Made in Canada -- A Truly Northern Satire.
Written & Edited by: Lee Fenton
‘Made in Canada’
is a CBC Television scripted-comedy series that ran for five consecutive seasons between the years of 1998 - 2003. It lampoons the television industry – focusing specifically on Canadian content and productions; and the often hilarious struggles of marketing, broadcasting, and the day-to-day running of an office. It’s a precursor to shows like ‘30 Rock’, and more tangentially ‘The Office’ (UK & USA).
This is a must-watch series.
Here’s a quote from IMDb to sum it up:
“Richard Strong” (Rick Mercer):
[first line of the series] All my life I wanted to make movies. A good movie can change lives. A great movie can change the world. But television, it's different. It's not about making a difference.
Television's about making one thing only. Money. [1]
The humour is sharp – lots of multi-layered jokes. The banter is biting, acerbic and unbelievably self-aware. In my opinion, this show may have benefited from having a laugh track. Not necessarily, but maybe. Canned-laughter is often looked down upon in situational comedies, – since it directs the audience when to laugh – something that a well-written joke can and should do, on its own. But in some rare circumstances; laugh-tracks are incredibly advantageous. Since they have the added effect of softening the blow of controversial statements and, or risque comedy, letting the audience know that it’s “okay” to laugh.
“Shannon Hawkins of the Ottawa Sun wrote during its first season that Made in Canada had "all the makings of a hit", with clever dialogue, plausible characters and a storyline for anyone who fantasized about ruining their boss.[17] Antonia Zerbisias of the Toronto Star described the programme as "scary, cynical and biting", and felt that the production took huge risks in satirizing its producers and industry moguls and its choice of title in a country which looked down on domestic productions.” [2]
Although viewers of shows like ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ may be used to much darker and more shocking humour than what’s found in ‘Made in Canada’; it’s still easy to see how some of the anecdotes could be misconstrued as being in “bad taste”. But once you settle into the rhythm of the show – it’s obvious that it’s all in good fun.
Very, very similar to season 1 of ‘The Office’ (USA).
And keep in mind, the whole run of the UK version of ‘The Office’ kept this standard British formula of offering a darkly-biting satire, and it went on to become an international success.
In contrast, the US version chose to steer into the more classic sit-com format, allowing for antics from characters like Michael (Steve Carrel) or Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and a very memorable will-they-or-won’t-they storyline between fan favourites, “Jim & Pam” (John Krasinsky & Jenna Fischer).
Later in the show’s run – Jim and Pam’s relationship became the main focal point.
How does this relate to ‘Made in Canada’?
For the first season, ‘Made in Canada’ deals in that same dry, off-putting humour that is unique and genuinely creative – while being astonishingly well-written.
I absolutely love the fact that the writers chose to craft characters who accurately portray the archetypes associated with movie & television execs. This doesn’t equate to a blanket statement about all those that inhabit the role of higher ups in an industry – just a well-informed
satirical jab at the way the “biz” works. And the realistic approach to portraying these extremely vapid characters is super entertaining; I find myself laughing-out-loud at least once a scene, which isn’t common with satires. The episodes rely on an A-plot and a B-plot, and the writers masterfully weave them together.
This is a “tried and true” approach to crafting comedic narrative.
By the second season the show transitions to a more accessible format – the sit-com.
This choice is very in-line with what NBC did with their flagship work-place comedy that premiered six years later. And both shows seemed to benefit from the decision, ratings only improved – and each series managed a healthy amount of episodes.
‘Made in Canada’ ran for 5 seasons, and NBC’s ‘The Office’ for 9 seasons, respectively.
“The programme received critical and popular recognition. It was particularly well-received by the industry it lampooned, attracting many guest stars. The programme received 23 national awards during its five-season run, including multiple Gemini, Writers Guild of Canada, and Canadian Comedy Awards. In the United States, Australia and Latin America, the show was syndicated as The Industry. In France, it was syndicated as La loi du Show-Biz.”[3]
I honestly think this show was way ahead of its time, and considering the budgetary constraints due to Canada lacking the titanic film industry that some other nations have, namely the United States, this show managed to deliver a truly inventive premise combined with solid joke-writing, and stupendous acting.
Every time I revisit ‘Made in Canada’,
I learn a little – and laugh a lot.
____________
Rating: 8/10
A Montreal Smoked meat sandwich,
marble rye and dijon mustard.
Starring roles:
Rick Mercer - as TV exec/producer Richard Strong
Leah Pinsent - is Chief Operating Officer, Veronica Miller
Peter Keleghan - CEO of Pyramid Studios firm, Alan Roy
Jackie Torrens - plays the receptionist Wanda Mattice
Janet Kidder - as Lisa Sutton a Pyramid TV producer
Ron James - Raymond Drodge, an alcoholic ex-producer
Awards
Gemini Awards (Canadian Screen Awards):
17th Annual Gemini Awards
Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series (Rick Mercer, Jackie Torrens, Dan Lett, Peter Keleghan, Leah Pinsent, 2002)
Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series (John Greyson, 2002)
14th Annual Gemini Awards
Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series (1999)
Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series (Rick Mercer, 1999)
Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series ( Henry Sarwer-Foner, 1999)
Best Comedy Program or Series (Michael Donovan, Gerald Lunz, Linda Nelson, Marilyn Richardson, 1999)
Banff Television Festival:
Best Comedy Series (1999)
First Canadian Comedy Awards:
Best Performance by Male - Television (Rick Mercer)
Best Direction in a Series (Michael Kennedy
NOMINATIONS:
(Best Performance by a Male – Television
Peter Keleghan, 2002)
(Best Performance by a Female – Television
Leah Pinsent, 2002)
(Best Performance by a Female – Television
Jackie Torrens, 2002)
Best Writing in a Series
(Rick Mercer, Mark Farrell, Alex Galatis, Alex Ganetakos, Ed Macdonald, Bob Martin, Edward Riche, Raymond Storey, 2002)
PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE, NOR EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF THE ACCOLADES THAT THE SHOW HAS RECEIVED.
SOURCES:
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[1]https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0172754/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu
Quotes from Made in Canada (Alternative title, “The Industry”)
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Canada_(TV_series)#cite_ref-ZerbisiasSitcom_8-1
"At last, a Canadian sitcom that just might be a hit". The Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario: Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. p. E4.
[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Canada_(TV_series)#cite_ref-ZerbisiasSitcom_8-1
