#monty hall skit

[sardinesandhumbugs]

What are your thoughts on the 1996 live action Wind in the Willows?

This movie is burned into my psyche the way only a film that you watched far too many times in your childhood can be. I can trace back my love of fingerless gloves to 8yo me imprinting on Mole, and at any point my brain is liable to recount Secret of Survival or Messing About on the River - because, for whatever reason, my grandparents decided to have not one, but three VHS tapes of witw (including the Horwood fanfic one) and so I just rotated round all three with no end in sight

This movie lifted a whole segment out of the Bennett play and hoped no one would notice (I noticed, Jones), stuck in a dog factory plot, an attempt to blow Toad Hall, and a threat to turn the main cast into mince meat, and somehow kid me was highly emotional about the whole thing. I love it

(Also I am sure the west end musical 'borrowed' some inspiration from it – including the trial scene, and the original fight scene in the uk tour being set to a reprise of A Friend is Still a Friend)

The 1996 live action film took an idyllic, bedtime story-esque tale about riverside animals, stripped it for parts, and used its remains to puppeteer a full-length Monty Python skit. I've watched it too many times and I'll watch it again

[screampotato]

The joy of living in the west of Scotland is that people are ready and waiting to do a dumb bit with you at any moment. At the bus stop, in the queue at Tesco, wherever you might be. Butchers, barbers and bartenders are professionals, obviously, but the amateur improv comedy game is strong.

This is why I was so confused to find out that in Edinburgh you don't talk to people at the bus stop. Who am I going to do my dumb bit with? Am I just supposed to do a comedy monologue? No, apparently that is also Not Done. Honestly, Edinburgh is a different planet.

In Ireland, they are also waiting for the opportunity, but be ready for some kind of surrealist Monty Python skit rather than the West of Scotland's music hall repartee.

if you spend your life bitching and complaining about the fact people are 'expected' to engage in the dreaded pointless banal '''small talk''' instead of learning to trade pleasantries with the people around you, you will never know the true and heady joy of doing a dumb bit with a complete stranger and as a result your soul will remain small

[notdonebeingmessy]

The Kids in the Hall skit where Dave Foley played a Vaudevillian straightman with a literal lack of a sense of humor. The antihumor made me do that cringe laugh that you end up doing where it kinda feels like going down on a roller coaster or having a seizure.

And whoever wrote the monologues of the 3 guys sitting on a roof talking about the moon in a flowery romantic way only to have the last guy visibly pressured to think of something poetic to say and he just goes "Gee, I wonder who owns that moon?" and he looks side to side uncomfortably. They captured exactly what it's like for me to express myself and then when [husband] tries to express himself directly after.

And the skit where the gay couple gets into a fight and the one guy knocks the gay outta his partner! Like, not only did it depict a gay couple in their underwear in their bedroom, but domestic violence which has disproportionately higher prevalence in gay couples but never really gets talked about... That one sketch covered so many bases.

Man, I go so far as to say that Kids in the Hall is funnier than Monty Python and more provocative in some ways and ahead of its time. That's how much credit I give them.

[lafakiwi-draws-archive]

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rewatched the B99 Monty Hall skit and wanted to recreate it in Rocky’s band AU with the AOHS colorguard

So here it is- I’ve finally done it

[yanderes-galore]

Okay hear me out. Fazbear Entertainment decides to have a human member or two on the band as a way for kids to get more into the show. Darling takes a singing and guitar position, mainly as a harmonizer for the originals. This makes Freddy and Monty want daring because of how well they work together, and it soon turns into a rivalry where they compete all the time for your harmony choice in the next song. Roxy and Chica could “get in the way” because of their excitement to a new member maybe?

Y'know, I happen to enjoy my girls too... what if they all like you? First harem concept? Maybe ;) Not poly, though, as they all want you to themselves. Take Roxy and Chica as bonuses on the house only because I love them. It is vague because I had trouble doing so many characters, I was just exploring the concept with this one. Thanks for idea ^^

Animatronic or Android, does not matter.

Harmony

Yandere! Security Breach Harem Concept (Freddy, Monty, Chica, Roxy)

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Vague/Implied Yandere themes, Possessive behavior, Stalking, Clingy behavior, Obsessive behavior, Violence, Manipulation, Harem dynamic (sorta), Overprotective behavior.

- This will be more of a general kind of discussion due to it having so many characters.

- I wanted to add Chica and Roxy to this because I have so many people wanting Freddy vs Monty concepts.

