Get set to celebrate Christmas in July with the Beachcombers.
Back by popular demand, the Beachcombers will return to Gibsons for four weeks in late July to shoot A Beachcombers Christmas, a made-for-TV movie to air in December 2004 on CBC television.
The New Beachcombers movie that CBC aired last November drew an impressive 723,000 viewers, making it the highest-rated CBC TV premier movie of the fall season.
"A lot of people who grew up watching this show love to sit down to watch this with their own children," said The New Beachcombers producer Nick Orchard. "We're excited about producing this wonderful family drama. We'd like to do a Beachcombers special annually."
The original Beachcombers, which attracted an average 1.5 million CBC viewers each week for 19 seasons, still has a huge following and airs on television all over the world.
On CBC's 50th anniversary website, Beachcombers was voted the show most wanted to be seen again, and in 1998, it was also voted the most popular show of all time on the CBC.
The same cast from The New Beachcombers movie will be back again for the Christmas movie, which will be directed by Anne Wheeler.
The cast includes Jackson Davies, who is also executive producer, Dave Thomas, Deanna Milligan, Cameron Bancroft, Graham Greene and Kendall Cross.
Davies said he can't wait to come back to Gibsons this summer to shoot the movie.
"We're all quite excited about this and getting another movie out there," Davies said. "We feel very much a part of Gibsons and that community. On a personal note, I feel very connected to that community myself. I was there for so many years - it's like a second home for me."
Davies said exact shooting dates will be confirmed next month, along with a little more about the storyline for the movie.
"It's a Christmas production and it's probably kind of strange to be shooting Christmas in July, but in order to have the movie ready for December, we have to start quickly," Davies said. "Like any Canadian production, we have to make sure all our funding falls into place, but the CBC has been very supportive of us, so we feel like it's just a matter of time before we get everything set and finalized."
Davies said the CBC has already stepped up to the plate and made the movie part of its fall launch schedule.
"I'll be working with the CBC shortly to get the word out and get involved with their fall launch," Davies said. "Our cast is great and it's really neat to have everyone back from The New Beachcombers movie again. I think this cast shows how much everyone enjoyed the last movie. We're trying to get family television back on the air. When you try to capture the spirit of Canadian shows, what better Canadian show than Beachcombers."
Davies said he has heard of some concerns from area merchants about disruptions in the community during the height of tourism season, but he feels this won't be a problem.
"We will do everything we can to try and not be a big impact negatively," Davies said. "We're in this together. This show has been a multi-million dollar promotion vehicle for Gibsons. No other small community anywhere has had this type of exposure."
Gibsons Mayor Barry Janyk said he's excited about the movie shoot and feels the positives far outweigh the negatives.
"The benefits to the community in terms of exposure and tourism spin-offs are tremendous," Janyk said. "When you have a little bit of Hollywood come into your community like this, it makes your community special. It gives us a bit of a profile that you just can't put a price on."
