The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian
sketch comedyA sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
group formed in 1984, consisting of
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s
Dave FoleyDavid Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
,
Kevin McDonaldKevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian comedian and actor, known as a member of the Canadian sketch comedy group The Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
,
Bruce McCullochBruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director. McCulloch is best known for his work as a member of The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe, and as a writer for Saturday Night Live. McCulloch has also appeared on series such as Twitch City and Gilmore...
,
Mark McKinneyMark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
, and
Scott ThompsonScott Thompson is a Canadian television actor and comedian, best known for his time as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall.-Personal life:...
. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on
CBCCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and
HBOHBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
in the United States. The theme song for the show was the instrumental "Having an Average Weekend" by the Canadian band
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy PlanetShadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best-known for the track "Having an Average Weekend," which was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall...
. The troupe made one movie,
Brain CandyBrain Candy is a feature film by The Kids in the Hall, a Canadian comedy troupe. Directed by Kelly Makin, filmed in Toronto, and released in 1996, it followed the five season run of their television series, which had been successful in both Canada and the United States.The five man team plays all...
, which was released in 1996.
The name of the group came from
Sid CaesarIsaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an Emmy award winning American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.- Early life :Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York,...
, who, if a joke didn't go over, or played worse than expected, would attribute it to "the kids in the hall," referring to a group of young writers hanging around the studio.
History
Before the troupe formed,
Bruce McCullochBruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director. McCulloch is best known for his work as a member of The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe, and as a writer for Saturday Night Live. McCulloch has also appeared on series such as Twitch City and Gilmore...
and
Mark McKinneyMark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
were working together doing
TheatresportsTheatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges...
in
CalgaryCalgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, performing in a group named "The Audience."
Norm HiscockNorm Hiscock is an Emmy Award winning screenwriter and producer. He is known for his work on Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, The Kids in the Hall, Corner Gas and most recently Parks and Recreation...
, Gary Campbell, and Frank Van Keeken were co-members and later became writers on the show. At the same time,
Dave FoleyDavid Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
and
Kevin McDonaldKevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian comedian and actor, known as a member of the Canadian sketch comedy group The Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
were performing around
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
(along with Luciano Casimiri) as The Kids in the Hall (KITH). In 1984, the two pairs met in Toronto, and began performing regularly as KITH, with a rotating band of members, including
Paul BelliniPaul Bellini is a Canadian comedy writer and television actor. Bellini is well-known figure in the Canadian television comedy industry due to his work on The Kids in the Hall and This Hour Has 22 Minutes. He has worked on several projects with Josh Levy and PJ DeBoy...
for a short time. When
Scott ThompsonScott Thompson is a Canadian television actor and comedian, best known for his time as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall.-Personal life:...
was invited to join in January 1985, the group had its final form. The same year, McCulloch and Foley appeared in the
Anne of Green GablesAnne of Avonlea is a 1987 television film. It is a sequel to the 1985 Anne of Green Gables film. The film dramatizes material from several books in the eight-novel "Anne" series by L. M. Montgomery; they are Anne of Avonlea , Anne of the Island and Anne of Windy Poplars...
series, as Diana Barry's husband and a former classmate of Anne's from the fictional Queen's College, respectively.
Not long afterwards, the Kids broke up for a short time when scouts for
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
invited McKinney and McCulloch to New York to become writers for that show, Foley made a poorly received movie debut with High Stakes and Thompson and McDonald worked with the
Second CityThe Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
touring group. They were reunited in 1986. After SNL
's
Lorne MichaelsLorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
saw them perform as a troupe, plans began for a TV show. In 1987 Michaels sent them to New York to what was essentially a "Comedy Boot Camp", and in 1988 their pilot special aired on
CBC TelevisionCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
and in the United States on HBO before debuting as a series in 1989.
Television show
Despite their SNL connection, the show's sketches were more reminiscent of
Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
: often quirky or
surrealSurrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, frequently utilizing drag, with very few celebrity impressions or
pop culturePopular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
parodiesA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
; the only recurring celebrity impression was of
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, played by Thompson. A
recurring characterA recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
was Mr. Tyzik, played by McKinney, who pretended to crush people's heads
from a distanceForced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking and architecture...
with his fingers. McKinney also played
Chicken LadyThe Chicken Lady was a character portrayed by Mark McKinney on the sketch comedy show The Kids in the Hall. She is a middle-aged, apartment-dwelling, physically strong, sexually-obsessed freak: the result of mating between a farmer and a hen...
, a shrill-voiced sexually excitable human-chicken hybrid. Many of the sketches featured
gayHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
characters and themes; most of these sketches were written by and starred Scott Thompson, who is openly gay. The show was also notable for reflecting and dealing with the youth subculture of its times, and for incisive sketches about big business and family units.
The Kids frequently appeared as themselves rather than as characters, and some sketches dealt directly with the fact that they were a comedy troupe producing a TV show. For example, Kevin McDonald announces that if the next sketch (which he has written) is not successful, the others are considering kicking him out of the group. In another episode, Thompson declares that he isn't gay anymore, which throws the other Kids into a panic, as they fear that the news will alienate the troupe's considerable gay fanbase. In yet another sketch (in which an employee, Foley, asks his boss, McDonald, for a raise) McDonald complains the setup is cliché and his character one-dimensional.
MonologueIn theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
s were a staple of the show. Though Scott Thompson's
Buddy ColeCharles Budderick Cole, popularly known as Buddy Cole, is a fictional character created and portrayed by actor-comedian Scott Thompson. He is an effeminate, gay socialite, made famous on The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian sketch comedy series and troupe of the same name.- Personality :Buddy...
monologues are the best known, the other Kids performed many memorable solo pieces as well. McCulloch in particular performed many monologues that consisted of him, acting as himself, telling hyperbolic stories of the struggles and day to day experiences in his life and/or the lives of others. Prominent examples from the other Kids include Foley describing his positive attitude toward
menstruationMenstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
, McKinney in character as a high-pitched recluse who's describing with intense fascination his hideously infected and bruised toe, and in a gag reminiscent of
Bob NewhartGeorge Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
, a distraught McDonald calling a best friend's young son to tell him his father died, only to have the child end up consoling him, even going so far as quoting famous philosophers on the ultimate emptiness of life.
