Train 48
Genre	soap opera
Created by	Eric Lunsky Duncan McKenzie
Starring	Krista Sutton Paul Braunstein Paul Sun-Hyung Lee Raoul Bhaneja Andrew Kenneth Martin Lisa Merchant Joanne Boland Joe Dinicol Martin Jack Mosshammer Ingrid Hart Amy Price Francis
Country of origin	Canada
No. of episodes	318
Production
Running time	approx. 25 min (per episode)
Broadcast
Original channel	Global Television Network
Original run	June 2, 2003 – July 1, 2005

Train 48 was a Canadian television soap opera, broadcast on Global Television Network or CH (depending on location) airing from 2003 until 2005. Image File history File links Train48Cast. ... For Philippine soap opera, see Teleserye. ... Duncan McKenzie (born 1960 in Plymouth, England) is a Canadian TV writer and producer. ... Krista Sutton (born January 1, 1970 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan) is a Canadian actress who has worked in television, movies and theatre. ... Paul Braunstein is a Canadian actor who stared in the popular Canadian television series Train 48 in 2003 as Johnny McLaughlin, a comical character. ... Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Randy Ko on Train 48 Paul Sun-Hyung Lee born in 1973 is a Canadian/Korean actor born in Calgary well known from the television series Train 48 (playing as Randy Ko) being one of the main cast. ... Raoul Bhaneja (born on 6 June 1974 in Manchester, Greater Manchester, England) is a Canadian actor. ... Andrew Kenneth Martin is a Canadian born actor and native from Waterloo in Kitchener, Ontario. ... Lisa Merchant is a Canadian comic improviser and actress. ... Martin is a common given and family name in most European languages. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Global Television and Global TV redirect here. ... is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For Philippine soap opera, see Teleserye. ... Global Television and Global TV redirect here. ... CH is a Canadian English language privately owned television system owned by CanWest MediaWorks Inc. ...

Train 48 was based on the format of an Australian television program called Going Home. Going Home was a TV soap opera screened on the [SBS] network in Australia from 2000 - 2001. ...

The show was broadcast daily, and recorded the same day. It took place in a railway carriage of a GO Train returning from Toronto to the suburb of Burlington, Ontario, and followed the lives of 12 daily commuters through their interactions. Although major plotlines were written in advance, much of the dialogue was improvised by the actors. The entire series was shot on a 64-foot replica of a GO Train, which kept production costs to a minimum. The train setting allowed a basic construct where characters would share and act upon their opinions and views. The same-day recording allowed for comments on topical news stories to be introduced. The filming production was completed by 1:30 p.m. and edited by 5:00 p.m., later broadcast into regular time slots in different regions of Canada through out the day (7:00 p.m. weeknights on Global in Toronto). It is estimated that each 30 minute episode cost $40,000 (Canadian). GO Train on the Richmond Hill line GO Transit, officially known as the Greater Toronto Transit Authority (GTTA), is Canadas first, and Ontarios only, interregional public transit system, established to link Toronto with the surrounding regions of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). ... Motto: Stand By Coordinates: , Country Canada Province Ontario Region Halton Regional Municipality Established 1874 Government  - Mayor Cam Jackson  - Governing Body Burlington City Council  - MPs Mike Wallace (CPC), Garth Turner (Liberal)  - MPPs Joyce Savoline (PC), Ted Chudleigh (PC) Area  - City 187 km²  (72 sq mi) Population (2006)  - City 164,415 (Ranked... Commuting is the process of travelling from a place of residence to a place of work. ... A dialogue (sometimes spelt dialog[1]) is a reciprocal conversation between two or more entities. ... CIII-TV is a television station owned by CanWest Global that serves most of the Canadian province of Ontario. ...

The improvised format and quick turnaround enabled the inclusion of references to extremely current events, giving a heightened sense of realism and currency. For example the 2003 North America blackout was mentioned the next day. The show typically dealt with fictional relationships, humour and the non fictional topics mentioned were the cases of Scott Peterson, Karla Homolka, the SARS outbreak and different views about President George W. Bush. The 2003 North America blackout was a massive power outage that occurred throughout parts of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada on Thursday, August 14, 2003. ... Scott Lee Peterson (born 24 October 1972) is a former fertilizer salesman convicted of the murder of his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, and unborn son Conner Peterson. ... Karla Leanne Homolka, also known as Karla Leanne Teale, (born May 4, 1970 in Port Credit, Ontario, Canada), is a Canadian serial killer who attracted worldwide media attention when she was convicted of helping her husband, Paul Bernardo, rape and murder teenage girls, including her sister Tammy Homolka. ... Sars may refer to any of the following: Severe acute respiratory syndrome, commonly abbreviated as SARS Michael Sars, a Norwegian biologist, father of Georg Sars Georg Sars, a Norwegian biologist, son of Michael Sars Special Administrative Regions, commonly abbreviated as SARs Sars, Perm Krai, an urban settlement in Perm Krai... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and the 43rd and current President of the United States. ...

Dilemmas and criticism

When Train 48 first debuted, many criticized the show for being created for the sake of product placement; different characters used different products sourced from a certain brand. That is, if someone was seen using a cell phone, it was a Fido cell phone. If someone was seen reading the newspaper, it was the National Post. (The National Post is owned by CanWest, the parent company of Global Television) The show’s producers argued that product placement was there to make the show seem more real.[1] However, many viewers were turned off from Train 48 due to certain visual nuances, such as deliberate camera pauses on carefully positioned logos, making the show seem like a half-hour long commercial and less like a drama. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Product placement advertisements are promotional ads placed by marketers using real commercial products and services in media, where the presence of a particular brand is the result of an economic exchange. ... Fido may mean: Fido is a Latin word meaning I trust Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO), a fog dispersal system developed in the second world war. ... The National Post is a major Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, Ontario, a district of Toronto. ...

