that only she can be her own best friend. Lucy then clones
herself, but the clones prove troublesome. Seymore, who is in love with Lucy, ultimately solves the problem by slaughtering the clones with a chainsaw
. One critic remarked that this was a particularly "disturbing" scene for the series.
The fourth episode, called "The Perfect Lesson", sees the orphans trying to perform a play to impress visiting prospective parents. This was followed by the episode aired on July 24, "The Poster Child" which is about a corporation
that attempts to adopt Aldous to use her in advertisements. Aldous, under a witch's curse, must accept this shallow adoption or die.
In the episode "Fire the Reverend", a religious speaker visits the orphanage and confuses Charlie with Satan
; the real Satan and his son later emerge, and Charlie finds out that while he is mistaken for being evil, Satan's son is trying to shed the perception that he is good. Eventually Charlie saves the day by persuading Satan and his son to leave the orphanage. The seventh episode is entitled "Red, White and Orphanage". It is about another orphanage abducting Brian Brain in order to exploit him in their plans for world domination. This was followed by "Sammy's Episode", which is about Sammy taking various medications, as well as shock therapy
. The ninth episode is "A Tale of Almost Unbearable Sadness," which is focussed on declining morale in the orphanage and exploration of the dangerous forest.
Alternate names for the tenth episode are "Lucky Lucy" and "You Gotta Know When to Hold 'em". In it, Princess Lucy bets that Byron and Beasly cannot be cleaned and wins. She afterwards gambles more but nearly loses the orphanage in the process. The episode "Armie Loves Cigarettes" sees Armie taking up smoking. According to the Internet Movie Database
, the second last episode and season finale
aired on the same day, September 18. The twelfth and second last episode is called "A Frightful Flu," and in it Aldous entrusts care for the ailing orphans to a witch. The final episode, "Silver Screen Lucy" or "The Sweet Stink of Success," is about the orphans making short films to impress a prospective parent, but he ends up adopting Nanny Goodapple and Beasly and Byron, leaving the orphanage to Aldous.
, who explained that he identified himself as a "freak
" growing up, and was thus motivated to try "celebrating flawed characters" in his work; he also employed stereotypical views of orphanages in the series. Peyton had previously made a black comedy short film called Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl
, and afterwards declined to shoot a major film. Instead, he turned to What It's Like Being Alone. He described the genesis of the series:
Peyton explained the writing by saying "it always comes out of an emotional place." One of the writers was Karen Walton
, who had previously written the Canadian werewolf film Ginger Snaps. The producers chose the type of animation due to Peyton's personal interest in it, although he later claimed that a day's work could lead to seconds' worth of material. A factory
was needed with 8 to 10 teams, with some of the animators having previously worked on the Tim Burton
film Corpse Bride
. The characters were made out of plastic
and foam
. Additionally, some animation was done through computers. Each character's figure had a number of add-on lips to express various sounds, and their eyes and eyebrows were also adjusted frequently during production. The figures could also be fastened into a surface, moved and fastened in again to portray movement. Peyton remarked that "The hardest thing is timing and pacing." Still, he also liked to emphasize that the series did not cost too much money to produce.
The airing of the series had been stalled for a year, perhaps due to difficulties within the CBC. To get CBC to adopt the series, Peyton showed the company a commercial with the CBC logo in blood, remarking that "It's been way too long that you've waited to have your logo covered in blood." He had also said that What It's Like Being Alone was meant to attract university and high school students as an audience, and he felt that these people did not ordinarily watch the CBC. CBC itself was looking for original material, and was enthusiastic about the series because it seemed to stand out among Canadian television productions. Peyton's co-producer was Fred Fuchs
, who later rose in the CBC staff; one critic believed Fuchs' promotion to be a reason why CBC adopted the series.
Canadian flag
to the orphan characters. He questioned whether the show indicated the CBC had adopted "Addams Family
values" and said that it was "the wildest CBC comedy since Twitch City
."
One television critic briefly said that What It's Like Being Alone is a "weird show," and simply advised individual viewers to see it for themselves. If they "relate" to it, the critic added, "a 'Yikes!' is in order." Bill Brioux of the Toronto Sun
commented that in combining a feel one would usually expect from Tim Burton with elements of Sesame Street
, What It's Like Being Alone would probably not appeal fully to any demographic, despite its originality. Additionally, he felt Princess Lucy would be tiresome, and said he had hoped the show were more amusing.