- Why not try something new?

- The background I'm given for this is Darling being the new human band member employed by Fazbear Entertainment.

- You're someone who takes the role of harmony and even just plain singing.

- A song list is given to you to practice and perform with the bots in front of an audience.

- Things go smoothly your first two weeks.

- You practice your lines and songs with the bots before performing.

- Often acting out certain scenes like a musical to entertain the kids.

- It's a fun job, really.

- Freddy is rather caring and protective to you.

- Monty is playfully teasing you and easily angered during his skits.

- Chica is also caring towards you like her other band mates, singing rather well with you in duets.

- Roxy shares similar playful teasing to Monty but also manages to capture you and the audience's attention on stage.

- Everyone who watches the show loves how you interact with the bots.

- Singing covers of classics with them all, or just singing the usual cheesy songs of friendship and lessons learned through the small skit you acted out.

- You even sign photographs for the character you play and take pictures with customers in costumes.

- It's an exciting gig until you hit your mark of being here almost a month.

- The bots start seeming strange to you.

- Freddy is overly clingy and concerned for your safety.

- Monty is getting into arguments more and more with other STAFF members and bots around you.

- Chica won't stop staring, following you closely wherever you go and screaming at Freddy for doing the same thing.

- Roxy is constantly trying to manipulate others and steal attention from you.

- You would rule it out as a malfunction if it wasn't for every bot in the band acting weird.

- It happens during practice, when you're roaming the halls, anywhere involving you it seems to intensify.

- Luckily shows still go fine.

- It's just, you're scared to be alone with them.

- The repairman did tests, they said they were fine.

- Yet you couldn't blindly believe that.

- They weren't telling you something... they had to be, right?

- This program was a wonderful idea to get the kids involved.

- But if the bots were acting odd, everyone's safety must be in jeopardy!

- It's only ever around you, too....

- Would swapping roles help?

- Maybe you should find a new job....

- It's almost impossible to read the bots, their more caring and nice persona around you decaying overtime.

- How long would it be before serious damage is caused?

- "Superstar, you look nervous...."

- "Is everything okay? We're friends, aren't we?"

- "Our show is coming up, Rockstar! Ready to go? You'll do fine~"

- "Do your best, I'm sure with you we'll captivate the audience...together."

[etherianinenine]

The Monty Hall skit with SW and Castaspella if you haven’t already?

Not sure which part of that you wanted, but this bit came to mind right away. Someone needs to teach me kindergarten level sorcery because I have no idea how it works :D

[buzzdixonwriter]

Another Pointless Top Ten List (But You’ll Keep Reading, Anyway)

My brother Rikk recently mailed me another top ten list of his, in this instance being his top ten favorite TV comedy shows (which he defines as 30 minutes or less, no movies).

The Three Stooges

M*A*S*H

The Andry Griffith Show 

The Beverly Hillbillies

Hogan’s Heroes

I Love Lucy 

The Honeymooners 

All In The Family

Get Smart 

Gilligan’s Island

His honorable mentions include F Troop, The Patty Duke Show, My Three Sons, Gomer Pyle USMC, Batman, Petticoat Junction, Mr. Ed. Bewitched, and I Dream Of Jeanie.

Again, one of those personal favorite lists that you really can’t argue with because it reflects personal tastes and / or fond nostalgia (though I am calling shenanigans on The Three Stooges; they were theatrical shorts shown in movie theaters, not a TV show, and besides, Laurel & Hardy are soooooo much better…).

But of course we’re going to play the game, so I’ll respond, first throwing in a caveat:  No skit comedy shows such as Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Marty Feldman Show, Benny Hill, Second City TV, The Kids In The Hall, or Love, American Style.

I’m also omitting programs like The Gong Show and Jackass because while hilarious and under 30 minutes, they weren’t scripted or story driven.

So here’s my list:

The Dick Van Dyke Show -- the sitcom art form at peak perfection.  Carl Reiner’s insight into what writing for a mercurial TV star is like (in his case, Sid Caesar on Your Show Of Shows, for Van Dyke’s Rob Petrie it was Carl Reiner as Alan Brady).  If you’ve never seen the show, start off with their two best episodes, “Coast To Coast Big Mouth” and “October Eve” (though they’re all good).  “October Eve” is the one where Sally (Rose Marie) finds a nude painting of Laura (Mary Tyler Moore playing Dick Van Dyke’s wife) in an art gallery.  SALLY:  “There’s a painting here you should know about.”  LAURA: “If it’s what I think it is, I can explain.”  SALLY:  “If you need to explain, it’s what you think it is.”

