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Friday,
April 12
CBC AND
AIR FARCE RENEW THROUGH 2005
CBC Television Press Release:
CBC
Television has renewed its signature comedy series Royal Canadian Air
Farce, extending the laughs through to the spring of 2005, the show's
12th season. The announcement was made today by CBC President Robert
Rabinovitch and CBC Executive Vice-President Harold Redekopp to the
show's production crew at a break in rehearsal for Sunday night's season
closer.
The
topical comedy series continues to claim top spot with Canadians. Air
Farce is the highest-rated Canadian entertainment series, continuing
to attract over a million viewers each minute, every Friday night.
First
a fixture on CBC Radio for two decades, Air Farce successfully made
the move to weekly television in October 1993, and became an instant
hit. It's now completing its ninth season on CBC Television - the season
finale airs Sunday, April 14 at 8 PM - and its sixth year of syndication
around the world.
Air
Farce stars Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson and Luba Goy were joined this
season by an honour roll of weekly guest stars, including Jayne Eastwood,
Peter Keleghan, Colin Mochrie, Patrick McKenna, Sheila McCarthy and
Sonja Smits.
"Air
Farce is Canadian public television at its best," said CBC Executive
Vice-President Harold Redekopp. "Homegrown, relevant, distinctive,
and a huge hit with audiences."
Stars
and producers Roger Abbott and Don Ferguson praised the show's design
and technical crews, "from carpenters and painters to technicians
and, especially, make-up," said Ferguson. "And above all,
the wig department," added hair-challenged Abbott.
Royal
Canadian Air Farce is produced by Air Farce Productions, Inc. in association
with CBC Television.
Friday,
April 12
ONE EPISODE,
ONE SPECIAL LEFT
Remaining
Shows:
Fri
Apr 12, 9pm - guest star Craig Lauzon
Sun Apr 14, 8pm - Season Finale hour with guest star Colin
Mochrie!
It's
the time of year when tv shows wrap up their seasons, and we're no exception.
The last regular episode, Friday April 12, is a departure from
our usual "what happened this week" format. It's a "special
report" format, called "The Airline Industry - what's up
with that?", anchored by Jimmy & Shamus O'Toole, our News
From Away anchors with guest star Craig Lauzon. It's a topic
too juicy for just a sketch or two... it's the whole show.
And
Sunday April 14 @ 8PM (NOT 9PM!) is our all-new hour-long
up-to-the-minute double-header season-finale special, with guest star
Colin Mochrie. Viewers are always saying a half-hour isn't enough...
so this Sunday night, there's a full hour of Farce. Sunday's special
will turn the week's headlines into punchlines, and also send up some
of this season's most annoying commercials..
ARE YOU
A CBC ELITIST?
Roger
Gallaway, Liberal MP for Sarnia-Lambton, believes that only 'elites'
watch CBC Television, and as such, "let them pay for it."
Do you agree with Mr. Gallaway's views? As a CBC viewer do you consider
yourself an elitist or an average Canadian? Why not let him know. As
he said himself, "How many people are watching CBC? I want to find
out." Write to him at
Roger
Gallaway, MP
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
or
e-mail him at
Gallaway.R@parl.gc.ca
Friday,
April 5
ELVIRA
KURT GUEST STARS
Elvira
Kurt, voted Funniest Female Comic at the Canadian Comedy
Awards, joins Roger, Don and Luba as a cleavage happy lawyer,
sassy senior, self-centered talk show host and Alanis Morrisette.
She
is no stranger to television, having starred in "Elvira Kurt:
Adventures in Comedy", on Canada's Comedy Network, two
specials on Comedy Central and the animated series, "Reality
Chick". On the Oxygen Network she is the voice of the
title character, an eight months pregnant feminist superhero.
As
for film and theater, Elvira has performed in 'The Vagina Monologues'
and is profiled and showcased in a documentary called 'We're Funny
That Way' seen on HBO. Her successful one woman show, 'Viva
Elvira!', has debuted in LA and Toronto.
As
a Second City alumna, Elvira's training has served her well. Her Gemini
nominated hour long special, 'Big Girl Now', also nabbed the
Gold Award at the Worldfest International Film Festival and she's
had stand out appearances on HBO, VH-1's 'The List', Showtime,
A&E, PBS, Lifetime, two CBC Comedy Specials,
pilots for CBC and Second City and countless special and
guest appearances, hosting and co-hosting on various benefits, awards
and talk shows.
No
slouch in the writing department, Elvira has contributed to the CBS
pilot and HBO special for Ellen DeGeneres, written
for 'This Hour Has 22 Minutes' and all the Canadian award shows
(Film, Television, Music and of course, Hockey) one of which was nominated
for a Gemini for best writing.
In
her spare time, she performs at clubs all over North America including
The Improv, The Comedy Store, The Laugh Factory,
Caroline's, Comic Strip Live, Catch a Rising Star and
Stand Up New York.
Friday,
March 29
ROCHELLE
WILSON GUEST STARS
Guest
star Rochelle Wilson joins Roger, Don and Luba as a dust rag domestic,
an infomercial babe and Margaret Trudeau.
