Train 48

History

The show was broadcast daily, and recorded the same day. It took place in a railway car of a GO Train on Lakeshore West line returning from Toronto to the suburb of Burlington, Ontario, and followed the lives of 12 daily commuters through their interactions. Although major plot lines were written in advance, much of the dialogue was improvised by the actors. The entire series was shot on a 64-foot replica of a GO Train Bombardier Bi-Level Coach, which kept production costs to a minimum.

The train setting allowed a basic construct where characters would share and act upon their opinions and views. The same-day recording allowed for comments on topical news stories to be introduced. The filming production was completed by 1:30 p.m. and edited by 5:00 p.m., later broadcast into regular time slots in different regions of Canada throughout the day (7:00 p.m. weeknights on Global in Toronto). It is estimated that each 30 minute episode cost $40,000 (Canadian) and had a typical audience of 200,000 to 300,000 viewers a night.

The method of improvisation, developed by show runners Duncan McKenzie and Eric Lunsky was a hybrid of techniques used by Mike Leigh and Keith Johnstone. Actors worked from outline scripts of just a few lines per scene, and an extensive character bio which provided each actor with a background of events and attitudes which might affect the scene.

The improvised format and quick turnaround enabled the inclusion of references to extremely current events, giving a heightened sense of realism and currency. For example, the 2003 North America blackout was mentioned the next day. The show typically dealt with fictional relationships, humour and the non-fictional topics mentioned were the cases of Scott Peterson, Karla Homolka, the SARS outbreak and different views about President George W. Bush.

Dilemmas and criticism

When Train 48 debuted, product placement was an important aspect of the show for the Global Television Network. Characters were seen using Fido cell phones, and if someone was seen reading the newspaper, it was the National Post, a newspaper owned by CanWest, the parent company of Global Television. The show's producers argued that product placement was there to make the show seem more real. Later in the series, the use of product placement diminished, and the range of reading materials and products on the show became more diverse.

During the production of the series between 2003 and 2004, four episodes were aired on Global Television Network during the week. However, in 2005, this was reduced to three. The series dealt with such controversial issues as the adoption of babies by gay couples, in vitro fertilization, single parent families, and euthanasia. A number of events occurred which would be unusual on a real commuter train, including the death of a passenger, a beating, a shooting, an escaped snake, a party, and sex in the train washroom.

The producers received word of the show's cancellation several months ahead of time, allowing them to bring the stories to a conclusion. Throughout the series, viewers had frequently commented that the train seemed to be on a journey to nowhere. In response to this criticism, the final episode showed the train stopped, and showed, through the windows, the characters emerging from the train onto the platform at Burlington. This was the only time in the series that characters were ever seen outside the train.

Cancellation

The cancellation of the show was announced publicly on June 2, 2005 by Cindy Wrong. She stated that the final episode would be shown on July 1. After the finale, re-runs of the last few episodes aired until the finale was shown again on September 2. The show was cancelled in order to make way for the launch of Entertainment Tonight Canada.

Theme song

The series theme song was entitled "Train goes" by Adam Crossley and 9 Point Landing.

Characters

Regular guests

Other guest stars on Train 48 included Rae Dawn Chong, politician Sheila Copps, Sean Cullen, Robin Duke, comedian Rick Green, Sue Johanson, Global weatherman Anwar Knight, Carolyn Parrish, Carole Pope, actor Scott Thompson, Emmy Award-winning actress Joanne Vannicola, and former MuchMusic personality Amanda Walsh.

CanWest Global in partnership with Global had promoted the series with stories and columns in the National Post and Toronto Star newspapers.

Availability

The producers of Train 48 have uploaded the entire series to YouTube for Canadian viewers. In the United States, episodes can be viewed on Amazon Video's on demand platform.