Buzz (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Buzz was a Canadian
comedy
television series that aired on The Comedy Network
. The show was hosted by Morgan "Mista Mo" Smith
and Daryn Jones
. The show originally aired in the mid-90's as a community channel show on Rogers Television before finally getting a network deal in 2000. In 2001, the show won a Gemini Award
in the "Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series" category. The 2003 season saw them take the show to New York
, London
, Amsterdam
and Frankfurt
. The show ended for no particular reason in 2005, after six successful seasons.
Originally created in Toronto
, the show found a place on the Comedy Network when The Tom Green Show
left to MTV
. The show uses sketch comedy
, non-sequiturs and guerilla comedy. The two hosts, Daryn Jones, a geeky theatre major, and Mista Mo, an "almost real rapper" http://www.mala.bc.ca/~soules/mTheory/vol3/brown/tv.htm often riff on the racial tensions between them.
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...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
television series that 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 ....
. The show was hosted by Morgan "Mista Mo" Smith
Mista Mo
Mista Mo is the star, writer, music producer, segment and co-executive producer of the Buzz, a sketch comedy television series featuring him and fellow comedian Daryn Jones of YTV & MTV fame. Mo is responsible for coming up with popular segments such as: Nuts 4 Bucks, Jesus Caught on Tape, Buzz...
and Daryn Jones
Daryn Jones
Daryn Jones is a Canadian comedian and television personality. In 2006 he became the host of MTV Canada's flagship series MTV Live, alongside co-hosts Nicole Holness and Paul “The Intern” Lemieux....
. The show originally aired in the mid-90's as a community channel show on Rogers Television before finally getting a network deal in 2000. In 2001, the show won a Gemini Award
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
in the "Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series" category. The 2003 season saw them take the show to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. The show ended for no particular reason in 2005, after six successful seasons.
Originally created 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...
, the show found a place on the Comedy Network when The Tom Green Show
The Tom Green Show
The Tom Green Show is a North American television show that first aired in September 1994 on Rogers Television 22, a community channel in Ottawa, Ontario, until 1996, and was later picked up by The Comedy Network in 1997...
left to MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. The show uses sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
, non-sequiturs and guerilla comedy. The two hosts, Daryn Jones, a geeky theatre major, and Mista Mo, an "almost real rapper" http://www.mala.bc.ca/~soules/mTheory/vol3/brown/tv.htm often riff on the racial tensions between them.
Recurring sketches and characters
- Annual Fat Pride Parade
- Selling Parked Cars
- Break Stuff - end-segment, where either hosts break items (TV's, eggs) or pedestrians battle each other
- The BuzzCops - Daryn and Mo, dressed as policemen, dole out misguided justice to Toronto's citizens.
- The BuzzNews - The Buzz's take on fake news (Daily Show, Weekend UpdateWeekend UpdateWeekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
) - Public-access televisionPublic-access televisionPublic-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
Painter - Daryn parodies PBS painter Bob RossBob RossRobert Norman "Bob" Ross was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He is best known as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, a television program that ran for 12 years on PBS stations in the United States.-Personal life:Ross was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, and...
, with homosexual overtones. - Captain Harassment - Features Daryn's left hand, clad in a rubber glove with a Canadian flag cape, sneaking up behind women, and pinching their asses.
- Country Mo Dee - Music videos of Mista Mo's alter-ego, a country hip-hop sensation.
- Thug Steel - Music videos of Mista Mo's alter-alter-ego, a gospel gangsta rap sensation.
- Fluff E. the Hip-Hop Bunny - Series regular Jean-Paul dresses up as a giant pink bunny, to the glee of young children. But Fluff E. is more interested in their mothers.
- German Dinner Theatre - faux accents, poetry, keyboard and a mustache. Daryn, with Wesley Snipes (Mista Mo) and Big E (Eric Harze), insult the fashions of passers-by.
- Phone Sex Nursery Rhymes - Daryn and Mo dress up in animal costumesFursuitFursuits are animal costumes made from various materials. They range from simple tails and ears to full costumes cooled by battery-powered fans. Fursuits can be worn for personal enjoyment, work or charity....
and make out with each other to nursery rhymes read by a phone sex operator. - Shaboobala - making pedestrians uncomfortable by answering their relationship problems and then asking if he can marry them for a green card.
- Star Talk - usually unsuccessful attempts to speak with/insult celebrities
- Jesus: Caught on Tape - Amateur video of Jesus Christ committing various crimes, e.g. auto theft.
- Forgotten Black Superheroes - low-budget mini-films about black heroes like "Bootyman" and "The Bionic Slave" taking revenge on "crackas"
- "Ya Heard Me" - Mista Mo rants, Rick MercerRick MercerRichard Vincent "Rick" Mercer is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and blogger.Mercer first came to national attention in 1990, when he premiered his one man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in...
-style, about any ridiculous topic that comes to mind. - Time of the Month Awards - end-segment, where Daryn and Mo hand out dubious awards, including "Best Bra in a Supporting Role" and "Best Ass in a Pair of Jeans" to female pedestrians.
- The Petitioners - Daryn and Mo get people to sign bogus petitions to change the names of things. They successfully changed popular hooker hang-out Jarvis St. to "Stan Khoe Ave.", the notoriously gay neighbourhood Church Street to "Lou Sass Blvd." and commended the cafeteria facilities at the Canadian Cancer Society by adding "And Grill" to the name.
- Bag TV - Run up from behind someone and as your passing them bag (action) them and get it on camera for everyone to see.