Rochelle
Wilson hails from Alberta. At the age of 14 she moved to Toronto wither
her parents and brother. After two years of studying Art & Photography
at Sheridan College, Rochelle naturally became a banker and started
Theatresports classes. Fortunately
Rochelle gave up banking and pursued her heart's desire and became an
actor.
Rochelle
was a member of the Second City National Touring Company, performing
in the revue It's The Year 2000 And Still No Flying Cars. She
has also taped two episodes of SketchCom for CBC Television,
with The Lolas and The Stand-Ins, and an episode for CBC
Radio's Madly Off In All Directions.
Rochelle
is a currently a member of the female comedy duo the Lolas and has written
and performed for the Comedy Network, The Best of Open Mike with
Mike Bullard, CBC Television, and CBC Radio, as well
as countless live gigs at comedy clubs throughout Toronto. The Lolas
had the honour of receiving one of the very first Canadian Comedy
Awards for "Best Sketch Troupe - Newcomer".
Friday,
March 22
THE COUNTDOWN
BEGINS!
Only
3 weeks left: three Friday nights, plus a bonus Season Finale Sunday
Special!
Remaining
Shows:
Fri
Mar 29, 9pm - guest star Rochelle Wilson
Fri Apr 5, 9pm - guest star Elvira Kurt
Fri Apr 12, 9pm - guest star Craig Lauzon
Sun Apr 14, 8pm - Season Finale hour with guest star Colin Mochrie!
It's
the time of year when tv shows wrap up their seasons, and we're no exception.
Plus, NHL playoffs start mid-April, so our Friday night time slot will
be pre-empted for hockey. Our final three Friday nights are March
29, April 5, and April 12. And our big season finalé
is a one-hour special on Sunday April 14 at 8pm (yes 8, not
9!) on CBC Television, with guest star Colin Mochrie.
How
can we do two shows in one week - for Friday, April 12 and Sunday, April
14?
Well,
our April 12 show won't be the usual week-in-a-nutshell show... it's
a special edition, with all the comedy focusing on the perils
of the airline industry. We taped it during the Olympic break, and
you'll enjoy guest star Craig Lauzon.
The
Sunday night special will be our up-to-the-minute topical show, which
we're taping on Thursday April 11th, plus we'll include some extra sketches
that we're taping each week to make an hour-long special.
Colin
Mochrie will be our guest star for the special. Colin was going
to join us at the start of the season, then again at New Year's Eve,
but both had to be re-scheduled... now, he's definitely going to be
with us for the April 14 finale..
Friday,
March 22
DAVE BROADFOOT
RETURNS!
Friday,
March 22 @ 9 PM on CBC Television. Guest Star Dave Broadfoot returns
to join Roger, Don and Luba as the Member for Kicking horse Pass.
Sketches:
Business reporter Larry Stout and John Manley don't see eye to eye on
the economy; Java Joe pays lip service to the credit card compaines;
A Yasser update; Health Minister Anne McLellan's top ten stem cell guidelines;
A gas station loudmouth gets hit with a price drop; Critic Gilbert Smythe
Bite-Me votes for the Oscars with an iron thumb; the donut shop gang
looks at Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Stockwell in Alberta and Elvis in the movies.
Friday,
March 15
PETER KELEGHAN
GUEST STARS
Friday,
March 15 @ 9PM on CBC Television. Peter Keleghan is one of the most
visible actors in Canada, co-starring on Made in Canada and portraying
Ranger Gord on The Red Green Show. On Friday, March 15, Keleghan appears
on three CBC Television comedy shows on a single night when he returns
to guest star on ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FARCE at 9 p.m.
Keleghan joins regulars Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson and Luba Goy to play
a 'himbo' newscaster, a pedestrian who gets abused by a distracted driver,
a submarine commander of Canada's latest leaky sub and a "Grumpy
Old Politically Incorrect Man."
"We
are thrilled that Peter could join us for a second time this year,"
said Don Ferguson. "His comedy sense is really wicked, he can play
a huge range of characters, and he even has all his own hair.
A
double Gemini Award nominee for both Made For Canada and
for his role as the self-absorbed news anchor in Ken Finkleman's The
Newsroom, Keleghan has appeared on Seinfeld, Murphy Brown,
Cheers, Burke's Law, Forever Knight and General
Hospital. He first attracted attention in Smith & Smith's Comedy
Mill series, and was in the feature film Ginger Snaps. He
will also be seen as Ranger Gord in the upcoming Red Green feature,
Duct Tape Forever, and will soon reprise his character of Jim
Walcott in Ken Finkleman's Newsroom: The Movie, to air in fall
of 2002."
Friday,
March 8
WINSTON
SPEAR GUEST STARS
Friday,
March 8 @ 9PM on CBC Television. Guest star Winston Spear joins
Roger, Don and Luba as a residentially challenged game show contestant,
Fear Factor host Joe Rogan and a crispy-critter hillbilly.
