The Robert Sandler Fonds is separated under series based on the production of various TV series and movies.
Series 1: Northrop Frye Lectures (Frye) Collection
As noted, as the ‘Fyre Collection’ by Sandler in his writings. The collection includes Professor Northrop Frye’s writings and Sandler’s own lectures note from his time as student under Professor Northrop Frye in English literature. The textual in series contains lecture notes on Shakespeare, a collection of William Shakespeare’s various plays. Which was the winner of the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction. The series contains Sandler’s audiotape collection of Professor Frye’s undergraduate classes Introduction to Shakespeare for two plus years. Frye’s lectures were transcribed, and Professor Northrop Frye’s edited them into a book, which Sandler sold to publisher Fitzhenry & Whiteside. The documents and audiotapes lead to the publishing of Northrop Frye on Shakespeare: Edited by Robert Sandler won Professor Northrop Frye his only Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction.
Sandler worked on multiple projects with Professor Northrop Frye, such as the Bible and Literature and Story of Us. Professor Northrop Frye and Sandler had a good student and teacher relationship, to the point that Professor Northrop Frye wrote a letter of recommendation for Sandler’s CBC application. Sandler was able to work with Professor Northrop Frye when Sandler worked with the University of Toronto’s Media Centre to record the professor’s lectures. Formats within the series includes video and audio copies of the original 25-hour long lectures, used in Bible and Literature, Sandler’s notes to edit the hour-long lectures into 30 ½ hour programs, notes for the 30 roundtable discussions, promotional material are Sandler’s contribution to initiating the Frye project.
Series 2: Fraggle Rock
The second series holds mostly screenplays and script for the children’s program Fraggle Rock. Fraggle Rock is the first series HBO commissioned and created by Jim Henson and his team. It was nominated and won various awards. Sandler was a writer brought on in Season 2 and wrote six episodes and one of his shows was nominated for an International Emmy. Documents included in the series includes episode script proposals, correspondence with Jim Henson and other producers, cast and crew. Also includes the first, second, and third readthrough drafts, written by Robert Sandler and other writers on the show such as Jerry Juhl, Laura Philips, David Young, bq Nichol and Jocelyn Stevenson. The series also includes photographs of cast and crew members on the production set of Fraggle Rock; Fraggle Rock Christmas CDs and an award with a piece of Fraggle Rock presented to Sandler for his years of achievement on the show. Lastly are the lawsuit documents involving the series’ writers not being proper financially compensated.
Series 3: Eric’s World
The third series contains the documents and items from the children’s sitcom series that aired from 1991-1996. The show was a 30-minute program broadcasted on TVO, Knowledge Network, SCN, Access and Family Channel. Sandler was hired to create a children’s series featuring Eric Nagler as a children’s performer and his manager, CJ, a puppet manipulated by John Pattison. Robert Sandler and Allen Booth were the co-creator, co-creative producers, Writer, and co-story editors of the series. They also had various writers also contribute to the series as well.
Documents include both the failed and successful documents to pilot the series, drafts, script notes and final drafts of my 30 plus scripts, the remaining scripts from five seasons, writer’s guides, organization papers. Digital and DVD copies.
Series 4: Traders - Street Legal
The fourth series contains the textual files and video from the Canadian prime-time drama set in a Toronto investment firm. The show is about the professional and private lives of a group of young, aggressive attorneys in partnership together in Toronto. The series was broadcasted on Global TV from 1987-1994. Robert Sandler and Allen Booth are the Co-Story Editors, Episode Co-writers. The documents contained in the series are various drafts of scripts such as the first and second draft written by Robert Sandler, production script, outline of scripts, contract between CBC and Robert Sandler; and correspondences from various production and broadcasting companies like CBC.
Series 5: Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science
The Fifth series contains the documentation and episodes of the award-winning and nominated TV Series that pioneered the true crime genre. This series features interesting crimes stories where forensic science played critical role in solving. This program re-enacts cases in which forensic scientists have used their expertise to find and examine evidence that would have previously been undetectable. 30 minutes TV docudrama series, where Sandler was the Creative Producer, Co-Creator, and Episode Writer. The files included in the series, contains the scripts that Sandler wrote and co-wrote in the first season and important episodes in later seasons. It also includes drafts of the script as well as a VHS and digital copies of the show, plus PR material, documents that pertain to the production of the series, screenplays, court orders, and transcripts of interviews from various scientists, police investigators and comments on the case.
Series 6: 72 Hour - True Crime
The Sixth series contains the textual files and videos a half- hour true TV crime docudrama follow up that focused on the investigators. The series ran three seasons, 45 episodes which Sandler had a hand in writing many of the episodes. The series contains the pitch documents, scripts written by Sandler, scripts he was credited, and script notes on the other 43 episodes, and rewritten scripts. Documents also include production photographs, research documents, crew resume, press clippings, tape interviews and notes.