The show originated in Canada, and the content was at times edited slightly for
U.S.The Culture of the United States is a Western culture originally influenced by European cultures. It has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, cuisine, and folklore...
tastes in one respect: sketches mocking religion were sometimes cut down or removed, necessitating the addition of material from other episodes to round out the half-hour. Some US channels censored the occasional nudity as well, such as when Foley revealed to Thompson he had inexplicably grown breasts. Among the more controversial sketches was the final sketch of Season 1, "Dr. Seuss Bible", in which the troupe tells the story of Jesus Christ's
crucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
in the style of children's author
Dr. SeussTheodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
.
Though the show occasionally featured guest actors (notably
Neve CampbellNeve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
and
Nicole de BoerNicole de Boer is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from 1998 to 1999 and as Sarah Bannerman on The Dead Zone from 2002 to 2007.-Career:...
) well before they became famous, the Kids played nearly all parts, both male and female, themselves. In contrast to
Monty PythonMonty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
, where the members often donned
dragDrag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
to portray older women, but usually utilized women such as
Carol ClevelandCarol Cleveland is a British actress/comedienne, most notable for her appearances as the only significant female performer on Monty Python's Flying Circus.-Early life:...
and
Connie BoothConstance "Connie" Booth is an American-born writer and actress, known for appearances on British television and particularly for her portrayal of Polly Sherman in the popular 1970s television show Fawlty Towers, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese.-Biography:Booth's father was a...
to play female characters who were young and attractive, all the Kids regularly played both old and young women; the frequent
cross-dressingCross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...
would become one of the show's trademarks. This began during their stage show, because they found themselves writing female characters but had no female member to play them. As Scott Thompson explained, "The way we played women ... we weren't winking at the audience ... We were never, like, going, 'Oh, look at me! I'm a guy in a dress!' Never. We would always try to be real, and that, I think, freaked people out..."
The CBC aired the show through its entire run. Seasons 1–3 aired on HBO but, in the fall of 1992,
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
picked up the rights to the show and aired it on late-night Fridays showing repeats, while HBO was airing the last of the season 3 episodes.
In early 1993, all-new episodes of The Kids in the Hall aired on CBS late-night, making the start of season 4. In the fall of 1993 it aired right after The Late Show with David Letterman late Friday nights. The fifth and final season of The Kids in the Hall began airing in the spring of 1994 until November. In January 1995 it was off the air and replaced with a new show, The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder.
Recurring sketches and characters
30 Helens Agree
- Thirty women stand in a field and declare their agreement on some platitude; for example, "Thirty Helens agree: If you have a good idea, you should write it down." One time they disagreed, but later agreed to disagree. At one point, only 29 Helens agreed that promptness was important (the thirtieth Helen was running late). The Helens appeared frequently throughout the first season, but did not appear in any subsequent seasons. According to Bruce McCulloch (in the Oral History segment of the Season 1 DVD set), 30 Helens Agree was his idea.
The Axe Murderer
- An axe murderer (Foley) approaches people for favours after he has obviously committed a brutal and grisly homicide with the axe he's carrying. Covered in blood, he makes polite small talk with people he runs into, casually admitting he is, in fact, an axe murderer. Before leaving, he amiably asks whoever he talks to not to tell anyone or "Chop chop!", accompanied by a chopping motion with his axe.
Bauer
- Bauer (Thompson) is a young stoner (presumably in his late teens or early twenties) who, as a result of his frequent pot use, is very well-spoken and insightful. In one popular sketch, he reveals to a friend (McDonald) that he's been having an affair with his married mother (Foley), which of course is very unsettling to McDonald. Bauer waxes poetic about the mother's beauty, then stands up, announcing he's "got a chub-on". Bauer first appeared on the show as the best friend of Bobby Terrance (see below), but later became a recurring character in his own right.
Bobby Terrance
- Bobby (McCulloch) is a rebellious teenager whose love of rock'n'roll serves as the basis for most of his sketches. Bobby views rock as an expression of personal freedom, and always fights back when he feels like he is being denied that freedom. He is frequently in conflict with his parents, played by McKinney (father) and Foley (mother). He has also taken on a sarcastic jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
-loving teacher (Foley), and once even faced off against the Devil himself (McKinney) in a guitar-playing contest. A pre-Star TrekStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
Nicole de BoerNicole de Boer is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from 1998 to 1999 and as Sarah Bannerman on The Dead Zone from 2002 to 2007.-Career:...
appeared in three sketches as Bobby's girlfriend Laura. He, like Bauer above are a tongue-in-cheek satire of the rebellious late-80/1990s GrungeGrunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
/Generation XGeneration X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
subculture.
Buddy Cole
- Buddy Cole is an effeminate, gay socialite, with a penchant for going on long, comedic rants about his personal life and the gay community. He also frequently drops celebrity names, insinuating that he has many close friendships with the rich and famous. He is penpals with Elizabeth II. His monologues are often delivered from the gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
he owns, which is called Buddy's.
Cabbage Head
- Cabbage Head (McCulloch) was born with leaves in place of hair. He also always smokes cigars and wears a red smoking jacket à la Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
. He is extremely crude and sexist, and spends most of his time trying to pick up women for sex, using his cabbage head in an attempt to garner sympathy and, hopefully, sex ("Hey – I'm the KING of the mercy fuck!" he declares in his first appearance). In one episode, he is shot in the head at a bar by a feminist crusader (also played by McCulloch) and, in a near-death experience, sees God, who said he created Cabbage Head in his image, at which point God is revealed to have a cabbage for a head himself. Later we see Cabbage Head on a Christian talk show talking about his miraculous survival, although he continues to hold sexist viewpoints, as evidenced by his promotion of a "sacred wet T-shirt contest – er, I mean, baptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
" he was conducting. Whenever anyone objects to his odd behavior, he always insists he is being persecuted for his cabbage head. "Why won't you let me forget that I have a CABBAGE FOR A HEAD?!?"
