The Altar Boy Gang was a satirical half hour comedy developed for 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...

. Although two episodes were shot and four more were commissioned to be written, the show was not picked up as a regular series.

The two pilot

Television pilot

A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...

 episodes of this series written by Norm Hiscock

Norm Hiscock

Norm Hiscock is an Emmy Award winning screenwriter and producer. He is known for his work on Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, The Kids in the Hall, Corner Gas and most recently Parks and Recreation...

 aired on CBC in 2007. The show drew much angry response from Catholic groups who felt its portrayal of altar boys as drug dealing hooligans was offensive. Also the depiction of a Catholic priest who inadvertently ingests LSD

LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

 was seen as disrespectful. Others enjoyed the shows and saw them merely as character studies of less-than-perfect people finding their way in the world.

Kelly Makin

Kelly Makin

Kelly Makin is a Canadian television and movie director. He directed some episodes of The Kids in the Hall comedy television series and also directed several episodes of Queer as Folk including that series' last episode...

, the director of the two pilot episodes, and David Makin, the director of photography, worked with Norm on the television show The Kids in the Hall

The Kids in the Hall

The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...

. Andy Jones

Andy Jones (comedian)

Andrew Jordan Jones is a Canadian comedian, and a former member of CODCO.Andy Jones was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador...

 (CODCO

CODCO

CODCO was a Canadian comedy troupe from Newfoundland, best known for a sketch comedy series which aired on CBC Television from 1987 to 1992....

), who played the role of Father Sand, also wrote with Norm on the last season of The Kids in the Hall. Dan Redican

Dan Redican

Dan Redican is a Canadian comedy writer and performer and puppeteer, best known for his work with the comedy troupe, The Frantics. As a founding member of the troupe he has worked since 1979 on numerous stage shows, the Frantic Times radio show, Four on the Floor TV show...

 (The Frantics) was the story editor.

The song "Soldiers of Christ" by the Canadian band Blood Meridian

Blood Meridian (band)

Blood Meridian is a Canadian alternative country band from Vancouver, British Columbia. The band consists of singer and songwriter Matt Camirand, guitarist Jeff Lee, keyboardist Shira Blustein, bassist Kevin Grant and drummer Joshua Wells...

was the title music for the show.