Land & Sea: 60 years of memories from the road

CBC

15-03-2025

Land & Sea is nearing the end of its 60th season on the air. Sixty seasons is no small feat in the fickle world of television.
The show started in 1964, four years after Coronation Street began and five years before Sesame Street would become a children's favourite.
Those who've had an opportunity to work on the show over the decades will tell you that a job that allows you to travel Newfoundland and Labrador and connect with its people isn't a job at all, it's a privilege.
Pauline Thornill started hosting the program in 1992 and retired in 2022.
She describes Land & Sea as her dream job.
Her very first story took her to the isolated community of Harbour Deep, where residents were carrying on a unique tradition known as The Goat Dance, a four partner, fast-paced square dance.
Thornhill wanted to do what Land & Sea has always done, to shine a light on a piece of local culture before it was lost.
By the time that first story was done, she knew she had found her show and her people.
"That ordinary person who had no hidden agenda, they were just like you say, telling their own story. That was the kind of person that Land & Sea gravitated to in the first place," said Thornhill. "Just everyday people doing extraordinary things and sometimes they didn't even realize they were extraordinary because it was just their life and they were living it."
Land & Sea strives to take viewers on adventures in remote parts of the province, showcasing the way of life and the stunning scenery. One of Thornhill's most memorable excursions was a trip that took her and the crew to northern Labrador and the majestic Saglek Fjord.
They travelled by long liner for two days north of Nain, Labrador with a char fishing crew, and camped out in a fjord in Labrador tents.
"You'd have to be in the Saglek Fjord to really appreciate the grandeur of it. You felt so small and insignificant compared to everything you were seeing around you," said Thornhill.
WATCH | Check out the full episode of Land & Sea:
The travel logistics on Land & Sea shoots are often challenging, not to mention the weather.
Thornhill says the Land & Sea team members are always working toward the same goal, to get the best show possible for the loyal audience.
"Everybody who I worked with, they were all professionals. There's a standard, there's a bar of production that you strive to meet and every technician I ever worked with did that, no matter what the challenges were," she said.
Ted Dillon has been a cameraman for many Land & Sea shoots over the years.
Dillon grew up in downtown St. John's and says travelling to work in small and remote communities has been extremely educational and rewarding.
He has been particularly fond of stories that have pushed him to acquire new skills, like a winter show they produced from Nain.
"We get off the plane and I say to Pauline, is someone picking us up? And she said, no, Teddy, here's the keys to your snow machine. And I said, 'what do you want me to do with this?' But by the end of the 10 days, it was like I came from Nain," said Dillon.
Dillon says every trip leaves lasting impressions. Getting to experience rural scenery is one perk.
And the kind welcome that local people extend to the Land & Sea crew is Newfoundland and Labrador hospitality at its finest.
"We're rock stars, rock stars. People love to see us coming because we're there to tell their stories, you know, be it tragic stories, be it funny stories, be it quirky stories," Dillon said. "Yeah, it's pretty spectacular. We're very lucky. We're probably the luckiest people in the CBC."
Ric Barela has been the recipient of that kind of warm welcome too.
Barela has recorded audio for countless Land & Sea shows.
He has always been impressed by the honesty and the emotion in interviews.
"Anybody who participates in this program really does have a strong belief that others should hear what they've gone through and they want to share because these are the real true stories of what everyday life can be," said Barela.
As Barela recounts in a recent Land & Sea show called "Memories from the Road," stories about survival or loss at sea have stayed with him over the years.
Barela says he has been amazed at the strength people have shown and their ability to communicate their feelings about such painful events.
"Forthcoming beyond belief. They put their hearts right out in front of you and it's there on display," Barela said. "It's magic."
Many who watch say the stories and pictures are magical and so is the music.
Sandy Morris can take credit for that.
Morris has been composing music for Land & Sea shows for 30 years from his home studio in St. John's.
"It's a wicked gig. I get up in the morning and I come down here and at the end of the day I've got music written for a whole show and recorded. It's great fun. I really feel good after that," said Morris.
Morris says that even though he has been on TV in some capacity since the mid 60s, including the years as part of the wildly popular Wonderful Grand Band, he is mostly known around the province for appearing in the opening of Land & Sea playing the show's theme music.
Most assume Morris is the composer of that theme.
In fact, it's a piece of TV stock music that was brought in from Toronto decades ago for the show.
There's no known composer and no known publisher. Yet it has become a sentimental provincial refrain.
"People just love that theme music so much. I've heard people say, when they hear it, they could be living on the mainland or something and when they hear it, it brings them right back home again," said Morris. "It's amazing. It's a very powerful piece of music."
Thornhill isn't surprised by the deep connection people have to Land & Sea's theme music or to the show itself.
"I think people feel safe with Land & Sea. I think people trust Land & Sea," said Thornhill.
"As long as nobody loses sight of the fact that it is all about us — us meaning the people who we interview — I think Land & Sea will always be successful."