Twitch City
Encyclopedia
Twitch City is a Canadian
sitcom produced by CBC Television
. The series aired as two short runs in 1998 and 2000. The series also aired in the United States
on Bravo, and in Australia
.
The show's surreal humour
was popular with critics. One Australia
n television critic actually called it the best television show ever made. The show was never a mainstream ratings success in Canada, although it had an extremely devoted cult following.
The show was directed by Bruce McDonald and produced by Shadow Shows and Accent Entertainment in association with the CBC
. Music composed by Bob Wiseman
.
, Ontario
neighbourhood of Kensington Market
, the series is about Curtis (Don McKellar
), a television
addict
who refuses to leave his apartment, and his friends Nathan (Daniel MacIvor
), Hope (Molly Parker
), and Newbie (Callum Keith Rennie
). McKellar was also one of the show's creators.
In the first episode, Nathan is sent to prison for killing a homeless man with a can of cat food. The homeless man was played by Al Waxman
, who had been the star of the 1970s sitcom King of Kensington
, although the producers claimed that they did not intend for the homeless man to be seen as the same character.
Throughout the series, Curtis and Hope's ongoing attempts to find a new roommate provide one of the show's major plot threads. In one episode, Curtis rents Nathan's room to a mysterious businessman who uses it to store drugged
cookies, while in another, Hope unwittingly rents it to two Neo-Nazis she mistakes for a gay
couple. That episode includes a Nazi rally which features all four members of the rock band Sloan
among the extras. At the end of the episode, the two Nazi roommates renounce Nazism and promptly kiss each other, vindicating Hope's judgement.
Bruce McCulloch
and Mark McKinney
(both from The Kids in the Hall
) also starred in the series as Rex Reilly, the Jerry Springer
-like host of Curtis' favourite TV talk show
. McCulloch played Reilly in the first season, and McKinney played him in the second. The change in Reilly's appearance is explained in his autobiography, Tyrannosaurus Rex, which refers to his "on-air cranium transplant."
Guest stars on the series included Jennifer Jason Leigh
, Tom McCamus
, Valerie Buhagiar
, Charmion King
, Kenneth Welsh
, Hugh Dillon
, Kim Mitchell
, Stefan Brogren
, John L'Ecuyer
and Joyce DeWitt
. DeWitt plays herself as a guest on The Rex Reilly Show, meeting lookalikes in an episode devoted to the theme "I Look Like Joyce DeWitt". (Reilly, at one point, asks DeWitt about the enduring popularity of Three's Company
, to which she responds, "It's the writing.")
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...
sitcom produced by 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...
. The series aired as two short runs in 1998 and 2000. The series also aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Bravo, and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The show's surreal humour
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
was popular with critics. One Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n television critic actually called it the best television show ever made. The show was never a mainstream ratings success in Canada, although it had an extremely devoted cult following.
The show was directed by Bruce McDonald and produced by Shadow Shows and Accent Entertainment in association with the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. Music composed by Bob Wiseman
Bob Wiseman
Bob Wiseman is a Juno winning Canadian musician, filmmaker, singer-songwriter, and actor. Wiseman was an original member of Blue Rodeo.-Career:Wiseman was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He studied piano at York University...
.
Plot
Set in the TorontoToronto
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....
neighbourhood of Kensington Market
Kensington Market
Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Robert Fulford wrote in 1999 that "Kensington...
, the series is about Curtis (Don McKellar
Don McKellar
-Personal life:McKellar was born in Toronto, Ontario to a lawyer father and teacher mother. He attended Glenview Senior Public School, Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute and later studied English at the University of Toronto's Victoria College...
), a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
addict
Behavioral addiction
Behavioral addiction is a form of addiction which does not rely on drugs or alcohol. Increasingly referred to as process addiction or non-substance-related addiction ) behavioral addiction includes a compulsion to repeatedly engage in an action until said action causes serious negative consequences...
who refuses to leave his apartment, and his friends Nathan (Daniel MacIvor
Daniel MacIvor
Daniel MacIvor is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director and film director. He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia and educated at Dalhousie University in Halifax, and then at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario....
), Hope (Molly Parker
Molly Parker
Molly Parker is a Canadian actress, notable for her roles in Canadian and American independent films and the HBO television series Deadwood.Parker won a Genie Award in 1997 as Best Actress in a Leading Role for Kissed...
