Beach pirates

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Television series
German title Beach pirates
Original title The Beachcombers
Country of production Canada
original language English
Year (s) 1972-1989
length 30 minutes
Episodes 387 in 19 seasons
genre Comedy
adventure
idea Marc Strange
Lynn Susan Strange
First broadcast October 1, 1972 on CBC Television
German-language
first broadcast		 June 27, 1976 on ZDF
occupation

Strandpiraten (original title: The Beachcombers dt. Die Strandläufer ) is a Canadian television series that ran from 1972 to 1990 in Canada and is still the longest-running television series produced for Canadian television. A total of 387 episodes were produced in Canada, 91 of which were dubbed in Germany and have been broadcast on ZDF and third programs since 1976 .

Series overview

The series describes the life of Nick Adonidas, a Greek- Canadian log collector in British Columbia whose job it is to drive along the coast northwest of Vancouver to find logs that have broken off the rafts . For this he receives a reward. His main competitor in this business is Relic, a sleazy guy who occasionally travels long distances to thwart Nick's stores and steal tree trunks from him. The series also focuses on the supportive folks from Nick Gibson's hometown who hang out often at Molly's Reach coffee shop run by Molly, a parent to virtually all of the series' cast members, including Relic.

As the series progressed, the stories became more complex as the roles of the performers evolved. Many episodes focused on Nick's Greek origins.

The series title was shortened to Beachcombers last season , with CBC explaining that it was the intent to give the aging show a fresh new look. However, repetitive budget cuts at the state-sponsored CBC resulted in the series being canceled despite the fact that it was still popular in Canada and the series had been resold abroad.

The television series provided an insight into Canada's multicultural population structure. Nick Adonidas was Greek and Relic was of Welsh descent. Other main characters were Nick's Indian business partner and friend Jesse Jim and RCMP Constable John Constable.

Davies and John were the only original cast members in the later televised film The New Beachcombers , produced in 2002. It was supposed to serve as a pilot for the planned revival of the series, but it failed. At this point Gerussi, Clothier and Brown had already died. Another television movie, A Beachcomber's Christmas , was also produced. Again, the attempt to revive the series failed.

Film locations

Molly's Reach

The television series was filmed on location in Gibsons and the surrounding area. The cafe that appeared on the series, Molly's Reach , still exists today and is a local attraction. Ironically, Molly's Reach didn't become a coffee shop until after the series ended. It was a movie set, and not a restaurant, while the series was being shot, and not open to the public. After the series was canceled, it stood empty for a while, with its future completely uncertain. Eventually private investments were made to convert it into a working restaurant that would become the centerpiece of Lower Gibsons.

International broadcasts

The series has been sold worldwide and was particularly in the UK and in the PBS of the United States very popular. It has also been shown in Australia , Germany, Austria , New Zealand and Ireland .

Web links