The Mary Tyler Moore Show – this is the first American novel for television.  It’s a novel of character, not plot, and it traces the growth of Mary Richards, a 30 year old woman-child who realizes she needs to grow up, as she blossoms into a mature, self-reliant adult.  You can select two episodes at random and by comparing her character growth determine not only which season they were filmed but when in that season.

I Love Lucy -- eking out a bronze medal for its longevity and pioneering of the art form.  The first sitcom shot on film, it led the way in the rerun market.  Not just a historical icon but consistently funny.

WKRP In Cincinnati -- as crazy as a sitcom could get and still be within the realm of plausibility.  Never loved by its network, they bounced it around for four seasons until it faded away (it made a syndicated comeback a decade later, of which we shall not speak).  Great supporting staff, dynamite writing.  While they never steered away from serious subject matters (such as an actual rock concert tragedy in Cincinnati where several fans were crushed when rushing the stage), they will be forever and justly remembered for the beloved “Turkey Drop” episode.

Fawlty Towers – only two seasons and a mere 12 episodes and yet more comedic bang for the buck than anything else on this list.  John Cleese as a frustrated, short-tempered, conniving hotelier practically writes itself.  SYBIL FAWLTY:  “You know what I’ll do if I find you’ve been gambling again, don’t you, Basil?”  BASIL:  “You’ll have to sew them back on first, m’dear.”

That Girl -- looking back it can sometimes be hard to judge just how groundbreaking certain shows were.  Marlo Thomas as a struggling young actress finding romance and success in Manhattan seems positively wholesome today, but in the mid-1960s it was considered quite daring and progressive.  The Mary Tyler Moore Show took their opening credits inspiration from Marlo Thomas’ character exploring Manhattan in the opening credits of That Girl.

He & She -- a one season wonder from 1967.  Another daring and progressive show for its era.  Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss played a young married couple, he being a cartoonist who drew a superhero strip (the actor playing the superhero on TV in the series was Jack Cassidy at his manic best).  Another show with a dynamite supporting cast…and just too hip for the room at the time (honorable mention to Love On A Rooftop, a similar show from the previous season that also proved too advanced for audiences at that time).  

Green Acres -- started out silly but quickly took a turn into the surreal, breaking the fourth wall, commenting on the opening credits as they ran by, all sorts of oddball stuff.  Dismissed as a hayseed comedy, the truth is the supporting cast possessed dynamite comedic chops and their sense of timing is a joy to behold.  Forms a loose trilogy with The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction since all three referenced the same small towns of Hooterville and Pixley  as well as occasional crossovers (honorable mention to the first season of Petticoat Junction which is as pure an example of Americana as one could hope to find and could easily be distilled into a feature film remake).

The Young Ones -- another two season / twelve episode wonder from the UK.  Four stereotypical English college students go through increasing levels of insanity as the series progressed.  Unlike most shows of the era where there was no continuity episode to episode, damage done in an early episode would still be seen for the rest of the series.  (They also would simply end a show when they ran out of time, not resolving that episode’s plot.)  Their random / non sequitur style proved a tremendous influence on shows like Family Guy.

Fernwood 2 Nite / America 2-Nite -- a spin off from the faux soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, this presented itself as a cable access variety show for Mary Hartman’s hometown of Fernwood.  With Martin Mull as the obnoxious host, Fred Willard as his incurably dense second banana, and TV theme song composer Frank De Vol as the band leader.  Because it’s so rooted in 1970s pop culture it doesn’t age as well as some other shows on the list, but many of the gags still land solidly today.  For the second season the show-within-a-show went nationwide and became America 2-Nite. Very funny, very well written, and all the more remarkable because these guys were doing five episodes a week!

Okay, so what can this list tell us?

Buzz is old.  Like really, really, really old.

Buzz stopped watching sitcoms in the mid-1980s.

There’s a reason for that.  By that time I was writing for TV and trying to get my own work done.  I didn’t have time to sit and watch TV on a regular basis (still don’t), and too often I could see the gears turning and guess where the episode was heading by the end of the first scene (still do).

I’ve veered away from “must watch” TV, especially shows that require the audience to keep track of what’s gone on before.

Tell me I have to see the first six seasons of a show to appreciate what happens in the seventh and you’ve just lost me as a potential viewer.  I’m strictly a one & done kinda guy now (though I will binge watch if a mini-series has a manageable number of episodes, say six).