Winston
Spear, who
has been dubbed The King of the Obscure, is
a unique comedian with a deep deadpan delivery coupled with a charming
charisma and a slightly disturbed sensibility (making him a sure fire
hit whenever he performs).
He
has been performing in clubs for more than a decade in Canada, the US
and as far away as the United Arab Emirates.
Winston
is a resident host at the ALT.COMedy Lounge in Toronto at the
Rivoli, and frequently headlines across the country at Yuk Yuk's.
Winston's has been featured on a variety of television and film projects
like CTV & The Comedy Network's Comedy Now and Open
Mike with Mike Bullard,
CBC's Comics!, and with his sketch troupe Lame & Shooster
on CBC's SketchCom. He has also written and performed his
own video short entitled The Crack Doll House and was featured
in the independent film Stuff, executive produced by Bruce McDonald.
Winston has written and performed in a video short The Crack Doll
House. Under the direction of James Dunnison, The Crack Doll
House won Grand Prize in the 1998 Cabbagetown Film Festival and
he just recently completed filming a six epsiode series based on the
short. It is scheduled to air on The Comedy Network next year.
Friday,
March 1
WRITE TO
THE TROOPS
Want
to show your support for our forces overseas? Write them a postcard
if you appreciate their service.
Canadian
sailors, soldiers and air force personnel deployed on operations need
all the seasonal cheer they can get, and notes and postcards from home
are very important to their morale. (Please note: because of the current
world situation, the Canadian Forces Postal Service has had to tighten
its rules. From now on, the CF Postal Service will not accept envelopes
and parcels.)
Please
use postcards to send greetings to any general address such as
"Any Soldier", "Any Peacekeeper", or "Any Sailor".
When
sending postcards include the addressee's rank, name and unit in the
address if you know it. Include your return address as well.
For
a list of addresses for various units deployed in support of "Operation
Apollo" (the mission in Afghanistan) or elsewhere, click
here and you will be redirected to the website of the Department
of National Defence at www.dnd.ca.
Friday,
March 1
JESSICA
HOLMES GUEST STARS
FRIDAY
MARCH 1ST @ 9PM on CBC Television: Jessica Holmes joins us this week
as we take a look back at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City
among other things. Jessica has quickly become one of Canada's top comedic
performers. The "It Girl of Canadian comedy…dark and delicious
is the name is the name of Holmes' game," says Toronto's
Globe and Mail.
She began performing comedy at local clubs in 1998. Her ability to
transform herself into dozens of hilarious characters caught audiences'
attention and in 1999 she was nominated for the prestigious Tim Sims
Encouragement Award - a yearly scholarship given to promising comedic
talent in Toronto. That same year Jessica also landed several appearances
at the Montreal Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival where
she competed in the Canadian stand up competition and also appeared
in the World Improv Championships.
Soon after Jessica joined Toronto's legendary Second City where
she co-wrote and performed in several revues. That same year, along
with her comedy partner Dave Tomlinson, Jessica wrote and starred in
The Best of the Very Last, a sketch show that got rave revues
and resulted in a 2000 Canadian Comedy Award nomination! She
has also appeared on History Bites, The Laughing Matters Special,
YTV's Little Big Kid and guest starred in CTV's Sonic Temple
with Sean Cullen and Gavin Crawford.
In 2000 Jessica starred in her first 1-hour comedy special for The
Comedy Network entitled Holmes Alone. Her special was nominated
for a Gemini Award and for a 2001 Canadian Comedy Award for
outstanding performance in a TV Comedy. Jessica made her TV series debut
starring in The Itch on The Comedy Network. On The
Itch Jessica was praised for her hilarious character work and scathing
impressions of such stars as Celine Dion, Kathy Lee Gifford
and Prince…"Holmes is a gifted comic talent
with a range and sensibility that remind me of Tracey Ullman"
said the Georgia Straght. In November Jessica also wrapped shooting
on her first pilot called The Holmes Show.
Friday,
February 8
AIR FARCE
POSTS FIRST WEBISODE
FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 8th: Royal Canadian Air Farce presents our first exclusive
WEB-only Episode (Webisode) with a series of commercials that won't
leave you wanting to run to the fridge!
On
this special: Klutzes Hotline, where even the clumsy need love; Stan's
Laser Eye Clinic burns the competition; and Hemo-Blaster puts the fun
back into hemorrhoids. Click here to view.
Friday,
February 1
SHAUN MAJUMDER
GUEST STARS
FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 1st @ 9PM on CBC Television: One of Canada's leading young
comics, Shaun Majumder was born in Toronto but spent his formative years
in Newfoundland. He returned to Mississauga when he was 14 and later
attended Dalhousie University in Halifax. He soon began to feel the
itch to perform and began to take classes at Toronto's Second City.
The
past few years have seen Shaun perform in many stand-up clubs, television
programs and films. Shaun is well known for hosting YTV's Brain Washed
and the YTV Achievement Awards with Caroline Rhea. Shaun regularly
headlines and tours with the Yuk Yuk's comedy chain and did time
with The Second City National Touring Company. He has also performed
at the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.
