"Friday Night with Ralph Benmergui" (1992) TV series

User Rating:

1.2/10   

Seasons:

unknown

Release Date:

30 October 1992 (Canada)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Cast

Leonard Cohen	...	Himself (1 episode, 1993)
Gary Jones	...	Himself (1 episode, 1993)

Runtime:

60 min (1992-1993)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Painfully Canadian

In 1992 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation launched a late-night talk show to compete with American imports. They followed the standard format; a band, announcer, sketch comedy, and celebrity interviews. Unfortunately, Canada has few celebrities, the CBC had a small budget, and the host was the uncharismatic and unfunny Ralph Benmergui.

For those for whom "Canadian entertainment" is an oxymoron, this was very, very Canadian entertainment. Benmergui's fawning over minor celebrities, and his cringing unfunny monologues, were painful to watch. Ratings were poor, and dropped each week.

In desperation, the CBC tried changing the band, the announcer, the sets, the interviews, Ralph's haircut; everything except the two things that were broken, the host and the format.

The CBC still needs a good late-night program, but this program was so unpleasant to watch it has probably poisoned the format at the broadcaster so badly they'll never try it again. The program isn't even listed in the CBC archives.