In terms of ratings, the series did not do well. The Toronto Star
described it as one of CBC's "prime-time dogs" with an audience of 78,000 people. The executive Richard Stursberg
was blamed for cancelling the more popular Da Vinci's City Hall
and This is Wonderland
to make room for this and other shows, and in general for being a "one-man wrecking ball" for the CBC (the series The One: Making a Music Star
had also flopped on CBC in 2006). On September 18, the series finale had only 163,000 viewers, part of the perceived "shocking" low ratings CBC received that year, along with the low ratings of the documentary series Hockey: A People's History
and a mini-series about former-Quebec premier René Lévesque
.
Television in Canada
Television in Canada officially began with the opening of the nation's first television stations in Montreal and Toronto in 1952. As with most media in Canada, the television industry, and the television programming available in that country, are strongly influenced by the American media, perhaps...
television program
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...
which aired on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
in 2006
2006 in television
2006 in television may refer to:*2006 in American television*2006 in Australian television*2006 in British television*2006 in Canadian television*2006 in Japanese television...
. It is a black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
created by Brad Peyton
Brad Peyton
Brad Peyton is a Canadian-born film director, writer and television producer, born in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador. His latest film is Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.-Career:...
, and combines clay animation
Clay animation
Clay animation or claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay....
with voice work by Stacey DePass
Stacey DePass
Stacey DePass is a Canadian voice actress that lives in Toronto with her husband and fellow actor Jeremy Harris. She has starred in various animated television series.-Career:...
, Adam Reid, Dwayne Hill, Julie Lemieux
Julie Lemieux
-Character voices:Julie Lemieux has provided the voice for characters such as Sammy Tsukino and Young Sapphire in Sailor Moon, Darien Shields in Sailor Moon R the Movie: Promise of the Rose, and Peruru in Sailor Moon Supers the Movie: Black Dream Hole. She has also played Funshine Bear Care Bears:...
, Peter Cugno, and Andrew Sabiston
Andrew Sabiston
Andrew Sabiston is a Canadian actor, theatre and television writer and lyricist. He went to St. Michaels University School in Victoria, British Columbia, graduating in 1982, the same year as classmate Leslie Hope. Both had been cast in their final year in the Paul Almond movie, Ups & Downs, which...
.
Having debuted on June 26, 2006, the series lasted only until September 18 of that year. The storylines of the thirteen episodes that aired during this timeframe center on the many attempts of fictional mutant
Mutant
In biology and especially genetics, a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not...
children living in an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
to get adopted. Princess Lucy, a grey, fat, and warty orphan, is the main character, and the plot begins with her arrival at the orphanage. Critics regarded the series as unusual, and it received notably poor ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. Commentators considered these ratings to reflect a generally poor performance of CBC programming in 2006.
Characters
The storylines of What It's Like Being Alone revolve around the residents of the fictional Gurney Orphanage, a dark, run-down building. The orphanage has been described by a columnist as VictorianVictorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
, and it may be set in a bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
on the Canadian island of Newfoundland.
- Aldous is the eldest of the orphans. She is tall, depressed, very gothicGoth subcultureThe goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
and obsessed with her own death, and carries a black umbrella. She spends most of her time moping about the orphanage and writing depressing poetry. It is insinuated that she actually cares for the other orphans, without letting this on too much. Aldous is voiced by Stacey DePassStacey DePassStacey DePass is a Canadian voice actress that lives in Toronto with her husband and fellow actor Jeremy Harris. She has starred in various animated television series.-Career:...
. - Armie is a boy with no limbs, except for his left arm. He glides around on a skateboard, and often falls over when he uses his arm for something. He is happy and hopeful, despite his obvious handicap. Armie is voiced by Adam Reid.
- Brian Brain is an incredibly intelligent 9-year-old boy with two brains and three eyes. He is often seen inventing things, or gloating about his superiority. His voice is provided by Andrew SabistonAndrew SabistonAndrew Sabiston is a Canadian actor, theatre and television writer and lyricist. He went to St. Michaels University School in Victoria, British Columbia, graduating in 1982, the same year as classmate Leslie Hope. Both had been cast in their final year in the Paul Almond movie, Ups & Downs, which...
