Double Exposure (comedy series)
Encyclopedia
Double Exposure was a Canadian
radio
and television
comedy series which mocked contemporary Canadian politics. The show starred Linda Cullen
and Bob Robertson, and focused primarily on the stars' voice impersonations of Canadian political and cultural figures. In addition CBC sound technician Bob Sharples provided the introductions and conclusions to Double Exposure shows and provided narraration for many Double Exposure skits.
It played on CBC Radio (now known as CBC Radio One
) at 11:33 a.m. on Saturday mornings, and on CBC Stereo (now known as CBC Radio 2) Saturday evenings at 6:32 p.m. (one half-hour later in Newfoundland
). Unlike many previous CBC radio comedies, such as The Royal Canadian Air Farce or Frantic Times
, the show would be recorded wholly in a studio without a live audience. The duo made the jump to television with an initial satirical special in 1994, and became a television series in 1997.
. It satirized contemporary Canadian politicians such as Brian Mulroney
, Joe Clark
, Preston Manning
, Barbara McDougall
, Bill Vander Zalm
and others, as well as international figures such as Margaret Thatcher
. Robertson specialized in such impersonations as Bill Clinton
, Ross Perot
, John Major
, and Queen Elizabeth
, and Cullen could do imitations of Sandie Rinaldo
, Princess Diana, Julia Child
and Sister Wendy
, among others.
Typical sketches on the radio show would include over-the-top impersonations of Brian Tobin
rescuing frozen turbot
from the dinner plate, or Preston Manning "ee-lim-inating" everything possible. Broadcaster Adrienne Clarkson
was mocked by a dead-on parody of her precise diction and haughty demeanor with the recurring catchphrase "I'm Adrienne Clarkson, and you're not", derived from Chevy Chase's early Saturday Night Live
refrain. (Clarkson subsequently became Governor General of Canada
near the end of Double Exposure' s television run.)
In 1994 the show was named the best weekly network program on CBC Radio and Stereo. They also occasionally did special radio shows targeting specific Canadian political events, such as the 2000 Canadian federal election
. They also won an ACTRA Award
for best comedy, and were the highest-rated radio comedy program of the time.
to the rival CTV
until 2000. On radio, the show consisted of comedic sketches and monologues; on its CBC television specials, their voice impersonations were often set to actual film clips of the politicians being satirized. The weekly series on CTV featured the pair in live sketches as well.
In 2002, Cullen and Robertson joined with other comedians in the new satirical comedy series Point Blank, which aired on The Comedy Network
. In November 2004, Cullen and Robertson were inducted into the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame.
On December 16, 2005, the Double Exposure team appeared on Lorne Elliott
's show Madly Off in All Directions
on CBC Radio One. This was their first appearance on CBC Radio in five years.
In 2008, Cullen and Robertson launched Gross National Product, a website which features satirical Flash animations.
In May 2009, they started blogging and podcasting.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
comedy series which mocked contemporary Canadian politics. The show starred Linda Cullen
Linda Cullen
Linda Cullen is a Canadian actress, television producer and writer. She has appeared in the comedy series Double Exposure in which she portrayed various characters as well as former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell...
and Bob Robertson, and focused primarily on the stars' voice impersonations of Canadian political and cultural figures. In addition CBC sound technician Bob Sharples provided the introductions and conclusions to Double Exposure shows and provided narraration for many Double Exposure skits.
It played on CBC Radio (now known as CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
) at 11:33 a.m. on Saturday mornings, and on CBC Stereo (now known as CBC Radio 2) Saturday evenings at 6:32 p.m. (one half-hour later in Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
). Unlike many previous CBC radio comedies, such as The Royal Canadian Air Farce or Frantic Times
Frantics (comedy)
The Frantics is a Canadian comedy troupe consisting of Paul Chato, Rick Green, Dan Redican and Peter Wildman.The group formed in 1979. In 1981, they were given a weekly radio slot on the CBC Radio show Variety Tonight, then hosted by Vicki Gabereau. In the summer of 1982 they were the summer...
, the show would be recorded wholly in a studio without a live audience. The duo made the jump to television with an initial satirical special in 1994, and became a television series in 1997.
Radio show
The radio version of the show ran from 1986 to 1997 on CBC RadioCBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
. It satirized contemporary Canadian politicians such as Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
, Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
, Preston Manning
Preston Manning
Ernest Preston Manning, CC is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance...
