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The Joe Blow Show
is a Canadian television comedy special, which aired on
The Comedy Network
in July 2003.
[1]
It starred
Rebecca Northan
,
Paul O'Sullivan
,
Debra McGrath
,
Lisa Merchant
and
Peter Oldring
as the members of the Grass Roots Theate Collective, an amateur theatre troupe preparing to stage a musical based on the lives of a couple they had discovered shopping at
Honest Ed's
.
[2]
The special had been conceived as a potential
pilot
for a television series, although it was not picked up.
[1]
It was created by O'Sullivan and his wife,
Linda Kash
, although she did not appear in the special as an actor.
[1]
Vinay Menon of the
Toronto Star
reviewed the special positively, writing that "It's perplexing to note The Joe Blow Show is only a one-time special. The Comedy Network could still green-light a series, mind you; it's waiting to gauge reaction to the first effort. This may be fiscally responsible, especially in these times, but it also reflects a skittish, almost cowardly quality that plagues the industry. (A TV network really should know when it has something good. It shouldn't wait to be told.)"
[1]
Joel Rubinoff of the
Waterloo Region Record
was more dismissive, writing that "it's like watching a karaoke version of the film
Waiting for Guffman
(about, interestingly, the exact same thing), with elements of
Best in Show
and
This Is Spinal Tap
thrown in for good measure. With no artistic muse of its own, and a bad case of hero worship, Joe Blow is to mockumentaries what
Ben Mulroney
is to TV hosts: earnest, committed -- and so bland even its edges seem phony."
[2]
The cast received a
Gemini Award
nomination for
Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series
at the
19th Gemini Awards
in 2004.
[3]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Vinay Menon, "Joe Blow gets 7 laughs out loud".
Toronto Star
, July 10, 2003.
- ^
a
b
Joel Rubinoff, "Joe Blow just a lot of hot air; Mockumentary is so bland it could turn on itself".
Waterloo Region Record
, July 10, 2003.
- ^
"2004 Gemini Awards top-category nominees".
Montreal Gazette
, December 11, 2004.
External links
[
edit
]