CTV Sci-Fi Channel
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| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Bell Media |
- For the Latin American channel with the same name, see Space (Latin American TV channel).
Space (styled SPACE) is a Canadian cable television specialty channel owned and operated by Bell Media. It features science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal programming including films, documentaries, scripted television series and more. SPACE originally used the subtitle The Imagination Station following its name; although, it is still sometimes used informally by fans today.
History
The channel was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1996. It debuted on October 17, 1997 at 6:00 p.m. EST, under the ownership of CHUM Limited, airing the film Forbidden Planet, followed by a commentary on that film by author Robert J. Sawyer, followed by the film Mars Attacks!. The Sawyer commentary was the first example of the interstitial materials — mostly produced by Mark Askwith — that have become SPACE's signature: short, snappy, mini-documentaries on science fiction and science topics shown between programs, collectively known as "SPACE Flow". Daily installments include Space News (formerly SPIN, for "Space Information and News").
As with Teletoon and MuchMusic, Space was created specifically to prevent the import of a similar American television network, thereby maintaining Canadian content whenever possible. In this case, Space was introduced in lieu of Canadians receiving the Sci Fi Channel (now Syfy); it has been criticized for not carrying the same type of programming as its U.S. counterpart, although most (but not all) original SyFy programming eventually finds its way onto Space. There are some delays, however. For example, the popular Sci Fi series The Invisible Man didn't begin airing on Space until after it had finished its run on Sci Fi. It ran Stargate SG-1 delayed from its initial airing on Sci Fi, and as of January 22, 2006, began airing the companion/spin-off series Stargate Atlantis. There are some shows that air on Space that do not air on SyFy, such as Relic Hunter.
CTVglobemedia took over Space on June 22, 2007, as a result of a takeover of CHUM Limited.
Annual events
- The Spacey Awards: Space presents its own awards called the Spacey Awards to the best in sci-fi, fantasy and horror films, television series and video games. Some of the awards are voted on by viewers and the others by Space.
- Santa Claus Conquers the Martians: For several years at Christmas, Space aired Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
- The Twelve Days of Space-mas: Twelve days of marathons, either of popular Space programs or of similarly themed science-fiction or fantasy movies, traditionally starting with the "Trekmas Day Movie Marathon", the airing of all Star Trek movies released prior to the 2009 film on Christmas Day.
Programs
 | This section is about an event or subject needs information on when various shows started and stopped airing on the channel.. |
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First-run shows
Re-run shows
Mini-series
Original programming
- InnerSPACE (formerly The Circuit) - News and information as from the entertainment industry with a sci-fi and fantasy slant.
- Behind the Scenes - A look at the creation and bringing to life of various sci-fi series and specials, features interviews with writers, editors, stars and others
- Fanboy Confessional - An celebration of geek and nerd cultures. Each episode focuses on an individual group such as LARP, Furry, Steampunk, and Real-life_superhero.
- HypaSpace - News and information as well as the latest gossip from the entertainment industry, specifically science fiction and fantasy genres
- It Came From The Basement! - A look at people's eclectic collections of sci fi related material
- Shadow Hunter - A series that focuses on the paranormal as seen by a ghost hunter (hosted by Darryll Walsh)
- Shelf Space - A look at and interviews with authors of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and science fact
- The SpaceBar - Late night movie "host segments" wrapped around a science-fiction movie, vaguely reminiscent of Mystery Science Theater 3000
- Space Interstitials
- SpaceNews - News tidbits relating to space, NASA, CSA and Earth-based satellites
- Space Top 10 Countdown - Space counts down what’s hot and what’s caught our attention in genre film and television, from superheroes, movie villains, aliens and killer cyborgs. Hosted by Space on-air personalities Kim Poirier and Jonathan Llyr.
Space HD
On July 6, 2011, Space launched Space HD, a high definition simulcast of the standard definition feed.[1] It is currently only available on Bell TV and Bell Fibe TV.