Cathy and Kathie
- Kathie (McCulloch) and Cathy (Thompson) are secretaries at the firm of A.T. & Love (KITH's catch-all business, and a play on AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
). These sketches parodied the banality of office life, from guessing the sexualitySexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
of the new guy to dealing with an ex-stripper temp named Tanya (McKinney). A few sketches also included Kevin McDonald as another coworker and Dave Foley as their supervisor Elizabeth. In the middle of the third season, Tanya finished her term of employment and left the office amidst mock tearfulness from her coworkers; however, she reappeared in the fifth season, once again working at the firm as a temp. The final sketch of the series was about Cathy and Kathie, as they prepared to leave their jobs after A.T. & Love was sold.
- Kathie appeared independently of Cathy in the first season, where it was revealed that she once dated Mississippi Gary (see below). A picture of him was on her cubicle wall in all subsequent appearances.
The Chicken Lady
- Mark McKinney played a half-human half-chicken who is completely oblivious to how freakish and terrifying people find her. In one episode, she flashes back to a moment from her adolescence when she is stuck in her room as the other kids have a party; one kid (who is expecting a sexual encounter) is thrown inside her room as a prank. In another sketch, she visits a strip club with her companion the Bearded Lady (Kevin McDonald), and loses her cool when a dancer known as Rooster Boy (Scott Thompson) takes the stage. Most Chicken Lady sketches revolve around her extremely strong sexual desires; her catchphrase is "Gotta get laid", and she is frequently seen having wild orgasms which are punctuated with an explosion of feathers.
Danny Husk
- A businessman, played by Scott Thompson, who was featured in a number of sketches. He is an executive at A.T. & Love, a company that also makes many appearances in unrelated sketches. In one sketch it is discovered that Danny used to be a porn star. In another, his armpit odor becomes a best selling product. In a third, he wakes up one morning and reads the newspaper, which states he has been kidnapped, after which he desperately gathers money to pay his own ransom. In yet another, Danny is summoned to the office of his boss, who needs to be consoled upon discovering "brown stuff" oozing from his mouth. Husk is successful in his consolation when he tells his boss that there is "no need to see a doctor" since the substance is odorless, and therefore, not "poo-based." In many of his appearances, Husk serves as a straight man
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
to the wacky antics of one of the others. Dave Foley had a recurring role as Husk's boss. Danny Husk ended up appearing in approximately a dozen sketches through seasons 1, 3, 4 and 5. Additionally, a variation of Husk, named Wally Terzinsky, appeared in the Kids' 1996 movie Brain Candy.
Darcy Pennell
- A lifestyle talk show host played by McDonald. Her guests include a French-speaking fashion designer named Christian Renoir and recurring character Francesca Fiore (Thompson). Darcy has trouble pronouncing the names of her guests, such as saying "Christ-aan Ren-aah" when announcing her guest Christian Renoir. The audience is also practically empty. The theme song to the talk show goes "Darcy, Darcy, Darcy Pennell, she makes your life a lot less hell. Darcy!"
Darill
- A man (McKinney) named Darill , who never quite understands what is going on, but always tries to affect an air of sophistication. Darill's strange mix of sunny good will, idiocy and pretense annoys everyone he meets, although he is rarely aware of it. Famous Darill sketches involve him hosting a painting show on television, and joining the Big Brother program
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501 non-profit organization whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that try to have a measurable impact on youth....
and mentoring an unreceptive boy. The background for Darill's strange behavior is explained somewhat in one sketch, in which we see a flashback of Darill as a child in Belgium, and the strange rapport he enjoys with his mother (whom he still lives with, much to the confusion of the date he has brought back to his apartment). One sketch also reveals that the only thing he ever daydreams about is a tiny oom-pahOom-pah, Oompah or Umpapa is the rhythmical sound of a deep brass instrument in a band, a form of background ostinato.The oom-pah sound is usually made by the tuba alternating between the root of the chord and the 5th — this sound is said to be the oom...
band playing on a windowsill. After the end of the The Kids in the Hall television show, Mark McKinney became a Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
cast member, and brought Darill onto that show.
Francesca Fiore and Bruno Puntz Jones
- Francesca Fiore (Thompson) and Bruno Puntz Jones (Foley) are a pair of fast-living, glamorous movie stars. Though they originally hail from South America, their films have a decidedly European flavor. Francesca Fiore is fiery and passionate, and tends to be overdramatic and expressive in her actions. Bruno Puntz Jones (who always wears a white suit and a Panama hat
A Panama hat is a traditional brimmed hat of Ecuadorian origin that is made from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant...
) is very cool and reserved, but inwardly seems to share Francesca's spirit. Bruno occasionally likes to play Russian RouletteRussian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which participants place a single round in a revolver, spin the cylinder, place the muzzle against their head and pull the trigger...
alone, a practice he refers to dismissively as "my little game". He is also prone to shooting people with little or no warning, usually when he feels Francesca is being threatened. The two always play lovers in their films together; they seem to be romantically involved in real life as well, though the exact relationship between them is not made clear. In court, where Francesca was facing divorce (for a fake marriage to gain Canadian citizenship) from another man, Bruno revealed he and she were married when he was 12 and she was 26. According to the crew, Foley's character was originally named Bruno Puntz, but when the writers decided to change his last name to Jones, they wrote the word "Jones" in without deleting "Puntz," accidentally creating a compound name.
Gavin
- Gavin (McCulloch) is a precocious boy whose chief personality trait is his tendency to ramble on incessantly about bizarre events that may or may not have actually occurred. Most Gavin sketches featured him confusing or annoying strangers with his bizarre wonderings; he once observed that he could eat an entire Bible, but it would take him "several days of munching and snacking." One sketch, however, saw Gavin falling in love with his babysitter (McDonald) because she actually understood him. He has a tense relationship with his parents, particularly his deadbeat father (McDonald). Gavin's look is very distinctive; he wears large, oversized glasses and is almost always seen sporting a baseball cap (which usually has either the Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
or The Legend Of Zelda, occasionally called Legend of Zelda or simply Zelda, is a high fantasy action-adventure video game series created by Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is developed and published by Nintendo, with some portable installments outsourced to Flagship/Capcom, Vanpool, and...
logo on it) and backpack. Among the characters portrayed by McCulloch in Brain Candy is a slightly modified version of Gavin, known as "Cancer Boy".
