{{Short description|1971 Canadian documentary TV series}} {{Use Canadian English|date=February 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}} {{Infobox television | image = | alt_name = | caption = | genre = documentary | creator = | developer = | writer = Brian Nolan<br />Ed Reid<br />Christopher Young | director = Munroe Scott | creative_director = | presenter = | starring = | judges = | voices = | narrator = Jon Granik | theme_music_composer = | open_theme = | end_theme = | composer = Larry Crosley | country = Canada | language = English | channel = CBC Television | first_aired = {{start date|1971|10|27|df=y}} | last_aired = {{end date|1971|12|22|df=y}} | num_seasons = 1 | num_episodes = 8 | list_episodes = | executive_producer = Cameron Graham | producer = | editor = | location = | cinematography = | camera = | runtime = | company = | related = }} '''''The Tenth Decade''''' is a Canadian documentary television miniseries which aired on CBC Television in 1971.
==Premise== The series presented Canada's political history between 1957 and 1967, or the tenth decade since the nation's Confederation. John Diefenbaker of the Progressive Conservative party became prime minister in the 1957 election. He was defeated by Lester B. Pearson and his Liberal party in 1963. The series concentrated on the lives and careers of both Diefenbaker and Pearson, supported by interview and archival footage.
The music score was composed by Larry Crosley and performed by several orchestras which were not credited in the series, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.<ref name=CCF>{{cite web | url=http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/programming/television/programming_popup.php?id=1297 | first=John | last=Corcelli | date=September 2005 | title=The Tenth Decade | publisher=Canadian Communications Foundation | accessdate=18 February 2013 }}</ref>
==Scheduling== This hour-long series was broadcast on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. from 27 October to 22 December 1971. It was rebroadcast on CBC Television at various times in 1972 and 1976.
==Episodes== {{Episode table |background= 006161 |EpisodeNumber= |Title= |OriginalAirDate= |dontclose = y }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 1 |Title = Prologue to Power |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|10|27|df=y}} |LineColor = 006161 |ShortSummary = Biographical profiles of Diefenbaker and Pearson and documented Diefenbaker's 1957 victory.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cbc.ca/75/2011/09/the-tenth-decade.html | title=The Tenth Decade | publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | accessdate=18 February 2013 }}</ref> }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 2 |Title = From Victory to Triumph |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|11|3|df=y}} |LineColor = 006161 |ShortSummary = Set during Diefenbaker's initial minority government towards his majority victory in the March 1958 election. Pearson then succeeded Louis St. Laurent as opposition Liberal leader.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=84Y1AAAAIBAJ&pg=3402%2C355432 | title=TV Times | newspaper=Montreal Gazette | page=TV3 | date=30 October 1971 | accessdate=18 February 2013 }}</ref> }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 3 |Title = The Power and The Glory |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|11|10|df=y}} |LineColor = 006161 |ShortSummary = Featured Diefenbaker's majority term until the 1962 election when his Progressive Conservatives were scaled back to a minority government. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 4 |Title = Treason and Transition |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|11|24|df=y}} |LineColor = 006161 |ShortSummary = Concerns Diefenbaker's final government term in which Canada supported the Bomarc missile program but rejected nuclear weaponry. This was a key issue in the 1963 election in which Pearson and his Liberals won. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 5 |Title = Search for a Mandate |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|12|1|df=y}} |LineColor = 006161 |ShortSummary = Described Pearson's early years as Prime Minister of another minority government. This era until the 1965 election was marked by controversies of national scandals, the federal budget and the Vietnam War. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 6 |Title = No Joy in Heaven |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|12|8|df=y}} |LineColor = 006161 |ShortSummary = Featured Pearson's second term of government. Controversies during this time included situations in Quebec and revelations of the Gerda Munsinger scandal. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 7 |Title = Celebration and Succession |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|12|15|df=y}} |LineColor = 006161 |ShortSummary = Set in 1967, the Canadian Centennial year, during which Diefenbaker resigned as opposition leader. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 8 |Title = The End of an Era |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|12|22|df=y}} |LineColor = 006161 |ShortSummary = Featured Pearson's final term as Prime Minister after which his successor, Pierre Trudeau, won a majority term in 1968 over Robert Stanfield who now led the Progressive Conservatives. }} {{Episode table end}}
No episode was broadcast on 17 November 1971 due to a Canadian Football League game.
==See also== Graham later produced separate miniseries on prime ministers Diefenbaker and Pearson:
* ''First Person Singular: Pearson – The Memoirs of a Prime Minister'' (1973) * ''One Canadian: The Political Memoirs of the Rt. Hon. John G. Diefenbaker'' (1976–77)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{cite web | url=http://www.film.queensu.ca/CBC/T.html | first=Blaine | last=Allan | title=The Tenth Decade | publisher=Queen's University | year=1996 | accessdate=18 February 2013 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924012749/http://www.film.queensu.ca/CBC/T.html | archivedate=24 September 2015 }} * {{cite web | url=http://rc-archives.cbc.ca/programs/1047/ | title=Diefenbaker and the native vote | date=10 November 1971 | work=The Tenth Decade | publisher=CBC Digital Archives | accessdate=18 February 2013 }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenth Decade}} Category:CBC Television original programming Category:1971 Canadian television series debuts Category:1971 Canadian television series endings Category:1970s Canadian documentary television series Category:1970s Canadian television miniseries