The Globe and Mail - December 15, 1984

"CBC's Hockey Night is an enjoyable trifle Canadian TV shoots and scores"
Rick Groen

A drama, scarcely a comedy, sweet but not quite sugary, Hockey Night (tomorrow night at 7:30 on the CBC) is a light-and-easy romp, the kind of wholesomely home- grown product that wears a Maple Leaf with pride. The kind that defies you to dislike it. The kind that wins the dare.

The setting is small-town Canada, a vacation resort that swells in the summer, shrinks in the winter and sports a year-round tribute to its most celebrated escapee: "Welcome to Parry Sound - Home of Bobby Orr." Reversing the conventional cycle, a city-bred and single- parent clan arrives in the wake of the departed tourists. The pretty mom (Gail Youngs) is separated and about to resume her teaching career.

The eldest daughter (Megan Follows) is bored and eager to crack the all-male lineup of the Mr. Lumber Minor Bantam All-Stars. You betcha, a girl on the prized hockey team. Won't the local tongues wag? Won't Mr. Lumber throw a two-by-four fit? So much for the wafer-thin plot, but no matter, since Martin Harbury and Paul Shapiro (producer and director/co-writer respectively) seem quite happy to trade off substance for atmosphere. Although not all their touches are deft (especially a yammering Howard Cosell clone), they still go far toward capturing, gently, the provincial spirit of the place: the dripping doughnuts in the greasy spoon, the cabin cruisers hibernating in the rich folks' marina, the puck-happy prodigy awaiting the scouts, the big- league rink with the bush-league announcer, the jaded young looking out, the nostalgic old looking back. All of this peeks out quietly from between the narrative slats, offered to us simply and non-judgmentally as a basic fact of rural life.

What weight this tale has, notably in the domestic scenes, can be traced directly to the presence of Megan Follows. A TV veteran at the callow age of 16, she's already been typecast as the spunky yet sensitive misfit. Nevertheless, the camera likes her understatement, her distinctive brand of restrained intensity, likes it enough to strike a few real sparks off an otherwise pallid script. Most child actors grow out of their appeal; she's growing into hers.

Elsewhere, Rick Moranis tries to do some maturing of his own in the relatively straight role of the sympathetic coach. He stretches, at times he lunges, and does well in getting one hand on the character. Somehow, the other always seems on the verge of cracking open a sudsy cool one.

The parts add up to agreeable family fare with a decidedly Canadian flavor that is different than (if not superior to) the tastier American junk food. Normally, that should be assessment enough. But, in these days of budgetary hack and stab, another variable must be factored into the equation. For this is an independent production contracted by the CBC in conjunction with Telefilm Canada - the very formula that was designed to revitalize drama on the public network, the very formula that the Tory cuts have plunged into economic limbo.

So, any viewer who looks at this admittedly modest show and derives pleasure - or any viewer who looks beyond this show and detects a reason to hope for more significant achievements - should savor the sight, because no similarly financed ventures will be undertaken by the corporation "in the foreseeable future." Esthetically, Hockey Night is an enjoyable trifle; symbolically, it's a towering monument.

Source: The Globe and Mail