Mercer-less Humor
TV Guide, December 2, 2000
By Darren O’Donoghue
“Would Al Gore know that Toronto is the capital of Canada?” Rick Mercer asks a diehard Democrat at a recent political rally held in Des Moines, Iowa. “He sure would,” the unnamed supporter responds. “Our man is way smarter than George W. Bush.”
Poking fun at misconceptions American people have about Canada is just another day in the prodigiously charmed life of the 31-year-old Newfoundlander. And “Talking To Americans” is just one of the wildly popular sketches that has aired to critical acclaim on the Gemini Award-winning political satire This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
Mercer, who first got into political commentary when he discovered pundits “were getting fifty bucks a shot on CBC radio,” has always had a penchant for politics. “Maybe it’s because in Newfoundland, politics is a blood sport,” says Mercer, in Toronto recently to narrate a biography of fellow Canadian thespian, Gordon Pinsent.
Mercer not only skewers politicians each week with his 22 Minutes co-stars Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones and Greg Thomey, he also “ricochets off popular showbiz industry myth” with Made In Canada. Mercer co-created this second, darker comedy. He also co-writes as well as plays the pernicious V.P. Richard Strong. Made In Canada features a staff of Machiavellian schemers, including the egotistical studio boss, Alan Roy (Peter Keleghan), and the sniveling sycophant, Victor Sela (Dan Lett), who jockey for position in the double-dealing world of Pyramid Productions.
The sophisticated comedy, which debuted in 1997, began as a six-episode series modeled loosely on Shakespeare’s Richard III. Since then, it has garnered critical and popular recognition on both sides of the border (it airs as The Industry on PBS).
Under the supportive wing of studio head Mike Donovan, Mercer and his creative colleagues at Salter Street Films have dramatically changed the show since it premiered. “We wanted to move away from a situation in which people who missed an episode felt they didn’t know what was going on,” notes Mercer.
From its inception, Made In Canada was innovative – at least in North American broadcasting circles. There was no laugh track and the characters spoke directly to the audience. Now that this has caught on with other shows, “we quickly realized it was time to back off,” says Mercer. But even with limited asides, viewers can still appreciate more subtle ironies. In this season’s premiere, Richard was banished to Colombia, an event which not only resulted in a windfall for Pyramid but provided a stage upon which the unfortunate Elian Gonzalez case was skewered.
While industry insiders may recognize themselves in some of the characters, Mercer says the production hasn’t received any negative feedback. Says Gerald Lunz, executive producer of both 22 Minutes and Made In Canada, “When we write this show we constantly remind ourselves that what’s in the script must have a common connector to the lives of people that work at Canadian Tire, Manulife or Sears.”
So, in light of the recent TV invasion by A-list American movie stars like Geena Davis, Bette Midler and Gabriel Byrne, how does Mercer explain the success of these two small shows? “We are Canadian,” he says without hesitiation. “We’re smarter than the Yanks and we prove it with our art.”