TVSquad

It looks like a new generation of television viewers may be introduced to Bob and Doug MacKenzie. The creations of SCTV alumni Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas have a new, animated life that will be broadcast on the Fox network.

Bob and Doug are two beer-swilling, touque-wearing Canadians who hosted their own show (a show-within-a-show on SCTV) called "The Great White North" (and originally called "Kanadian Korner"). They were created in 1980 as a result of a network request for more Canadian content on SCTV. The characters proved so successful that they subsequently released two albums based on the characters and the movie Strange Brew.

TV commercials are fairly easy to satirize. If you think about it, advertising is sort of ridiculous in the first place (a TV show is interrupted to ask you to buy toilet paper and gum?), so they're a natural for parody. There have been a lot of great parodies over the years, from shows such as Saturday Night Live and SCTV, and now Nerve has picked the 50 that they consider to be the best.

There are a lot of great choices, from SNL's "Colon Blow," "Schmitt's Gay Beer," and "Compulsion by Calvin Klein" to the Zoloft ad from Mad TV. One of my favorites is SNL's "Happy Fun Ball" spot, which was written by Jack Handey and included in his new book of essays What I'd Say To The Martians. It's a good list all around, though it's also one that I feel is missing a bunch of good ones, only I can't put my finger on which ones are missing at the moment.

The one they pick as number one is undoubtedly a classic, though I think it's overrated. I've always loved the one after the jump.

I was driving around town today with the top down and my iPod blaring and a song came on that brought back some memories and I was really bothered.

The song was "I Don't Like Mondays" by The Boomtown Rats. I'm sure many of you are familiar with the song and recognize it as a classic. More importantly, I'm sure most of you know that the song was inspired by a particularly horrific event (feel free to Google it). However, that wasn't what bothered me. The bothersome part was that the memories it brought back were those of one of my favorite shows.

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• FOX gives JJ Abrams $10 million to make a sci-fi pilot for the network titled Fringe.
• There are 26 crime dramas on TV right now. Radar helps you pick which one to watch.
• Jerry Seinfeld gives 30 Rock a slight ratings boost.
• Something Old, Something News has video of the classic SCTV parody The Cisco Kid.
• More evidence that Jimmy Fallon will take over Conan's spot in 2009.
• Oh, this is funny. Remember I told you about the hot women of Fox Business Network? They've changed the site!
• Hey, remember UPN and The WB? Ah, the olden days.

• The Addams Family - Vol. 1
• Batman Beyond - Season 2
• Beavis and Butthead - Gift Set
• Bewitched - Season 4 (color)
• Degrassi: TNG - Season 4
• The Facts of Life - Season 3
• Greg the Bunny - Best of Film Parodies
• Hannah Montana - Vol. 1 Livin' The Rock Star Life
• Justice League - Unlimited Season 1
• The L Word - Season 3
• Little House on the Prairie - The Movies
• MacGyver - Season 7
• Monarch of the Glen - Series 5
• Nightmares and Dreamscapes - Complete Series
• The O.C. - Season 3
• Sabrina and the Groovy Ghoulies - Saturday Mourning Collection
• Saturday Night Live - Best of TV Funhouse
• SCTV - Best of the Early Years
• Sesame Street - Old School: Vol. 1, 1969-74
• Slings and Arrows - Season 2
• The Swan - Complete Series
• That's My Bush - That's My Bush
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - Season 2, Vol. 1
• Wings - Season 3

If I may be so bold, the cartoon was in some ways better than the live-action version of Short's character. The surreal world Short created around Grimley was given a more vibrant life when animated, and other touches such as a singing pet mouse gave the show an oddball quality that would portend the absurd humor of Adult Swim and other recent animated fare.

The show featured Short as the voice of Ed, as well as many of his friends from SCTV such as Joe Flaherty (who played children's show host Count Floyd in a live-action segment) and Catherine O'Hara. Jonathan Winters and Andrea Martin also worked on the show. The series began in 1988 and was off the air in 1989. The combination of being shown on Saturday mornings, and an attempt at humor that wouldn't gain wide acceptance until a few years later pretty much spelled doom for the series from the very beginning. Those of us who were lucky enough to catch it, however, got to at least spend a few moments with one of the strangest, most inexplicable animated shows of the late 1980s.