The Dave Thomas Comedy Show

Last updated
The Dave Thomas Comedy Show
Genre Comedy
Created by Dave Thomas
Written by Dave Thomas
Mike Short
Mike Myers
Ed Solomon
Max Pross
Tom Gammill
Michael Bayouth
Anson Downes
Directed by Dave Thomas
Paul Miller
Starring Dave Thomas
Anson Downes
Julie Fulton
Teresa Ganzel
Don Lake
Dan Aykroyd
Valri Bromfield
John Candy
Chevy Chase
Kelly Preston
John Roarke
Martin Short
Catherine O'Hara
Rick Overton
Theme music composer Ian Thomas
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes5
Production
Executive producers Dave Thomas
Bernie Brillstein
Producer Kimber Rickabaugh
Running time30 minutes
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseMay 28 (1990-05-28) 
June 25, 1990 (1990-06-25)

The Dave Thomas Comedy Show (later simply Dave Thomas) was a sketch-based, half-hour, five-week summer replacement series, which aired on CBS in the summer of 1990. The show starred Canadian comedian Dave Thomas, who is best known for an earlier sketch comedy series, SCTV . Thomas himself served as head writer, while the writing staff included Hollywood scriptwriter Ed Solomon and Mike Myers. The series debuted May 28, 1990.

Contents

Cast and guest stars

Anson Downes, Teresa Ganzel, Don Lake, Julie Fulton and David Wiley made up the supporting cast of various characters in the sketches, while veteran character actress Fran Ryan had a recurring role as a wise-cracking waitress also named Fran Ryan. In addition, the series usually featured big-name guest stars (John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Catherine O'Hara) Thomas knew from The Second City and other previous projects—although the musical guest for the series finale was actually a fictionalized version of Johnny Cash played by Dave himself. John Roarke, Valri Bromfield, and Rick Overton were also occasionally featured in supporting roles.

Format

Dave introduced every episode with a monologue that typically segued into the first sketch. Despite the often larger celebrity status of his guest stars, Thomas himself usually played the lead in the sketches, with his celebrity guests in co-starring roles. In addition to sketches, the show featured semi-scripted interview segments on the set of "Fran's Diner," where Dave and his guests would chat over coffee or a meal. Fran's Diner was also the setting for a running gag which appeared in every episode, in which Dave, as a customer, would chat with Fran and experience vivid daydreams which invariably spoofed stereotypical male sexual fantasies filled with beautiful women—only to be disappointed that the reality was Fran and her diner. In these segments, the punchline would typically involve Fran somehow knowing the content of Dave's daydream, or breaking the fourth wall with references to the fact that they were on a television series.

Notable sketches

Critics from such publications as Entertainment Weekly [1] and TV Guide applauded a trio of sketches in which Thomas impersonated notable personalities in absurdist situations -- Edward Woodward as his Equalizer character reimagined as "the Humiliator" (who uses insults rather than guns to incapacitate criminals), Jack Palance miscast as a creepy sitcom star (who still uses his catch-phrase from Ripley's Believe it or Not! ), and Max von Sydow as a depressed barber who inadvertently terrorizes his customers by chatting casually about his obsession with death.

List of episodes

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Episode 1"May 28, 1990 (1990-05-28)
John Candy guest stars in the first episode of the show.
2"Episode 2"June 4, 1990 (1990-06-04)
Dan Aykroyd guest stars in the second episode of the show.
3"Episode 3"June 11, 1990 (1990-06-11)
Originally aired on January 25, 1990 as a pilot, guest starring Chevy Chase and Martin Short.
4"Episode 4"June 18, 1990 (1990-06-18)
Catherine O'Hara guest stars in the fourth episode of the show.
5"Episode 5"June 25, 1990 (1990-06-25)
Johnny J. Folsom - a fictional character portrayed by Dave Thomas - guest stars in the fifth and final episode of the show.

Production

As Thomas explained in an interview with Kenneth Plume [2] on IGN.com, Thomas had originally conceived of the show as more experimental, especially in terms of interaction with the studio audience, but CBS executives told him to tone down the experimental aspects of the series—a decision which, Thomas believes, ultimately contributed to the show's short life span.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Elliott</span> American actor, writer, and comedian

Christopher Nash Elliott is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and author, known for his surreal sense of humor. He appeared in comedic sketches on Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1988), created and starred in the comedy series Get a Life (1990–1992) on Fox, and wrote and starred in the film Cabin Boy (1994). His writing has won four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards. His other television appearances include recurring roles on Everybody Loves Raymond and How I Met Your Mother, starring roles as Chris Monsanto in Adult Swim's Eagleheart (2011–2014) and Roland Schitt in Schitt's Creek (2015–2020). He also appeared in the films Groundhog Day (1993), There's Something About Mary (1998), Snow Day (2000) and Scary Movie 2 (2001).

<i>Second City Television</i> Canadian television sketch comedy show

Second City Television, commonly shortened to SCTV and later known as SCTV Network and SCTV Channel, is a Canadian television sketch comedy show that ran intermittently between 1976 and 1984. It was created as an offshoot from Toronto's Second City troupe. It is an example of a Canadian show that moved successfully to U.S. television, where it aired on NBC in 1981–1983.

