Laughter is the best medicine and Still StandingB次元官网网址檚 Jonny Harris delivered the prescription to Chemainus last week during filming of a segment on the town for the CBC-TV series.
Harris, who also portrays George Crabtree on another popular CBC-TV series Murdoch Mysteries, provided comic relief as a much-needed remedy to a public ailing from COVID overload.
Based in Toronto, Harris, 44, has now criss-crossed the country the last several years to film 79 episodes of Still Standing. He was previously in the area to do a show on Lake Cowichan, but had never been to Chemainus before.
Being from Newfoundland where other mural projects have popped up, Harris was familiar with the story of the Chemainus murals. B次元官网网址淐hemainus is a town that was on our radar for a while,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t was sort of neat to see the place where it all started.B次元官网网址�
Harris and the showB次元官网网址檚 complete writing and production team sketched out how to present the mural story as well as other facets of the town and its personalities.
B次元官网网址淲e have a great team that does research on an area and puts together what we call a field document, the story weB次元官网网址檙e going to tell and who weB次元官网网址檙e going to speak to,B次元官网网址� he explained.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 amazing how much goes into it. It really pays off in the end. It really is more than a glance at the town.B次元官网网址�
What ensues is a combination of education about each location, with a humorous twist.
B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e branding a comedy show, educational is the last word they want you to use,B次元官网网址� Harris laughed.
B次元官网网址淏ut you learn a few things about a community you otherwise wouldnB次元官网网址檛 learn much about.B次元官网网址�
Chemainus is part of the filming for the seventh season of Still Standing, with Harris and crew highlighting many interesting people from communities hit hard by various economic impacts but developing creative ways to move forward. The Chemainus story, naturally, revolved around the previous sawmill closure in the early 1980s and how tourism evolved through the mural program to keep the town going.
Similar stories from around Canada have generated a tremendous interest with viewers and made the show a huge hit. There are even people who make Still Standing destinations part of their must-see travel plans.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 perhaps become the biggest thing in my life,B次元官网网址� said Harris. B次元官网网址淚 just feel like Still Standing, I sort of learned a little bit about in the process and I think IB次元官网网址檝e worked harder on it than anything else.
B次元官网网址淲ith Murdoch Mysteries, youB次元官网网址檙e not generating content, youB次元官网网址檙e taking content someone else is generating.B次元官网网址�
Being the front man of the show is humbling because of the feedback it generates as a unifying force for Canada through visits to places people might not have ever known about, never mind thought of traveling to, and educational for Harris as well.
B次元官网网址淥bviously we live in a geographically vast country,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he fact weB次元官网网址檝e gotten to see so much of it, time and expense alone it would be a feat to see half of the places.B次元官网网址�
Working on the show in the beginning, no one B次元官网网址� including Harris B次元官网网址� had any idea how long it might last or how much of an audience it might attract.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 such a competitive market to even get through a first season and to catch peoplesB次元官网网址� interest with it isnB次元官网网址檛 easy,B次元官网网址� he conceded.
B次元官网网址淕etting numbers and return numbers, it becomes a thing. To have a show where people are still eager to see the new episodes and turn their TVs on at eight oB次元官网网址檆lock on a Tuesday night, thatB次元官网网址檚 a good place to be.B次元官网网址�
Harris is currently going back and forth between Still Standing and Murdoch Mysteries. He returned to work in his role as George Crabtree Monday, with filming of Still Standing episodes not picking up again until September.
HarrisB次元官网网址� constable character is left out of the Murdoch Mysteries script a few times whenever thereB次元官网网址檚 an occasional conflict.
Sometimes Harris canB次元官网网址檛 believe heB次元官网网址檚 on the verge of doing his 80th episode of Still Standing. The day of shooting the live show for the program always brings a rush of adrenaline and questions persist.
B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e accurate with the storytelling, are the jokes going to be funny? Is the crowd going to be receptive?B次元官网网址� he pondered. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know if that ever goes away those pre-show jitters.B次元官网网址�
HarrisB次元官网网址� ability to learn all about a town from advance research, interview people over the course of a few days and then get on stage to wrap up the townB次元官网网址檚 story with some trademark laughs takes a masterful craftsman.
Harris tends to find a theme for each location and, for Chemainus, B次元官网网址渋tB次元官网网址檚 a place where things tend to get saved,B次元官网网址� he said. One day, B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 like to spend time in Chemainus in a non-working capacity.B次元官网网址�
He used to conclude each show with a clever skit referring to his mom calling and asking him how things were going. Harris would then recite the townB次元官网网址檚 highlights.
B次元官网网址淚 like the mom thing,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 felt like after a few years the joke was getting a bit old.B次元官网网址�
Harris and the writers changed the format to a poetry recap for each town, but many diehard viewers were still enamored with the previous ending and thought maybe it was stopped because his mom was in ill health or something.
B次元官网网址淲e actually got some feedback people were concerned about my mom,B次元官网网址� he chuckled.
The well-crafted packaging of the show continues to capture the imagination of viewers but, like anything else, Harris is never sure how long it will last.
B次元官网网址淚 think the show has got some legs,B次元官网网址� he reasoned. B次元官网网址淚t depends how long my legs hold up.B次元官网网址�
