Open Mike with Mike Bullard
Encyclopedia
Open Mike with Mike Bullard was a Canadian
late-night talk show which was broadcast live from 1997 to 2003 on CTV
and on The Comedy Network
in primetime. It was hosted by comedian Mike Bullard and initially taped at a studio at the back of Wayne Gretzky
's restaurant in Toronto
, Ontario
before CTV moved the show to Toronto's historic Masonic Temple
. Open Mike with Mike Bullard featured two or three panel guests and one musical or comedy performance nightly. The show's bandleader and musical director was Orin Isaacs
. Part of Bullard's comedic style was interacting with audience members during his opening monologue, often deriving humour from finding ways to poke fun at an audience member's expense.
In the summer of 2003, Bullard's contract with CTV expired. He did not like their practice of shutting the show down for summers; he knew that it interrupted his exposure and he did not like to see reruns that were dated. He arranged and signed a multi-year deal to start a new, similar show on Global
called The Mike Bullard Show
. The new show retained many of the people and sketches from Open Mike, but CTV had replaced his show by carrying The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in his old time slot. The Mike Bullard Show was no match for that competition, and his show was cancelled in 2004 after only 13 weeks. Bullard's multi-year contract with Global prevented him from working elsewhere at that time, so he ended up with no exposure at all for a long time.
The show is significant to the history of Canadian Television
as the first successful and long-running Canadian late-night talk show. It was instrumental in exposing new Canadian talent, particularly musicians, to a national audience.
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...
late-night talk show which was broadcast live from 1997 to 2003 on 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...
and 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 primetime. It was hosted by comedian Mike Bullard and initially taped at a studio at the back of Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
's restaurant in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
before CTV moved the show to Toronto's historic Masonic Temple
Masonic Temple (Toronto)
The Masonic Temple, also known as the CTV Temple or the MTV Temple, is a six-storey building on the north-west corner of Davenport Road and Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
. Open Mike with Mike Bullard featured two or three panel guests and one musical or comedy performance nightly. The show's bandleader and musical director was Orin Isaacs
Orin Isaacs
Orin Isaacs is a Canadian bass guitarist, record and television music producer, best known as the bandleader on Mike Bullard's late-night talk shows Open Mike with Mike Bullard and The Mike Bullard Show....
. Part of Bullard's comedic style was interacting with audience members during his opening monologue, often deriving humour from finding ways to poke fun at an audience member's expense.
In the summer of 2003, Bullard's contract with CTV expired. He did not like their practice of shutting the show down for summers; he knew that it interrupted his exposure and he did not like to see reruns that were dated. He arranged and signed a multi-year deal to start a new, similar show on Global
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
called The Mike Bullard Show
The Mike Bullard Show
The Mike Bullard Show was a Canadian late-night talk show which aired weeknights at 12:05 AM on Global from November 24, 2003 to March 11, 2004. The show was hosted by comedian Mike Bullard and taped at the Global Theatre in Toronto, Ontario...
. The new show retained many of the people and sketches from Open Mike, but CTV had replaced his show by carrying The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in his old time slot. The Mike Bullard Show was no match for that competition, and his show was cancelled in 2004 after only 13 weeks. Bullard's multi-year contract with Global prevented him from working elsewhere at that time, so he ended up with no exposure at all for a long time.
The show is significant to the history of Canadian Television
Canadian television
Canadian television may refer to:*Television in Canada - general information about the Canadian television industry*CTV Television Network - a specific Canadian TV network; CTV is sometimes interpreted as "Canadian Television"...
as the first successful and long-running Canadian late-night talk show. It was instrumental in exposing new Canadian talent, particularly musicians, to a national audience.
Segments
- "Open Mike Viewer Of The Week" - Sean Tweedley would make fun of one of the viewers in the audience, but they would be given a digital cameraDigital cameraA digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
as a prize. - "The Canadian Quiz" - The last guests would be asked three questions about Canada at the end of every show. Officially, the guests were supposed to get all three questions right, but they usually ended up winning the prize regardless. As the segment was sponsored by Canadian TireCanadian TireCanadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada's 60 largest publicly traded companies. The firm operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing hardgoods, apparel and petroleum as well as financial and automotive services, employing more than 58,000 people across Canada...
, the prize would usually be one of their exclusive products. - "The Insider" - An entertainment-themed monologue.
- "Who The Hell Do You Think You Are, You Drunken Bastard?" - a game played at a local bar where the name of a celebrity would be taped on the head of each contestant. They would be given three clues from Mike and had to use them to guess who they were.
- "What did you buy at Canadian Tire and why?" - a crew member would visit the Canadian TireCanadian TireCanadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada's 60 largest publicly traded companies. The firm operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing hardgoods, apparel and petroleum as well as financial and automotive services, employing more than 58,000 people across Canada...
across the street from the studio and ask shoppers when they left what they had bought and why.