Gordon and Fran
- Gordon (McCulloch) and Fran (Thompson) are a middle-aged couple. Gordon is very crotchety, and is usually seen complaining in any sketch he appears in. His wife Fran is well-meaning and slightly batty, but has a tendency to nag. The most famous Gordon and Fran sketch is probably "Salty Ham", in which Gordon blames his trouble going to sleep on the salty ham Fran served at dinner. Their teenage son Brian (Foley) is sarcastic and rebellious, and is always eager to take advantage of his parents' generosity.
Headcrusher
- Mr. Tyzik (McKinney) is a lonely man who despises virtually everyone, especially those he considers businessmen and trendy people. He calls them "flatheads" because in his mind, their heads deserve to be crushed. He is more than willing to help by pretending to crush their heads from a distance with his fingers, using forced perspective
Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking and architecture...
, while enthusiastically declaring "I'm crushing your head! I'm crushing your head!" in a high-pitched nasal voice with a slight eastern European accent, followed by making a crushing noise. In his own words: "Not everyone deserves to have their head crushed, just 99.99999% of them." It is suggested that the headcrushing is not necessarily all in his head, in one sketch, where he is able to quickly determine that the heads of two people passing by have already been crushed by a "facepincher", with whom he proceeds to have a duel.
He's Hip, He's Cool, He's 45
- Bruce McCulloch played a middle-aged man who would do odd things to "keep his cool" despite being middle-aged. In one sketch he interviews a man for a job, first asking if the man wants to smoke a joint.
It's a Fact!
- A young red-haired girl would pop up in the forest and reveal a piece of information, usually illustrated by people appearing behind her. She would end by saying, "It's a fact!" and then run off. The running was filmed in stop-animated "fast-motion," reminiscent of programs on the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
network.
The King of Empty Promises
- Dean (McDonald) constantly promises his friend Lex (Foley) items or favours to make up for his lack of follow-through on previous promises, his deadpan pledges punctuated with the phrase, "Will do." Whenever he is confronted about a promise he didn't keep, Dean's standard excuse for his behaviour is that it "slipped my mind."
- Kevin McDonald mentions on the commentary that Dean is based on himself. He has been known to make promises that he would never follow through on, and even the Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
album he mentions in the first "King" sketch was an actual promise he made to a friend that he never managed to fulfill.
Mississippi Gary
- An octogenarian blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
player played by McKinney in blackfaceBlackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
. He first appeared in a sketch in which he talked about his failed relationship with "Kathy with a K" (McCulloch) from the Secretary sketches and soon grew into a recurring character. His name and style of speech suggest that he may be a parody of the blues guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowellFred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
. Gary would always begin a long, blues-related story with the words "Now, I seem to remember a time..." in a deep Mississippi accent before launching into a harmonica solo or blues song. His songs include "The 'There is a Very Effective Heckler in My Audience' Blues" (in a sketch where Dave Foley, in the audience, points out that Gary actually has very little to complain about as he makes over $10,000 a night) and "Smokin' On the Night Train."
Mr. Heavyfoot (M. Piedlourde)
- Dave Foley as an apparently French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
man who for reasons that are never explained has extremely heavy feet. The Heavyfoot sketches, which were short and contained no dialogue, usually dealt with the extreme difficulty his condition presented for him in everyday situations, such as putting on pants and walking around or taking a year to complete a marathon.
Nobody Likes Us
- Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald played two depressed men with perpetual frowns on their faces who spoke in whiny voices and always complained that people didn't like them. They would often engage in bizarre behavior, including hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
themselves in front of a banker's house (after she rejected them for a loan), eating earthworms on a bus trip (after singing "Think I'll Go Eat Worms!" http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/worms.htm), and McDonald coughing up his own liver (and eating it) as a magic trick on a date.
- Foley and McDonald have mentioned that they originally wrote the sketch on an airplane when their flight attendant was purposely ignoring them. Foley then turned to McDonald with a pouty face and said, "nobody likes us."
The Pit of Ultimate Darkness (Simon and Hecubus)
- A horror-themed TV show which tries to be scary but fails, hosted by Crowleyesque
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
Sir Simon Milligan (McDonald), "a man possessedDemonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...
by many demons – polite demons that would open a door for a lady carrying too many parcels – but demons, nonetheless!" His level of "wickedness" is such that his behavior and magic acts basically comprise of doing something mildly annoying or rude – such as spoiling the endings of movies – then loudly declaring it "Evil!" Dave Foley co-starred as Simon's manservant Hecubus (made up to resemble the character of Cesare from The Cabinet of Dr. CaligariThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a 1920 silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. It is one of the most influential of German Expressionist films and is often considered one of the greatest horror movies of the silent era. This movie is cited as...
), whose sense of child-like mischief provided much of the sketches' humor. While superficially he appears to be Milligan's fawning lackey, even addressing Milligan as "Master," he actually delights in annoying Milligan at every opportunity and is at least slightly more talented at being evil. At such times, Milligan will point at him and yell, "Evil!"
- The other members of the cast often ribbed McDonald and ask why he hadn't named his character in the Hecubus scene — knowing full well that the character was named Simon — because fans typically would only remember Foley's part of the sketch. According to DVD commentary, McDonald was originally to play Hecubus, with McKinney as Simon; but McDonald lobbied for the role of Simon and, after winning it, insisted that Foley should play Hecubus.
Police Department
- Brief vignettes featuring McKinney and McCulloch as a pair of Metropolitan Toronto Police
The Toronto Police Service , formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Police, is the police service for the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Canada and second largest police force in Canada after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...
officers, usually standing beside their squad car, making banal small-talk while rarely doing actual police work. One such sketch featured McKinney describing a homicide and police chase in technical detail, but it is revealed that he's describing a movie he saw (rather than an actual homicide), and has no idea what the story is with the actual dead body the two cops are standing over. The characters originated in the full-length sketch "On the Run", in which the two cops try to pursue a group of escaped convicts without looking conspicuous. According to DVD commentary, McKinney and McCulloch, during a break in shooting that particular sketch, began to improvise several short scenes revolving around those two characters for fun; some of their improvisations were incorporated into the show, and proved so popular they became a fixture. The duo have the distinction of being the show's most frequently used recurring characters; they were also carried over into Death Comes to TownKids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town is an eight-episode Canadian mini-series that aired on CBC Television on Tuesdays between January 12 and March 16, 2010. The show takes place in a fictional Ontario town called Shuckton where their mayor has been murdered...
