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Royal Canadian Air Farce

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Comedians

The Resume

    (December 9, 1973-December 30, 2019)
    Canada-based comedy troupe
    Formed in Montreal
    Originated as The Jest Society in 1970
    Known for their various CBC series on radio (1973–97) and on television (in different forms from 1980 until 2019)
    Original founding members: Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, Luba Goy and John Morgan
    Later members included Dave Broadfoot, Craig Lauzon, Alan Park, Jessica Holmes, Martin Bronstein, Penelope Corrin, Aisha Alfa, Darryl Hinds, and Gay Claitman
    Recurring sketches include Chicken Cannon, F-Bomb, English as Second Language News, and A Canadian Moment

Why they might be annoying:

    It has a fandom rivalry with SCTV.
    Only one of its four founding members was actually born in Canada.
    They had to simplify their title after complaints from its military namesake.
    They were nominated for thirteen Canadian Comedy Awards from 2000 to 2005 and never won.
    For years, Luba Goy got stuck doing all female politicians whether or not she bore any resemblance (it wasn’t until the 2000s that younger comediennes Corrin and Holmes were brought in).
    Similarly, it wasn’t until 2014 that they cast two full-time black cast members.
    They made the CBC their annual Chicken Cannon target after losing the rights to the ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ theme music to CTV in 2008.
    Ironically, they have a stronger fan base outside their home country - mostly in mainland UK, New Zealand, and Australia (Canadians infamously don’t even find them all that funny).

Why they might not be annoying:

    It is called Canada’s SNL but it predates that show by two years.
    It became a CBC radio hit before its long successful run on television.
    They made up the first Canadians inducted into the International Comedy Hall of Fame.
    They played cross-country live tours and recorded several albums of material.
    They won a Juno Award for Comedy Album of the Year in 1979 (they were its first recipients).
    During their first eight years on TV, they pulled in 1.27 million viewers every Friday night.
    They also scored over 2 million viewers annually for their New Year’s Eve specials.
    They performed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary the night after the Battle of the Brians.
    They jokingly changed the lyrics of ‘O Canada’ to be more politically correct for a 2001 sketch and then it actually happened in 2018.
    Their show was unceremoniously canceled by the CBC and wasn’t even allowed a proper sendoff on New Year’s.

Credit: BoyWithTheGreenHair


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Year In Review:

    For 2023, as of last week, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying