A ton o’ laughs, a litany of Mountie jokes, some well-placed jabs at government funding cuts, and another Gemini Awards marathon is in the can. General consensus has it that it was one of the best, if not the best, Geminis broadcast in memory. Audience numbers tell the same tale, with preliminary A.C. Neilsen ratings of 1.23 million for the live March 5 telecast on cbc, a Gemini record.

The industry converged on the Sheraton Centre and the Toronto Convention Centre last weekend for two days of elbow-rubbing and mostly dignified frolicking as the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television named the winners and left the losers to head for the bar.

The dead-funny Sunday night broadcast, written by Mark Farrell, David Kitching and Lawrence Morgenstern, left memories of ctv anchor Lloyd Robertson saluting The Tragically Hip, Peter Mansbridge pulling off comedy, and host Paul Gross singing an autobiography backed by – you guessed it – a chorus of Mounties.

Other surprises included an excited Larry Weinstein accepting ‘this Oscar’ for producing Shadows and Light: Joaquin Rodrigo at 90, a one-line speech from Alliance Communications president Robert Lantos, and teary-eyed acceptances from the sctv cast who received the Earle Grey Award in recognition of their body of work.

Executive producing credits go to the Academy’s Maria Topalovich and Joe Bodolai.

A hub of activity surrounded the sctv table all night long at the apres-broadcast party as well-wishers and groupies got close to the cast. Martin Short broke free to get on stage and croon an old Sinatra tune, while cbc’s Peter Moss shook a tail feather on the dance floor. Also twisting were Discovery’s Trina McQueen, Prime Time’s Pamela Wallin, and Kurt Browning, who tripped the light even more fantastically without skates.

Out of the camera’s eye Saturday night, the festivities, although no less festive, took on a more political tone as winners stepped up to the podium, thanked the Academy, then drove home the need to keep the cbc strong. The night may well have been the best of times for Canadian television producers, but politically, it’s the worst of times for the funding agencies behind the award-winning programs, said many.

Accepting the award for best dramatic miniseries, director Bernard Zukerman credited the cbc for bringing Dieppe alive.

‘Public broadcasting is probably the only way we’d have a Dieppe or a Boys of St. Vincent. Without the cbc, there is no way for us to tell our own stories,’ he said. ‘The government has to realize that without a way for us to tell our own stories, the country is in trouble.’

Knowlton Nash picked up where Zukerman left off as he accepted the John Drainie Award from presenter Peter Mansbridge. After commending cbc president Anthony Manera for resigning on principle, Nash said these last few years ‘have been a journey of joy’ and thanked the cbc for giving him the opportunity to be the kind of journalist he dreamed of.

‘The cbc is a cultural spinal column for this countryÉthere is no such thing as political sovereignty unless we have cultural sovereignty,’ he concluded.

Poignant moments of another kind included Jeremy Podeswa’s dedication of his Gemini for the best performing arts program to the late Philip Borsos, whom he interned with early in his career.

Coming of Age best supporting actress, Jennifer Phipps, made a bittersweet tribute to her mother who had just passed away, and thanked Breakthrough Films and Television for ‘doing a film about people you don’t expect to see in a love story.’

On a lighter note, the Saturday night awards, like the Sunday broadcast, had its share of uniquely Canadian shtick and Ted Rogers jokes. Host Patrick McKenna announced that Rogers would be giving a Canadian market share demo, then later reported: ‘Due to the host’s remarks, Mr. Rogers has decided to implement his negative option and not appear.’ McKenna subbed, hacking an apple pie to pieces to demonstrate how the Canadian audience share divvies up. The biggest hunk went to the O.J. Simpson trial – the leftover crumbs to Canadian actors.

Award winners provided their own form of entertainment. Accepting the award for best comedy series, This Hour Has 22 Minutes’ Jack Kellum thanked cbc’s Jim Byrd, Phyllis Platt, as well as the prime minister and the minister of finance for giving Canada two terrific comedy programs. ‘Tonight, we’re farting through silk,’ said Kellum to tremendous applause.

Radical Sheep’s Robert Mills, towering over Big Comfy Couch coproducer Cheryl Wagner, picked up his first Gemini for best children’s program or series, gulping, ‘This is heavier than I thought.’

While the Academy made its choice for Canada’s finest productions, Chrysler Canada went to the public to find out what they thought was the best on tv last year. Contenders included the 5th estate, Due South, The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, and Royal Canadian Air Farce. Winner: The Stanley Cup Final.

Only in Canada, eh.

(for the complete list of Night 2 and 3 winners, see page 13.)