His
television credits include performing on SketchCom (with the
troupe The Bobroom) and John Woo's Once A Thief, and writing
for This Hour Has 22 Minutes. His film credits include Pushing
Tin, the independent feature Reluctant Angel and The Ladies
Man.
Friday,
January 25
BOB MARTIN
GUEST STARS
FRIDAY
JANUARY 25th @ 9PM on CBC Television: Not only a gifted actor but
a critically acclaimed writer as well! Bob Martin began his career
early appearing in the well known CBC series The Edison Twins.
He moved into sketch comedy a few years later and began performing with
the comedy troupe Skippy’s Rangers (and in 1998 they appeared
on the CBC series SketchCom). From there Bob was picked up to
appear on the mainstage at Toronto’s Second City.
Now an Alumni of Second City, Bob has focused very heavily on writing
along with continuing his acting career. He won rave reviews throughout
North America for his writing on the comedy series Twitch City
(CBC/PBS) which he co-wrote with Don McKellar. He continued to
work with Don, this time in the theatre world, where they went on to
write The Drowsy Chaperone (with Bob in the starring role) for
the 1999 Toronto Fringe Festival. The acclaimed play caught the attention
of legendary theatre producers the Mirvishes and made its debut last
spring at Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre. Bob has written several
episodes of Salter Street Films’ award winning show Made In
Canada and he is currently working on a television show for Rhombus
Media with ex-Kids in the Hall member Mark McKinney.
Bob’s film resume includes recent co-starring roles in the Showtime
movie of the week Club Land (with Alan Alda) and in Torso,
a CTV murder mystery. He has also done roles in the award winning film
Last Night and appeared in several television series such as
Traders, Made In Canada and History Bites.
Monday,
January 14
OLD NEWS
IS GOOD NEWS
And
new news! Due to the work stoppage at CBC in December, our New Year's
Eve Special was made from previously aired sketches. That didn't stop
the viewers from making it a success, and the media from commenting
on
The
Globe and Mail ran an article on the special on January 1st (and the
work stoppage at CBC) and The Toronto Star commented on the success
of the New Year's Eve Special.
Click here for the article from the Globe and Mail and
Click
here for the article from the Toronto Star.
Friday,
January 11
JOE FLAHERTY
GUEST STARS
FRIDAY
JANUARY 11th @ 9PM on CBC Television: One of the original members
of the legendary "SCTV" comedy troupe, Joe Flaherty
began his acting career as a teenager doing children's theater at the
Pittsburgh Playhouse. After a four-year stint in the Air Force, Flaherty
returned home at age 21 to pursue a career as a draftsman, but again
gravitated towards performing. His theater work in Pittsburgh earned
him a job offer in Chicago with The Second City group where Flaherty,
along with Harold Ramis and John Candy, helped define
Second City's next generation. After performing in and directing several
revues in Chicago and Toronto, Flaherty left Second City to work on
the National Lampoon Show. He later returned to Second City to do "SCTV,"
where he received two Emmy Awards and gained notoriety for such characters
as Count Floyd, Guy Caballero, Sammy Maudlin and
many more.
Joe has appeared in dozens of films, most notably, "1941,"
"Stripes," "Used Cars," "Back
to the Future, Part II," "Happy Gilmore" and
"Waiting For Guffman," among others. His role in the
film "Looking For Miracles" also brought Joe a Gemini
Award for Best Actor in a Dramatic Role. In addition to his work on
"SCTV," his television credits include comedic roles in
"Dream On," "Ellen" a series regular
on "Police Academy" and "Freaks and Geeks"..
He also wrote, directed and starred in the series "Maniac Mansion"
and produced, wrote and starred in "Really Weird Tales."
The father of two children, Gudrun (an aspiring actress) and Gabriel,
Joe now shares his time between homes in Los Angeles and Hamilton, Canada.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, he is a devoted fan of the city's sports
teams, and also considers himself an opera buff. His birthday is June
21.
Friday,
December 21
2001: Year
of the Farce
Mon Dec 31st at 8pm on CBC-TV
On
CBC Television, Monday, December 31st at 8:00pm. Laugh in the New
Year with Royal Canadian Air Farce's annual one hour New Year's Eve
Special, as we take one more look back at 2001 and discover cave
dweller Osama bin Laden is one wacky terrorist; George W. Bush's cross
border memory loss; Keith Richards' Napster rap; Harry Potter-mania
and Stockwell Day's three R's of politics: revolt, retreat and resign.
Starring Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson and Luba Goy
with special guests Sean Cullen, Sheila McCarthy, Patrick
McKenna and Sonja Smits.
Congratulations!
Congratulations
to our key makeup artist Linda Fruchtman and key hairdresser Fredy Duerr
- winners of CBC's English Television Award for their achievements on
Air Farce. Click
here to view a behind the scenes video showing Fredy and Linda in
action.
We
won!
