Friday Night with Ralph Benmergui
Encyclopedia
Friday Night! with Ralph Benmergui was a Canadian
television
variety show
, which aired on CBC Television
from 1992 to 1993. In its first season, the show aired at 10 p.m., following Prime Time News
. In its second season, it aired at 11 p.m.
The show debuted October 30, 1992, and was hosted by Ralph Benmergui
, formerly of Midday
. The house band (called simply "The House") provided the music; they were replaced in the second season by Look People, led by Jaymz Bee
. It was one hour long and had an American late-night talk show format: an opening monologue by Benmergui followed by comedy sketches, guest interviews, and musical performances. Notable guests on the show included Céline Dion
, Leonard Cohen
and hockey legend Don Cherry.
The show was a ratings failure from the beginning, capturing only one-third of the audience that the CBC had in its timeslot the previous year. The critics were not impressed, either; one segment featured real TV scribes reviewing the program, mostly unfavourably, while it was still in progress.
The show was nonetheless renewed for a second season, but moved back an hour. The first episode of the 1993-94 season aired right after the Toronto Blue Jays
won the World Series
and the Liberal
victory in the 1993 Canadian federal election: the opening bit showed Joe Carter
's series-clinching home run flying into the stands and hitting outgoing Prime Minister Kim Campbell
in the head. "Jays won...Tories lost...cool!" said Benmergui.
But audiences continued to decline, and Friday Night! was cancelled mid-season, its final show airing on New Year's Eve, 1993. The show's failure has been attributed Benmergui's hosting style, its poor writing, its inability to attract high-calibre guests, and to the overall failure of the network's radically revamped prime time schedule in the years Friday Night! was on the air.
Benmergui subsequently moved to CBC Newsworld
, hosting the afternoon talk show Benmergui Live
. The CBC subsequently developed another variety series, Rita and Friends
, which began airing in the fall of 1994.
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...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
, which aired on CBC Television
CBC 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...
from 1992 to 1993. In its first season, the show aired at 10 p.m., following Prime Time News
Prime Time News
thumb|Title screen used from 1992 to 1994. A different opening used for the 1994-95 season was essentially identical to the open used by The National from 1995-97...
. In its second season, it aired at 11 p.m.
The show debuted October 30, 1992, and was hosted by Ralph Benmergui
Ralph Benmergui
Raphael Benmergui is a Canadian television and radio personality and political advisor. Most recently a morning host on JAZZ.FM91, he left the station on November 26, 2010, and currently holds the position of director of communications for Glen Murray, Minister of Research and Innovation.Born in...
, formerly of Midday
Midday (CBC)
Midday was a television newsmagazine series on CBC Television, which ran from January 1985 to 2000, replacing local noon-hour newscasts on CBC stations. The show, which aired from noon to 1 p.m...
. The house band (called simply "The House") provided the music; they were replaced in the second season by Look People, led by Jaymz Bee
Jaymz Bee
Jaymz Bee is a Canadian musician, writer and radio personality.-Personal life:Jaymz was born and raised in North Bay, Ontario. He is a graduate of Inglenook Community High School.-Early career:...
. It was one hour long and had an American late-night talk show format: an opening monologue by Benmergui followed by comedy sketches, guest interviews, and musical performances. Notable guests on the show included Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
and hockey legend Don Cherry.
The show was a ratings failure from the beginning, capturing only one-third of the audience that the CBC had in its timeslot the previous year. The critics were not impressed, either; one segment featured real TV scribes reviewing the program, mostly unfavourably, while it was still in progress.
The show was nonetheless renewed for a second season, but moved back an hour. The first episode of the 1993-94 season aired right after the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
won the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
and the Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
victory in the 1993 Canadian federal election: the opening bit showed Joe Carter
Joe Carter
Joseph Christopher Carter is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from to . Carter is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays....
's series-clinching home run flying into the stands and hitting outgoing Prime Minister Kim Campbell
Kim Campbell
Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993...
in the head. "Jays won...Tories lost...cool!" said Benmergui.
But audiences continued to decline, and Friday Night! was cancelled mid-season, its final show airing on New Year's Eve, 1993. The show's failure has been attributed Benmergui's hosting style, its poor writing, its inability to attract high-calibre guests, and to the overall failure of the network's radically revamped prime time schedule in the years Friday Night! was on the air.
Benmergui subsequently moved to CBC Newsworld
CBC Newsworld
CBC News Network is a Canadian English language Category C specialty news channel owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. It is the world's third-oldest television service of this nature, after CNN in the United States and...
, hosting the afternoon talk show Benmergui Live
Benmergui Live
Benmergui Live was a Canadian television talk show, which aired daily on CBC Newsworld in the 1990s.Hosted by Ralph Benmergui, the series featured celebrity guests and studio audience participants discussing a political or social issue. The series was filmed live in the atrium of the Canadian...
. The CBC subsequently developed another variety series, Rita and Friends
Rita and Friends
Rita and Friends is a Canadian television variety show, which aired on CBC Television from 1994 to 1997. The show was hosted by Canadian country/folk singer Rita MacNeil...
, which began airing in the fall of 1994.