Best of times, worst of times, wisdom, foolishness; granted it’s the wrong Dickens’ reference for December, but the events of the past 12 months are necessarily couched in broad parameters.

Balancing on the edge of convergence, a new $100 million in Canadian production monies, and the broadcasting landscape as clear as what you said to the boss at the end of the company Christmas party, the film and television broadcasting and production industry is, for better or worse, irretrievably changed at the end of 1996.

It was the year that marked the loss of Astral Communications founder Harold Greenberg and Arthur Weinthal’s third decade as ctv’s head of entertainment programming.

Ivan Fecan, John Lacey, Jim Macdonald, Slawko Klymkiw, the ctcpf, and A-Channel are in; Doug Bassett, Doug Holtby, Frank Griffiths, Phyllis Platt, the ampdc, Roman Bittman, Colin Watson, and AltaWest are either out or somewhere other.

In limbo are 2,500 cbc employees, 14 new specialty channels, five potential Canadian dth players, five would-be new Vancouver broadcasters, PolyGram’s application for expanded distribution rights, tax credits for Alberta and Saskatchewan, Bill C-32, Traders, Jake and the Kid, Ready or Not, and CanWest Global as it awaits the Quebec decision and regathers and regroups after its Canadian expansion efforts came up virtually snake-eyes this year.

And as a constant backdrop to all this frenetic change, increasingly, the relationship between Canada and the u.s. is as complex as that of a divorced couple in a neverending custody dispute. While there is much in common, good reasons to get along, and increased financial investment going on, the domestic differences (protecting our culture from their ‘free’ market dominance) seem irreconcilable, and therefore lawyers and bullying tactics were a recurring plot element on almost every front.

The fact that the word ‘protect’ raises Americans’ trade war hackles (even though the country using it has special nafta exemption dispensation negotiated on behalf of its cultural industries), will no doubt continue to escalate regulatory wars among ministries. Perhaps the rest of Canada should join Quebec, and the lot of us could have a referendum on whether to separate from the ‘domestic’ North American entertainment market.

It’s a bit like approaching the ocean with a mop, trying to make some sense of this year in review when Baton is merging with Electrohome, the Craigs are bailing out Alberta producers, Quebec reshuffles, and everyone looks to define a new financing equilibrium established by government cutbacks, federal gifts, and Canada’s increasing presence in and reliance on the global marketplace.

But what a ride.

For the record, the months at a glance begin on page 27.