My list represents a time capsule for what caught my interest and attention during a very formative period of my life, i.e., from the early 1960s as I became more and more aware that writing was where my future lay, to the mid-1980s when I hit a good peak stretch.

I don’t doubt there are great and wonderful hilarious comedies out there that I haven’t seen, I’m just listing what I have seen that did make an impression on me.

Your mileage may vary.*

    © Buzz Dixon

  *  It should vary!  Be your own person!

[ghost-chance]

Suggested Listening: Toad the Wet Sprocket

Their name comes from a Monty Python skit. Their sound is complicated and intense. Their lyrics are a strange blend of simple and complex, and relaxed and intense. Commonly called “Toad” by their fans. I give you some of my favorite tracks of theirs. If all you’ve ever heard is “All I Want,” then for Pete’s Sake, check these out!

Dam Would Break  This is a new favorite of mine. Emotional, open, and mournful, and with an understated chorus that bleeds into haunting wordless vocals.

“For all the things I hid away, and all the words I could not say, the dam would break.”

Hold Her Down  Written for RAINN, this intense kick-in-the-chest number has been mistaken as promoting or glorifying exactly what it was written to decry. Some songs are emotional in pleasant ways; this song? It’s rage, it’s bitterness, and it’s helplessness, and all without breaking Toad’s style. Trigger warning (it’s a commentary on the assault of a loved one) and warning for an F-bomb.

“Take the night back, all they've stolen, all we took from you!”

Nightingale Song

“And little ever changes if anything at all, But the song rings loudly through these halls. We sing the nightingale song alive. We might be different but our hearts won't lie.”

Something’s Always Wrong

“And again It seems we meet In the spaces In between. We always say It won't be long, But something's always wrong.”

Pray Your Gods

“I will give the secrets you request, And you will be the one to sacrifice, So lay your olive arms upon my breast And sing the poems, free the butterflies.”

Walk on the Ocean  This one appeals to the writer in me in so many different ways, and the melody is like slipping into a jacuzzi at twilight.

“And half an hour, later we packed up our things. We said we'd send letters and all those little things, And they knew we were lying but they smiled just the same. It seemed they'd already forgotten we'd came.

Stories I Tell

“Subtle salvation in poems we know. Hiding our heads in a shadow of home. Now I wasn't looking for wreaths or for bells, Just someone to listen to stories I tell.”

Something to Say  Another one that appeals to me as a writer.

“He drops hints but he won't tell you what's really on his mind, But I know if I look that it's easy to find, And he's got a way with his anger and the way he lets it show - Like the smoldering smoke when the fire's left the coals. When the fire has left the coals.”

[herbgerblin]

ive just had an idea floating around thats just. The monty hall skit from Brooklyn 99. With RQ and Istus as Holt and Kevin, Kravitz as Amy and Lup as Diez. Its just dumb but its fun thinking about the Reaper Squad as a whole.

This ask has A.) reminded me that I really want to Binge B99 again. B.) Made me choke on my laughter imagining that scenario C.) want to RAISE you the Codename scene from Parks and Rec, in a situation where THB and Reaper Squard have to team up:

Taako: You will address me as Eagle One. Magnus is Been There Done That. Kravitz is Currently Doing That. Merle is It Happened Once in a Dream. Barry is If I Had to Pick a Nerd. Lup is…Eagle two.

Lup: Oh thank the Raven Queen.

[apothecary-khyron]

Gallus: (@chapter-master-darius)"Retbah and I are arguing."

Retbah (@chapter-master-darius) : "It's a simple medical riddle."

Khyron: "I'm listening..."

Gallus: "So, beneath an Astartes' carapace-"

Retbah: "You're explaining it wrong. So, underneath and Astartes' there are numerous organs, one set of which is flawed and deteriorating. If one isn't, that quarters the probability of the others."

Gallus: "No, It halves it and here's why; you already deduced that one system is functioning."

[Later]

Meli (@jackass-biomancer): *Setting down a dataslate detailing the riddle.*

Gallus: "This stupid riddle is already ruining my personal life, I don't need it ruining my work station too."

Khyron: "Alright, the riddle isn't the problem. Your shifts are keeping you and Retbah apart. You two just need to bone."

Gallus: "What did you just say?"

Meli: "Please, don't repeat it."

Khyron: "I said, you two need to bone."

Gallus: "Hoooow dare you, Apothecary Khyron. I am the Chief Apothecary."

[Five Minutes Later]

Gallus: "BONE?!"