Thanks to you! At
the 16th Gemini Awards, Air Farce won the Viewers Choice Award, sponsored
by the Royal Canadian Mint, and chosen by viewer voting. We're honoured
and happy to win this award, because it comes directly from you, our
viewers - and we've always known that we're so lucky to have the best
audience any show could ever hope for. So, thank you, thank you, thank
you! We appreciate your support and friendship.
Click
one of the following for a video clip of Roger Abbott and Don Ferguson
accepting the award (Requires RealPlayer):
CONNECT
SPEED:
High / Medium
/ Low
Friday,
December 7
JONATHAN
TORRENS GUEST STARS
Jonathan
Torrens
just may be the busiest man in Canadian show business. As the host of
JONOVISION, CBC Television's comedic talk show for teens, he received
seven Gemini nominations for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth
Program or Series.
Last
year, Torrens won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Atlantic Film
Festival, for his role in Thom Fitzgerald's most recent release Beefcake,
which had its debut at the Sundance Festival. In addition to hosting
JONOVISION, Torrens also appears in Pit Pony, CBC's turn of the century
dramatic series about a mining town in Cape Breton. He has a continuing
role as the town doctor, Tony Moressa.
Torrens
can also be seen in the second season of the Showcase series Trailer
Park Boys, playing J-Roc, a white rapper. This summer he did a pilot
for a comedy show called "Rideau Hall" with Topsail Entertainment in
Halifax.
When
not in front of the camera, Jono is busy working with his partners at
the Nova Scotia based Torrential Pictures. Their first short film Liquor
Store premiered at the 1996 Atlantic Film Festival where it won the
$10,000 Telefilm Best Short Film Award. It was subsequently screened
at Edmonton's Local Heroes Festival and aired on CBC's Canadian Reflections.
Their 1997 production Nan's Taxi won the Gemini Award for Best Short
Dramatic Program.
He
was one of the hosts of the multi-award-winning CBC Television series
Street Cents for seven years and, in 1995, hosted the award-winning
CBC Television special AIDscare, AIDScare. He has produced items for
Midday and CBC Nova Scotia's Supper Hour News and has been featured
on CBC Radio specials including Talkin' About AIDS, Absolute Reality
and the Referendum Special. Jono has also made appearances on What's
For Dinner?, Pamela Wallin, Morningside and CBC Morning News.
He
also wrote for the 1999 Juno Awards, and co-hosted the pre-show. This
season he will make a special guest appearance on CBC Television's popular
children's series Sesame Park and will appear for the fourth time on
Open Mike with Mike Bullard, who has referred to Jono as his favourite
guest.
Currently,
Jono is developing a new comedy series for CBC called "The Air" which
takes place in a fictional 24 hour music station.
Torrens
was born in Charlottetown, P.E.I. When not taping in Toronto, Torrens
resides near Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Friday,
November 30
DIANE FLACKS
GUEST STARS
Diane Flacks
is a writer/actor highly acclaimed for her work in television, theatre
and film. She is best known in Toronto for her three solo shows: MYTH
ME, (which toured nationally and to L.A.), BY A THREAD (which
toured to N.Y.C., was adapted for CBC television, and nominated for
a Dora Award), and most recently RANDOM ACTS, which she is currently
adapting for a one-hour CBC TV special.
Diane
was in the Vagina Monologues in May of 2001. Her other recent productions
include SMUDGE at the Neptune Theatre, Halifax, in September.
SIBS went on a Canadian tour, with two new actors, in November. On a
related note, SMUDGE and SIBS were both nominated for
Chalmers Awards for playwrighting.
She
is also developing TV projects for CBC and BBC.
She
recently acted in, co-wrote, and was associate producer of THE BROAD
SIDE, a six-part TV series which was produced by CBC television
and aired on March 5 2001. Diane also finished filming a new CBC/Sullivan
Entertainment comedy series called P.R. which she co-created,
co-wrote, and in which she stars. SMUDGE by Alex Bulmer, a comedy
about a woman who is losing her sight, finished its run in December
2000 and the hugely successful SIBS, a play for the Tarragon
Theatre co-created with Richard Greenblatt, completed it's second run
at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre.
Diane
has written for THE KIDS IN THE HALL show (Emmy nominated), DOG
PARK (a new film by Bruce McCulloch), and is working on a new film
with director Jeremy Podeswa entitled MINUS TIME. She co-wrote, co-produced,
and plays 15 characters in 10 episodes of BEHIND THE SCENES.
The series was produced by Baton for The Comedy Channel. Diane has also
written two Jest in Time TV specials for CBC, and THE CYNTHIA DALE
SPECIAL for CBC. Her play, GRAVITY CALLING, which premiered at Tarragon's
mainspace in 1995, was recently produced at Yale and is being considered
for film adaptation in the U.S.
As an
actor she has appeared in films (THE 391st, DOG PARK,
BRAIN CANDY), Canadian episodic TV series, and in numerous roles
in Canadian Theatres.
