# Playdate (Canadian TV series)

Playdate is a Canadian drama anthology television series which aired on CBC Television from 1961 to 1964.

## Premise

The series replaced General Motors Presents. Ed Moser, a story editor from that previous series, became executive producer of Playdate. He reduced the presence of Canadian script writers, featuring nine Canadian-written scripts in the final season of Playdate compared to 19 Canadian works featured in the final season of General Motors Presents.
Robert Goulet hosted the earliest episodes of Playdate, replaced by Christopher Plummer from 20 December 1961. From October 1962, episodes of the UK series The Jo Stafford Show were occasionally broadcast, billed by the CBC as Playdate Presents.... In September 1963, similar treatment was given to The Red Skelton Show, an American series, when it was sporadically broadcast in the Playdate time slot.
The CBC cancelled Playdate and Parade by June 1964, as part of a general reduction in variety programming for the 1964–65 season. In the months following the last Playdate episode, The Red Skelton Show was regularly seen in the time slot.
In 1964, 26 episodes of Playdate were sold for broadcast in Australia.

## Episode

This hour-long series was broadcast over three seasons as follows (times in Eastern zone):

### Season 1: 1961–62

Broadcasts of Playdate for the first season were Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time):
| Title | Air Date | Cast | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| "Stop the World And Let Me Off" | 4 October 1961 | Norman Ettlinger, Ruth Springford, Powys Thomas | Jacqueline Rosenfeld | George McCowan | science fiction |
| "The Cell 5 Experience" | 11 October 1961 | James Daly, James Shigeta, Jack Creley, Don Francks | Bruce Stewart | |
| "Valerie" | 18 October 1961 | Rodney Archer, Barbara Armitage, Charmion King, Budd Knapp, Gerard Parkes | Patricia Joudry | Basil Coleman | |
| "In The Good Time" | 25 October 1961 | Percy Rodriguez, Lloyd Bochner, Ann Morrish | A. M. Kittermaster | David Gardner | |
| "The Prizewinner" | 1 November 1961 | Peter Lind Hayes | Bernard Slade | | |
| "Heir for a Shoestring" | 8 November 1961 | George Tobas, Cec Linder, Nancy Mitchell, Sylvia Lennick, Suzanne Grossman | Paul Wayne | Leo Orenstein | |
| "Masterpiece" | 15 November 1961 | Powys Thomas, Mavor Moore | Larry Ward, Gordon Russell (story); Harvey Hart (adaptation) | | |
| pre-empted for Wayne and Shuster special | 22 November 1961 | | | | |
| "Salt of the Earth" | 29 November 1961 | Frances Hyland, Cec Linder, Ruth Springford | Rebecca West (story) Elizabeth Hart (adaptation) | George McGowan | |
| "The Exchange Teacher" | 6 December 1961 | | M. Charles Cohen | | |
| "Love in Another Land" | 13 December 1961 | | | | |
| "Some Talk of Alexander" | 20 December 1961 | | | | |
| "Private Potter" | 27 December 1961 | | | | |
| "My Representative" | 3 January 1962 | | | | |
| "Nightmare" | 10 January 1962 | | Alf Harris | | |
| "That Gold Belongs to Uncle Angus" | 17 January 1962 | Bill Glover, Tudi Wiggins, Dre Thompson, Ed McNamara | Leslie McFarlane | | |
| "The Big Wheel" | 24 January 1962 | Eric Christmas, Bruno Gerussi, Edward Everett Cambridge | John Glennon | | |
| "One Man to Beat" | 31 January 1962 | John Vernon | Fred Edge | George McGowan | hockey drama |
| pre-empted for Wayne and Shuster special | 7 February 1962 | | | | |
| "Mr Nobody" | 14 February 1962 | | Leslie Sands | | |
| "The Troubled Heart" | 21 February 1962 | | Arthur Hailey | | |
| "The Square" | 28 February 1962 | Frances Hyland, Norman Welsh | | | |
| "The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon" | 7 March 1962 | John Drainie, Ed McNamara | | | Melwyn Breen, director |
| "The Eye Opener Man and the Wages of Zinn" | 14 March 1962 | Mavor Moore, Charmion King, Leo Leyden, Paul Kligman | Leslie McFarlane | Melwyn Breen | drama about the early 20th century Calgary newspaper |
| "After the Funeral" | 21 March 1962 | Neil McCallum, Gillie Fenwick, John Horton, Ruth Springford | Alun Owen | | |
| "The Origin of the Species" | 28 March 1962 | Ted Follows, Larry D. Mann, Murray Westgate, Austin Willis, Irena Mayeska | M. Charles Cohen | | drama concerning people who survive a global disaster |
| "Most Beautiful Girl in the World" | 4 April 1962 | Kate Reid, Neil McCallum | | | drama concerning a beauty pageant |
| pre-empted for "Living With a Giant", an Intertel documentary | 11 April 1962 | | | | |
| "Come To Me" | 18 April 1962 | Barbara Franklin, Robin Gammell, Janet Reid, Bill Kemp | Robert J. Crean, Peter Lind Hayes | Melwyn Breen | |
| "Village Wooing" | 25 April 1962 | William Hutt, Ann Morrish | George Bernard Shaw (story) | | repeat of a 1961 broadcast |
| "The Thirteenth Laird" | 2 May 1962 | Norman Ettlinger, Joseph Shaw, Peter Donat | Munroe Scott | | concerning Canadian history |
| "The Aspern Papers" | 9 May 1962 | Lloyd Bochner, Marigold Charlesworth, Cathleen Nesbitt | Henry James (story) Michael Dyne (adaptation) | Ronald Weyman | |
| "The Prisoner" | 16 May 1962 | Leo Ciceri, William Hutt | | | |
| "The Reluctant Angels" | 23 May 1962 | Ted Follows, Jack Creley, Jane Mallett | Bernard Slade | | concerning the effects of a Broadway success on a family |
| "None of Us is Perfect" | 30 May 1962 | Larry D. Mann, Jack Creley, Paul Kligman | Brian Swarbick | | concerning a bank robbery |
| "Hold My Hand, Soldier" | 6 June 1962 | | | | |
| "The Gopher Colony" | 13 June 1962 | | | | |
| "The Greatest Man in the World" | 20 June 1962 | | James Thurber (story) | | |
| pre-empted for documentary special, "The Pursuit of Happiness" presented by Alistair Cooke | 27 June 1962 | | | | |

