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They also say a lot about the country.

Can You Tell If Your Childhood TV Shows Were Canadian Or American?

There was an innocent time in your media-consuming life when the origins of a show were far less important than how many robots and puppets it contained. Now, it's source of pride. So..

If you don’t get this question right, there’s probably no use in continuing on with the rest of the quiz. Also, beware of trick questions!

Canada did have its own versions over the years ( _Canadian Sesame Street_, _Sesame Street Canada_, and finally _Sesame Park_), but the only thing Canadian about the original was probably Mr. Snuffleupagus, who was definitely intended to be a secret Canadian.

American!

_Sesame Street_

Many friendships were lost based on whether the title of this show was spelled with one word or two.

It is easy to mistake Ghostwriter as Canadian because, as a grammar-themed teen sci-fi mystery, it is easily one of the nerdiest television shows ever conceived. It is also responsible for the formation of the Concerned Parents' Computer Exorcism Council in 1994.

_Ghostwriter_

Were the _Care Bears_' floating cloud city of Care-a-lot somewhere above Arkansas or Alberta?

Though originally based on a line of American greeting card characters, Canadians quickly snapped up the _Care Bears_' television rights and have been shamelessly exploiting them ever since. Sha-sha-sha-sha-sha-sha.

Canadian!

_Care Bears_

Pingu's origin was always tough to figure out because all the dialogue was in a strange penguin dialect, as opposed to, say, English (possible hint!) or French (possible counter-hint!).

You should have been immediately discouraged from guessing USA, as it it far too bizarre a program to ever be greenlit there. If you guessed Canada because of the Arctic setting and all the penguins, then you must have forgotten that penguins only live in Antarctica, especially the igloo-building sled-riding kind. If you did know where penguins live and guessed Antarctica, it's cute that you think they have the audiovisual production infrastructure and creative content support mechanisms to make a program of Pingu's quality. Oh, sorry, yes: the actual answer is a British/Swiss co-production.

Neither!

_Pingu_

All three puppets on this program look exactly like current-day celebrities (and that's to say nothing of human cast member Holly, who looks unsettlingly like Lena Dunham) . If you can correctly name even one the puppets' modern-day doppelgangers you instantly get 15/15 on this quiz. For now: Canadian or American?

One of the main characters in a blue jay for goodness' sake. Come on, folks.

_Under The Umbrella Tree_

The [title sequence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Y3n3ysVLQ) from this show alone is enough to send chills down the spine of video editors and sound designers everywhere. So was it Canadian or American?

As with all Canadian cultural products from the 1990s, look for a young Ryan Gosling in Season 1's "[Say Cheese and Die](www.youtube.com/watch?v=9chZLwAO7f8)" finale.

_Goosebumps_

It is either an enormous giveaway or entirely coincidental that this series was clearly filmed in an abandoned corner of the New York City subway system.

_Beakman's World_ is routinely described as a low-brow knockoff of _Bill Nye the Science Guy_'s infinitely more popular series, despite premiering a full season earlier.

_Beakman's World_

This program is known for one of the best [theme songs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdCfCSfkLqQ) in television history, but was it Canadian or American?

_Smoggies_, or " _Stop The Smoggies_" as it was repackaged for the United States, was a Canada/France co-production. For more information on the show ask any of your friends who routinely mention the Keystone XL pipeline.

_Smoggies_

Besides influencing entire decades of future fashion trends, was _Rupert_ a Canadian or American TV show?

Though based on a series of British books and comic strips, the show was made in the Canadian colony. Bonus fact: Rupert's friend Bill Badger was voiced by Stars frontman Torquil Campbell.

_Rupert_

It took years for many disappointed children to come to terms with the fact that jukeboxes are not in fact filled with [tiny puppet musicians](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtOV7MHHKwA). Was it Canadian, American, or neither?

This show had everything: Music, _Thomas the Tank Engine_ clips, and George Carlin and Ringo Star as tiny conductors, who kids could only tell the difference between by the colour of their beards.

_Shining Time Station_

_Fraggle Rock_ appears to be [primed for a reboot](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/19/joseph-gordon-levitt-produce-and-star-fraggle-rock) starring Joseph-Gordon Levitt, but was the original series Canadian or American?

This is perhaps the most contentious answer in this quiz, as _Fraggle Rock_ was a co-production between Canada's CBC, the United States' HBO, and England's TVS. However, the show was made in Toronto and is certified as Canadian by Canada's federal government. How quaint!

_Fraggle Rock_

_YCDTOT_ was in many ways ahead of its time, mixing studio segments, sketches, teens, music videos, and people getting slimed into a single show. So: was it Canadian or American?

The next time you see someone get slimed on television, remember that you may be experiencing one of Canada's most potent cultural exports. Bonus fact: _YCDTOT_ was filmed on a low budget in Ottawa, Ontario, which was also the birthplace of a small cable access show called [The Tom Green Show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLobGNm-Jqk).

_You Can't Do That On Television_

_Reboot_ was perhaps the first program to really showcase the possibilities of computer-generated animation, and was the first half-hour series to be completely CGI. So, was the computer set purchased at bestbuy.com or bestbuy.ca?

Also primed for an impending reboot, _Reboot_ taught a generation of kids more about computers than years of playing Midnight Rescue in their school's computer lab. The program is also notable for the creation of Mike the TV, easily the most concise example of Canadian satire of the decade.

_Reboot_

Lunette. Molly. That weird mailman guy. Canadian or American?

With _Big Comfy Couch_'s trademark clock stretching routine, perhaps its greatest legacy was getting kids comfortable with that weird yoga thing all their parents started doing.

_The Big Comfy Couch_

Okay, this geographic gameshow show was LITERALLY EXACTLY ABOUT what you've been doing for this entire quiz. Let's see if you learned anything, gumshoe!

This show was so good that it even won a Peabody. Even Beyonce doesn't have one of those (yet?). To this day, many of us wish all our trying times began with a pep-talk from The Chief.

_Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?_

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Can You Tell If Your Childhood TV Shows Were Canadian Or American?

Can you identify where each of these TV programs from your childhood are from?

Can You Tell If Your Childhood TV Shows Were Canadian Or American?

Can you identify where each of these TV programs from your childhood are from?

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