Americans might be running out of money, steady jobs and patience, but Canadians are dealing with an equally depressing depletion. And no, it's not beer. A shortage of Canadian beer would be a blessing, not a curse.
Variety reports that the land of milk and hockey is low on laughs because the CTV network hasn't produced a new hit sitcom that has won the nation's maple syrup pumping hearts.
The country's last runaway hit was the hilarious Corner Gas, starring the unfortunate but hilariously named comedian Brent Butt. The show ended its run after six years of consistently beating "heavy hitters" like American Idol. Wow, it's a wonder the Nobel Foundation hasn't awarded their Peace Prize to Butt for stamping out the face of tyranny.
The problem is no show of equal caliber has stepped up to take its reins. And don't get all Sean Hannity and think they can't produce quality comedy just because they spell humor with an extra "u".
This is the nation that gave the world The Kids in the Hall, SCTV, The Frantics, Trailer Park Boys and the tornado of greatness that is William ##*&ing Shatner. They also gave us Tom Green and Bryan Adams, but they made amends by weakening their military influence.
So come on, Canada! Make with the chuckle-makers already! I'm laying down the line. Either give us Yanks another great sitcom or sketch comedy series or we invade. We've launched pre-emptive strikes for far less.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-04-2009 @ 9:46PM
KateGee said...
Corner Gas just ended Gallagher!
Sorry, we're too busy laughing at you right now.
YEAH I SAID IT. We're not your monkey Gallagher.
Reply
5-04-2009 @ 10:00PM
Sancty said...
Corner Gas and American Idol both aired on CTV, so how did CG beat AI?
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5-04-2009 @ 10:16PM
Blair Mitchelmore said...
Presumably, they didn't air at the same time?
Personally, I find Corner Gas horribly unfunny, but it's also true that it's probably the funniest show Canada's produced in a good while. Slings and Arrows was the last really good Canadian show and that was a funny drama not dramatic comedy.
5-04-2009 @ 10:19PM
Argus said...
Haven't you heard Danny? Canadian Comedy's are sooo passe. Its all about cops now!
http://filmtvindustry.suite101.com/article.cfm/canadian_tv_producers_enjoy_making_police_shows
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5-04-2009 @ 10:20PM
Argus said...
uhhh, that should be "comedies".
5-04-2009 @ 10:46PM
Manuel Reis said...
Canada television has had a hand-full of good shows lately.
Being Erica, for example. Y'all should watch it!
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5-04-2009 @ 11:09PM
izikavazo said...
The reason why we don't have comedies anymore is because we can't agree on a comedy style across the country. Western Canada won't watch anything Eastern or Central and Eastern people won't watch anything that's not Eastern.
And lets face it, we're all just watching American shows anyways. The Canadian government forces the networks to have a certain percentage of Canadian broadcasting. If that law was abolished there would be no Canadian TV.
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5-04-2009 @ 11:21PM
Rick said...
Brent Butt is working on a new comedy series for CTV from what I've heard...
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5-05-2009 @ 2:04AM
mike said...
he is producing a new comedy but not appearing in it
5-05-2009 @ 9:06AM
Stone said...
What about Trailer Park Boys???? That was a pretty big hit and even spawned a Hollywood produced movie.
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5-05-2009 @ 9:06AM
Paul said...
There may not have been a comedy with the ratings success of "Corner Gas" made since that show first aired 6 years ago, but the country has produced a few quality comedies -- and Canada's exports have been a part of recent American TV comedies on TV and in the movies.
Also, it gets insanely low ratings (mostly due to the network it's on, CityTV, which is the country's 4th-ranked network and in only 5 cities), but the hilarious show "Less Than Kind" is something I think everybody should check out. It's executive produced by Mark McKinney (he also serves as story editor and occasional script writer) and is a darkly funny take on an overweight teenager trying to get through life as the only sane member of his family. Oh, and it takes place in Winnipeg in the winter, adding to the comedy.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1159996/
http://site.citytv.com/video/?bclid=6971713001
(Seriously, Danny... if the videos will play for you in the U.S., I really think you'll like this show!)
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5-05-2009 @ 10:38AM
John said...
Another under-rated Canadian comedy to check out is "Billable Hours"
http://www.showcase.ca/shows/showspage.aspx?Root_Title_id=117144
It takes goofing off at work to a whole new level of snarkiness.
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5-05-2009 @ 10:15AM
Larry Hamilton said...
Wow. Can you be any more annoying in your little story here? God bless the silly merkins and their silly Canadian jokes. I'd take a Canadian beer over any of that ridiculous crap you call american beer any day of the week.
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