### Summer Playdate 1962

Summer Playdate consisted of broadcasts of UK productions in a Tuesday 9:30 p.m. evening time slot between regular seasons of Playdate, from July to September 1962. Episodes were generally British mysteries.

### Season 2: 1962–63

Broadcasts were Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern time):
| Title | Air Date | Cast | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| "The Gimmick" | 4 October 1962 | Eric House, Corinne Conley, Bill Kemp, Ed McNamara, Helene Winston, Mary Alice Smith, Sammy Sales, Maxine Miller, Diane Buchan, Cynthia Kelly, Gloria Foreman, Arch McDonnell, Joe Austin, Diane Stapley | Bernard Slade | Melwyn Breen (also director) | comedy |
| The Jo Stafford Show | 11 October 1962 | Bob Hope, James Darren guests | | | |
| "The Looking Glass World" | 18 October 1962 | Ted Follows, Austin Willis | Donald Jack | | |
| "The Pinedust Affair" | 25 October 1962 | Lloyd Bochner, Barbara Shilcott | | | political |
| "Mr. Oblomov" | 1 November 1962 | Douglas Rain (Oblomov), Frances Hyland (Olga), Peter Donat (Stoltz), Bernard Behrens (Zakhar) | Ivan Goncharov (story) John Coulter (adaptation) | | |
| "The Broken Sky" | 8 November 1962 | | Paul Almond, Rudi Dorn | | World War II setting |
| "Question of Fact" | 15 November 1962 | Gladys Cooper, Paul Harding, Frances Hyland | | | |
| "My Darling, My Darling, My Life and My Bride" | 22 November 1962 | Peter Donat, Larry D. Mann, Claire Marshall, Alan Blye | | | |
| The Jo Stafford Show | 29 November 1962 | Kenneth Moore, Roy Castle guests | | | |
| "No Fixed Abode" | 6 December 1962 | Chris Wiggins, Jeremy Wilkin | | | set in an English hostel |
| "The Two-Faced Angel" | 13 December 1962 | Robert Christie, William Brydon, Dinah Christie | | | history of a bride's family haunts a wedding |
| The Jo Stafford Show | 20 December 1962 | Harry Secombe, Westminster Abbey Choir, George Mitchell Singers, Corona Stage Academy (guests) | | | Christmas special |
| "Rain in the Morning" | 27 December 1962 | Aileen Seaton, Jonathan White | | | concerning a magazine salesman and his wife |
| "The Old One" | 3 January 1963 | Tony Van Bridge, Ivor Barry, Gillie Fenwick | Tony Van Bridge | | a retiring policeman receives a tough job |
| "You Can't Win 'Em All" | 10 January 1963 | Neil McCallum, George Spedakos, Leo Ciceri, Michelle Balletto, Larry Zahab, Al Kozlik | Alun Owen | Paul Almond | about a wireless operator |
| "A Wicked, Wicked Woman" | 17 January 1963 | Donald Harron, Paddy Armstrong | Roger O. Hirson | Leo Orenstein | legal topic |
| The Jo Stafford Show | 24 January 1963 | Ella Fitzgerald, Claire Bloom, Kathleen Harrison, George Benson (guests) | | | |
| "The Messenger" | 31 January 1963 | Douglas Rain, Peter Donat, Toby Robins, Frances Hyland, Kate Reid | Jacqueline Rosenfeld | | about a businessman on sensitive business in London |
| "Blue and White" | 7 February 1963 | Leo Ciceri, Robin Gammell, Claire Marshall | Kenneth Jupp | Basil Coleman | |
| "The Ninety-Ninth Day" | 14 February 1963 | Leo Ciceri, Hilary Vernon, Andrew Allan, Gillie Fenwick, Chris Wiggins | Eric Koch, Melwyn Breen | | |
| "The Stronger" | 21 February 1963 | Irena Mayeska, Anna Reiser | August Strindberg | | |
| The Long Goodbye | 21 February 1963 | James Beggs, Len Birman, Beth Morris | Tennessee Williams | | |
| "The New Tenant" | 21 February 1963 | Drew Thompson, Diana Maddox | Eugène Ionesco | | |
| The Jo Stafford Show | 28 February 1963 | guests Peggy Lee, Roy Castle | | | |
| "The Cowboy and Mr Anthony" | 7 March 1963 | Ian Tyson, Sylvia Fricker | Hugh Kemp | Norman Campbell | |
| pre-empted for Stanley Cup Hockey playoff match | 11 April 1963 | | | | |
| pre-empted for Stanley Cup Hockey playoff match | 18 April 1963 | | | | |
| The Jo Stafford Show | 25 April 1963 | Peter Lawford (guest) | | | chivalry theme |
| "The Man Who Cheered the Leafs" | 2 May 1963 | Austin Willis, Charmion King, Peter Kastner | | | about hockey; this was rescheduled due to Stanley Cup playoffs |
| "The Public Prosecutor" | 9 May 1963 | Douglas Rain, Peter Donat | | | set in the French Revolution |
| The Jo Stafford Show | 16 May 1963 | Rosemary Clooney, Mel Torme, Edd Byrnes (guests) | | | |
| "My Son, the Doctor" | 23 May 1963 | | | | |
| "The Night Conspirators" | 30 May 1963 | | | | |
| "The Hunt" | 6 June 1963 | | | | |
| "Men Don't Make Passes" | 13 June 1963 | | | | |
| The Jo Stafford Show | 20 June 1963 | Robert Morley, Stanley Holloway, Morecambe and Wise, Tiller Girls (guests) | | | |
| "The Stone Boat" | 27 June 1963 | | | | |
| "Call Me a Liar" | 4 July 1963 | | | | |

