Les Oraliens
Encyclopedia
Les Oraliens was a French language
children's television show made in Québec
from 1968 to 1970; it was the first television program produced by the newly formed Radio-Québec, known today as Télé-Québec
. Its stories revolved around aliens Calinelle (played by Lisette Anfousse) and Picabo (played by Hubert Gagnon
), who both wore matching orange suits which included a mask and a mushroom-shaped headdress. The pair befriended the human Francolin upon arrival on earth. Other characters included the talking bird Couac (a puppet voiced by Gaétane Laniel) and the mechanical dog Millimagino.
The show's foremost purpose was language acquisition, which was conveyed by the way the aliens used their superpowers: in order to magically accomplish difficult or impossible tasks, they would state a sentence to be repeated and then silently mouthed it while children at home were supposed to say it. Les Oraliens, unlike a contemporary children's program with a similar premise, Les 100 tours de Centour, was more about proper pronunciation than sentence construction.
The show's purpose was also conveyed by the recurring bad guy, le Furotte (played by André Cartier), who always mumbled incoherently. There have been a few commentators over the years who have perceived in his speech pattern a parody of rural and working-class Quebec French
, and have criticized the show as an effort to stigmatize some aspects of Québec French.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
children's television show made in Québec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
from 1968 to 1970; it was the first television program produced by the newly formed Radio-Québec, known today as Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec is a French language public educational television network in the Canadian province of Quebec. Known legally as Société de télédiffusion du Québec , it is a provincial crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec...
. Its stories revolved around aliens Calinelle (played by Lisette Anfousse) and Picabo (played by Hubert Gagnon
Hubert Gagnon
Hubert Gagnon is an actor in the Canadian province of Quebec. He is best known as the voice of Homer Simpson in the Quebec version of The Simpsons, the voice of Mel Gibson in many movies, and also the character Picabo on the québécois TV show Les Oraliens. He also dubbed the character Vernon...
), who both wore matching orange suits which included a mask and a mushroom-shaped headdress. The pair befriended the human Francolin upon arrival on earth. Other characters included the talking bird Couac (a puppet voiced by Gaétane Laniel) and the mechanical dog Millimagino.
The show's foremost purpose was language acquisition, which was conveyed by the way the aliens used their superpowers: in order to magically accomplish difficult or impossible tasks, they would state a sentence to be repeated and then silently mouthed it while children at home were supposed to say it. Les Oraliens, unlike a contemporary children's program with a similar premise, Les 100 tours de Centour, was more about proper pronunciation than sentence construction.
The show's purpose was also conveyed by the recurring bad guy, le Furotte (played by André Cartier), who always mumbled incoherently. There have been a few commentators over the years who have perceived in his speech pattern a parody of rural and working-class Quebec French
Quebec French
Quebec French , or Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its formal and informal registers. Quebec French is used in everyday communication, as well as in education, the media, and government....
, and have criticized the show as an effort to stigmatize some aspects of Québec French.