Wojeck

Wojeck is a Canadian dramatic television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1966 to 1968. It was arguably the first successful drama series on English Canadian television. Vernon had earlier played coroner Steve Wojeck in an episode of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre titled "Tell Them the Streets Are Dancing" broadcast March 17, 1966.^[1]

Plot[edit]

Steve Wojeck is a crusading big city coroner who regularly fights moral injustices raised by the deaths he investigated. He often tackles tough and controversial issues. The first episode of the series examines the role of racism in the suicide of a young Ojibwe man.

Main cast[edit]

• John Vernon as Steve Wojeck
• Patricia Collins as Marty Wojeck
• Ted Follows as Crown Attorney Arnold (Arnie) Bateman
• Carl Banas as Sgt. Bryon James
• Jennifer Dale played Wojeck's daughter in the 1992 TV movie.

Production[edit]

The show was inspired by the career of Dr. Morton Shulman.^[2][3]

Although it was one of the highest-rated shows on Canadian television in its time, only 20 episodes of the series were made, because Vernon was lured to Hollywood by the promise of more money than the CBC could offer. He only returned to the role once, for a TV movie Wojeck: Out of the Fire (1992). The first season (1966-67) was filmed in black and white, while season two (1967–68) was shot in colour.

Forensic pathology theme[edit]

Wojeck was the first TV series to feature forensic pathology in the investigation of crime and has been the central theme of several other TV mystery-suspense dramas, beginning with the BBC's The Expert in 1968. Other programs include:

• Quincy, M.E., USA, 1976
• Silent Witness, UK (BBC), 1996
• Da Vinci's Inquest, Canada (CBC), 1998
• Waking The Dead, UK (BBC), 2000
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, U.S. (CBS), 2000; and two spinoffs + a revival, including:
  • CSI: Miami, U.S. (CBS), 2002
  • CSI: NY, U.S. (CBS), 2004
  • CSI: Vegas, U.S. (CBS), 2021
• Crossing Jordan, U.S. (NBC), 2001
• Bones, U.S. (Fox), 2005
• RIS Delitti Imperfetti, Italy (Canale 5), 2005
• R.I.S, police scientifique, France (TF1), 2006
• Post Mortem, Germany (RTL), 2007
• R. I. S. – Die Sprache der Toten, Germany (Sat.1), 2007
• Rizzoli & Isles, U.S. (TNT), 2010
• Body of Proof, U.S. (ABC), 2011
• The Coroner UK, (BBC), 2015^[4]
• Coroner, Canada, (CBC), 2019^[5]

Episodes[edit]

1. "The Last Man in the World": Wojeck tries to find out who assisted the suicide of an Ojibwe Indian who was locked up in jail. The episode has flashbacks that show the racism between First Nations people and white people.
2. "Tell Them the Streets Are Dancing": This episode guest starred Bruno Gerussi (later of CBC's The Beachcombers) as a construction worker whose crew were forced to work in tunnels where some of them contracted caisson disease. This episode was earlier seen in the United States as an episode of NBC's Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre and is listed in indexes as the show's pilot.
3. "Another Wonderful Day"
4. "After All, Who's Art Morrison?" This episode featured Margot Kidder (later of the 1978 film Superman as Lois Lane)
5. "Listen, An Old Man Is Speaking"
6. "Fair Egypt"
7. "Thy Mother A Lady, Lovely and Bright"
8. "Does Anybody Remember the Victim's Name?"
9. "A Dime Harry Doesn't Need"
10. "Pick A Time...Any Time"
11. "All Aboard For Candyland"
12. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Two-parter, guest starring Michael Learned, later of The Waltons)
13. "You've Been Very Kind"
14. "Another Dawn, Another Sunrise, Another Day"
15. "Give Until It Hurts...And Then Some"
16. "The Cold Smile of Friends" (Two-Parter)
17. "Name of the Games People Play"
18. "Chocolate Fudge With Walnuts"

Reunion movie[edit]

In 1992, CBC aired a sequel television movie, Wojeck: Out of the Fire in which Wojeck returns to Toronto after working in a medical clinic in The Congo for 21 years, reunites with his daughter and estranged wife, and becomes involved in the plight of a family of refugees from Guatemala.^[6][7]

Awards[edit]

- At the 19th Canadian Film Awards in 1967, Episode 1, "The Last Man in the World", tied for Best Film for TV. Cinematographer Grahame Woods won the award for best Black-and-White Cinematography and Ron Kelly won for Best Director.

- In 2002, Wojeck became a MasterWorks honouree by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Queen's University Directory of CBC Television Series (Wojeck archived listing link via archive.org)
• Museum of Broadcast Communications
• Wojeck at IMDb
• Wojeck: Out of the Fire at IMDb
• AVTrust.ca - Wojeck, MasterWorks 2002 (video clip)