The Seán Cullen Show

This show was completely overhyped. Sean Cullen is good, I guess, but he's not the kind of comedian that MAKES a show (ie: Jerry Seinfeld). But I think given a supporting role in a sitcom, and if he didn't act like the star of the show, he'd probably score an Emmy or two. The supporting cast for this show was really annoying. I think most people didn't watch it because of Cullen's not-so-good performance on Royal Canadian Air Farce, and because every other commercial on CBC was for this.

First of all I want to say that I am not bashing Sean Cullen at all because I have seen him perform so many times live, and his comedy and music on TV for example on CTV and in the American show "Last Comic Standing". He is always hilarious to me as a performer and he has a fantastic look and just seems like a genuinely nice person. But this show was just so weird and did not make me laugh. I really wanted to like it but I found the characters were all very forced and just not funny at all. Sean hosted as himself and there were times when his live comedy shone through, I remember him once doing a song about building things out of hot dogs that made me laugh a lot, but the rest of the show was just strange without being funny. I hope he gets to do another show someday and that it is better than this show turned out to be, sad to say it was not very good.

I would never have been fortunate enough to see this show except someone posted it on the Usenet; the world's best source for obscure media. Frankly, in my mind this is a classic example of what is good about file sharing. I am now aware of a show and a comedian that I would otherwise never have known of, and would gladly buy videos/DVDs of this series (if they ever wise up enough to make them available). That aside: the series is absurd and delightful. Like Britcoms, Canadian humor (someone come up with a clever knick-name for these, ok?) is different enough to appeal for the novelty, but the sheer quality of the show brings it universal appeal. If you get a chance, watch one! You'll want more.

Sometimes, the makers of "The Sean Cullen Show" try too hard to be zany and original but that's part of it's charm. It's characters include an evil Jezebel(Fau Froc) and her henchman Sasquatch who seek Sean's destruction, an Harriet Nelson mother-next-door type(Betty) and her animal-like son Sonny, two audience commentators(ala Muppet Show) and a cellar-dweller named Winston. The story lines are secondary to the music, sight gags and Sean Cullen's characterizations. Cullen's is a heavy weight contender in Canadian satire and I hope CBC has the good sense to keep him on the air for a long time as he's an ambassador for Canadian pop culture as well as quickly becoming an important fixture in the same.

Seán Cullen has been waiting for this for a long time, and I don't think he was disappointed. It's a bit obvious that he had a lot of control over the development;it's enjoyable, creative, weird, and funny, mostly in that order. Seán's first priority is always to entertain. He seldom gives out a big, cheap laugh, but he creates an atmosphere that defies you not to at least smile. He makes great inside jokes (Ex: Gordon Pinsent derails a cat) and he knows how to exhibit Canadian culture in a fresh way (unlike Jonothan Torrens in John Cross's Canada which is an example of how annoying people can be when they preach our culture instead of simply enjoying it).

Taking down the third wall by including the audience is quite ironic too, because the show doesn't really bring him into your living room for a half hour as it brings you into Seán's living room -or mind- for a half hour. Including the audience together in the dialogue has been done a bit before, but Seán even brings them to participate in small contests with actually good prizes. Seán Cullen is quickly becoming one of the most entertaining comedians in Canada and is breathing fresh life into the CBC.