. - Byron and Beasly is a blue baby with two heads. Byron is constantly teased by Beasly, the more demonic head. They vomit acid, and are nearly impossible to bathe. No one is credited with voicing this character.
- Charlie is a somewhat homosexual boy who is always on fire. Though he tries not to harm other people, someone or something always ends up burning. Like the other orphan characters, Charlie was part of the story from the beginning, and was specifically inspired by one of Peyton's jokes, "What’s it like being aloneSolitudeSolitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation .Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one...
? Like a sunset, but only if you're on fire." Charlie is voiced by Peter Cugno. - Princess Lucy is a short, fat, warty and grey girl who believes she is a princessPrincessPrincess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
. She is ego-centric, and quite crude, and has a long, lizard-like tongue; she often carries a lollipop. She firmly believes that she is the most deserving of parents. Princess Lucy is voiced by Dwayne Hill, who was also part of the "Story Department." Peyton has said that she is his favourite character. - Sammy Fishboy resembles a swamp monsterSwamp monsterSwamp monsters have been a staple of comics for years. From the 1940s to the present many murk-dwellers have made their muddy mark in comics. Swamp creatures are humanoid creatures similar to fish or resembling living piles of swamp mire. They live underwater and occasionally come to the surface,...
. Outside of his tank, he must always keep a running hose over his head. He often is very rude, especially when he is drunk. He is in love with Isabella, a stone mermaidMermaidA mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
aquarium decoration, and becomes depressed when it is not around. Sammy is voiced by Julie LemieuxJulie Lemieux-Character voices:Julie Lemieux has provided the voice for characters such as Sammy Tsukino and Young Sapphire in Sailor Moon, Darien Shields in Sailor Moon R the Movie: Promise of the Rose, and Peruru in Sailor Moon Supers the Movie: Black Dream Hole. She has also played Funshine Bear Care Bears:...
. - Seymore Talkless is an eleven-year-old boy with no mouth and one giant eyeCyclopsA cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
. He expresses his emotions through his violin or a variety of signs that have a word or phrase written on them, and expresses panic through crazed hand gestures. No one is credited with voicing this character. - Nanny Goodapple is the orphans' caretaker. She never speaks, and glides around the other characters. When out, she leaves the welfare of the other children in Aldous' hands. Nanny Goodapple is also something of a souseAlcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. No one is credited with voicing this character.
Pilot
The pilotTelevision pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
of the series aired with some anticipation. Beforehand, columnist Randall Denley had written that "I suspect [it] will be the highlight of the evening," noting the series had been described as "wondrous and fiendishly humorous." The first episode, titled "The Gurney Orphanage For Beginners," features Princess Lucy and her suitcase falling from the sky in front of the orphanage and killing three rabbits. Upon getting up and seeing the orphanage, Princess Lucy believes she has found her castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
and royal family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
. Instead, she is surprised to find the building is full of mutant orphans, and devastated to learn she is an orphan herself. She tries to escape, but finds any way out blocked by a lake monster
Lake monster
A lake monster or loch monster is a purported form of fresh-water-dwelling megafauna appearing in mythology, rumor, or local folklore, but whose existence lacks scientific support. A well known example is the Loch Ness Monster. Lake monsters' depictions are often similar to some sea monsters...
and a dangerous forest, among other things.
Eventually, a woman agrees to adopt Lucy. However, the other orphans see that the woman will probably not provide the best home for her, and intervene. Lucy ultimately decides that she belongs in the orphanage more so than her ideal castle.
Series
The series was continued with twelve more episodes: Themes explored include "social issuesSocial issues
Social issues are controversial issues which relate to people's personal lives and interactions. Social issues are distinguished from economic issues...
, pop culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
references and humour."