### Season 3: 1963–64

Broadcast Mondays at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern time) from 30 September 1963 to 20 July 1964 as follows:
| Title | Air Date | Cast | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| The Red Skelton Show | 30 September 1963 | Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows, Joanie Sommers | | | |
| "The Day the Money Stopped" | 7 October 1963 | Darren McGavin | Maxwell Anderson | | a father's will omits his son |
| "Not for Every Eye" | 14 October 1963 | Jack Creley, Larry D. Mann, Barbara Hamilton | Gerard Bessette (story) | | concerning book banning |
| The Red Skelton Show | 21 October 1963 | Jane Powell (guest) | | | |
| "With My Head Tucked Underneath My Arm" | 28 October 1963 | | Len Peterson | | based on the life of mathematician Évariste Galois |
| "Willow Circle" | 4 November 1963 | Charmion King, William Needles, Gordon Pinsent, Jill Foster | | | a wife in the suburbs puts her marriage at risk |
| pre-empted for CBC News special on the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism | 11 November 1963 | | | | "The Queen of Spades" was rescheduled to 9 December 1963 |
| "The Typists" | 18 November 1963 | Frances Hyland, Douglas Rain | Murray Schisgal | | about an office relationship |
| pre-empted for the rebroadcast funeral of John F. Kennedy | 25 November 1963 | | | | |
| "A Suitable Case for Treatment" | 2 December 1963 | John Horton, Michael Learned, Henry Ramer | David Mercer | | a recently divorced man seeks psychiatric help |
| "The Queen of Spades" | 9 December 1963 | John Colicos (as Ernst Herman), Hilary Vernon (as Countess Anna), Patricia Collins (Lisa), Dermot Grice | Alexander Pushkin (story) | | pre-empted from 11 November 1963 |
| The Red Skelton Show | 16 December 1963 | Joanie Summers, Jackie Coogan (guests) | | | |
| "The Critic" | 23 December 1963 | John Colicos, Eric House, Jack Creley, Marigold Charlesworth | Richard Brinsley Sheridan | | |
| "The Fight for Martin Wheeler" | 30 December 1963 | Frank Overton, Charmion King, Peter Kastner, Henry Comor | Howard Rodman | | a psychologist is unable to treat a boy |
| The Red Skelton Show | 6 January 1964 | guests George Gobel, James Munshin, Vi Velasco | | | |
| "The Man Who Could Find Things" | 13 January 1964 | Peter Donat, Patricia Collins, Ivor Barry, Michael Learned | Paul Lee | | mystery |
| The Red Skelton Show | 20 January 1964 | guest Merv Griffin | | | |
| "The Lover" | 27 January 1964 | Corinne Conley, Jack Creley | Harold Pinter | | |
| "Pastures of Plenty" | 3 February 1964 | Kate Reid, Bruno Gerussi | | | conflict on a southern Ontario tobacco farm |
| The Red Skelton Show | 10 February 1964 | Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. | | | sketch: "Lives of a Bungle Lancer" |