Friday,
November 16
SONJA SMITS
GUEST STARS
Joining us on Air
Farce this week is guest star Sonja Smits, best known for her work on
television dramas STREET LEGAL (CBC-TV, for her gemini award winning
performance as Carrie Barr) and TRADERS (Global Television, where she
played Sally Ross) and has appeared on many other tv series (OUTER LIMITS,
RAY BRADBURY THEATER, THE FALL GUY and FALCON CREST).
And
Sonja is no stranger to the stage and silver screen: she began her career
in theatre and has starred in numerous successful productions, including
NOTHING SACRED at Toronto's Wintergarden Theatre, Theatre Calgary's
UNCLE VANYA and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at the Manitoba Theatre Centre
in Winnipeg. She received her first Genie Nomination (Best Performance
by a Supporting Actress) in David Cronenberg's VIDEODROME, and a second
Genie nomination (Best Performance by a Lead Actress) in THAT'S MY BABY.
Friday,
October 19 - T-Shirt, The Sequel, Winners!
We received thousands
of emails from our viewers. Thanks to all who participated! Click
here for a complete list of the 100 winners.
Friday,
October 19
PETER KELEGHAN
GUEST STARS
Peter
Keleghan joins us as our guest star for our fifth episode this season
but you've probably already seen him before! Peter co-stars as ALAN
ROY in the comedy series MADE IN CANADA that won a GEMINI AWARD for
BEST COMEDY SERIES last year (Fans in foreign countries will recognize
the show as THE INDUSTRY which can be seen across the U.S. on PBS, and
this winter on BRAVO). Watch for Peter in upcoming episodes of DOC,
BOB AND MARGARET, THE RED GREEN SHOW, and the UPCOMING RED GREEN MOVIE,
DUCT TAPE FOREVER.
Peter's
suberb talent was recognized with a GEMINI AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE
IN A COMEDY SERIES for his role as the self-absorbed news anchor JIM
WALCOTT, in Ken Finkelman's THE NEWSROOM.
For two
consecutive years, Peter was nominated for GEMINI and CANADIAN COMEDY
AWARDS for his portrayal of ALAN ROY in MADE IN CANADA. Last year he
had a Gemini nomination for his portrayal of RANGER GORD on THE RED
GREEN SHOW.
Peter has
guest-starred on some of television's most popular series including
SEINFELD, MURPHY BROWN, CHEERS, FOREVER KNIGHT, VIPER, WKRP, and GENERAL
HOSPITAL. He also played the composer's carefree best friend in LISZT'S
RHAPSODY.
Classically
trained, Keleghan studied acting at York University and the London Academy
of Music and Dramatic Art. Keleghan went on to become a member of the
1983 Shaw Festival Company and performed with THE SECOND CITY. He has
been a licensed private pilot since 1976.
Peter has
just completed shooting season four of MADE IN CANADA, seen Fridays
at 9:30 on CBC.
And finally,
Peter has been nominated for 3 Gemini Awards this weekend (As part of
the 16th Annual Gemini Awards from Oct 27-29th, 2001).
Friday,
October 19 - Mousepad
Winners Announced!
Due
to the overwhelming response to 'Win a T-Shirt', we decided to give
everyone a second chance at more free Air Farce goodies! Thanks to everyone
who entered! Click here for a complete list
of winners.
Friday,
October 12 - T-Shirt
Winners Announced!
We received thousands
of emails from our viewers. Thanks to all who participated! Click
here for a complete list of the 100 winners.
Friday,
October 8 - Some
Viewer Feedback
Are
we ready to laugh yet? Response is mixed to our first show this season:
Some loved it, some hated it. Click
here for a small sampling.
NEW FACES
ON FARCE
New faces
and a new 9:00 PM start time will add fresh flavour to the new season
of Royal Canadian Air Farce on CBC Television.
Joining
Air Farce stars Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson and Luba
Goy for the show's season debut on October 5 are comic stars Sean
Cullen and Sheila McCarthy.
Sean
Cullen, an original member of the music/comedy troupe Corky &
The Juice Pigs first appeared on Air Farce in 1993, has guest starred
on Mad TV, worked with Abbott and Ferguson on their SketchCom series,
received critical acclaim for his solo comedy special, Wood, Cheese
and Children, and is currently Gemini-nominated for his performance
on Just For Laughs.
Sheila
McCarthy has won multiple Gemini, Genie and Dora Awards for her
work as both a character and comic actress, starring in television series
such as Emily of New Moon, and Stratford productions such as School
For Scandal and Midsummer Night's Dream. Her role as Polly Vandersma
in I've Heard the Mermaids Singing remains a high-point in Canadian
film.
Cullen
and McCarthy are the first of a high power line up of guest stars who
will join Air Farce this season. Others include Jayne Eastwood,
Patrick McKenna, Colin Mochrie, Sonja Smits, Peter
Keleghan, Jonathan Torrens and Janet Van De Graff.
Why all
the guest stars? Roger Abbott observes, "Don and Luba and I are
now a threesome because John Morgan retired at the end of last season.
With a guest every week we can turn ourselves back into a foursome,
which makes for much better card games at rehearsal." And Luba
Goy adds, "Wow, women guests! I'm thrilled. This season when the
script calls for me to work with a woman, she'll actually be female!"
