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Members
2 Male
Origin
The Great White North, Canada
Genre
Comedy
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Mood
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Born
2 MaleOrigin
The Great White North, CanadaGenre
ComedyStyle
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Mood
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Born
1980
1980 to Present...
Most Loved Tracks4 users
Bob and Doug McKenzie - Take Off4 users
Bob and Doug McKenzie - Twelve Days of Christmas4 users
Bob and Doug McKenzie - This Is Our Album, Eh?4 users
Bob and Doug McKenzie - The Beerhunter
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Bob and Doug McKenzie are a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted "The Great White North", a sketch which was introduced on SCTV for the show's third season when it moved to CBC Television in 1980. Bob is played by Rick Moranis and Doug is played by Dave Thomas.
"The Great White North" (originally known as "Kanadian Korner") was a panel show that played upon Canadian stereotypes. Bob and Doug, two dimwitted beer-swilling brothers wearing heavy winter clothing and toques, would comment on various elements of Canadian life and culture, frequently employing the interjection "Eh?" and derisively calling each other a "hoser." Among the topics discussed were snow routes, the Canadian-built robot arm on the Space Shuttle, the inappropriateness of bedtime stories about dog fights, flat tires, and "why there aren't enough parking spaces at take-out doughnut shops."
The sketch was conceived when SCTV moved to the CBC television network. Each episode to be broadcast on that network was two minutes longer than those syndicated to the United States. The CBC network heads asked the show's producers to add specifically and identifiably Canadian content for those two minutes. Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas thought that this was a ridiculous request, since the show had been taped in Canada, with a mostly Canadian cast and crew, for two years. The request inspired them to create a parody that would incorporate every aspect of the humorous stereotype of Canadians.
The segments were videotaped at the end of a day's shooting, with just Thomas and Moranis and a single camera operator. The sketches were for the most part improvised on the set, and after doing several such ad-libbed bits, they would then select the best ones for use on the program.
To their shock, the comedians found that this filler material had become the most popular part of the show. They rode the crest of a fad that produced two comedy albums and a movie, "Strange Brew". The first album is noted for the song "Take Off" which featured fellow Canadian Geddy Lee of the rock group Rush chorusing between the McKenzies' banter. (The record even made the Top 20 on the US record charts, a loftier perch than any of Rush's singles.) On their album, "The Great White North", they sing their own improvised version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas", which is frequently played on the radio around the holidays in both Canada and the United States. The popularity eventually faded, but the act is still fondly remembered by Canadians as an affectionate self-parody.
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