[Ten Minutes Later]

Gallus: "What goes on in my bedroom is none of your business!"

[Fifteen minutes later.]

Gallus, screaming in the doorway: "BOOOOONE?!"

[Based on: The Monty Hall Skit]

[dahabiyacruise]

Let’s Not Lose Our Heads About This! - Oct 10/19

My first stop of the day was the Aswan High Dam. While it is just another piece of big infrastructure to the west, to Egyptians it represents independence, industrialization and the emergence of their country as a modern nation. Funding was initially denied by the World Bank (Egyptians blame this on the US acting on behalf of their regional proxy Israel), so Egypt seized the Suez Canal in 1956 in the name of Arab Nationalism and planned to use shipping tolls to help pay for the dam. This led to a French, British and Israeli invasion that looked more like a Monty Python skit, which caused them to be badly mauled by Nasser’s troop and inspired Lester B. Pearson 🇨🇦 to invent UN Peacekeeping. Egypt then turned to the Soviet Union for help. The Soviets, being in the midst of the Cold War, were more than happy to oblige by providing money and expertise in return for mining concessions in the Sinai. Despite all its benefits, the Dam still has problems today, including:

- it is a symbol of injustice to the thousands of Nubians who were displaced without fair compensation;

- the absence of spring floods means that farmers downstream no longer receive free annual deposits of rich topsoil but must buy expensive fertilizer instead; and

- salt and the rich topsoil that use to flow downstream are filling the lake and will likely necessitate very expensive flushing or dredging.

While they were considering adding more turbines to the dam (our friend Julie, the power engineer👷🏻‍♀️, would salivate), this project and all of Egyptian agriculture is threatened by the construction of a huge dam project on the Blu Nile in Ethiopia. When it is completed, large volumes of water may be lost to evaporation and upstream irrigation and Egypt (where it sometimes does not rain for years) could lose much of its only source of fresh water. The whole country could potentially and quite literally, wither on the vine. Achmed seriously discussed his belief/concern that Egypt may go to war, as this is seen as a matter of national survival.

From there, we drove back into Ancient Egypt and to another temple that was moved when the lake was flooded, this time from one island to another. Built in the Greco Roman era, like Edfu and Kom Ombo (note the differing column capitals), Philae is dedicated to Isis, who was wife to Osiris and mother of Horus. When Set killed Osiris and cut him into 14 pieces (or 24, or 40, or 42), Isis resurrected him but she carelessly lost/forgot his head or phallus (something most wife’s would understand and applaud). It was apparently buried on an island in the middle of the Nile, so Ptolemy IV built her temple on an adjoining island. It is unclear whether this was so she could be close to her husband or so she could be constantly reminded of her incompetence. It is a small but well preserved structure except for the many chiseled out figures of the Gods and dozens of Coptic Crosses that are courtesy of the Roman Emperor Constantine and his Christian followers in the 4th Century (zoom in on some of the pictures). While it can only be reached by small boats carrying 2-30 tourists each, it is easily the most crowded site that I have visited so far. There is a constant stream of tour buses arriving at the riverside and masses of tourists being herded about the island like hundreds of Hathors (god with horns and cow ears) on a roundup.

The temple has two sets of the obligatory pylons (gates), a pillared courtyard and a hypostyle hall. This design is repeated so often and so precisely that it now reminds me of all those cookie cutter bungalows in 1950s suburbs. Nevertheless, the agency e, the scale and the beauty of these temples never fails to take my breath away. There are three sanctuaries side by side at the far end, one for each member of the Sacred Family, with Isis in the centre (after all, it’s her temple). Each one would have held a golden statue of the respective god, in a wooden shrine, on-board a model barque so that the God could be carried about for festivals.

Outside the main temple is a huge Chapel dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian where my guide says that he submitted his battle plans to Isis for approval. There is also a partially completed Triumphal Arch dedicated to Emperor Trajan that acted as the entry gate for the main boat landing.

At this point, it was time to say goodbye to Achmed, who had been with me for 6 days almost 24-7. I will miss his good natured demeanour and endless patience but not his regular tests to ensure that I remembered what he had taught me on previous days😊. Then it was back to the boat to begin our journey downstream, back to the north.

[bellringermal]

as an aside from all the drama, I’ve been watching Brooklyn Nine Nine lately and Holt in the “Monty Hall” skit is how I imagine Dores to be (and Santiago is Gehrman — “Those are our /DADS/!”)

OMG I love it.

