Chilly Beach
| Chilly Beach | |
|---|---|
 Logo for Chilly Beach. | |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 65 (list of episodes) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
CBC Television (Canada) The Comedy Channel (Australia) |
| Original release | 2003 – March 2008 |
Chilly Beach is a Canadian animated series, which aired on CBC Television in Canada and The Comedy Channel in Australia. The series is a comedic depiction of life in the fictional Canadian town of Chilly Beach, described by the producers as "a bunch of Canadians doing the stuff that Canadians do, like playing hockey, drinking beer, and being eaten by polar bears." Chilly Beach plays on nearly every conceivable stereotype that people have about Canadians in a satirical manner.
The show began as an animated Flash site on the Web, and was developed into a CBC TV series which first aired in 2003. An early version of the Chilly Beach feature film, The World Is Hot Enough, made its theatrical debut at Cinéfest in September 2005, and as released to DVD on February 4, 2008. A second film, The Canadian President was also produced.
Guest stars on the show have included William Shatner, Joe Flaherty, Leslie Nielsen, Elvis Stojko, Lawrence Gowan and David Suzuki. The show was produced in Sudbury, Ontario by March Entertainment. In 2011, the series launched in the U.S. on the streaming video website Hulu.[1]
Characters
Main characters:
- Dale MacDonald (Steve Ashton) is a stupid and fat stereotypical Canadian. He has a crush on April June, who detests Dale, and has a best friend, Frank Shackleford, whose genius would go more appreciated if Dale didn't accidentally destroy most of his brilliant inventions with a stray puck. He owns a Zamboni and considers ice resurfacing a skilled trade. Devoted fan of hockey, especially his favourite team the Montreal Tourtières, in direct opposition to Frank's support of the Toronto Ptarmigans.
- Frank Shackleford (Todd Peterson) is a beer store manager and Dale's best friend. Also a modest scientific genius; he once created a portal to another galaxy. He holds a PhD in physics, but chooses to run a beer store because "physicists don't get two-fours on weekends".
- Jacques LaRock is an unhygenic greasy spoon owner and former hockey player from Quebec who serves a poutine made from a recipe passed down from his mother.
- April June is a waitress and ferocious animal rights activist. Dale is constantly trying to get her to date him, but she resolutely remains uninterested.
- Angus MacAuger is an eccentric and hermetic Scottish trapper
- Katherine Hilderbrand is the disgruntled (and highly patriotic) Assistant Deputy American Ambassador to Canada
- Abby is Katherine's inquisitive and intelligent daughter. She is an aspiring anthropologist constantly trying to understand Canadian culture.
- Constable Al (Damon D'Oliveira) is an Indo-Canadian mountie, the only form of law enforcement in Chilly Beach usually found riding his police horse (upper right).
- Michel Mabuis is the nephew of Jacques LaRock, a friend of Abby who enjoys figure skating, a fact he has to hide from his hockey-obsessed uncle who considers figure skating weak.
- Polar Bear a large animal who frequently eats citizens of Chilly Beach, somehow has with a pleasant British accent, and lives with a taciturn penguin
- The characters Abby and Michel were deemed unpopular after season one, and largely disappeared from the show in subsequent seasons.
Minor characters:
- Antoine DelVecchio is Chilly Beach's corrupt and incompetent Member of Parliament, voiced by Joe Flaherty.
- Lucretia Marinara is the local butcher and girlfriend of Jacques LaRock, voiced by Andrea Martin.
- Panic Man is a completely unnamed character who shows up regularly only to panic at whatever is happening and run off.
- The President is an unnamed President of the United States, voiced in one episode by William Shatner. At one point he tells the President of Generistan to call him "Henry".
- Dave Macdonald is Dale's perfect and well-loved older brother who appears in only one episode. He is the total opposite of Dale. He came to Chilly Beach hoping Dale would give him a kidney in order to live. However is turns out their blood types are incompatible, so one of them was actually adopted. He got his new kidney thanks to Frank, who was tied up and gagged by Dale. Apparently, he's from Saskatoon.
Setting
Chilly Beach is a small town located on a large iceberg, presumably in the Canadian Arctic. The iceberg is seemingly a floating island that can move around in the water. There are some trees and wildlife as well as a mountain with caves. According to at least one episode, the island is located in northwestern Hudson Bay, placing it in Nunavut. However where it is has been kept vague as it has been mentioned that they live in a province and in season 1, episode 15 are not actually a part of Canada.
Merchandises
- Chilly Beach DVD Season 1
- Chilly Beach The World Is Hot Enough DVD
- Chilly Beach Shirts