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In the second episode of The Dark Years, The Toronto Daily Star sees its subscriptions rise during the worst years of the Depression. In 1933, The Daily Star grabs more readers by following popular stories with wide appeal. But because of spending cuts, the newspaper almost misses out on one of the biggest stories of the decade: the birth of the Dionne Quintuplets in 1934. Luckily, The Daily Star reporter Gordon Sinclair and photographer Fred Davis manage to take us just outside the small town of Callander, Ontario, to meet the famous newborns of a poor farming couple.
We see how the Depression continues to shape the lives of ordinary Canadians. We meet again with communist leader Tim Buck. In this episode, we follow A.E. Smith's campaign to defend Buck in the face of harassment by an anti-Communist state. At the same time, young men are forced into relief work camps hide the country's unemployment problem. Out of this situation comes the story of Arthur "Slim" Evans, who works to organize a relief camp workers' union, leads the "On-to-Ottawa" trek of thousands of unemployed men wanting social justice and economic opportunity, and meets with Prime Minister R.B. Bennett. The eventual arrest of Slim Evans in 1935 precipitates the violent Regina Riot. Prime Minister Bennett figures prominently in this episode as we watch a privately compassionate man publicly fail to provide support for the country's down-and-out citizens. This failure in policy eventually leads to the Bennett government's fall in 1935 to Mackenzie King's Liberals.
During this era, bank robbers are made out to be folk heroes, and The Dark Years explores the newspaper's role in creating this mythology through the story of Red Ryan, a superstar Robin Hood-type robber championed by The Toronto Daily Star. Ryan meets with Bennett, is released from Kingston penitentiary, and lives up to his promise to never return there again.
The tragic real-life tale of Ted and Rose Bates of Gilden, Saskatchewan is a more sombre account from the era. The Bates, a couple with a young son, migrates to the West Coast, but find work and relief nowhere. In an act of desperation, they attempt suicide, killing their son in the attempt, but accidentally surviving themselves. In a most unfortunate twist of fate, the Bates find themselves on trial for their son's murder.

In this episode, The Dark Years continues to tell important stories about everyday people living during the Depression, through the eyes of a Canadian newspaper.

Gordon Sinclair, Fred Davis, Dionne Quintuplets, Tim Buck, A.E. Smith, Arthur "Slim" Evans, R.B. Bennett, Red Ryan, Ted Bates, Rose Bates

"The Dark Years" uses original animation, archival footage and eyewitness accounts to bring to life colorful stories from the 1930s in Canada. Featuring the voices of some of Canada's best-known actors, this playful three-part series revolves around an adventurous group of Canadian newsmen at a big city newspaper. These spirited reporters set out to cover the major events of the decade, from record-breaking cross-Atlantic flights, and the birth of the world-famous Dionne quintuplets, to the slow march to war.

This mini-series was five years in the making.

The documentary featured a portrayal of Harry Hindmarsh, legendary editor of the Toronto Daily Star. However, neither the Star nor the Hindmarsh family participated in the making of the documentary.

Story editor and senior researcher Barbara Sears had the idea of using the Star as a framing device for the events of the story.

"The (Star) really was on a kind of mission," director Steven Silver said in an interview with the modern-day paper. "It mattered to them and to the paper and to (publisher) Joe Atkinson and to the country itself, that they document this time. It really did feel like history was ending, that the world would never be the same."

Silver decided upon using animator for the documentary: "I knew at the beginning that the kind of lightness of animation would be useful in dealing with the subject matter. "I also knew the animation was going to liberate me because I could choose the best of the stories, knowing I wouldn't have to hunt for stock footage to tell those stories."

Animation director John Halfpenny used heavy shadows and other comic-book techniques to emphasize the "larger than life" images of the reporters.

Techniques varied from cubism (to portray the Spanish Civil War) to a Looney Tunes took for the appearance of Adolf Hitler in 1930.

While Hindmarsh's narration was based on public materials, screenwriter Steve Lucas provided the words.

"I needed somebody who could speak to every moment in the Star," said Silver. "Obviously, (Hindmarsh) didn't say all the words he says in the documentary. But I needed a narrator who would be of the time."