.
Prostitutes (Maudre and Jocelyn)
- Maudre (Thompson) and Jocelyn (Foley) are prostitutes who solicit customers on the street. Maudre is blonde and brassy, but with a definite soft side. Jocelyn is a brunette from Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
who speaks softly in a French CanadianFrench Canada, also known as "Lower Canada", is a term to distinguish the French Canadian population of Canada from English Canada.-Definition:...
accent. The two often pass the time by discussing aspects of their profession, such as whether they would accept an offer from an extraterrestrialExtraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
. In another sketch, a policeman (McCulloch; see "Police Department" above) ineptly poses as a customer while his partner (McKinney), in uniform, stands a few feet away hoping to bust them. Kevin McDonald occasionally appeared as Rudy, their asthmaticAsthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
pimpA pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
.
Rod Torfulson's Armada featuring Herman Menderchuk
- A very bad garage band with no hope of ever becoming real rock stars, but nevertheless take themselves very seriously and argue constantly about every aspect of the band's career, sound and look. The sketches starred Bruce McCulloch as Rod (the drummer), Mark McKinney as Herman (the bass player), and Kevin McDonald as the lead guitarist. A recurring theme of the sketches was how McDonald's character, the only one with any real talent, is the least respected member of the group. (He is the only one whose name is not part of the group's name, and in one sketch, he is forced to begin paying the others a salary in order to avoid being kicked out of the band.) "Trampoline Girl" is just one of their many non-hits. ("She's a tramp, she's tramp, she's a trampoline girl...") In their appearance in the final episode, a "Rock and Roll Angel" (portrayed by Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson) appears from on high and shows them their wretched future ("You suck!"), but they still persist in believing that someday they will "make it".
Sizzler Sisters
- Foley and McDonald played two clearly insane people (although they always introduced themselves as "not two clearly insane people"), who wore large wigs and identified themselves as Jerry Sizzler and Jerry Sizzler, the Sizzler Sisters. They were usually seen doing insane things, such as posing as a capella lounge singers, robbing a bank in order to make a deposit and forcing people to mix up their shoes. In one sketch, Foley's character (whose real name is revealed to be Lister) has become sane through medication and is happily married. McDonald's character (whose real name is revealed to be Jean-Pierre) comes to Lister's apartment and urges him into become insane again, causing him stress and then withholding his medication. McDonald mentioned in an interview that he and Foley thought up the characters while running through the Kathie and Cathy beauty pageant sketch ("T.G.I.N.P.!"). Because they were bored, they started improvising that they were crazy people who escaped from an asylum; using the wigs (that they were wearing as background pageant contestants in the sketch) as their "disguises". They wrote the Sizzler & Sizzler sketch shortly thereafter.
Steps
- Three stereotypical
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
gays sit on the steps of a café discussing current events — particularly those concerning the gay community. Riley (Foley) is an effeminate airhead, "ButchButch and femme are LGBT terms describing respectively, masculine and feminine traits, behavior, style, expression, self-perception and so on. They are often used in the lesbian, bisexual and gay subcultures...
" (Thompson) is an oversexed airhead who always talks about "hot" men, and Smitty (McDonald) is an intelligent fopFop became a pejorative term for a foolish man over-concerned with his appearance and clothes in 17th century England. Some of the very many similar alternative terms are: "coxcomb", fribble, "popinjay" , fashion-monger, and "ninny"...
who is always exasperated by the other two.
- The "Steps" sketches commemorated a long-time touchstone in Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's gay community: a small series of steps running the length of an office and retail building in the Church Wellesley VillageChurch and Wellesley is an LGBT-oriented community located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is roughly bounded by Gerrard Street to the south, Yonge Street to the west, Charles Street to the north, and Jarvis Street to the east, with the core commercial strip located along Church Street from...
. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the steps were a classic meeting place and hangout for gay Torontonians. However, in 2003, the steps were remodeled to remove their inviting long stretches. The local businesses at the top of them — including a Second CupSecond Cup is Canada's largest Canadian-based specialty coffee retailer, operating more than 360 cafés across Canada. Its headquarters are in Mississauga, Ontario. Founded in 1975 by Tom Culligan and Frank O'Dea, Culligan eventually purchased O'Dea's shares. After building it to a 150-store chain,...
coffee shop, a bakery, a convenience store and a Toronto Dominion Bank branch — felt the large number of street kids hanging out there and the increasing occurrence of drug transactions and prostitution was hurting their businesses.
Tammy
- Tammy (McCulloch) is a vapid teen pop star who sings in a breathy monotone; her songs are bland, repetitive, and somewhat nonsensical. In her first appearance, she is introduced as a protégée of Buddy Cole
Charles Budderick Cole, popularly known as Buddy Cole, is a fictional character created and portrayed by actor-comedian Scott Thompson. He is an effeminate, gay socialite, made famous on The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian sketch comedy series and troupe of the same name.- Personality :Buddy...
, but at the end of the sketch he realizes that Tammy no longer needs his help. Tammy is known for her vague, noncommittal replies to questions asked of her, and for being seemingly incapable of any complex thought. Her hits include "Dance", "Perhaps", and "Ain't Gonna Spread for No Roses."
The Two Geralds
- McCulloch and McKinney played businessmen who shared both a first name and very similar personalities. Both Geralds are friendly to people's faces and condescending behind their backs. Despite the fact that they appear to work at different companies, they are friends who frequently phone each other and hang out together. Their conversation consists mainly of bouts of humorous negotiations and mockery of their associates or other business rivals.
Selected other sketches
Anal-Probing Aliens
- Two extraterrestrials
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
(played by Foley and McDonald) are on a spaceship orbiting the Earth. They have just abducted a redneck and are in the middle of inserting a probe into his anus. After a scream of pain from the victim, they erase his memory and send him back to Earth. They then proceed to have a coffee break, during which Foley's character begins pondering the point of what they do. "We travel 250,000 light years across the universe, abduct humans, probe them anally, and release them." McDonald's alien does not understand why the other is questioning the leadership of the "Great Leader." Foley's alien goes on to say that in the 50 years they've been doing this, the only thing they've learned is that "1 in 10 doesn't really seem to mind" and that he suspects their "Great Leader" may be "just some sort of twisted ass freak." Foley argues that they should at least probe political or religious leaders instead of "any idiot in a pickup truck."