After five
years with a solid hold on its Friday at 8 time slot, Air Farce moves
this season to 9 o'clock. CBC programmers expect the show's huge
audience will follow it to the later hour, where it becomes the centerpiece
of the network's new Friday night comedy block. For eight consecutive
years on CBC Television, Air Farce has averaged 1,273,000 viewers per
minute - the biggest audience of any domestic series on Canadian television.
How easy
will it be to get laughs this fall? "Frankly, we don't have a clue,"
say producers and stars Roger Abbott and Don Ferguson. "But,"
Roger adds, "We've faced similar challenges in the past. We went
on-air last year just after Pierre Trudeau's funeral. The year before,
it was the Swissair disaster. Four years ago, Princess Diana. It's our
job to help lighten the hearts of our viewers, and they trust us to
do it with irreverence but honesty. We'll just have to rise to the challenge."
"And
there's still a ton of homegrown topics we can have fun with,"
continues Don. "Let's not forget the three Ottawa stooges - Chrétien,
Day and Clark, all those new digital TV channels, the West Nile virus
coming to Canada, Conrad Black kissing Canada goodbye for an English
knighthood, plus in the U.S., shark attacks, another summer of reality
TV shows and Jerry Falwell's ranting. I could go on for an hour."
Fortunately,
the season debut is exactly that -- an hour, so on October 5, the Farce
and their guests will have the jumbo-size sandbox they need.
Royal Canadian
Air Farce's season debut is Friday, October 5 at 9:00 PM on CBC Television.
The series is produced by Air Farce Productions Inc. in association
with CBC Television.
Air
Farce in Post TV's Winners' Circle!
Aug
27 - For the past three years, POST TV (The National Post's TV listings
magazine) has invited readers to send in their votes for the best on
television to determine their Readers' Choice Awards.
In
the winners' circle this year are ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FARCE which drew
the most mail for Comedy/ Variety/Satirical show, and LUBA GOY, who
drew the most mail ballots for Best Actress - Comedy. (For Best Actor
- Comedy, Frasier's David Hyde Pierce took top honours.) This is Air
Farce's second year in a row as top Comedy/Variety/Satirical show with
Nation Post readers.
If
you voted for us, thanks, eh?
REGULAR
SERIES ENDS; ONE HOUR FINALE APR 8
ROYAL CANADIAN
AIR FARCE ENDS SEASON WITH A SPECIAL HOUR-LONG SHOW ON SUNDAY, APRIL
8 AT 7 P.M.
Politicians
and national personalities can soon relax a little – it's end-of-season
time for Royal Canadian Air Farce.
The perennial
ratings winner winds up its eighth season on CBC Television with an
hour-long season finalé double-header on Sunday, April 8th at
7:00 PM. It's the Farce's last chance this season to squeeze in a few
more digs at Shawinigate, and the latest series of parliamentary apologies
and retractions. The hour-long format also makes room for appearances
from the Farce's stable of non-political observers such as Mike from
Canmore and the Confused Philosopher. And to close the season with a
bang and a mess, the mighty avenging Chicken Cannon will take aim at
the viewer-voted Target of the Season.
This season
finale will be repeated Monday, April 9th at 7:00.
In its
regular half-hour slot on Friday nights, Air Farce wrapped its regular
season on March 23 with a season-long average-minute audience of 1.2-million
viewers, again ranking it Canada's leading continuing series.
HISTORY
IN THE MOCKING
Fri
March 16 at 8:00 PM and Mon March 19 at7:00
PM on CBC Television.
Royal Canadian Air Farce presents "Canada - A Mildly Informative,
Not Overly Long People's History".
Click
here to hear a sample...
As Canada
finally becomes consumed with its own history, Royal Canadian Air Farce
rushes in with an all-new condensed look at the story of Canada’s
founding and floundering, in a half-hour special.
Guest stars
Graham Greene and Rex Murphy join Air Farce in painting
a portrait of Canada’s past, clearly influenced by Mark Starowicz’s
“Canada: A People’s History”. Historical scenes include
General Wolfe landing at Quebec, a candid moment with Laura Secord and
her cow, the driving of The Last Spike, and Louis Riel as a fanatic
radical bent on separation, looking suspiciously like Lucien Bouchard.
Graham
Greene stars as John Graves Simcoe, first lieutenant-governor of
Upper Canada, negotiating with first nations’ Billy Two-Willies
and Susan Born-with-an-Attitude.
Rex
Murphy brings his incisive interviewing and irreverent speaking
style to a one-and-one with French explorer Samuel de Champlain.
Unlike
CBC’s landmark history series, the Air Farce version is viewer-friendly
for a short attention span, and presents the entire Canadian story in
less than a half-hour.
“Canada
– A Mildly Informative, Not Overly Long People’s History”
on Royal Canadian Air Farce, stars Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson,
Luba Goy, John Morgan, Graham Greene and Rex
Murphy; written by Gord Holtam, John Morgan and Rick
Olsen; directed by Perry Rosemond; produced by Roger Abbott
and Don Ferguson for Air Farce Productions Inc. in
association with CBC Television.
