Made in Canada

We get this in Dallas on Friday nights on PBS as "The Industry".

I'm not sure what's stopping this show from being a perfect 10.. great cast and writing, IMPECCABLE cinematography.. maybe Bonus points for veracity of vanity and precision of mannerisms and quirks. Maybe a micron weak when 'out of the office' doing 'Beaver Creek' shoots..

The age old adage.. "Why can't Hollywood.. "

This is one of the best sitcoms I have ever seen, which I stumbled across on PBS as "The Industry". Fabulous, wicked dark humor. Great one-sided characters you love to hate set in the Canadian television industry. In one episode one of the actors goes to Mexico for cheap hair transplants and dies--there's no sadness or warmth amongst the remaining characters, only a desperate scramble to cover it up and figure out a way to write 'im out of the series. Sadly, my PBS affiliate no longer shows it, preferring to air the same old 30+ year old britcoms and RedGreen. I eventually found one disc of 5 or 6 episodes out there, but there are something like five seasons that languish in a vault somewhere. SET THEM FREE!!!!

Forget John Candy, Jim Carrey, Catherine O'Hara - the funniest Canadian to ever live has got to be Rick Mercer. On 'This Hour Has 22 Minutes', Mercer was lost in the other talent & brilliance of the rest of the cast, and wasn't able to shine or showcase his true talent. Until Made In Canada came along.

Critics say it's like the Newsroom. Well, sure, that is slightly true in that both shows have the same leading actor and that both are set in the Canadian television mold where they take a satirical look at them. But Made in Canada is edgier AND funnier (not sitcom laugh-out-loud funny, but rather more intelligent humour)

One of my favourite aspects of the show is the way it pokes fun of the CBC & all Canadian television in general - Beaver Creek is the flagship show of the "network" and the premise sounds an awful lot like that horrendous 'Road to Avonlea' show that seemed to be aired on CBC for about 30 years. 'Sword of Damacles' is a take on the Hercules/Xena syndication garbage that was television in the 90s.

Made in Canada is probably my personal favourite show of all time, and also I would hope that it continues to be aired in years to come on Showcase or CBC or other channels that come along to give good quality Canadian shows a second chance. Not only is the writing & storylines on the show absolutely brilliant, but the acting as well. From Rick Mercer's portrayal of the greedy, ambitious, intelligent script reader-turned head of television production right down to Alex Carter's portrayal of the dimwitted, clueless star of 'Sword of Damacles' there isn't a weak link in the actors on the show, and that is probably another reason the show is as fantastic as it is.

Watch it once, you'll be hooked - trust me. I am only sorry this will be the last season of the show, however it is always good to go out on top. I hope Rick Mercer & the rest of the cast go on to bigger & better things, and I also hope the rest of the seasons end up on DVD like Season 1 has.

This is my favourite comedy on TV, bar none. The timing and the layering of storylines are beautiful; watching the double- and triple-crosses build is sheer joy. The humour is dry, ironic, sharp as a knife, and it somehow all feels true to life. The fact that the Tragically Hip's "Blow at High Dough" brackets each episode is wonderful. The actors are all amazing. Character-driven and biting, this is what CBC can do when they get everything right.

The only other comedy I've ever enjoyed this much is "Twitch City".

Made in Canada isn't a knee=slapping sitcom; its ironic biting satire.

Not just of office politics, but of the entertainment industry, canada, and human relationships and perceptions etc. rick mercer has a fine eye for distilling the esscence of human insanity into a half-hour form (or is it 22 minutes??) everyone knows an 'alan': the take credit for it but i'm not going to work boss. victor: the spineless syncophant; richard: the aggradizing, self-promoting jerk; veronica: the one who does all the work and gets none of the credit and wanda: the "radar o'reilley" of the office who holds it all together. i even like the 'beaver creek'(aka 'little house on the prairie' etc) send-ups of bloated tv series and even more bloated star egos.

hollywood should take a look at canadian tv. these shows are character driven and entertaining and don't insult my intellegence

now why can't hollywood do this???