John Doyle of the Globe and Mail is back with his take on TV satire, like the Rick Mercer Report, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and Royal Canadian Air Farce:
- Â There’s just too much love in Canadian comedy
“The Rick Mercer Report (CBC, 8 p.m.) and This Hour Has 22 Minutes (CBC, 8:30 p.m.) are at the core of our TV satire. Both shows can be amusing and Mercer is undoubtedly clever, but both shows are essentially soft. When they mock our politicians and other leaders and celebrities, they do it with love. They don’t mock in rage, they don’t attack and put forward skepticism about the powerful on our behalf. They cozy up, crack a few jokes and make sure that nobody actually gets hurt. There’s too much love and not enough loathing.”
