Monday, March 28, 2005
one day at a time
I just finished watching Rick Mercer's Monday Report for the first time, and I've gotta say...I wasn't impressed. It's not that I think Rick should exist only in his nice little This Hour Has 22 Minutes box--Made In Canada is lovely, vicious, and delightful. I guess that it's just that I feel everything he wants to do on Monday Report was simply better when he did it on 22 Minutes. I think Mercer benefits from the group dynamic.
I think my favourite 22 Minutes moment is still the one where Marg Delahunty (Mary Walsh) goes to see Stockwell Day dressed in a wetsuit (playing on Day's recent press conference, which he arrived at on a Sea-Doo). For a reason that escapes me, she then makes a joke about wanting to bring him some milk, but not being able to because all the store had was homo milk (homogenized milk is 3.25% m.f. in Canada) which, of course, Stockwell wouldn't like, being the leader of the most conservative political party. Either that or the time that the very same Stockwell Day said that any issue brought forth to his government (if elected) via a petition with a certain number of signatures would be put to referendum. Rick Mercer proposed a referenda that would compel Stockwell to change his first name to Doris. If I remember correctly, the petition got well over a million signatures.
It's always interesting to see which politicians will participate in shows like 22 Minutes and Royal Canadian Air Farce. Even when it's someone whose politics I don't necessarily agree with, I still tend to hve a lot of respect for someone like, say, Preston Manning, who was just awesome on bits like "I Love That Word Refooooorm".
Air Farce actually has the last five or so seasons available to watch online. If you're interested, I was at the taping of this episode and this one. The Open book With Mary Walsh skit in this episode was filmed when I was there, and features Luba Goy as Margaret Atwood (she does a vicious Atwood) and Roger Abbott as Wary Walsh, dressed in her Marg Delahunty, Princess Warrior.
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2 comments:
One of my favourite Mercer 22 Minutes moments was when he went to visit Preston on the Hill and switched the name plaque on the door with one that said "Howdy Doody". I'm told nobody picked up on it (or told Preston at least) until several days later when the program aired. Classic. Another must see is when Mary Walsh ambushed Jean Charest (aka: the chia pet) and started giving him a makeover. You could just see the terror in his eyes as he kept looking over to where his assistant was, who was no doubt urging him to just go along with it. That I think embodies what set the guest spots on 22 Minutes above those on Air Farce. Air Farce, although good, was rehearsed whereas 22, even if they set up a meeting as opposed to just showing up and surprising them, never let on what they were going to ask/do.
I think you're right in your assessment of Monday Report, there's no group so hence no group dynamic, although some of the bits independently are good (ie: Pierre Berton at the start of the season, which compelled me to watch thereafter).
I've always thought 22 Minutes to be the better (read: smarter) of the two shows, on the whole.
Remember Marg Delahunty going to the Garth Brooks press conference and asking him if he ever got "lonely" while on tour? That's just awesome. So funny.
And of course, "Warning: To France--if you don't go to war, you can't surrender."
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