On August 4, 2003, The Slime Society
had the privilege of interviewing cast member Mike Cameron about
his time on YCDTOTV. Cameron was a cast member during the 1984 season.Below is the transcript.
How
did you become involved with YCDTOTV? I
was at a theatre group in Ottawa with Abby Hagyard.
Describe what it was like to be involved
in such a popular TV show.
It was pretty exciting, but it was hard work.
What is your best memory of YCDTOTV?
Your worst? Your most embarassing?
My best memory was reeading the scripts with Les.
My worst memory
was talking too loud during a taping.
My most embarassing
was replacing the word "Halloween" with the word "Christmas"
during a sketch in the Halloween episode.
I'm curious to know how specific actors
on the show were in real life,
so let's try some name association. What comes to mind (in relation
to the
show) when I mention:
Christine McGlade: Professional
Les
Lye: Comfortable
Alasdair
Gillis: Snob
Doug
Ptolemy: Troublemaker
Lisa
Ruddy: Pleasant
Abby
Hagyard: Kind
If you could, please describe the
process for taping a show. How many days? How long were the shoots,
etc? The process was over a few days, as I recall, and
the shoots were usually all day. The slime shoots were the worst
... Too much work!
I often hear about how a lot of TV
producers are nightmares to work around. Was this true about your
relationship with Roger Price? Roger was great with the kids, I recall him in the
office having a frank talk with me when others would be screaming.
I must admit, I could have been a better actor.
What is your opinion about the general
direction of the show after you left?
I don't recall too many new episodes to tell you the honest truth.
The television situation wasn't as powerful in Canada as it is today
(i.e. YTV). The show almost fizzled out a bit I guess.
When
you look at the entire cast of the show's run, how do you rate the
cast that you had to work with? The
cast I worked with seemed to be the prime one. A return to the glory
days, if you will.
Who was your favorite cast member
(acting-wise and to work with)? Lisa was probably my favorite. She seemed the most
professional to work with and she also had the time to go over the
scene with me.
How
did you feel about being slimed in the Halloween episode?
Like I said, It was a lot of work for such a small scene. Certainly
look back on it as a highlight!
Why do you suppose the show had such
a small Canadian following being that it was produced in Canada?
Again, this is to do with the lack of a marketing machine in Canada
at the time. The Americans had specialty channels before we did.
What
have you been doing since your time with YCDTOTV?
I currently live in Calgary, Alberta and run two technology companies
and do business consulting on systems.
Anything
else you'd like to add?
On a side note, I found my name through a number of sites. A link
followed me to another site that said I was James Cameron's (Titanic)
brother and that I had been in movies such as Top Gun.
I wish I was more of an actor to this date!
How
did you become involved with YCDTOTV?
What
have you been doing since your time with YCDTOTV?