This Is the Law

This Is the Law
Developed by	Nigel Napier-Andrews
Creative director	Jimmy Amaro (music)
Starring	Austin Willis (host) Paul Soles Robert Warner
Country of origin	Canada
Production
Running time	30 min (time slot)
Original release
Network	CBC
Release	21 June 1971 (1971-06-21) – 6 April 1976 (1976-04-06)

This Is the Law was a Canadian panel game show which aired on CBC Television from 1971 to 1976.

Description

It presented short, humorous vignettes supposedly set in various towns and cities across Canada which ran with musical accompaniment rather than a soundtrack, and challenged panellists to guess which (obscure) law of that particular region was being broken by the "Lawbreaker" character who was always arrested at the end of the vignette.

The vignettes were quite subtle, and more often than not, despite many guesses, the panellists were unable to come up with the law that was actually being broken, because the laws featured were generally archaic but, at the time of production, still on the books in the featured communities. (An example: in one vignette, the Lawbreaker is seen wearing a caveman-style costume at an event and engages in dubious behaviour before being suddenly arrested. After the panel failed to correctly identify the indiscretion, Willis indicated it was because the Lawbreaker's costume did not fully cover his chest, and in the Canadian locale where the vignette was set, it was illegal for individuals of any gender to expose their nipples in public.)

The vignettes alternated with depictions of actual court cases, presented in a series of still cartoons, in storyboard format, with narration. The narrator would end by asking a question about how the judge eventually ruled. The four panellists would each guess what the judge decided, and why, and each panellist would conclude by lighting up a large "Yes" or "No" in front of his or her seat. After all four panellists had guessed, the answer would be revealed.

Robert Warner starred as the police officer, and Paul Soles portrayed the Lawbreaker. Soles was the first show host, but after the initial 1971 summer episodes, Austin Willis became host, from the regular 1971 fall season until the end of the series.

Cast

Panelists

• Julie Amato (1976)
• Bill Charlton (businessman by profession)
• Susan Gay (1971–1972)
• Susan Keller (1972–1975)
• Madeline Kronby (June–August 1971)
• Dini Petty (1971)
• Hart Pomerantz (lawyer and comedian by profession)
• Larry Solway (1971–1975)

Supporting vignette actors

• Paul Bradley
• Valri Bromfield
• Eric Clavering
• Trudy Desmond
• Robert McHeady
• Monica Parker

External links

• Queen's University Directory of CBC Television Series: This is the Law, accessed 14 August 2006, [1] accessed 16 May 2016
• This is the Law at IMDb