what i'm watching: 22 minutes, royal canadian air farce

This Hour Has 22 Minutes is funnier than Royal Canadian Air Farce.

So far I've seen three episodes of 22 Minutes, and they've all made me laugh. Air Farce is batting .000. I haven't laughed once.

I hope this means I can still be Canadian? Please don't send me back there.

Comments

  1. Wrye4 November 2005 at 19:15

    I recent years Air Farce has gone in some experimental directions joke-wise in order to get--I dunno, edgier. I'm not sure it's worked that well. Since the death of John Morgan, they haven't really been the same, so I'm curious to know if these have all been newer episodes.

    Put another way, I think that to be fair, you haven't seen Air Farce until you've seen Mike From Canmore. Come to think of it, there's a causus belli for albertans to be annoyed at teh rest of the country...

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  2. Wrye4 November 2005 at 19:18

    Or, now that I think about it, since John Morgan left the show (perhaps due to ill health, in retrospect?), rather than his actual death, which was several months--maybe even a year? afterwards.

    That said, There's a generation gap between the shows that the new blood just hasn't quite bridged...

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  3. laura k4 November 2005 at 19:29

    Well, John Morgan's not in these episodes, but they're not new - they're several years old.

    I can fully believe the show used to be funnier. Most comedy shows go downhill at some point. But man, the stuff I'm seeing is just plain dull.

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  4. laura k4 November 2005 at 19:30

    Come to think of it, there's a causus belli for albertans to be annoyed at teh rest of the country...

    Explanation, please?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rognar4 November 2005 at 20:12

    I agree with you completely, the Royal Canadian Air Farce is lame. Truth be told, I haven't cared much for This Hour has 22 Minutes either since Rick Mercer left, but it's still batter than Air Farce.

    ReplyDelete
  6. dogsled_stacie4 November 2005 at 23:36

    You're not the only one who finds it lame. I was never a fan of the show and I'm losing it for 22 mins too...

    Now Corner Gas!! That's a good Canadian show!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Andrea5 November 2005 at 04:11

    I miss Rick and Mike. They were the best!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. mister anchovy5 November 2005 at 04:32

    Once upon a time, Air Farce was in its stride and was a very good show. I don't think it was ever as good as 22 minutes though...and while I'm sentimental about the original 22 minutes cast, I tuned into one a week or so ago and I thought it was excellent.

    A couple years ago, a friend from Chicago was in town and they were running Rick Mercer's Talking with Americans. At one point, my friend just covered his face with his hands, saying, "Oh no...Oh no.....Oh yes...."

    ReplyDelete
  9. laura k5 November 2005 at 04:48

    Ha, so I'm not alone in this! Before we moved, Air Farce was frequently mentioned by wmtc readers, but no one ever mentioned 22 Minutes.

    I've been enjoying Corner Gas. Now that Allan's working weekend nights, I'll probably start watching it regularly.

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  10. barefoot hiker5 November 2005 at 05:24

    I agree that it's generational. The Royal Canadian Air Farce got rolling in the 60s, I think. Since then we've been through the comedy liberation movement that was Monty Python. SNL moved into edgier material than then Air Farce long ago. In Canada, I think the envelope was pushed first by The Frantics, and then really expanded by The Kids In the Hall. There's a whole lot of ocean between the Air Farce and TKITH.

    When I was a kid, I used to like Wayne and Shuster. I recently picked up a retrospective of some of their work and, dear as they are, they work strikes me as dated, corny, and pedantic. It's not funny so much as dear because it's Canadian.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous5 November 2005 at 06:48

    Yes, Air Farce is not nearly as funny as This Hour has 22 Minutes, and watch for The Rick Mercer Report starting on Tuesday night this week. Really good political satire! Kathy

    ReplyDelete
  12. laura k5 November 2005 at 07:25

    It's not funny so much as dear because it's Canadian.

    I know what you mean. I have similar feelings about certain New York phenoms. If they appeared now, they would be unremarkable, but I remember them fondly as moments in time. I guess that's how nostalgia is born.

