Sidestreet

Inspector Alec Woodward and Sergeant Johnny Dias aren't your average TV cops. They're neither stereotypes, nor mere imitations of other currently popular TV characters. Sometimes they don't even get 'Mr. Big.' But Metro Toronto 'community cops' Woodward
(Sean McCann) and Dias (Stephen Markle) do have something to offer fans of TV action-drama. The continuing stars "of CBC-TV's new Sidestreet series provide realistic portrayals of dedicated police officers striving to douse volatile situations before they ignite into major crises. Sidestreet deals , dramatically with small 'i' issues, rooted in reality. The problems facing these two members of the police department's community services division relate to events you could read about today or tomorrow in any Canadian newspaper. Viewers will be able to identify with the two plainclothesmen as they cope with such contemporary problems as labor strife, rape, harassement of parolees, 'block-busting' by land developers operating barely within the law, organized juvenile crime, illegal immigration and loan-sharking. It's a good bet that Canadian television fans will warm to the realistic Characterizations of hard working policemen etched by McCann and Markle, both experienced Canadian performers on stage, film and television. The original scripts for Sidestreet are by such established Canadian writers as Grahame Woods and Tony Sheer, as well as several new-to-TV authors from across the country. The five Canadians sharing directorial duties include Gerald Mayer, Denis Heroux, Richard Gilbert and Don Haldane.
Among the guest stars turning in top supporting performances in various Sidestreet episodes are Al Waxman (star of CBC-TV drama's situation comedy, King of Kensington), Daniel Pilon, Murray Westgate (a principal in CBCTV drama's House of Pride), Monique Mercure, Jon Granik, Ruth Springford, Joseph Shaw, Trudy Young, James Blendick, Neil Munro, and Donnelly Rhodes. John Ross is executive producer of the series and Brian Walker is producer. Sidestreet was conceived and developed by Canadian writer John Saxton and British producer - writer Geoffrey Gilbert, in cooperation with CBC-TV drama.