Bordertown (1989 TV series)
Bordertown is a western drama television series that aired 78 30-minute episodes from 1989 to 1991. It is set during the 1880s in a small town that straddles the United States and Canadian border, and law enforcement duties are shared between a U.S. Marshall and a North-West Mounted Police corporal. The series was a co-production between Canada's Alliance Corporation and France's Tele-Image. It first aired on the American cable network The Family Channel on January 7, 1989, and was seen on Canada's CTV beginning in 1990. A 1989 newspaper  article stated that contracts were being prepared for the series to air in France, Italy, and several other European countries. Premise. A small town on the United States - Canadian border had been named Pemmican (the name of a traditional indigenous food) but when the area was surveyed it was discovered that the 49th parallel, which divides the two countries, went through the middle of the community, and bisected the law enforcement office. NWMP Corporal Clive Bennett and U. S. Marshal Jack Craddock shared the same office (divided by a painted line on the floor) and patrolled the town that is  half in Alberta and half in Montana. The officers also shared an interest in Marie Dumont, the town's doctor, and owner of the general store. In an interview series star Richard Comar stated that the "whole premise of the show is based on the border." How lawmen from two countries reacted to events showed the differences between the Canadian and American legal systems. Production information. The series was a co-produced by Alliance Entertainment Corporation of Canada and Tele-Images of France. French directors were often used, and Sophie Barjac was hired to play a main character who come  from Paris in order to broader the series' appeal to French investors. The town was built on a ranch east of Vancouver, Canada. Sixty-five carpenters worked for six weeks to build the half-million-dollar complex. All buildings were complete inside and out. No soundstage work was down during the filming of the series, everything was shot inside or outside of the buildings that had been constructed for Bordertown. Effort was made to have the series look as authentic as possible. A 1989 article stated that the general store held "an array of merchandise worthy of the finest western  museum." The saloon was stocked with antique bottles, and the livery stable had hundred-year-old saddles. DVD releases. Platinum Disc Corporation released 4-volume collections of "Bordertown" on DVD in Region 1 between 2003-2005. These releases have been discontinued and are now out of print. On February 1, 2011, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment released 2 volume collections on DVD in Region 1 (US only). These releases contain the same 28 episodes as the previous Platinum Disc releases. On July 26, 2011, Alliance Home Entertainment released "The Best of Bordertown" on DVD in Canada only. The set is exactly  the same as the 4-disc set released in the US in 2005 and February 2011, even right down to the Platinum Disc Corporation logo appearing as soon as the disc boots up. On December 12, 2012, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment released "Bordertown- The Complete Series" on DVD in Region 1. On January 6, 2015 Echo Bridge Home Entertainment released "Bordertown & Gold: Complete Collection" on DVD.