, Barbara McDougall
Barbara McDougall
Barbara Jean McDougall, PC, OC, is a former Canadian politician. McDougall received a B.A. from the University of Toronto in political science and economics, in 1963.In 2000, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada....
, Bill Vander Zalm
Bill Vander Zalm
Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie "Bill" Vander Zalm is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th Premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991.-Early life:...
and others, as well as international figures such as Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. Robertson specialized in such impersonations as Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
, John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, and Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, and Cullen could do imitations of Sandie Rinaldo
Sandie Rinaldo
Sandie Rinaldo is a Canadian television journalist and anchor for CTV News.-Youth and education:...
, Princess Diana, Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
and Sister Wendy
Wendy Beckett
Sister Wendy Beckett is a South African-born British art expert, consecrated virgin and contemplative hermit who became a celebrity during the 1990s, presenting a series of acclaimed art history documentaries for the BBC.-Biography:...
, among others.
Typical sketches on the radio show would include over-the-top impersonations of Brian Tobin
Brian Tobin
Brian Vincent Tobin, PC is a Canadian businessman and former politician. Tobin served as the sixth Premier of Newfoundland from 1996 to 2000. Tobin was also a prominent Member of Parliament and served as a Cabinet Minister in Jean Chrétien's Liberal government.- Early life, education, and family...
rescuing frozen turbot
Turbot
The turbot is a species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae. It is native to marine or brackish waters of the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.-Etymology:...
from the dinner plate, or Preston Manning "ee-lim-inating" everything possible. Broadcaster Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Louise Clarkson is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation....
was mocked by a dead-on parody of her precise diction and haughty demeanor with the recurring catchphrase "I'm Adrienne Clarkson, and you're not", derived from Chevy Chase's early Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
refrain. (Clarkson subsequently became Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
near the end of Double Exposure
In 1994 the show was named the best weekly network program on CBC Radio and Stereo. They also occasionally did special radio shows targeting specific Canadian political events, such as the 2000 Canadian federal election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
. They also won an ACTRA Award
ACTRA Award
The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television, film and radio industry. Organized and presented by ACTRA, the Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists, which represented performers, writers and broadcast journalists, the Nellie statuettes...
for best comedy, and were the highest-rated radio comedy program of the time.
Television show
The duo did New Year's Eve television specials for several years beginning in 1994. In 1997, Double Exposure moved permanently to television, moving from CBC TelevisionCBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
to the rival CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
until 2000. On radio, the show consisted of comedic sketches and monologues; on its CBC television specials, their voice impersonations were often set to actual film clips of the politicians being satirized. The weekly series on CTV featured the pair in live sketches as well.
Other projects
In 2000, Double Exposure returned to CBC for a rare special radio program on the evening of the federal election.In 2002, Cullen and Robertson joined with other comedians in the new satirical comedy series Point Blank, which aired on The Comedy Network
The Comedy Network
The Comedy Network a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media specializing in comedy programming.The channel operates two time shifted feeds, East and West ....
. In November 2004, Cullen and Robertson were inducted into the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame.
On December 16, 2005, the Double Exposure team appeared on Lorne Elliott
Lorne Elliott
Lorne Elliott is a Canadian comedian, musician, and award-winning playwright.Elliott first began performing in 1974, as a folk musician, under his full name of Chris Lorne Elliott; he later truncated his name so as to avoid being confused with Chris Elliott. He soon teamed up with Kevin Blackmore...
's show Madly Off in All Directions
Madly Off in All Directions
Madly Off in All Directions was a Canadian radio comedy show that aired for several years on CBC Radio One, featuring comedian Lorne Elliott. It formerly aired Sunday afternoons at 1PM , as well as on Saturday evenings on 6:30PM with repeats on Friday mornings at 11 AM...
on CBC Radio One. This was their first appearance on CBC Radio in five years.
In 2008, Cullen and Robertson launched Gross National Product, a website which features satirical Flash animations.
In May 2009, they started blogging and podcasting.
Discography
|
The Best of Double Exposure: The Eighties - Part One | (1994) |
|
More of the Best of Double Exposure | (1996) |
|
Live at the Lamplighter CD: An Evening of Comedy with Double Exposure | (2005) |
External links
- Official site
- Official podcast site, featuring new content