The Cause of Cancer
- Dave Foley, as himself, addresses the audience and informs them that the Kids have done something very unusual for a comedy troupe; while rehearsing this past week, they discovered the cause of cancer. He brings Bruce McCulloch on stage to explain more about it. With some reluctance, McCulloch finally admits, "I'm sorry I caused all that cancer."
Comfortable
- Two couples, after finishing a meal together, sit down to chat. Bram (Thompson) unfastens his pants; his wife Nina (McKinney) is slightly embarrassed, but the other couple insist that it's all right, that they shouldn't feel embarrassed about doing anything in front of old friends. Bram proceeds to take the idea to the extreme, first flirting and then copulating with the other woman (McDonald) while her unconcerned husband Tom (Foley) chats with Nina about his own impotence and his past experimentation with homosexuality. Nina, trying to join in the spirit of defying convention, confesses that she and Bram hated the lamp that the other couple once gave them; this is too much, and the party is ruined.
The Communist Threat
- Dave Foley appears as a political commentator who attempts to warn people about the continuing threat of Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and communismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
.
The Eradicator
- McCulloch plays a squash
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
obsessed executive, who, parodying masked wrestlers, walks around wearing a black ski mask, and never reveals his secret identity, calling himself "The Eradicator", which he often yells in a high-pitched voice while he plays his favorite game.
Girl Drink Drunk
- Foley plays a businessman, Ray, who is having a meeting at a bar with his boss (McDonald). His boss is telling Ray that he has been promoted to Vice President, and offers to buy him a drink. Ray demurs, saying he never drinks because he doesn't like the taste of alcohol. Ray's boss tells him that there are drinks "that taste like candy, girl drinks", and orders him a "Chocolate Choo Choo". Ray tries it, and soon his life is spiraling out of control as he goes from bar to bar seeking out "girl drinks". At one point, we see Ray in his office, sneaking a blender into a supply closet so he can make a Margarita
The margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila mixed with orange-flavoured liqueur and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. It is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States...
. Ray loses his job due to his drinking, and at the end of the sketch, we see Ray, homeless, in a park.
Hey You Millionaires!
- The first sketch to appear on television, in the pilot episode, Bruce McCulloch drinks some water and looks out the window to see three millionaires (Foley, McDonald, and Thompson) rummaging through his garbage cans out his window. He shouts, "Hey you millionaires! Get out of that garbage!", and the three run away. The Chicago comedy trio, Hey You Millionaires
Hey You Millionaires is a Los Angeles based sketch comedy trio composed of James Asmus, John Bohan, and Jim Fath. Though all three members are originally from Cleveland, Ohio the group formed in Chicago in 2004. They've appeared on the cover of Fortune Magazine, CNN.com, were twice voted "Best...
, took their name from this sketch.
Love and Sausages
- One of the more surreal short films in the show, containing minimal dialogue and apparently set in a dystopian
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
future society. It features a man (McCulloch) who works at a sausage factory and falls in love with a woman who works there kissing the boxes so they have the company's lipstick logo. Too nervous to talk to her, the man, who had stolen some sausages for his deranged, sausage-obsessed father (Thompson), leaves them on her doorstep anonymously. Knowing he can never lead a normal life while caring for his gibbering idiot father, he resigns himself to loneliness.
My Pen!
- One sketch featured an employee (McCulloch) at a counter who loans a customer (McDonald) his ballpoint. After conducting his business, the customer absentmindedly pockets the pen and walks off. The employee sets off in a mad pursuit, all the while screaming "MY PEN!" The employee chases the customer outside, in time to see him climbing into a taxi. He has horrific fantasies of the customer sticking the pen into his ear, using it to stab a bystander, and reinserting the bloody pen into his own ear. The employee chases the taxi down the street and, leaping through the air, lands on the vehicle, holding onto the passenger side door with his finger tips. After a drive around town, the taxi pulls over, the customer issues a cursory apology before returning the pen, after which the employee curls up with it in the street, and some of his co-workers come out with a comfort blanket to collect him. The sketch ends with another customer asking for the pen, only for the audience to see that the employee now wears a large, weighty helmet with a chinstrap and a chain attached at the forehead, the other end of which secures the pen. This short film, as well as many other The Kids In The Hall shorts, was directed by Michael Kennedy
Michael Kennedy is a Canadian film and television director, writer and composer born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada.-Career:...
.
Reg
- Five men (played by all the Kids) are sitting around a campfire in a junkyard, drinking toasts to their dead friend Reg and reminiscing about good times shared with him. Although they start out talking about typical things such as his generosity and his ice skating skill, they gradually reveal that they ritualistically murdered him. The sketch is mentioned in the final episode, where children take the roles of the Kids and reenact the beginning of the sketch, with the camera zooming out to reveal the scene is being played on a TV, and McKinney notes how far the Kids have come since the show first aired "all those years ago".
Running Faggot
- Bruce McCulloch and Mark McKinney sing a song about a "great folk hero", "Running Faggot" (played by Scott Thompson). Running Faggot aids various people while running through the wilderness, including a boy whose puppy is hungry (Kevin McDonald) by suggesting he feed it puppy food, and a gunman surrounded by "ten thousand angry Indians on all sides" by asking if he had ever thought of "talking".
The Daves I Know
- While singing a song, Bruce McCulloch walks around a city block, introducing the camera to his many acquaintances called 'Dave'. One of these Daves, Dave Capisano, is unfamiliar to McCulloch, who sings "I hardly know him", then looks vaguely uncomfortable for the rest of the song's lyricless measure. The song was later included on McCulloch's 1995 album, Shame-Based Man
Shame-Based Man, released on April 11, 1995 , was the first album by the comedian Bruce McCulloch. It has 20 tracks of McCulloch's comedic music.-Track listing:#"Grade 8" – 2:59...
, along with other KiTH-related material.
