This film is currently on tv here in the UK. I'm quite happy to see a Canadian homegrown film on one of our politicians making airwaves here in the UK, though I confess to not knowing much of Saskatchewan history. I also confess to not knowing much about Tommy Douglas himself, just that it's him that kickstarted our healthcare etc.

I've been reading that this film has been labelled as historically inaccurate by loads of canadian historians, though I haven't been able to find a reason as to WHY they've labelled historically inaccurate. Can anyone help me out with this, I'm curious!

   

[web]http://www.cbcwatch.ca/?q=node/view/1940[/web]

   

That's interesting Rihx, thanks! So it was pulled because of the inaccuracy of one character?

Interesting.

   

I think its more along the lines of his family considering it an attack on his caracter than anything else. I still wouldnt mind seeing it though.

   

heh heh,wait till Hwacker see's this topic.

   

I find it funny that it's been pulled from the airwaves in Canada, yet we're seeing it all the way here in the UK. I'm going to have to set everyone straight now. lol

   

I think pulling it was a bad move on the part of the Corpse. The complaint was pretty small potatoes in the fact department and had the family chosen to pursue it, I don't think they would've prevailed. However, the new management at John Street is sorta lacking in the backbone department. That said, it was an interesting show

   

Well it was clear that Tommy Douglas was a raving lunatic.

   

The misinformation in Prairie Giant goes way beyond one character.

The historical missteps are tremendous. If you google Randy Burton (a journalist with a major Saskatchewan newspaper) and Prairie Giant you will understand some of the problems. Many Canadian Historians debated the matter in the discussion network on the Canadian Humanities and Social Sciences on line site called h-net. If you look at this site make sure you limit your search to not further back than March 2006.

The movie was created to further embellish a myth - a lie really. Tommy Douglas called Emmet Hall Canada's Father of Medicare. And in Saskatchewan, the first Father of Health Care was a man named Dr (Hon) Ulrich who was Saskatchewan's long standing Minister of Health for 17 years. Under his watch Saskatchewan's many firsts in the area of health care delivery occurred.

Prairie Giant was (and is) a piece of propaganda. It was made with taxpayer funding - $8 million of federal and provincial funding. The CBC, Minds Eye, and Shirley Douglas (Keifer Sutherland’s mother) were all involved in the script creation. Minds Eye is a 70-90% owned Saskatchewan government creation. The socialist government of Saskatchewan wanted this movie to be a centennial project to help them create hoopla before the next provincial election.

Hope this helps.

Say, what broadcaster is carrying the film in the UK?