The Best TV Shows on TVOntario

Movie expert Elwy Yost interviews industry people on both sides of the camera, encouraging them to talk about themselves, the state of their art, and its history. The series features many famous film personalities who, along with producers, directors, designers, screenwriters, and critics, offer candid insights into the making of motion pictures.

Peep is a newly hatched chicken who goes on daily adventures with his friends Chirp the robin and Quack the duck. The pals live a large urban park they call "the big wide world" and is the setting for all their lessons. Peep learns specific science concepts on his travels, while the series also incorporates real kids playing and experimenting in their own big wide worlds.

Today's Special was a Canadian children's television show produced by Clive VanderBurgh at TVOntario from 1981 to 1987. It also ran on Nickelodeon and the Faith and Values Channel/Odyssey as well as many PBS stations throughout the United States. It was set in a department store, based on the flagship location of the now defunct Simpson's in Toronto. Many sequences for it were shot at the Queen Street West and Yonge Street store after hours.

Doki's a dog with a lot of questions about science and nature, and he and his explorer friends travel the globe and beyond to get the answers.

Read All About It! was a Canadian educational television series that was produced from 1979 to 1983 by TVOntario that aired during the early to mid-1980s; It also aired in repeats in the 1990s. It starred David Craig Collard as Chris, Lydia Zajc as Lynne, Stacey Arnold as Samantha, and Sean Hewitt as Duneedon, ruler of the galaxy Trialviron. In the second season Michael Dwyer joined the cast as Alex. The main goal of the show was to educate viewers in reading, writing and history. Each episode ran for approximately 15 minutes. Eric Robertson composed the music for the show.

Dana, a paleontologist in training, and her sister Emily embark on a series of adventures with dinosaurs.

A young cat living in a magistrate's palace in ancient China, learns the values and importance of family and loyalty.

Martha, a beloved family dog, is accidentally fed alphabet soup — this gives her the power of speech and the chance to speak her mind to anyone that will listen.

A raccoon named Timothy starts kindergarten, and meets many new people and friends. He helps others with their challenges and they would help Timothy on something he is struggling on. It features his everyday adventures while teaching kids how to behave in school and having a positive attitude - feeling good in school and learning more about the world.

The adventures of an observant and curious bunny rabbit named Elinor and her friends Ari, a bat, and Olive, an elephant.

Zoboomafoo is an American children's television series that aired from January 25, 1999, to April 28, 2001, and is still shown today in syndication depending on the area, and it is regularly shown on PBS Kids Sprout. A total of 65 episodes were aired. A creation of the Kratt Brothers, it features a talking Coquerel's Sifaka, a type of lemur, named Zoboomafoo, or Zoboo for short, and a collection of repeat animal guests. Every episode begins with the Kratt brothers in "Animal Junction", a peculiar place in which the rules of nature change and wild animals come to visit and play. After January 16, 2004, the show was pulled from its weekday airing on most PBS stations, though some continue to air the show.

The Adventures of Paddington Bear was a Canadian/French animated children's television series. It was based on the book Paddington Bear by Michael Bond and written by Bruce Robb. It was produced by Cinar and Protecrea and ran for 117 episodes. The show aired in the United States on the Cookie Jar Toons block on This TV from November 2008 - August 2009. However, all CINAR references in these broadcasts have been replaced by Cookie Jar references. It was also shown on HBO.

George Shrinks is a French-Canadian/American/Chinese animated television series. It is based on the children's book by William Joyce, produced in China by Jade Animation and in Canada by Nelvana, in association with Public Broadcasting Service. It tells the story of a ten-year-old boy named George who, one night dreams that he is three inches tall, only to wake up and discover that it is true. The show details his adventures with his friends and family going all through his adventures on his mini machine's that George and his musical father have created.

Pinky Dinky Doo dances her way into her Story Box to tell stories and solve problems using her big imagination and fancy words.

Prisoners of Gravity was a Canadian public broadcasting television news magazine program that explored speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic books — and its relation to various thematic and social issues. Produced by TVOntario, the show was the brainchild of former comic retail manager Mark Askwith and writer Daniel Richler, and was hosted by Rick Green. The series aired 139 episodes over 5 seasons from 1989 to 1994.

After years of sailing the sea, Noah Tomten, a retired sea captain, owns an antique toy store called Notions Oddities Doodads and Delights of Yesterday, a variety of toys, from a weasel living inside of a jack in the box to a dog pretending to be a superhero, along with his pet lobster. Two of his grandkids, Kate and Truman, as well as Kate's friend DJ, come to visit him from time to time.

Join paleontologist-in-training Dan Henderson as he takes kids on a Jurassic journey to the land where lizards were as long as three school buses and terrifying T-Rex’s ruled.

Aboriginal hip-hop artist Jack Sinclair and his best friend Zoey Jones established an underground ezine called renegadepress.com. What started as a pet project soon took on a life of its own pushing Jack, Zoey and their crew of renegade reporters to deliver the goods on what's really going on in the lives of today's teens.

Members of the Sparks' Crew -- Lucita Sky, AJ Gadgets, Sara Snap and Benny Bubbles -- work with their teacher, Mr. Sparks, to help people and solve problems.

James Laxer, chairman of the political science department at Atkinson College, is the host for a five-part series examining Canada's role in the changing world economy. Produced by the NFB, the series explores free trade, the rise of the Japanese economy and the challenges posed by new technology.