<i>Royal Canadian Air Farce</i> (TV series) Canadian TV series or program

Royal Canadian Air Farce, and often credited simply as Air Farce, was a Canadian sketch comedy series starring the comedy troupe Royal Canadian Air Farce, that previously starred in an eponymous show on CBC Radio, from 1973 to 1997. The top-rated television show was broadcast on CBC Television, beginning in 1993 and ending in December 2008. The Air Farce Live name was adopted in October 2007. For the show's final season which began October 3, 2008, the series was renamed Air Farce—Final Flight!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church Lady</span> Fictional character

Enid Strict, better known as The Church Lady, is a recurring character from a series of sketches on the American television show, Saturday Night Live, that appeared from 1986 to 1990, and again in 1996, 2000, 2011, and 2016. She also appeared on The Dana Carvey Show in March 1996, reading a Top Ten List, "New Titles for Princess Diana."

Chappelle's Show is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were the show's executive producers. The series premiered on January 22, 2003, on the American cable television network Comedy Central. The show ran for two complete seasons. An abbreviated third season of three episodes aired in 2006, compiled of previously unreleased sketches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Pollak</span> American actor, comedian (born 1957)

Kevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 80 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's legal film A Few Good Men, Jacob Goldman in Grumpy Old Men and its sequel Grumpier Old Men; Todd Hockney in The Usual Suspects, Phillip Green in Martin Scorsese's Casino, and Bobby Chicago in End of Days.

<i>The Ben Stiller Show</i> American television series 1990-1993

The Ben Stiller Show is an American sketch comedy series that aired on MTV from 1990 to 1991, and then 12 episodes on Fox from September 27, 1992, to January 17, 1993, with a 13th episode of the Fox version airing on 1995 on Comedy Central. The Fox program starred Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk. Character actor John F. O'Donohue also appeared in every episode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Thomas (actor)</span> Canadian actor and comedian

David William Thomas is a Canadian actor, comedian and television writer, known for being one half of the duo Bob and Doug McKenzie with Rick Moranis. He appeared as Doug McKenzie on SCTV, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award out of two nominations, and in the film Strange Brew (1983), which he also co-directed. As a duo, they made two albums, The Great White North and Strange Brew, the former gaining them a Grammy Award nomination and a Juno Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Foley</span> Canadian-American actor and stand-up comedian (born 1963)

Dave Foley is a Canadian-American actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and film productions, most notably the 1988–1995 TV sketch comedy show of the same name, as well as the 1996 film Brain Candy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob and Doug McKenzie</span> Canadian comedy duo portrayed by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas

Bob and Doug McKenzie are a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted "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. Although created originally as filler to both satisfy and mock network Canadian content demands, the duo became a pop culture phenomenon in both Canada and the United States. The characters became the focus of a bestselling comedy album, The Great White North, in 1981 and starred in a feature film, Strange Brew, in 1983. They were later revived for an animated series, Bob & Doug, which premiered on Global in 2009.

<i>Bo Selecta!</i> Television series

Bo' Selecta! is a British television sketch show written and performed by Leigh Francis. It was broadcast on Channel 4 from 2002 until 2009 and lampooned popular culture, becoming known for its often surreal, abstract toilet humour. Season 4 was known as A Bear's Tail while season 5 shifted filming to the United States and was called Bo! In the USA. The show consists of comedy sketches of characters played by Francis, with minor support roles over the years played by Craig Phillips, Caroline Flack, Ozzy Rezat, Patsy Kensit, Karen Hayley, Barunka O'Shaughnessy, Dexter Fletcher, Sean Pertwee, Luis Fernandez-Gil and Robert Stone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Parnell</span> American actor

Thomas Christopher Parnell is an American actor and comedian. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Parnell found wider success during his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2006. After leaving SNL, he played the role of Dr. Leo Spaceman on NBC's sitcom 30 Rock from 2006 to 2013. In animation, he voices Cyril Figgis on the FX series Archer, Jerry Smith on Adult Swim's Rick and Morty, Doug on Fox's Family Guy, and the narrator on the PBS Kids series WordGirl (2007–2015). He also voices "The Progressive Box" in a series of advertisements by the Progressive Corporation.

The Andy Dick Show is an American sketch comedy series that aired on MTV from February 2001 to May 2002. The series was created by and starred comedian Andy Dick.

<i>Out of Control</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

Out of Control is an American sketch comedy television series created by Bob Hughes for Nickelodeon. Hosted by Dave Coulier, it centers on the production of a fictional news program. Coulier's character is the coordinator of the news show who vainly tries to get his eccentric crew members to work together. It features sketches with recurring themes by the Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre and interspersed animation by Spectre Productions.

<i>The Fast Show</i> BBC comedy sketch show

The Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, is a BBC comedy sketch show that ran from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and Caroline Aherne. Other significant cast members included Felix Dexter, Paul Shearer, Rhys Thomas, Jeff Harding, Maria McErlane, Eryl Maynard, Colin McFarlane and Donna Ewin.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between September 26, 1992, and May 15, 1993, the eighteenth season of SNL.

Hacker Time is a British children's sketch comedy talk show, broadcast by CBBC, starring Hacker T. Dog. In each episode, Hacker interviews a celebrity, and plays games and the show also includes recurring segments, such as sketches. Six series of the show were produced, which were aired from 2011 to 2016.

<i>The Kids in the Hall</i> (TV series) Canadian sketch comedy show

The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy TV series that aired for five seasons from 1988 to 1995, and a sixth revival season in 2022, starring the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. The troupe, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, Bruce McCulloch, and Scott Thompson, appeared as almost all the characters throughout the series, both male and female, and also wrote most of the sketches.

References