FLASHBACK: THE CRUNCH PRODUCTION TEAM 1981/82

PHOTO FLASHBACK
The Crunch CBC Vancouver Production Team 1981/82

This Flashback photo is another from the CBC Vancouver Archives.  Sincere appreciation goes to Colin Preston who originally provided the program details.

The Crunch was broadcast live for 16 weeks from December 8, 1981 to March 30, 1982. The series “for the concerned consumer” investigated various issues with participation from the studio audience and home viewers via telephone being encouraged. Subjects included such diverse topics as an investigation of the B.C. Government’s proposed policy for the release of Crown land to the consumer with a lease to own, mortgage plans and rates, magazines worth buying, the economical value of turkeys, three alternative ways of spending two weeks in Hawaii on different budgets, financial institutions that provide very low interest rate loans, organizing a Christmas party under a fifty dollar budget, how to find gifts that cost less than five dollars in Vancouver’s ethnic shops, the recreational and educational uses of home computers for all members of the family, novel ways of wrapping gifts, the effects of light/noise/temperature on workers, how to cope with metric conversion, a look at office environments and what bothers office workers, advantages and disadvantages of "cattlelines" for tellers at banks, chimneysweep services with tips on how to rate the services, the federal government's Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program and what it can do for the consumer, shopping for a car without a lot of money, an examination of urea formaldehyde foam insulation - an investment that proved to be a liability for many home owners, the differences between brown and white eggs, what the consumer pays for when they buy different cuts of meat,  the functions, procedures and effectiveness of small claims courts in Vancouver, recognizing products by their identification symbols,  how to auction off unwanted items from around the house,  how to buy a tree from a nursery, how to rate your dentist, a look at the condenser furnace - how it works and what advantages it offers over other forms of heating, how to find a good auto mechanic, beer price competition, electronic scanners in supermarkets, the effectiveness of air purifiers, how different mattresses help or actually cause back problems, tips on how to cut kids' hair, how to save on income tax returns by carefully examining different tax exemptions and credits, the effects of skylights on home heating bills, how to shop for garden seeds, how children can protect themselves from becoming victims of crime, how to select a dog as a family pet and the cost of camping and on how to obtain information about camping in B.C. 

Set Designer Glenn Patterson remembers, “I made the set out of crates, it was supposed to be made out of crushed cars originally. It was a fun show. Producer Phil Keatley was trying to bring some sense of entertainment to often dry info..” 

This photo from the Archives was a publicity shot of the series’ production team.

Co-Hosts Anne Petrie and Ann Mitchell in the foreground. 

Behind them L-R: Jan Raworth (Production Assistant), Glenn Patterson (Set Designer), Doug Rushton (Writer), Wayne Hildebrant (Graphic Artist), Philip Keatley (Producer).

NEXT PHOTO FLASHBACKS:

September 15:  Patsy Gill Retirement Party, 1994 (from Patsy Gill).
October 1:         TBA

Do you have group photos of five or more people from your time with CBC Vancouver?  We’d love to post them as future Flashbacks.  Whether you can identify everyone or not, please send them in (we might resolve some of the mysteries!).  Contact us at https://goo.gl/QNvaxu  to arrange for loan of photos.