| "No Sand for the Ostrich" | 17 February 1964 | | Enid Abrahams, Helen French | | a rich couple learn their grandson is partially black |
| Laburnum Grove | 24 February 1964 | Murray Matheson, Hilary Vernon, Gillie Fenwick, Norman Ettinger | J. B. Priestley | | comedy of a suburban criminal |
| "Man With a Rope" | 2 March 1964 | Jack Creley, Robert Seaton, Aileen Seaton | | | |
| "From Paradise Direct" | 9 March 1964 | Jackie Mason, Deborah Turnbull, Sean Mulcahy, Maureen Fitzgerald, Drew Thompson, Leo Leyder | | | |
| The Red Skelton Show | 16 March 1964 | guests Mickey Rooney ("I was an S.A.P. for the F.B.I. sketch), Jo Stafford (singing) | | | |
| "Dear Liar" | 23 March 1964 | Barry Morse, Zoe Caldwell | Jerome Kilty | | letters are exchanged between George Bernard Shaw (Morse) and Mrs Patrick Campbell (Caldwell); David Gardner directed; repeated 13 July 1964 |
| "The Sponge Room" | 30 March 1964 | Heather Sears, Neil McCallum | | | comedy set in strange locations about a pair of lovers |
| The Red Skelton Show | 6 April 1964 | guest Connie Stevens | | | |
| "Alias Jones" | 13 April 1964 | Ivor Barry, Earle Hyman, Douglas Rain | Jacquline Rosefield | | |
| pre-empted for Document current affairs special | 20 April 1964 | | | | |
| "Step Out of Darkness" | 27 April 1964 | Zoe Caldwell, Barry Morse | Jean-Paul Filion | | originally broadcast on Radio-Canada |
| The Red Skelton Show | 4 May 1964 | guests Mickey Rooney, Jackie Coogan, The Snobs (UK teen band) | | | |
| "The Front Room" | 11 May 1964 | Betty Leighton, Gillie Fenwick, Tony Van Bridge, Diana Maddox | Robert Storey | | a woman's marriage is threatened by her obsession with house chores |
| "Grubstake for the Eyeopener Man" | 18 May 1964 | Mavor Moore | Leslie McFarlane | | about a Calgary newspaper |
| "The Stag" | 25 May 1964 | Neil McCallum, John Horton, Ruth Springford | | | a man in New York returns to his native Wales for his brother's wedding |
| "Image of Renault" | 1 June 1964 | Norma Renault, Alfie Scopp | | | two loners assist each other in the search for love |
| The Red Skelton Show | 8 June 1964 | | | | |
| "Pilgrim, Why Do You Come?" | 15 June 1964 | Barry Jones, Corinne Conley, John Horton | Leslie McFarlane | | each year, an actor attends the Shakespeare Festival |
| "The One Day of the Year" | 22 June 1964 | Neil McCallum, Rex Sevenoaks, Adrian Pecknold, Gertrude Bradley | Alan Seymour | | set in Anzac Day| |
| "A Night Out" | 29 June 1964 | Jeremy Wilkin, Elizabeth Cole, Zoe Caldwell, Norman Welsh | Harold Pinter | Basil Coleman | |
| The Red Skelton Show | 6 July 1964 | guests Raymond Burr, The Beach Boys | | | |
| "Dear Liar" | 13 July 1964 | Barry Morse, Zoe Caldwell | Jerome Kilty | | rebroadcast of 23 March 1964 |
| "The Royal Game" | 20 July 1964 | Barry Morse, Larry D. Mann, Robert Christie, Ivor Barry | Stefan Zweig | | last episode of Playdate; a cruise ship's chess game |