STAND
BY TO LAUGH
Air Farce
takes an in-depth look at one of the hardest working stage managers
in television: Pat MacDonald. Click here for more.
AIR
FARCE NEW YEAR'S SPECIAL A RATINGS WINNER
Special
thanks to all who watched New Year's Eve and New Year's Day! The Nielsens
are in, and our New Year's Eve show scored 1,754,000 viewers
per average minute - making it the #1 Canadian comedy, variety or music
show of the year. Then on New Year's Day, another 755,000 viewers
per average minute watched the instant replay. And on Friday Jan 5,
another 711,000 - a total of 3.2-million viewers. And...
thanks for surfing! December, 2000 was our biggest month ever for visits
to our website, and December 31 was a record-breaking day, chalking
up the maximum hits, visits and files.
 |
AIR
FARCE RECEIVES EARLE GREY AWARD AND VIEWER'S CHOICE AWARD AT 15TH
ANNUAL GEMINIS! |
At
the 2000 Gemini Awards on October 31, Air Farce received the Viewers
Choice Award, for “the most acclaimed Canadian program as determined
by the viewing public”. From all of us at Air Farce, thank you
for voting on-line and choosing us. The award, sponsored by the Royal
Canadian Mint, is a beautiful handcrafted gold and silver trophy, and
it was handed to us by Olympic gold-medal winner Simon Whitfield, whose
triathlon triumph in Australia this summer made us all so proud. We’ll
treasure our Viewers Choice Award as a constant reminder that Air Farce
is so lucky to have the most supportive audience in television. Thank
you very much.
An
hour later, Steve Smith introduced us as this year’s winner of the Earle
Grey Award, the Academy’s special award for career achievement. The
Geminis treated us to a great video highlighting our 27 years on radio
and television, complete with great comments from some of the politicians
(Joe Clark, Sheila Copps, Herb Grey) and personalities (Lloyd Robertson,
Peter Mansbridge, Jann Arden) who’ve been both our victims and guests.
Then our colleagues gave us what the press called “a prolonged standing
ovation”, and we said our thanks. For
what we said, click here. As soon as we can get it, we’ll add the
video tribute so that you can enjoy it online. As we said on stage,
there are many, many people whose support got us this far, and we thank
them all, but our biggest thanks will always go to you – our listeners,
viewers and fans. Thanks so much.
THE
GAMES ARE OVER, LET THE FARCE BEGIN!
It's been a long
hot event-filled summer and Royal Canadian Air Farce has been keeping
score. So watch out Air Farce's eighth season 1-hour special will be
online shortly. Ontario drinking water, national gas prices, the Alliance
leadership, media takeovers, pie in P.E.I., Survivor on television:
all summer long, the targets just kept on coming, and Air Farce is lining
up the hits. Will they touch on this past week's biggest news story?
"We have to," says Don Ferguson, who impersonated Pierre Trudeau through
three decades on Air Farce radio and television shows. "We won't be
too sentimental, nor too irreverent, but we'll find a way to salute
him." Friday night's Air Farce special launches the group's eighth season
on CBC Television. For seven years, Air Farce has scored as Canada's
highest-rated entertainment series, with an average audience of 1.3-million
Canadians every week since the series began on October 8, 1993. Click
here to listen to a sample..
Royal
Canadian Air Farce inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame!
The Royal Canadian
Air Farce troupe (Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, Luba Goy and John Morgan)
were inducted to the Canadian "Walk of Fame" at a gala ceremony
at Roy Thomson Hall on June 23, 2000t. The star they received (actually
a stylized maple leaf) lies on Simcoe Street, south of King Subway,
just outside Roy Thomson Hall. Air Farce was inducted alongside notable
Canadian personalities Martin Short, William Shatner, hockey great
Gordie Howe, Maureen Forrester, Michael J. Fox, Evelyn Hart, William
Hutt, Joni Mitchell, Ginette Reno, and painter Jean-Paul Riopelle,
joining a list of other luminaries that includes author Pierre Berton;
actor Jim Carrey; director Norman Jewison; comedian Rich Little; musicians
Celine Dion, Anne Murray and Gordon Lightfoot; hockey legend Bobby
Orr; and race car driver Jacques Villeneuve.
Air
Farce in Post TV's Winners' Circle!
Aug
27 - For the past three years, POST TV (The National Post's TV listings
magazine) has invited readers to send in their votes for the best on
television to determine their Readers' Choice Awards.
In
the winners' circle this year are ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FARCE which drew
the most mail for Comedy/ Variety/Satirical show, and LUBA GOY, who
drew the most mail ballots for Best Actress - Comedy. (For Best Actor
- Comedy, Frasier's David Hyde Pierce took top honours.) This is Air
Farce's second year in a row as top Comedy/Variety/Satirical show with
Nation Post readers.
If
you voted for us, thanks, eh?
