Bye Bye (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Bye Bye is a Quebecois New Year's Eve
sketch comedy
special broadcast by Radio-Canada
. The yearly program features sketches satirizing the past year's events, followed by a countdown to the next year itself. Originally beginning in 1968, Bye Bye '98 was the final edition of its first run, until the show was revived by the comedy troupe Rock et Belles Oreilles
, who produced the 2006 and 2007 editions of the show. Véronique Cloutier
and Louis Morissette took over production in 2008.
In 2008, RBO passed on producing further editions, and comedians Véronique Cloutier
and Louis Morissette took over for the 2008 edition. The 2008 edition however, provoked controversy over sketches some viewers found racist; such a sketch about the assassination
of then-American
president-elect
Barack Obama
, and a sketch making fun of anglophone
s. The network received 1,300 complaints from viewers about the content in the special, which led to Cloutier making a public apology stating that the sketches were supposed to criticize racism rather than promote it.
As a result of the controversy, a 2009 edition was not produced, but despite the controversy surrounding their edition, Cloutier and Morissette announced that they would return to produce a 2010 edition of Bye Bye.
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
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...
special broadcast by Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...
. The yearly program features sketches satirizing the past year's events, followed by a countdown to the next year itself. Originally beginning in 1968, Bye Bye '98 was the final edition of its first run, until the show was revived by the comedy troupe Rock et Belles Oreilles
Rock et Belles Oreilles
Rock et Belles Oreilles, often referred to as R.B.O., was a Québécois radio and television comedy group that was very popular in the essentially French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec during the 1980s. Its name was a pun on the name of the famous Hanna-Barbera blue dog character Huckleberry...
, who produced the 2006 and 2007 editions of the show. Véronique Cloutier
Véronique Cloutier
Véronique Cloutier is a popular French Canadian TV and Radio personality. She is the daughter of producer Guy Cloutier and the sister of Stéphanie Cloutier. She has hosted various programs on Radio-Canada, including La Fureur, Véro and Paquet Voleur...
and Louis Morissette took over production in 2008.
In 2008, RBO passed on producing further editions, and comedians Véronique Cloutier
Véronique Cloutier
Véronique Cloutier is a popular French Canadian TV and Radio personality. She is the daughter of producer Guy Cloutier and the sister of Stéphanie Cloutier. She has hosted various programs on Radio-Canada, including La Fureur, Véro and Paquet Voleur...
and Louis Morissette took over for the 2008 edition. The 2008 edition however, provoked controversy over sketches some viewers found racist; such a sketch about the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of then-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
president-elect
President-elect of the United States
President-elect of the United States is the title used for an incoming President of the United States in the period between the general election on Election Day in November and noon eastern standard time on Inauguration Day, January 20, during which he is not in office yet...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, and a sketch making fun of anglophone
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
s. The network received 1,300 complaints from viewers about the content in the special, which led to Cloutier making a public apology stating that the sketches were supposed to criticize racism rather than promote it.
As a result of the controversy, a 2009 edition was not produced, but despite the controversy surrounding their edition, Cloutier and Morissette announced that they would return to produce a 2010 edition of Bye Bye.
External links
- Le Bye Bye at the Radio-Canada Web site
- RBO dit oui au Bye Bye 2007 (from Le Soleil, RBO says yes to Bye Bye 2007)
See also
- List of Quebec television series
- Television of QuebecTelevision of QuebecTelevision in Quebec is an essential part of the culture of Quebec, as well as the rest of French Canada. With over 99% of households owning a television in Quebec, it has the power to reach every Quebecer...
- Culture of QuebecCulture of QuebecThe Culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundred years, resulting from the shared history of the French-speaking majority in Quebec. It is unique to the Western World; Quebec is the only region in North America with a French-speaking majority, as well as one of only two provinces in Canada...