During the production of the series between 2003 to 2004, four episodes regularly were aired on Global Television Network during the week. However, in 2005, this was reduced to three with regular time slots. During the last year of production the plots became more complex meaning that the typical chat was more restricted to the fictional characters lives other than what was in the news. During production, the series received almost as much criticism as it gained fan momentum. Several characters were gay and lesbian (either single or in a relationship) and towards the last season several fans found that the show was too obsessive in being politically correct when portraying homosexuals. Other viewers criticism on the series dealt with the lack of realism in the plots (especially towards the last season), such as how such events are unlikely to occur. A few months before the show's termination the stories and plots were rushed to keep up, many fans reacted to these changes as rumours of Train 48 cancellation was to occur. Many people often criticized some of the absurd references and guest appearances they had on the show. Nixon, Richard (Ex President of the United States of the America) (Reference) Iconic pop figures such as Madonna and Britney Spears (References) Gold medal winners for the Canadian Olympic Gymnastic team (Guest Star(s)) Gold medal winners for the Canadian Olympic Hockey team (Guest Star(s)) Elementary school teachers who subliminally ragged on (Guest Star(s)) Regan, Ronald (Another Ex President of the United States of America) Stacy Lockhart, a fictional character which the cast frequently made subsequent references to. (Reference) Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ...

Cancellation

Rumours were finally concluded on June 2, 2005 when producer Cindy Wrong announced that Train 48 was cancelled due to its low ratings and some of the worst feedback in Canadian television history. She stated that the finale episode would be shown on July 1. After the finale, re-runs of the last few episodes aired until the finale was shown again on September 2. is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Theme song

The series theme song was entitled "Train goes" by Adam Crossley and 9 Point Landing. See http://www.theadamcrossleyband.com/ (Train Goes automatically plays).

Cast

• Krista Sutton [2] (Liz Irwin-Gallo)
• Paul Braunstein (Johnny McLaughlin)
• Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Randy Ko)
• Raoul Bhaneja (Peter Subramani) AKA 'Pete'
• Andrew Kenneth Martin [3] (Charles Lucas West-Matheson)
• Lisa Merchant (Brenda Murphy)
• Joanne Boland (Dana Davin)
• Joe Dinicol (Zach Eisler)
• Jack Mosshammer [4] (Seymour Shackleton) (season 2+)
• Ingrid Hart [5] (Shannon Lamarche) (2003-2005)
• Amy Price Francis (Nicole Svendsen) (season 1)

Krista Sutton (born January 1, 1970 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan) is a Canadian actress who has worked in television, movies and theatre. ... Paul Braunstein is a Canadian actor who stared in the popular Canadian television series Train 48 in 2003 as Johnny McLaughlin, a comical character. ... Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Randy Ko on Train 48 Paul Sun-Hyung Lee born in 1973 is a Canadian/Korean actor born in Calgary well known from the television series Train 48 (playing as Randy Ko) being one of the main cast. ... Raoul Bhaneja (born on 6 June 1974 in Manchester, Greater Manchester, England) is a Canadian actor. ... Andrew Kenneth Martin is a Canadian born actor and native from Waterloo in Kitchener, Ontario. ... Lisa Merchant is a Canadian comic improviser and actress. ...

Regular guests

• Allana Harkin (Mag)
• Victoria Adilman (Julia)
• Lindsay Ames (Naomi Reisman)
• Kathryn Zenna (Mel)
• Monica Correa (Ana)
• Kristin Fairlie [6] (Jesse)
• Holly Lewis (Allison)

Other guest stars on Train 48 included politician Sheila Copps, actor Scott Thompson, comedian Rick Green, and former MuchMusic personality Amanda Walsh. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Sheila Maureen Copps, PC, HBA, LL.D (hc), (born November 27, 1952, in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian journalist and former politician. ... Scott Thompson (born June 12, 1959) is a Canadian television comedian, best known for his time as a member of the comedy troupe Kids in the Hall. ... Rick Green (born 1953 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian comedian, and writer. ... MuchMusic (often referred to only as Much) is a Canadian cable television specialty channel owned by CTVglobemedia dedicated to music and music-related programs. ... Amanda Walsh (born October 3, 1981 in Rigaud, Quebec) is a Canadian actress and former VJ for the Canadian television station MuchMusic. ...

CanWest Global in partnership with Global had promoted the series with stories and columns in the National Post and Toronto Star newspapers. CanWest Global Communications Corp. ... The National Post is a major Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, Ontario, a district of Toronto. ... The Toronto Star is Canadas highest-circulation newspaper, though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within Ontario. ...

References

• http://www.protocolent.com/train48/
• http://www.writersguildofcanada.com/magazine/articles/train.html (Canadian Screenwriter magazine "making of" profile)
• http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/06/02/Arts/train050602.html (Global cancels Train 48)
• http://www.canada.com/entertainment/features/train48/story.html?id=c886b9fb-51aa-4a6e-a8eb-9cd444b14c4d

External links

• Train 48 at the Internet Movie Database