Series 7: Extreme Clergy
The Seventh series are from the ½ hour TV documentary series where Sandler was the creator, writer, and an episode co-writer. The TV series documented the story of one or a team of clergy in social hot spots around the world. Some people in religious orders were surfing the waves, fighting in warzones, artic, and more amazing places outside a place of worship. The collection documents from Sandler includes the pitch documents for the TV series, drafts of the scripts Sandler wrote or co-wrote, DVDs of various steps in the edit, DVDs of the final episode and various tapes and digital copies of the episodes.
Series 8: EXC Finance
The Eight series in the Sandler collection, include the financial documents for various productions. Textual materials obtained from various production companies such as Two Sands Productions and Creative Anarchy. Also includes the applications and forms to fund various film projects; such as the Canadian Television Fund Agreement, Ontario Declaration of Residency/Consent Form 2008, letter from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Canadian Heritage letter. Financial papers included in the collection contains various bank statements, audits, notices from banks, authorization form, Tax documents; T2 Corporation Income Tax Return form, claim forms and Invoices.
Series 9: Sex and Religion
The Ninth series in the collection are documents based on the TV documentary series Sex & Religion. Robert Sandler was the co-creator, and episode writer. A documentary series that travels the world looking for the line between sex and sin. Robert Sandler noted that, “in conjunction with Riddle Films, I was wholly responsible for 5 of the 13 episodes about how major religions viewed various aspects of sex.” Textual documents in this series includes Sandler’s involvement in the writing of the scripts and includes DVDs and edits of these episodes.
Series 10: Real Voodoo
The Tenth series in the collection formats features textual, data, video, and photographs. Short tv-movie that includes financial records of various forms from the Canadian Revenue Agency, notice of (RE)Assessment and form of Claiming a Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Correspondences, proposals, and draft of scripts.
Series 11: My Pet’s Gone Viral (MPGV)
The Eleventh series in the collection features textual, data, video, and photographs of production. Holds eight episodes ½ hour documentary series starring the cats and dogs in YouTube pet videos that went viral. In the collection include script drafts and final scripts written by Sandler. In the collection also include the DVDs of the final episodes. Financial documents include cost report spreadsheet from various budget, MPGV Banking Summary Notes (2014), breakdown of Canadian costs, and eSubmission Summary. Correspondence to and from Animal Planet on distribution and production of the series.
Series 12: Brebeuf and the Huron Carol
The Twelve series in the collection of the A 1-hour TV musical biography, produced by Creative Anarchy and CBC Radio Canada. The TV special was written by Robert Sandler on the dramatization on the life of Father Brebeuf and his time among the Wendat (Hurons) and his The Huron Carole, the first Christmas Carole in the New World. In this series the various versions of the script and drafts are written by Sandler with his corrections. It also includes research notes and articles on Brebeuf. Video copies are in VHS and digital formats of the show, which also includes photos from the filming, flyer, and episodes.
Series 13: Assholes *A Documentary
The Thirteenth series is about novels by Aaron James turn TV documentary. The TV adaptation was written by Robert Sandler and John Walker with the broadcasting channels NFB and CBC Documentary Channel. It is a feature length documentary based on the New York Times’ best seller of the same name. The TV documentary is inspired by the NYT bestselling book, this lively philosophical investigation into the rise of asshole behaviour across the world asks: What does it mean to be an asshole, and more importantly, how do we stop their proliferation. The show has been nominated for a Writer’s Award and a Gemini Award.
With in the collection includes the research journals/notes, drafts and final editions of the script, invoices, email correspondence between Sandler and his co-writer/director John Walker. Majority of the formats in the collection are data floppy disk drives.
Series 14: Make Me Read
The Fourteenth series short internet films, co-written by Robert Sandler and long-time partner Allen Booth. Make Me Read is a series of YouTube videos with young comedians interviewing popular Canadian authors. However, there are no videos of the short films within the collection, instead the collection holds an array of drafts and final editions of the YouTube videos. The series also includes the novels of the Canadian authors that Sandler interviewed. Most of the authors were a part of the Toronto festival ‘The Word on the Street Festival’.
Series 15: Music
The Fifteenth series contains the audio recordings of various artists that Sandler either produced or had some influence in. Textual documentation contains contracts and agreements for BMI Canada - the Music Scene and SOCAN, song lyrics and correspondences between Sandler and artists. Audio holds recordings from vinyl records and audio reels – such as the album for the movie Foxy Lady and the album for Tony Kosinec.
Series 16: Miscellaneous Produced
The Sixteenth series holds various files of various smaller rolls in TV series throughout his carrier. They include drafts of scripts, proposals, resumes, correspondence between networks, writers' contracts, and miscellaneous documents. TV series included in the series are Under the Umbrella Tree, The Biggest Little Ticket, Sesame Street, Dudley the Dragon, and more. Most of the textual documents are transcripts, various versions (drafts) of script & screenplays, correspondences, and financial files. Within the collection also include his personal academic essays from his time in University of Toronto. Most of the produced series and files are labeled as such in the notes.
