CRINGE-WORTHY CANADIAN COMEDY SHOWS
They’re probably even worse than you remember
For a city that reared such witty titans as Russell Peters, John Candy, Jim Carrey, Mike Myers and Catherine O’Hara (to name a few), and mined vast sums of comedy gold with programs like Wayne and Shuster, Kids in the Hall, Bizarre and SCTV, Toronto still managed to fashion some of the unfunniest TV shows in history.
Here are six Toronto “comedy” series that still sting with cringe, in some cases decades after they first sullied the airwaves.
PARTY GAME (CHCH, 1970-1981)
Featuring the charismatic trio of Billy Van ( Hilarious House of Frightenstein), singer “Captain” Jack Duffy and the sultry Dinah Christie, this daily televised game of charades was often steeped in sleazy sexual innuendo, leisure suits and kinky platform shoes that were removed with glee. Within the confines of the cosy set (replete with stone fireplace and thick shag rug), the show often appeared to be a prolonged setup to some elaborate swingers party, which would have been OK had the jokes ever risen above the level of a stereotypical ’70s porn film.
CHECK IT OUT! (CTV, 1985-1987)
Sadly nothing to do with Steve Brule, this dreary sitcom set at a fictional grocery mart in Brampton starred Don Adams as store super Howard Bannister. In spite of co-stars Dinah Christie (again) and Gordon Clapp (who went on to great acclaim in NYPD Blue and Chicago Fire), Check it Out! managed to be routinely sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and criminally unfunny. Owing to Adams’ huge success as secret agent Maxwell Smart in Get Smart!, this stinker was syndicated worldwide and aired well into the more enlightened 1990s, perhaps explaining some of Bramp--
ton’s global notoriety.
SNOW JOB (CTV, 1983-1985)
The gravel voiced and frankly terrifying Jack Creley (Professor Brian O’Blivion in David Cronenberg’s Videodrome) presided over this mess as the manager of a sex-crazed ski lodge in the Laurentians. Chock full of Paleolithic period-era stereotypes that made Hot Dog: The Movie look intellectual, viewers could at least be grateful CTV provided a canned laugh track so they knew where the jokes were supposed to be. Not even a cameo from a fresh-faced Wayne Gretzky could save this freezer-burnt turkey.
BOOGIE’S DINER (CHCH, 1994-1995)
U.S. sitcom veteran Jim Bullock ( Too Close for Comfort, ALF) headlined this penniless, groan-worthy attempt to copy Saved by the Bell in a mall diner in Toronto. Salvaged slightly by the presence of break-out heartthrobs such as James Marsden (the scripts allowed him to get shirtless almost every episode, fact fans), supermodel Monika Schnarre and ’90s coverboy Fabio, Boogie’s Diner still represents the nadir of ugly, jokeless Can-con filler.
FRIDAY NIGHT! WITH RALPH BENMERGUI (CBC, 1992-1993)
CBC’s weak sauce attempt to create a U.S.-style late-night talk show was probably even worse than you remember it. Hapless host Benmergui was clearly not ready for prime time (plucked as he was from CBC’s Midday news program) and looked like a man ready to be yanked offstage by a Vaudeville hook at any moment. High-profile guests like Leonard Cohen and Céline Dion appeared embarrassed to be there, as did the comatose studio audience. No matter how much the CBC retooled the show (new house band! new set!), the jokes just weren’t landing, and the ratings crater in its wake pretty much killed the late-night talk show format in Canada for good.
THE TROUBLE WITH TRACY (CTV, 1970-1971)
Best known for topping every “worst Canadian TV show ever” list in circulation, this bizarre comedy has itself become a lazy punchline. Shot daily like a soap opera on cheap sets and based on scripts from a 1940s-era radio series (updated with edgy references to hippies and dope smoking), Tracy was truthfully no better or worse than the mightily revered King of Kensington, but who would dare criticize that local institution? Sadly (or happily), a recent inquiry to CTV confirmed that all episodes except the pilot were long ago destroyed, so its merits (or lack thereof) shall remain a mystery to anyone who didn’t see it on first run.