Death Comes to Town, Parties With Mayor

THE SECRET IS TO GET your bias out there, up front. So here goes.


I love, love, love Kids in the Hall.


When I was a struggling poor Ryerson student in the late 80's, early 90's, twice-weekly tapings of The Kids' first CBC Television series at the old studios on Mutual Street served as a prime source of much-loved (and admired) free entertainment. You can still hear my barrel laugh on way too many of those old episodes.


Those tapings also unwittingly contributed one of my fondest (and most disturbing) broadcast memories -- the late Barbara Frum, in full hair and on-air getup, plus makeup bib, wandering up and down the street calling for her dog. Bizarre.


The Kids in the Hall also unwittingly taught me one of my first lessons about writing for television.


Like a lot of people plugged into Queen Street, I'd seen them develop their act at the Rivoli over several years. And the first season of their TV series ate up all that huge backlog of sketches. When it came time for season two -- they had nothing. They had to hire a few new writers, buckle down and start over -- or so the story goes.


Ulp.


Well, last night in Toronto wasn't exactly a start-from-scratch. More like a victory lap.


People packed into the upstairs at the Rivoli to see the first new Kids in The Hall series in years. Episode 1 of the eight-part "Death Comes To Town."


The series had its Genesis out of the sucessful tours KITH did last year in Canada. And the General Manager of CBC English Television, Kirstine Stewart, was glad to claim them, pronouncing their return to the CBC as a "homecoming."


It was hard to argue in the packed-too-tight confines of the Rivoli. There everyone was -- a little older, maybe. A little wrinklier. And that's just the hipster audience. Ba-DUM.


I started yesterday morning in New York City, screaming for the Lincoln Tunnel at 7AM just on the hope that I could make it back in time to see the episode screened.


And so I did.  I was not disappointed.


I'm happy to report that if you're a fan of Kids in the Hall, you're going to enjoy it very, very much. Death Comes To Town isn't quite like their sketch series of old, but you'll recognize riffs on many of the group's iconic characters.


In the years since, of course, many of the Kids have done time in the trenches of U.S. Network TV. Mark McKinney worked for Aaron Sorkin and now oversees one of Canada's brightest new comedy programs, Less Than Kind. Dave Foley had his years on Newsradio, and Bruce McCulloch has directed several half hours in the last few seasons. Kevin McDonald and Scott Thompson, too, have never been too far from television screens, popping up in guest spots here and there.


Death Comes To Town follows the ambitious trail blazed by shows like The League of Gentlemen, and fuses the Kids in the Hall's outrageous characters with an ongoing story.  (The poster art and little collectible buttons of various characters they were handing out made that clear.)  In Episode One there's a lot of setup and new people to meet. The series keeps gaining comic momentum through the run -- and the results are, well...


Let's just say that, in the current context where it seems like the most important thing ever is considering your U.S. sale, Mark McKinney's Death character does a couple things in the Pilot seem tailor-made to prove that, um, well, that's not a priority here. (One involves the bible and the other involves a let's say more recreational than Holy use for the Human Soul.)


One of the nice things about launch events like this is the ability,  to witness nice little showbiz synchronicities. I sought refuge right at the front from the too-packed room, and found myself heel to toe with an old friend, Mike Booth, I haven't talked to for awhile. Mike works for His Worship, the Mayor of Toronto, David Miller. David got called up quickly on stage in the introductions and tried to demur to the stars of the night, before saying something quick before the credits rolled.


One of the highlights of Death Comes to Town's first episode is Bruce McCulloch's sleazy Mayor, who comes complete in true Kids fashion with an alcoholic wife and "special" son, and who's maneuvering for the 2028 Olympics results in a form letter and public humiliation from the IOC.


Watching Miller guffaw at the antics of his fictional Shuckton equivalent, (who's the kind of guy who not only takes a bite of your burger, but makes out with your wife in front of you) was sublime, and not only because it showed the reaction of a true fan. Miller recently announced in an emotional press conference that he wouldn't be seeking a third term as Toronto's Mayor. Seems that his relationship with his wife and kids is slightly better than Shuckton's Chief Executive, and he'd like to keep it that way.


Was I reading in when I saw something more in Miller's laughs at his onscreen counterpart? As outlandish as his antics might have been, things like the quixotic Olympic bid had to resonate a little deeper there than with some of the rest of us shlubs packed into the upstairs pool hall. Maybe there, the enjoyment and nostalgia that we all felt was tinged with something entirely more human -- a twinge of -- dare I say it? Relief.


Death Comes to Town premieres tonight at 9pm on CBC Television, and continues Tuesdays at 9pm.

(picture credit: my Iphone.  The Kids in the Hall call Toronto Mayor David Miller to the stage from a beam of strange alien light.  The Rivoli, Jan 11, 2010.)