Tuesday night’s raucous debate on Toronto’s newly-launched television station Toronto1 was by far the most entertaining episode of the mayoralty race.

The mood was part World Cup, part public hanging.

The gallery was packed with competing cheering sections who alternately booed or cheered depending on who was speaking.

Ben Chin had to quiet them down repeatedly. “Let’s not go there. That’s not the Toronto way,” he said at one point.

The rough-around-the-edges handling of the event by Toronto1 was as much a part of the fun as the crowd’s antics.

In one of several pre-taped segments, Toronto1 illustrated the supposedly out-of-control litter problem by finding some garbage in a back alley and filming it.

At another point, as each candidate spoke in turn, the camera panned from face to face perfectly out of sync with who was speaking at the time.

The candidates were at their nastiest, hauling out insults and cheesy one-liners that they’ve apparently been saving until now.

“Your budget is called ‘Hocus Pocus’,” said Barabara Hall to David Miller.

“For David Miller, every day is Labour Day,” said John Nunziata.

Toronto1 took the candidates off guard with a few personal questions as well. When asked what his favorite comfort food was, Nunziata said “a banana,” then made a funny face, to roars of laughter from the audience.

The jeers and catcalls lent a hint of Jerry Springer to the event, as did the chants of “Tory, Tory…” that cropped up now and then.

Perhaps it was that very wacky, off-the-cuff atmosphere that made the candidate’s true colours come across more than ever before. John Tory, especially, came across as more right-wing at the debate than he has previously, hammering Miller for his NDP and labor connections.

Just when you thought Toronto might get boring, what with Mel’s departure, Toronto1 steps up to the plate. Though it wasn’t planned as such, it was a fitting inaugural event for the nascent television station. We can only hope that the new mayor, while dealing effectively with the serious issues facing the city, will prove just as much fun.