I’m dying XD

[ponds-of-ink]

You know, the whole “pretending to be Steve Irwin while playing a horror game” thing might be onto something.

I’ve been listening to Monty Python skits while trying to re-beat Night 2 and it really brightens my mood imagining these animatronics hearing these skits down the hall. I bet the kids’ ghosts would really like to listen to some British slapstick after what they’ve been through.

[randomrecordreview]

Music and comedy have long been close bedfellows. Music is a natural and immediate form of storytelling, and ultimately that’s what comedy is about, even the surrealist slapstick variety. The variety comedy acts of the music hall cemented this tradition firmly in the British mindset (George Formby, Jake Thackray, Flanders and Swann etc), and Monty Python’s Flying Circus was music hall for the popular medium of television. Each show offered skits and sketches that could be good, bad, ugly and legendary. Sometimes within the space of a few minutes. As well Gilliam’s inspired distinctive visual palette, music has always been an important part of Monty Python’s unique legacy. It helps that they had access to excellent musicians and arrangers, such as Neil Innes (of Bonzo Dog DooDah Band fame), André Jacquemin and John Altman. But I wonder if music wouldn’t have taken such central theme in their comedy if they hadn’t had a decent songwriter and musician amongst their midst: Eric Idle. Aside from their most famous song (and another Idle composition) Always Look On The Bright Side of Life, there is a veritable cornucopia of Python songs on this comp, ranging from songs from the movies: Every Sperm Is Sacred, Meaning Of Life, Galaxy Song and Knights Of The Round Table, the plain silly ones: Sit On My Face, Spam Song, I’ve Got Two Legs, and the brilliantly witty Penis Song and Bruce’s Philosophers Song. There are those that grate a little, the joke not really bearing repeated listening: All Things Dull And Ugly and Oliver Cromwell are my least favourite, and I would gladly have swapped them for Yangste Kiang from Previous Record. But however thin the premise of some (Decomposing Composers) there are classics like the Lumberjack Song as well as lesser known gems such as the Accountancy Shanty, Henry Kissinger and the truly wonderful national anthem-in-waiting: Finland. FOR FULL REVIEW & PLAYLIST CLICK LINK IN BIO #montypython @montypythonofficial #alwayslookonthebrightsideoflife #sitonmyface #lifeofbrian #meaningoflife #knightsoftheroundtable #compilationalbum #recordcollection #nowplaying #nowlistening #randomrecordreview https://www.instagram.com/p/CFrrFmwpqzc/?igshid=d4o70lumj8pv

[healthycoffeeguy]

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KIDS IN THE HALL, THE: COMPLETE SEASON 1 (4 DVD box set)

Thirty Helens agree: The Kids in the Hall is a funny show. (Mr. Tyzik, the bitter Head Crusher, however, may not agree.) The no-holds-barred sketch comedy is also strange, silly, profane--occasionally even profound. The five Canadian writer-comedians behind it, Dave Foley (NewsRadio), Bruce McCulloch ( Superstar), Kevin McDonald ( That ''70s Show), Mark McKinney ( Saturday Night Live), and Scott Thompson ( The Larry Sanders Show), formed the troupe in the early 1980s. Naturally, they weren't really kids, but boyish-looking men in their twenties and thirties. SNL's Lorne Michaels produced the series, which lasted for five seasons, and aired on HBO, Comedy Central, and Canada's CBC. It garnered three Emmy nominations and was followed by the theatrical cult classic The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy(1996) and several tours.

The Toronto-based team took more inspiration from the absurdity of Monty Python--and the craziness inherent in everyday life--than the topical humor of SNL (on which celebrities, politicians, and pop culture are frequent targets). Each 30-minute installment features short, punchy skits (some filmed in advance, some before a live audience), men in drag, and no special guest hosts or stars (musical or otherwise). During their small-screen rein, the Kids took aim at everything from mainstream comedy and corporate culture to sexism, bigotry, and pretension. Many of their best-loved characters first appeared during the 20 episodes produced between 1989-1990. They include the 30 Helens (30 Helens standing in a field agreeing about something or other), Tyzik (McKinney), rockin' Bobby (McCulloch), bickering Fran and Gordon (Thompson and McCulloch), chatty Cathy and Kathie (McCulloch and Thompson), the "Nobody Likes Us" guys (Foley and MacDonald), and the acerbic Buddy Cole (Thompson).

Canadian underground heroes Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet provided the icing on their spicy little cake with their wistful surf-rock theme "Having an Average Weekend."