Trappers
- Jacques (Foley) and François (McDonald) are colonial-era French trappers who paddle a canoe through the cube farm of an office building in a modern-day city, hunting businessmen and women for their pelts (their expensive designer suits). Upon seeing a maimed businessman hobble away after chewing off his own leg to free himself from a bear trap, Jacques tells François to let him go, as his strong spirit may one day make him vice-president. At night, the trappers make camp around a campfire in the office and promise each other not to over hunt this new game like they did the beaver in times past. At the end of the sketch, Foley and McDonald paddle their canoe to a local clothier owned by Thompson, and reveal their bounty, including "many fine Armani
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a...
" from "yesterday's kill." They like to sing the song "Alouette"Alouette" is a popular French Canadian children's song originating in France about plucking the feathers from a lark. Although it is in French, it is well-known among speakers of other languages; in this way it is similar to "Frère Jacques"...
" (which appropriately enough, originated with the French-Canadian fur tradeThe fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
). Foley and McDonald would later reprise the characters opposite Scott Thompson's Buddy Cole in the episode-length sketch "Chalet 2000".
Running gags
- As the show was produced in Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, there are numerous references to the city's professional sports teams, the Blue JaysThe Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
and the Maple LeafsThe Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
.
- The phrase "took me to a Leafs game" was used as a euphemism for an attempted male-on-male sexual encounter. The gag originated in a sketch in which Scott Thompson played a homophobic
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
man who took offense at another man's (McKinney) attempt to seduce him by taking him to a Maple Leafs game: "Every time I come to this city, some guy picks me up at the bus station, takes me to a Leaf game, gets me pissed, then tries to blow me. Why can't people like me for me?"
- In the Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
argument, two characters argue which leading actress was better in the show, Shelley LongShelley Lee Long is an American actress best known for her role as Diane Chambers on the sitcom Cheers, for which she won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress...
or Kirstie AlleyKirstie Louise Alley is an American actress known for her role in the TV show Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe from 1987–1993, winning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991...
. The argument stems from an inside joke between Foley and McDonald, who debated this issue in real life. Cheers and its leading ladies are mentioned in multiple episodes by multiple characters, such as Francesca Fiore, the OPP Officers, and even the Kids portraying themselves.
DVD releases
A&E Home VideoA&E Television Networks is a U.S. media company that owns a group of television channels available via cable & satellite in the US and abroad...
released the entire series as a Region 1 20-disc DVD box set titled
The Kids in the Hall: Complete Series Megaset 1989–1994, on October 31, 2006. The HBO special pilot was released on DVD on August 14, 2007 through Medialink Entertainment, a VDI Entertainment Company, in a special "Headcrushing" edition. It had never been released on home video before. Medium Rare Entertainment released a Region 2 "best of" DVD on September 24, 2007. Rights to The Kids in the Hall are owned by
Broadway Video. A tour-exclusive DVD, produced in cooperation with
Crackle and released as a part of the "Live As We'll Ever Be!" tour (2008), features the 50-minute retrospective and Q&A held on January 26, 2008.
| DVD Name |
Ep # |
Release Date |
| Kids in the Hall: Same Guys, New Dresses |
|
2000 |
| Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996) |
|
2002 |
| Kids in the Hall: Tour of Duty |
|
2002 |
| Pilot episode (HBO Special) |
1 |
August 14, 2007 |
| Season 1 |
20 + 2 best-of episodes |
April 27, 2004 |
| Season 2 |
20 + 2 best-of episodes |
November 16, 2004 |
| Season 3 |
20 + 2 best-of episodes |
October 25, 2005 |
| Season 4 |
20 + 2 best-of episodes |
May 30, 2006 |
| Season 5 |
21 + 1 best-of episode |
October 31, 2006 |
| The Complete Series |
101 + 9 best-of episodes |
October 31, 2006 |
| SF Sketchfest Tribute: The Kids in the Hall |
|
2008 |
| Season 1 |
|
2011 |
| Season 2 |
|
2011 |
| Season 3 |
|
2011 |
| Season 4 |
|
2011 |
| Season 5 |
|
2011 |
| The Complete Series Megaset |
|
May 24, 2011 |
End of the show and beyond
The final episode featured resolutions for several recurring characters, including Armada, Buddy Cole, and the secretaries of AT & Love. As the closing credits play, the cast is shown being buried alive, their tombstone inscription reading, The Kids in the Hall TV Show 1989–1995 (though the pilot aired in 1988). At the episode's conclusion, guest character
Paul BelliniPaul Bellini is a Canadian comedy writer and television actor. Bellini is well-known figure in the Canadian television comedy industry due to his work on The Kids in the Hall and This Hour Has 22 Minutes. He has worked on several projects with Josh Levy and PJ DeBoy...
, one of the show's writers, dances on their grave while uttering the last line of the series, "Thank God that's finally over!"
Brain Candy
After the show ended its run, the troupe came together to produce a movie,
Brain CandyBrain Candy is a feature film by The Kids in the Hall, a Canadian comedy troupe. Directed by Kelly Makin, filmed in Toronto, and released in 1996, it followed the five season run of their television series, which had been successful in both Canada and the United States.The five man team plays all...
, featuring a few characters from the show and many new ones. Although not a commercial success, the movie developed a cult following with their devoted fans.
2000 North American Tour
In 2000, the troupe reformed for a successful North American tour, reprising many sketches from the show. The sketch line-up for the 2000 show was:
- AT & Love Reunion
- Mr. Heavyfoot Finds His Seat
- Buddy Cole – The Year 2000
- Cops!
- Daddy's Dyin'
- Head Crusher / Face Pincher
- Jesus 2000!
- Sir Simon Milligan & Hecubus in: The Pit of Ultimate Darkness
- Gavin: Painting a chair
- Comfortable
- Sandwich People
- Chicken Lady's Date
- Power of the Suburbs
- Bloody Salty Ham
- Monologue by Brian on having a party when Fran and Gordon go on Vacation
- Love Me
- Fran: Brian's Bombshell
- Jesus Christ Superstar
- Encore: To Reg
At some shows:
- Running Faggot
- The Poker Game
The tour was chronicled in a documentary, Kids in the Hall: Same Guys, New Dresses, which followed the next year. This was then followed by the "Tour of Duty" and a DVD based on those performances, released in 2002.
