The Kids in the Hall

I have watched "Saturday Night Live" for as long as I can remember and I remember seeing ads for a new Lorne Michaels show called "The Kids in the Hall". Sadly, we didn't have HBO at the time, not to mention, I was only about 4 or 5 years old when it first aired. Since then, I have seen numerous re-runs on Comedy Central, and I have to say this show is so much better than "Saturday Night Live". I'm sorry that I never got the chance to see the full episodes on HBO. Even so, I am very glad that I have gotten to see what I have, but unfortunately Comedy Central has cut it down to only one episode of "KITH" per day. Hopefully this is just for the summer, as "Kids in the Hall" is a wonderful, smart, and of course just about the funniest show that I've ever seen. It gets a 10 out of 10 from me! I'll keep watching for as long as it's on television.

Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson formed the funny group in the 80s Toronto. Everybody wanted to get into Second City and then graduate to SNL. These guys decided to start a sketch show on their own.

Their combined skills generated some of the most original characters in comedy. My favorite characters include host Simon and his sidekick Hecubus, chicken lady, red hair girl, crushing your head, and when all 5 cross dress as office temps. Also Scott Thompson's "Fag!". The guys are a great group, but they didn't break down any major walls. They re-engineered, they reworked, they pushed the envelope, they just didn't invent the envelope.

I've probably seen every episode of this show's six year run,could probably recite most of the sketches and I keep track of what each of the five from Canada is up to. And I still wish this show were back with new programs. Alas,that would be folly,as they all have moved on and gotten much older,thus making them not really "Kids" at all.

I've often wondered which of the five was my favorite. Long story very short:I can't really decide. They're ALL very funny and talented! (I suppose if pressed,I'd say I tilt slightly more toward Dave or Mark) Their ability to mimic people's foibles and quirks,male OR female,and the writing's ability to capture the raw humor in absurdity and behavior made this show quite the stand-out of sketch comedy programs. This show had the rare distinction of claiming three(count'em,three!)networks as its home before each member decided to mutually end the show in late 1994/early,early 1995. It's kind of a shame that their careers didn't really take off(Dave and Scott had reasonable amounts of success since.Kevin works very steadily.Bruce directs and Mark...well,other than touring with the boys on their reunions,I'm not sure exactly how much this guy's working!),but they will always be remembered as the natural successor/Canadian cousin to "Monty Python"IMHO. I look forward to getting some of the eps(perhaps someday all)on DVD someday soon.

All of all the sketch comedy shows I have seen, The Kids In The Hall is the best damn comedy show ever. The Kids are outstanding and they are very funny and it was a shame that their show ended. I love them!! I was almost into tears when the show ended. I hope that someday they can do another reunion show. The coolest sketch comedy show i have seen in years.

Kids in the Hall has always been one of my favorites. I remember once watching a KITH Marathon on TV that ran for something like 12 hours. It was hilarious, and I've often wondered how people could create comedy that was so completely over the edge.

Favorite skits: David Foley as a banker on a blind date with the Chicken Lady (who sounded, for the most part, amazingly normal,) and Kevin McDonald's turns as a cop suffering from terminal demoralization (particularly the one where Foley's character is getting robbed at home and doesn't seem to mind it all that much!)