), and Newbie (Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie is a British-born Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
). McKellar was also one of the show's creators.
In the first episode, Nathan is sent to prison for killing a homeless man with a can of cat food. The homeless man was played by Al Waxman
Al Waxman
Albert Samuel Waxman, CM, O.Ont was a Canadian actor and director of over 1000 productions on radio, television, film, and stage...
, who had been the star of the 1970s sitcom King of Kensington
King of Kensington
King of Kensington was a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.The show starred Al Waxman as Larry King, a convenience store owner in Toronto's Kensington Market who was known for helping friends and neighbours solve problems. His multicultural group of friends...
, although the producers claimed that they did not intend for the homeless man to be seen as the same character.
Throughout the series, Curtis and Hope's ongoing attempts to find a new roommate provide one of the show's major plot threads. In one episode, Curtis rents Nathan's room to a mysterious businessman who uses it to store drugged
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
cookies, while in another, Hope unwittingly rents it to two Neo-Nazis she mistakes for a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
couple. That episode includes a Nazi rally which features all four members of the rock band Sloan
Sloan (band)
Sloan is a Toronto-based alternative rock quartet from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Throughout their 20-year tenure Sloan has released 10 LPs , two EPs, a live album, a "best of" collection and no less than thirty singles...
among the extras. At the end of the episode, the two Nazi roommates renounce Nazism and promptly kiss each other, vindicating Hope's judgement.
Bruce McCulloch
Bruce McCulloch
Bruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director. McCulloch is best known for his work as a member of The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe, and as a writer for Saturday Night Live. McCulloch has also appeared on series such as Twitch City and Gilmore...
and Mark McKinney
Mark McKinney
Mark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
(both from 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...
) also starred in the series as Rex Reilly, the Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
-like host of Curtis' favourite TV talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
. McCulloch played Reilly in the first season, and McKinney played him in the second. The change in Reilly's appearance is explained in his autobiography, Tyrannosaurus Rex, which refers to his "on-air cranium transplant."
Guest stars on the series included Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
, Tom McCamus
Tom McCamus
Tom McCamus is an award-winning Canadian film and theatre actor who is most widely known for his work on the science-fiction television show Mutant X....
, Valerie Buhagiar
Valerie Buhagiar
Valerie Buhagiar is a Maltese born Canadian actress, film director and television host.She studied acting at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario, graduating in 1986...
, Charmion King
Charmion King
Charmion King was one of Canada's leading actresses.Born in Toronto, Ontario, she was part of the country's burgeoning theatre and television scene in the decade of the 1950s...
, Kenneth Welsh
Kenneth Welsh
Kenneth Welsh, CM is a Canadian film and television actor . He is known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and has more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his...
, Hugh Dillon
Hugh Dillon
Hugh Dillon is a Canadian musician and actor.-Music career:Dillon was the lead singer for the Kingston hard rock band The Headstones from 1987 until 2003...
, Kim Mitchell
Kim Mitchell
Joseph Kim Mitchell is a Canadian guitarist. He was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before going on to lead a solo career. He is currently a radio show host for CILQ-FM in Toronto....
, Stefan Brogren
Stefan Brogren
Stefan Brogren is a Canadian actor and director. He is best known as Archibald "Archie"/"Snake” Simpson in the Degrassi franchise of television shows.-Career:...
, John L'Ecuyer
John L'Ecuyer
John L'Ecuyer is a Canadian film and television director. He is the younger brother of Gerald L'Ecuyer, a noted Canadian film and television director. L'Ecuyer studied at Ryerson University in Toronto, where his classmates included screenwriter Brad Abraham.His first feature, Curtis's Charm , was...
and Joyce DeWitt
Joyce DeWitt
Joyce Anne DeWitt is an American actress most famous for playing Janet Wood on the ABC sitcom Three's Company.-Early life:...
. DeWitt plays herself as a guest on The Rex Reilly Show, meeting lookalikes in an episode devoted to the theme "I Look Like Joyce DeWitt". (Reilly, at one point, asks DeWitt about the enduring popularity of Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
, to which she responds, "It's the writing.")
Season One
| Episode Number | Title | | Original airdate | | Production code |
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Season Two
| Episode Number | Title | | Original airdate | | Production code |
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