Blackfly

I rather thought of F-Troop when I first saw this show. The concept of the show is quite funny and has lots of potential.

It seems like a sketch from the show, "History Bites," hosted by Rick Green stretched out for a half-hour sitcom.

As most Canadian comedy series go, there are many gags that would go over the heads of our American cousins.

I believe that while this series is probably about 25 years late on the screen, this type of historical comedy needs to be continually explored in different ways for new possibilities.

I don't necassarily disagree with the negative comments posted here, but I see where they are coming from. Blackfly lacks any real purpose or that traditional 'Canadian Genius' we find in our dramatic comedies and satire, such as the Newsroom, Made In Canada, or this Hour Has 22 Minutes, but it still has that magical optimism found in such shows as The Red Green Show and Royal Canadian Air Farce. It's a show that refuses to take itself seriously (and how many of us as Canadian really do take our Country seriously?), the writing is simple and watered down, but not necassarily predictable, and its sole theme is to poke fun of our differences as the 'Three in one Nation' we are. In the second season, Dan Redican of The Frantics was the Story Editor, bringing that old Frantics feel into some of the episodes. Although the writing still has a long ways to go in order to become a Canadian Classic, the actors are already there. I love the disfunctional relationship among Blackfly, Mactavish, and Entwhistle (James Kee and Colin Mochrie are great at their roles, as well as pretty much every role they've ever had), and I love watching Richard Donat, whether it's here or on Emily of New Moon.

But don't be expecting to roll out of your seat with laughter, it's not as hilarious as Ron James' actual stand up comedy. It's more of a once in a while I'll watch it because it's on kind of thing. I wouldn't worry if I missed it, but I'd still be glad to see what I missed when I do catch it.

I found "Blackfly" by accident one Saturday afternoon. It lacks the finesse and bite of such Canadian comedies as "Corner Gas" or "Royal Canadian Airfarce" but it still has its moments and it makes me feel good. It's one of those shows, like "History Bites" that is destined to remain within the sphere of Canadian broadcasting, because a lot of the humour will go right over the heads of non-Canadians watching it. I particularly like the little "in-jokes" such as this exchange here:

Ti-Jean: Someday a Frenchman will run this country! Blackfly: You're talking out the side of your mouth, my friend.

Who else immediately pictured Jean Chretien? One drawback of jokes like this is that they might be too sophisticated for a younger audience. I teach History to teenagers and have thought about using this, but after trying them on "History Bites" and having moments where I was the only one laughing, I might give the matter some thought.

Blackfly was a great, under-rated Canadian comedy. It was as funny as anything on TV at the time, and if it had been an American show, we'd still be watching it. It had that dark anything goes underdog's point of view, sort of like a period version of Trailer Park Boys, another hilarious Canadian TV series. The big difference? Blackfly was set in the 1700s, and maybe TV viewers just can't wrap their heads around the concept of a historical comedy. But the jokes and situations in Blackfly were totally fresh and contemporary. The creator of the show, Ron James is a terrific standup comedian, and he did a good job of translating his stand-up persona into a sitcom context. Shauna Black, as Lady Hammond, a reluctant pioneer with a very active libido, was hilarious; James Kees was sharp and funny as the fort manager; Sherie Maracle (Misty Moon) and Lorne Cardinal (Chief Smack Your Face In) did an amazing job playing 1700s' Natives as bewildered suburbanites; Richard Donat, the fort commander, was as loony as anything you could imagine on TV; Marcel Jeanin, as a voyageur, stole every scene he was in; and Colin Mochrie (Colin Mochrie!) was totally endearing and hilarious as a hapless British officer. They should play re-runs of this show, endlessly, until viewers finally get it!

This series was advertised in Canada for several months before it actually premiered. It was hardly worth the wait. The show is a loosely structured comedy set during the 1800s or something and follows a Mel Brooks-like format. It's kind of like Mel Brooks' 70s show "When Things Were Rotten". Apparently, no one told the producers that this style of goofball/spoof comedy isn't really popular anymore. All of the characters in "Blackfly" dress American Revolution-style and most of the gags (many of which involve outhouses) fall flat. Ron James who stars and co-wrote many of the episodes, can be funny but this is not one of his better projects and "Blackfly" is not the kind of TV series that will make Canada look good.