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Canwest News Service
"Individually, we're all smart guys, but together we're one dumb guy," said Bruce McCulloch at CBC headquarters in Toronto yesterday after the network's new winter programming lineup was announced. Included in the upcoming season is his eight-part comedy called Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town, which has been described as " Corner Gas meets Twin Peaks."
It sees the original members of the Kids in the Hall sketch comedy troupe — McCulloch, Mark McKinney, Dave Foley, Scott Thompson and Kevin McDonald — reuniting, this time for a fully scripted story about a murder in the fictional small town of Shuckton, Ont. (actually North Bay). The five actors take turns playing 15 different characters, one of which is rumoured to be McKinney's infamous Chicken Lady.
"We've heard that rumour, too," Mc-Kinney said, dodging the question.
From a few teaser snippets being played on repeat at the studio, it becomes evident the Kids have returned to their roots and are catering to their original fan base, pushing the absurdist envelope as much as they can within the confines of the public broadcasting network and its mostly conservative audience.
The first episode, which airs Jan. 12 at 9 p.m. ET, begins with Death (McKinney) stepping off a Greyhound bus to collect a recently departed soul, which he apparently does by vacuuming the soul up, then snorting it out of the vacuum nozzle.
"You wouldn't be able to do stuff like that in America unless they were paying you $1 per episode," McCulloch said.
Another show that would never succeed in the U.S. is the two-part drama, Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story, which sees West Coast actor Jared Keeso stepping into the role of a young Don Cherry before he became host of Coach's Corner and Hockey Night in Canada.
"It took four rounds of auditioning, but they finally chose me," said Keeso, a relative newcomer to the acting world who's now spending his time away from the audition circuit, playing with a rock band called Sistine Shrapnel.
To prepare for the role, he put on 15 pounds by eating at Dairy Queen before hitting the gym. He also worked with a voice coach and consulted Cherry's son Timothy — the writer and executive producer –on how to get all the mannerisms right.
"My son had been trying to get me to do this for three years," said Cherry, who was wandering around the CBC building in his trademark thick-collared shirt, loud tie and even louder cologne. "I kept refusing, because nobody wants to see the story of their life onscreen."
Eventually, though, he consented, and will be watching the finished product for the first time when it airs on national television on March 28 at 8 p.m. ET.
Other new programming announcements revealed yesterday include 18 to Life, about a couple that decide to get hitched at age 18 and struggle to be man and wife before they become adults; Republic of Doyle, about a private investigator in St. John's, Nfld.; and Love Letters, a joint project between veteran actor Gordon Pinsent and his daughter Leah.
Based on the play by A.R. Gurney, it sees real-life acting couples Peter Donaldson and Sheila McCarthy, Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath, Samantha Bee and Jason Jones, and Carlo Rota and Nazneen Contractor explore the idea of love and commitment in a surprisingly serious manner.
"Jason and Samantha– you always see them do comedy, and I was quite taken aback with how poignant their performances were," Leah Pinsent said. "It really stood out how much they understood the dramatics of the play." – The CBC's winter schedule starts Jan. 1; for more programming info, see cbc.ca.
vfarquharson@nationalpost.com
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Yes!! My favourite comedians are back! I grew up on these guys antics in highschool, they kept me awake on Friday night to see what hillarious skit they would have.
I can not wait!!
Gravel and Grubs!
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