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  13. Liam J5 November 2005 at 08:35

    In all likelyhood, Rick Mercer is the funniest political commedian on the planet. His rants are beyond legendary.

    ReplyDelete
  14. laura k5 November 2005 at 08:39

    In all likelyhood, Rick Mercer is the funniest political commedian on the planet. His rants are beyond legendary.

    That's it. I must watch.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Expat5 November 2005 at 09:15

    I have not seen 22 Minutes or RCAF in years. When I last saw the programs though, I found 22 Minutes to be the funnier of the two as well.

    I was an avid fan of Double Exposure. Linda Cullen and Bob Robertson did impressions of Canadian cultural and political icons on CBC radio. It was beyond funny. Eventually they moved to television, and set their impressions to news clips. If I remember correctly, the show died a painful death.

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  16. James Redekop5 November 2005 at 09:45

    The RCAF was far, far better as a radio show. It didn't translate to TV all that well, and it's run out of steam.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wrye5 November 2005 at 11:53

    ...but no one ever mentioned 22 Minutes.

    Pure oversight. Although--Air Farce thas the catchier title, so it may have stuck in your memory better. Hmmm...(google) Okay, google can't search past comments, so there's no way to know for sure.

    But I'm please in all out babbling there were still some surprises left.

    I will also note that Mercer has lost a little bit of his edge, too, since the country has adopted him as a favorite son--it's hard to be the angry Gen X outsider all the time when you're as (justifiably) loved and recognized as Jon Stewart...

    Which is to say, if you find early 22 minutes episodes with rick on them, wait for the rant. 9 out of 10, You won't be disappointed.

    Now as for Mike from Canmore--well, Mike was a very simple man, if you follow me, and Canmore is in Alberta. Sort of a Canadian Lenny from Of Mice and Men, minus the murder. And John Morgan--a tall, physically big man on the show--would play Mike as a perfectly innocent fellow in ballcap who would forever be wandering into situations where he was out of his (limited) intellectual depth. For example, the time that someone accidentally covered over the "A" in the sign on a door for MENSA, so Mike goes into what looks like the Washroom and gets interviewed for membership, that kid of thing.
    Much depended on Morgan's monosyallabic delivery and his iron grip on the one fact Mike could always muster in the face of any advanced intellectual argument...

    "I'm Mike. (beat) From Canmore?"

    I miss his ads for the PC (Pirates Canada) party, too.

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  18. laura k5 November 2005 at 13:55

    Thanks for the Mike from Canmore translation.

    Although--Air Farce thas the catchier title, so it may have stuck in your memory better. Hmmm...(google) Okay, google can't search past comments, so there's no way to know for sure.

    Well, my memory sucks. Absolutely sucks. However, chances are good that if I had once heard the title, I would have recognized it from the dim recesses of my mushy brain.

    But I'm please in all out babbling there were still some surprises left.

    Me too! Hey, no one even told me there was a loonie and a toonie.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Marnie5 November 2005 at 13:59

    I'm sure that at some point I mentioned thinking Air Farce is lame, 22 Minutes is better, and Rick Mercer is god. Maybe I dreamed it ...

    ReplyDelete
  20. laura k5 November 2005 at 14:04

    Maybe I dreamed it ...

    Nah, I'm sure I forgot. I probably didn't know what 22 Minutes was, so I glazed over.

    I swear my brain is like oatmeal these days. Only it doesn't lower your cholesterol.

    ReplyDelete
  21. laura k6 November 2005 at 17:06

    And of course, in the 'back issues', the legendary Pierre Berton showing Rick how to properly roll a joint. Classic.

    Oh yes, it's been referenced here many times. I've seen the clip - love it! Thanks G! :D

    ReplyDelete
  22. Kyahgirl8 November 2005 at 10:54

    I totally agree with you. The Air Farce never made me laugh so I stopped watching it.

    ReplyDelete

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