"Do Orphans Dream of Electric Parents?" is the second episode. It is about Brian Brain inventing robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s and making them his parents, only to find that the robots want to divorce each other. In the next episode, "An Orphans Life Indeed", Princess Lucy seeks a best friend, but her vanity causes her to decide that only she can be her own best friend. Lucy then clones
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
herself, but the clones prove troublesome. Seymore, who is in love with Lucy, ultimately solves the problem by slaughtering the clones with a chainsaw
Chainsaw
A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
. One critic remarked that this was a particularly "disturbing" scene for the series.
The fourth episode, called "The Perfect Lesson", sees the orphans trying to perform a play to impress visiting prospective parents. This was followed by the episode aired on July 24, "The Poster Child" which is about a corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
that attempts to adopt Aldous to use her in advertisements. Aldous, under a witch's curse, must accept this shallow adoption or die.
In the episode "Fire the Reverend", a religious speaker visits the orphanage and confuses Charlie with Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
; the real Satan and his son later emerge, and Charlie finds out that while he is mistaken for being evil, Satan's son is trying to shed the perception that he is good. Eventually Charlie saves the day by persuading Satan and his son to leave the orphanage. The seventh episode is entitled "Red, White and Orphanage". It is about another orphanage abducting Brian Brain in order to exploit him in their plans for world domination. This was followed by "Sammy's Episode", which is about Sammy taking various medications, as well as shock therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
. The ninth episode is "A Tale of Almost Unbearable Sadness," which is focussed on declining morale in the orphanage and exploration of the dangerous forest.
Alternate names for the tenth episode are "Lucky Lucy" and "You Gotta Know When to Hold 'em". In it, Princess Lucy bets that Byron and Beasly cannot be cleaned and wins. She afterwards gambles more but nearly loses the orphanage in the process. The episode "Armie Loves Cigarettes" sees Armie taking up smoking. According to the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
, the second last episode and season finale
Season finale
A season finale is the final episode of a season of a television program...
aired on the same day, September 18. The twelfth and second last episode is called "A Frightful Flu," and in it Aldous entrusts care for the ailing orphans to a witch. The final episode, "Silver Screen Lucy" or "The Sweet Stink of Success," is about the orphans making short films to impress a prospective parent, but he ends up adopting Nanny Goodapple and Beasly and Byron, leaving the orphanage to Aldous.
Production
The show was created by Brad Peyton of Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, who explained that he identified himself as a "freak
Freak
In current usage, the word "freak" is commonly used to refer to a person with something unusual about their appearance or behaviour. This usage dates from the so-called freak scene of the 1960s and 1970s. "Freak" in this sense may be used either as a pejorative, a term of admiration, or a...
" growing up, and was thus motivated to try "celebrating flawed characters" in his work; he also employed stereotypical views of orphanages in the series. Peyton had previously made a black comedy short film called Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl
Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl
Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl is a 2002 award-winning short film and black comedy directed by Newfoundlander Brad Peyton. It stars Nadia Litz in the title role, and Joshua Close, and is narrated by Maurice Dean Wint...
, and afterwards declined to shoot a major film. Instead, he turned to What It's Like Being Alone. He described the genesis of the series:
Peyton explained the writing by saying "it always comes out of an emotional place." One of the writers was Karen Walton
Karen Walton
Karen Walton is a Canadian screenwriter.A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Karen Walton wrote the film Ginger Snaps, for which she won a Best Film Writing Canadian Comedy Award in 2002. She later wrote for the Canadian television series What It's Like Being Alone...
, who had previously written the Canadian werewolf film Ginger Snaps. The producers chose the type of animation due to Peyton's personal interest in it, although he later claimed that a day's work could lead to seconds' worth of material. A factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
was needed with 8 to 10 teams, with some of the animators having previously worked on the Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
film Corpse Bride
Corpse Bride
Corpse Bride, often promoted as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, is a 2005 stop-motion-animated fantasy musical film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. It is set in a fictional Victorian era village in Europe. Johnny Depp led an all-star cast as the voice of Victor, while Helena Bonham Carter ...
. The characters were made out of plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
and foam
Foam
-Definition:A foam is a substance that is formed by trapping gas in a liquid or solid in a divided form, i.e. by forming gas regions inside liquid regions, leading to different kinds of dispersed media...
