The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO 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 Planet. The troupe made one movie, Brain Candy , which was released in 1996.
The name of the group came from Sid Caesar, 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 McCulloch and Mark McKinney were working together doing Theatresports in Calgary, performing in a group named "The Audience." Norm Hiscock, Gary Campbell, and Frank Van Keeken were also members of that group and later became writers on the show. At the same time, Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald were performing around Toronto (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 Bellini for a short time. When Scott Thompson 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 Gables series, as Diana Barry's husband and a former classmate of Anne's from Queen's College, respectively.
Not long afterwards, the Kids broke up for a short time when scouts for Saturday Night Live 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 City touring group. They were reunited in 1986. After SNL 's Lorne Michaels 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 show began airing on CBC Television. It was subsequently picked up on HBO in the United States in 1989.
Television show
Despite their SNL connection, the show's sketches were more reminiscent of Monty Python's Flying Circus : often quirky or surreal, frequently utilizing drag (not primarily for comedic effect but merely to allow female characters in the skits), with very few celebrity impressions or pop culture parodies; the only recurring celebrity impression was of Queen Elizabeth II, played by Thompson. A recurring character was Mr. Tyzik, played by McKinney, who pretended to crush people's heads from a distance with his fingers. McKinney also played Chicken Lady, a human-chicken hybrid who spoke in a shrill voice, moved in chicken steps, and was easily sexually excited. Several sketches featured a flying pig, played by McCulloch, who amused bored people in long lines. Many of the sketches featured gay characters and themes; most of these sketches starred, and were written by, 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.
Monologues were a staple of the show. Though Scott Thompson's Buddy Cole monologues are the best known, the other Kids performed many memorable solo pieces as well. Prominent examples include Foley describing his positive attitude toward menstruation, McCulloch satirizing American cultural values with a mock-ironic speech praising the American lifestyle, McCulloch addressing the person who stole the front wheel off his bike (and, later in the same episode, the people who watched the thief take the wheel off his bike), McCulloch recounting the night he and his dog – with whom he'd previously felt "nothing" – "connected," and in a gag reminiscent of Bob Newhart, 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 from Canada, and the content was at times edited slightly for American tastes in one respect: sketches mocking religion were sometimes cut down or removed, necessitating the adding of material from other episodes to round out the half-hour. Some US channels censored the occasional nudity as well. 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 crucifixion in the style of children's author Dr. Seuss.
Though the show occasionally featured guest actors (notably Neve Campbell and Nicole de Boer) well before they became famous, the Kids played nearly all parts, both male and female, themselves. In contrast to Monty Python (where the members often donned drag to portray older women, but usually utilized women such as Carol Cleveland and Connie Booth to play female characters who were young and attractive), all the Kids regularly played both old and young women; the frequent cross-dressing 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 show premiered in 1989, both on CBC in Canada and on HBO. The CBC aired the show through its entire run. Seasons 1-3 aired on HBO but, in the fall of 1992, CBS 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. The last two seasons aired there until the show ended in late 1994.
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, Paul Bellini, one of the show's writers, dances on their grave while uttering the last line of the series, "Thank God that's finally over!" (Although Bellini appeared in many sketches, this was only the second time he ever spoke, and the first time he spoke while "in character" as Paul Bellini.)
Brain Candy
Main article: Brain CandyAfter the show ended its run, the troupe came together to produce a movie, Brain Candy , 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.
Tours
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 Laughs" ("Juste Pour Rire") Comedy Festival in Montreal.
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 (McCul
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