"Just for Laughs" ("Juste Pour Rire") Comedy Festival
In July 2007, the troupe reunited to perform at the 25th Annual "
Just for LaughsJust for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
" ("Juste Pour Rire") Comedy Festival in
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
The Just For Laughs show premiered around 90 minutes of new material. While certain characters made reappearances (Buddy Cole, Mr. Tyzik and McKinney and McCulloch's "smooth-talking" salesmen) the rest of the show revolved around entirely new material. Typically good-humored, the group poked numerous jokes at their own recent weight gain and the state of their post-Kids acting careers.
Among the sketches:
- The Kids plan a new show. For the opening they decide to rape McDonald to the theme from Footloose.
- Salesmen (McCulloch and McKinney) promote a device which can siphon fat from the American gut and use it to power SUVs.
- "Carfuckers": a group of mechanics who share a "love for which there is no name." The sketch was produced by an internet studio called "60Frames Entertainment."
- Gavin encounters Jehovah's Witnesses (one of two sketches recreated from the television show).
- Foley and McDonald get drunk; Foley tells McDonald he has created a time machine with which he can "defeat last call."
- Foley travels back in time to receive oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
from his wife (McCulloch), who would only perform the act on his birthday.
- Foley travels back in time to kill Hitler (Thompson) but instead accidentally inspires his anti-semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
.
- Two exceptionally literate rat-catcher
Rat-catching is the occupation of catching rats as a form of pest control. In developed countries the role may be merged with, or the title inflated to, Pest Control Operative or Pest Technician....
s (McCulloch and McKinney) look for a used futon.
- Buddy Cole speculates that Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was homosexual.
- Kathy (McCulloch) and Cathy (Thompson) reunite for lunch in a restaurant, where Kathy extols the virtues of "tweeking" with Meth.
- Foley is approached by a "fan" (Thompson) while waiting for the subway.
- A McCulloch monologue about how skinny Nicole Ritchie is.
- Foley and McCulloch fight over an imaginary girlfriend.
- The Chicken Lady has phone sex
Phone sex is a type of virtual sex that refers to sexually explicit conversation between or other persons via telephone, especially when at least one of the participants masturbates or engages in sexual fantasy...
(one of two sketches recreated from the television show).
- The relationship woes of a gay couple (Foley and Thompson) are placated with the help of another married gay couple known as Peter and the Professor (McDonald and McKinney).
- Superdrunk: a superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
who stops crimes by drinking (McCulloch), assisted by his trusty sidekick, the bartender (Foley).
- The show finished with Mr. Tyzik (McKinney) mocking the mannerisms and careers of each member of the troupe, after which he promptly crushed their heads.
The group also performed on January 26–27, 2008 at the
SF Sketchfest. On January 26 there was a retrospective and Q&A with the group.
2008 North American Tour
On April 4, 2008, The Kids in the Hall embarked on their first major national tour in six years. The tour ran through early June 2008 and included more than 30 markets in the US and Canada. The tour features some material from the 2007 "Just for Laughs" performance along with new material.
The 2008 tour closely mirrored the "Just for Laughs" performance, excluding the rat catchers, subway fan and Nicole Ritchie sketches. In their stead, Mark McKinney performed the monologue titled "The Modern Hero" from Season 1 of the show, and the entire cast performed the sketch "This Is How I Danced In Tenth Grade."
Other appearances
Kevin McDonald guest starred alongside Dave Foley in a 1997 episode of Foley's sitcom
NewsRadioNewsRadio is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from 1995 to 1999. The series was created by executive producer Paul Simms, and was filmed in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center and Sunset Gower Studios...
.
Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald performed with The Barenaked Ladies on their "Ships and Dip V" cruise, along with other bands and comics, on February 1–6, 2009.
Every member of KITH provided voices in episode 14 of
Lilo & Stitch: The SeriesLilo & Stitch: The Series is the animated television spinoff of the feature film, Lilo & Stitch and the follow-up to Stitch! The Movie.-Plot:...
in which Kevin MacDonald plays the regular role of Pleakley.
The group appeared on the front cover of
Naked EyeNaked Eye Magazine was a Canadian entertainment and lifestyle publication distributed by Brand U Media on a quarterly basis and then biannual basis.-Overview:...
s summer 2008 edition.
The Kids performed at the 2008 Comedy Festival in
Las VegasThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
on November 22.
On August 6, 2010 all five Kids made an appearance on
The SoupThe Soup is an E! Entertainment Television weekly series; it is a revamped version of Talk Soup that focuses on recaps of various pop culture and television show moments of the week...
on
E!E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
, to promote their miniseries Death Comes to Town. Four of the members appeared on-screen in drag as girls who had grown up as beauty pageant contestants (parodying
Toddlers & TiarasToddlers & Tiaras is an American reality series that debuted on TLC in 2009. The show follows the controversial world of child beauty pageants, looking closely at the pageant contestants and their families as the children prepare for their pageant shows...
); Mark McKinney's voice was heard off-screen as their mother.
Death Comes to Town
In July 2008
Telefilm CanadaTelefilm Canada or Téléfilm Canada is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Canada.It is the primary federal cultural agency dedicated to the development and promotion of the Canadian audiovisual industry....
announced that there would be a new The Kids in the Hall television series titled Death Comes to Town. The Kids' Kevin McDonald stated that it would be an eight-part miniseries airing first on CBC in Canada and then on US television.
Principal photographythumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
took place from August 2009, in
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Several characters from the original The Kids in the Hall series made an appearance, including the OPP Officers and Chicken Lady. The first episode of the new series aired in Canada on
CBC TelevisionCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
on January 13, 2010, while in the United States the first episode aired on
IFCThe Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
on August 20, 2010.
Big in the 80s
A new TV series currently in pre-production, Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald play a once-successful pop-synth duo, Y-Y-KNOT, who are persuaded by the daughter of their deceased manager to reunite, move in together and begrudgingly return to work, seeking to regain their former glory.
Awards and honors
The TV series received international recognition with the 1993
Rose d'OrThe Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
, awarded in
MontreuxMontreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population, , of and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.- History :...
, Switzerland.
On June 3, 2008, it was announced that the entire group would receive a star on
Canada's Walk of FameCanada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
.
External links