ABOVE: Watch Mikey McBryan talk about the final season of Ice Pilots NWT on Global’s The Morning Show.
After six seasons, the Ice Pilots are set to fly off into the sunset.
Ice Pilots NWT airs its final episode Wednesday on History. The adventures of Buffalo Joe McBryan, youngest son and general manager Mikey McBryan, sister Kathy, oldest son Rod and all at Buffalo Air in Yellowknife has captivated viewers for six seasons. That’s a long time to be on Canadian specialty TV, or as Mikey quips, “Coronation Street long.”
Viewers were likely drawn at first by the vintage aircraft featured on the series. Patriarch Joe, now 70, takes one of his Second World War-era DC-3s across Great Slave Lake every evening in a passenger run to Hay River. “He’s made that run every day since 1982,” says son Mikey. Non-pressurized, unlike modern jetliners, the DC-3 climbs only as high as 1,500 meters over the lake run. Most short winter days the view of the Yukon outside the windows is one of snowy darkness with a sharp ribbon of purple and pink along the horizon. Engines spark and crackle and then roar to life in the sub-zero temperatures. The drone inside the cabin and the surprisingly warm exterior would prompt some passengers to ask for a little air-conditioning. This was sometimes accomplished by cracking open the back cargo door.
Those passenger runs go on, as do cargo supply runs vital to residents in the northern territories. Buffalo’s vintage DC-4s, however, have been grounded, giving way to a slightly more modern fleet of Electras. Buffalo Joe has about six carcasses of those turbo-prop planes from the ’50s around his hanger, enough parts to always keep his Electra ZFE in the air.
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Viewers were able to ride along for those six seasons and get to know the technicians, pilots and other characters. The McBryan family became like hoser versions of the Kardashians if that more glamorous family had been swaddled in toques, scarves and parkas. They were all famous for being famous, recognized in airports around the world.
“I guess the show is pretty big in Croatia,” says Mikey, who heard from a friend of his sister that Ice Pilots were a fascination there. “When we travel we hear stories from all over,” he says. “Where you from? Yellowknife? Ice Pilots? It really puts an ice breaker to the conversation.”
Mikey has tried to capitalize on that recognition. Ice Pilot souvenirs can be found in airports in Winnipeg, Edmonton and other Canadian cities. Toques and T-shirts and even underwear are emblazoned with the Buffalo Air labels.
Over the years, the series lured Iron Maiden lead singer and pilot Bruce Dickinson to Yellowknife, along with several NHLers who came north for a charity game. Pilots have come and gone over the years, including fan favourites Scotty Blue and Justin Simle. “Scotty’s a full blown water firefighting pilot now,” says Mikey. “He’s semi-retired.”
Mikey says the biggest lesson he’s learned from the series is to just be yourself on TV. “The times when people are acting or trying to be something they’re not, it all falls apart very quickly,” he says.
Wednesday’s season finale will feature the Buffalo boys in Red Deer, Alta., taking part in ceremonies last June marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. A tribute jump from 20 paratroopers is planned but bad weather and an unscouted drop zone has Joe set to cancel the stunt. A jump the next morning will be the last chance to make it all happen. “The finale is the craziest thing,” says Mikey.
Fans may recall Season Five ended with what seemed like a farewell episode. A sixth and final season was a last-minute decision, says Mikey. “We’re like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it again,” he says. “Instead of a full blown season we just hunkered down and did eight more awesome episodes.”
The shortened season saw the Buffalo pilots battle through ice storms and take part in dogfights. There were the usual crash landings and engine fires. Buffalo Joe had more run-ins from Transport Canada, finally relinquishing some duties to oldest son Rod. There were some goodbyes, most notably to Joe’s 16-year-old rescue dog Sophie, the master’s co-pilot for all those magnificent sky runs over Hay River.
Mikey and Company hope to take off with new TV ideas in the future. “We’ve been working with Shaw and History and trying to figure out what’s next,” he says. “We’re all looking for the next thing. I don’t want to do anything cheesy, want to give fans what they deserve for the next step.”
In the meantime, Mikey has one other TV ambition: to be a voice on his favourite show, The Simpsons.
“I’ll do anything,” he says, “even a burp.”
Ice Pilots NWT airs on History, owned by Global News parent company Shaw Media.
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