. Additionally, some animation was done through computers. Each character's figure had a number of add-on lips to express various sounds, and their eyes and eyebrows were also adjusted frequently during production. The figures could also be fastened into a surface, moved and fastened in again to portray movement. Peyton remarked that "The hardest thing is timing and pacing." Still, he also liked to emphasize that the series did not cost too much money to produce.
The airing of the series had been stalled for a year, perhaps due to difficulties within the CBC. To get CBC to adopt the series, Peyton showed the company a commercial with the CBC logo in blood, remarking that "It's been way too long that you've waited to have your logo covered in blood." He had also said that What It's Like Being Alone was meant to attract university and high school students as an audience, and he felt that these people did not ordinarily watch the CBC. CBC itself was looking for original material, and was enthusiastic about the series because it seemed to stand out among Canadian television productions. Peyton's co-producer was Fred Fuchs
Fred Fuchs
Frederic S. Fuchs is a television producer and film producer active in the United States and Canada, where he holds dual citizenship. He became an executive in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on April 3, 2006...
, who later rose in the CBC staff; one critic believed Fuchs' promotion to be a reason why CBC adopted the series.
Reception
Critics generally found the series to be unusual. CBC critic Stephen Cole commented that What It's Like Being Alone has "arguably the most surreal opening sequence in TV history" with a shift in view from a black and whiteBlack-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
Canadian flag
Flag of Canada
The national flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and , is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted in Canada to replace the Union Flag...
to the orphan characters. He questioned whether the show indicated the CBC had adopted "Addams Family
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing....
values" and said that it was "the wildest CBC comedy since Twitch City
Twitch City
Twitch City is a Canadian sitcom produced by CBC Television. The series aired as two short runs in 1998 and 2000. The series also aired in the United States on Bravo, and in Australia....
."
One television critic briefly said that What It's Like Being Alone is a "weird show," and simply advised individual viewers to see it for themselves. If they "relate" to it, the critic added, "a 'Yikes!' is in order." Bill Brioux of the Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
commented that in combining a feel one would usually expect from Tim Burton with elements of Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, What It's Like Being Alone would probably not appeal fully to any demographic, despite its originality. Additionally, he felt Princess Lucy would be tiresome, and said he had hoped the show were more amusing.
In terms of ratings, the series did not do well. The Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
described it as one of CBC's "prime-time dogs" with an audience of 78,000 people. The executive Richard Stursberg
Richard Stursberg
Richard Stursberg was executive vice president of CBC/Radio Canada from October 1, 2004 to August 6, 2010.-Life and career:Stursberg has more than 25 years’ experience in the entertainment, broadcasting, cable, telecommunications and cultural industries, including terms as head of the Canadian...
was blamed for cancelling the more popular Da Vinci's City Hall
Da Vinci's City Hall
Da Vinci's City Hall is a Canadian dramatic television series, which premiered on CBC Television on 25 October 2005. The series was a spinoff of the long-running Canadian series Da Vinci's Inquest...
and This is Wonderland
This Is Wonderland
This Is Wonderland was a Canadian television series which aired on CBC Television. The series is a legal drama with comedic elements, or a comedy-drama. It was created by playwright George F...
to make room for this and other shows, and in general for being a "one-man wrecking ball" for the CBC (the series The One: Making a Music Star
The One: Making a Music Star
The One: Making a Music Star was an American reality television series that aired in July 2006 on ABC in the United States, and CBC Television in Canada. The show was hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos, known to Canadian viewers as the host of CBC's The Hour...
had also flopped on CBC in 2006). On September 18, the series finale had only 163,000 viewers, part of the perceived "shocking" low ratings CBC received that year, along with the low ratings of the documentary series Hockey: A People's History
Hockey: A People's History
Hockey: A People's History is a television documentary series from the CBC's Documentary Unit. It premiered on September 17, 2006. It aired on Sunday nights, in two-episode blocks, on the CBC's main network; repeats were made later in the week on CBC Newsworld.Much like previous series Canada: A...
and a mini-series about former-Quebec premier René Lévesque
René Lévesque (TV miniseries)
René Lévesque was a Canadian television miniseries that aired on CBC Television in 2006. It stars Emmanuel Bilodeau as former-Quebec premier René Lévesque.-Plot and production:...
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External links
- What It's Like Being Alone, accessed June 26, 2007, accessed December 15, 2006