[can.general] The Frantics

kgdykes@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ken Dykes) (02/22/90)

The following is a request from a friend in USofA... while I have "heard of"
The Frantics, I have to admit to knowing nothing.  Can anyone out there shed
some light on me so I may answer him?  Thankx!!
   -ken

>You wouldn't happen to know (and if you don't know, can you find out) if
>recordings by a Canadian comedy group called The Frantics are still available?
>I'm primarily looking for a couple of routines I refer to as "The Reading Of
>The Will / Boot To The Head" and "Tae Kwon Leap / Boot To The Head" -- I don't
>know what the "real" titles of the bits are.

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psmielke@dahlia.waterloo.edu (Peter Mielke) (02/22/90)

kgdykes@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ken Dykes) writes:
> >You wouldn't happen to know (and if you don't know, can you find out) if
> >recordings by a Canadian comedy group called The Frantics are still available
> >I'm primarily looking for a couple of routines I refer to as "The Reading Of
> >The Will / Boot To The Head" and "Tae Kwon Leap / Boot To The Head"-- I don't
> >know what the "real" titles of the bits are.

The sketches come from the album "Boot to the Head" which as far as i
know is still available.
Peter Mielke                                       psmielke@dahlia.waterloo.edu
"Kannst' Schwaebisch schwetze?"

darcy@druid.uucp (D'Arcy J.M. Cain) (02/22/90)

In article <34504@watmath.waterloo.edu> kgdykes@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ken Dykes) writes:
>
>The following is a request from a friend in USofA... while I have "heard of"
>The Frantics, I have to admit to knowing nothing.  Can anyone out there shed
>some light on me so I may answer him?  Thankx!!
>   -ken
>
>>You wouldn't happen to know (and if you don't know, can you find out) if
>>recordings by a Canadian comedy group called The Frantics are still available?
>>I'm primarily looking for a couple of routines I refer to as "The Reading Of
>>The Will / Boot To The Head" and "Tae Kwon Leap / Boot To The Head" -- I don't
>>know what the "real" titles of the bits are.
>
The Frantics were a comedy troupe consisting of four guys.  They had a TV
show on CBC for a while.  Paul Chatto (sp?), one of the members, was a
member of Canada Remote Systems at one time.  Don't know if he is still
there.  He is also head of the CBC comedy department or something.  CBC
is probably the best place to get information on them.


-- 
D'Arcy J.M. Cain (darcy@druid)     |   Thank goodness we don't get all 
D'Arcy Cain Consulting             |   the government we pay for.
West Hill, Ontario, Canada         |
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djohnson@watserv1.waterloo.edu ( DOUG JOHNSON - GEOGRAPHY ) (02/23/90)

In article <34504@watmath.waterloo.edu> kgdykes@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ken Dykes) writes:
>
>The following is a request from a friend in USofA... while I have "heard of"
>The Frantics, I have to admit to knowing nothing.  Can anyone out there shed
>some light on me so I may answer him?  Thankx!!
>   -ken
>

As far as I know, the Frantics are no more :-(. Paul Chatto does
Chiclets ads and is in the comedy department at CBC. Dan Redican
is (was?) the neighbour on the 'comedy' Mosquito Lake. Rick Green
was doing promos for TV Ontario  the other night: I've heard he
has a show on TVO called 'Commander Rick'. Worst off is Peter
Wildman, who is now doing every commercial he can.

Too bad - their humour was better than Double Exposure, even
better than Air Farce. Rick and Peter had a relatively recent
revival on CBC-radio with their exploits of raising kids in
suburbia (and, before that, a revised history of the world).

They released an album which, I believe, was available from CBC
enterprises (if its still around). Their TV programme was a
disappointmnet, excepting perhaps the 'Heavy Metal Shop' video.

Signed, 

Mr. Interesting and avid Frantics fan and viewer (UW, Mac, CBC
Studios).

steve@utzoo.uucp (Stephen Smith) (02/24/90)

In article <1194@watserv1.waterloo.edu> djohnson@watserv1.waterloo.edu (Doug
Johnson) writes:

>In article <34504@watmath.waterloo.edu> kgdykes@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ken Dykes) writes:

>>The following is a request from a friend in USofA... while I have "heard of"
>>The Frantics, I have to admit to knowing nothing.  Can anyone out there shed
>>some light on me so I may answer him?  Thankx!!
>>   -ken

>As far as I know, the Frantics are no more :-(...
>Rick Green was doing promos for TV Ontario  the other night: I've heard he
>has a show on TVO called 'Commander Rick'...

The show is "Prisoners of Gravity" and has Commander Rick (aka Rick Green)
as the sole occupant of some earth-orbiting bootleg television broadcast
station. Rick's "illegal" broadcasts invade TV Ontario's signal at irregular
intervals (at least I haven't yet figured the pattern). Subject matter is
sort of a visual fanzine for the state of the art for movies/literature
in Comics/Science-fiction/Fantasy. Should your recreational proclivities
run in such direction(s), it is definitely worth a look-see (if you can
discover when it's going to be on, that is).
---
-- 
+==========================================================================+
+     Stephen Smith || uunet!attcan!utzoo!steve  steve@zoo.utoronto.ca     +
+==========================================================================+

don@tse.uucp (Don Marks) (02/24/90)

In article <34504@watmath.waterloo.edu> kgdykes@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ken Dykes) writes:
>
>The following is a request from a friend in USofA... while I have "heard of"
>The Frantics, I have to admit to knowing nothing.  Can anyone out there shed
>some light on me so I may answer him?  Thankx!!
>   -ken
>
The Frantics had a radio show on CBC radio for many years, followed by a short
lived TV series. CBC put out one album "FRANTIC TIMES" which contains "Last
Will & Temperment", the first Boot To The Head sketch. I believe this album is
out of print (I found mine in a used record store), but I don't know for sure.
Check with CBC Enterprises. Their second album "BOOT TO THE HEAD" was out on
Attic records and contains "Tae Kwan Leap" (The second Boot To The Head sketch)
and a "Boot To The Head" song. I believe the album is still available. Very
funny stuff, indeed.

Don Marks
"Mr. Canoehead. Canada's only aluminum crimefighter!"

miller@ria.ccs.uwo.ca (J G Miller) (02/24/90)

In article <1990Feb23.181622.14277@utzoo.uucp> steve@utzoo.uucp
(Stephen Smith) writes:
>The show is "Prisoners of Gravity" and has Commander Rick (aka Rick Green)
>as the sole occupant of some earth-orbiting bootleg television broadcast
>station. Rick's "illegal" broadcasts invade TV Ontario's signal at irregular
>intervals (at least I haven't yet figured the pattern).

Monday nights at 19:30h (?) and repeated at 23:00h.

-- 
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InterNet: <a4346@uwocc1.uwo.CA>          University of Western Ontario    
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brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton) (02/24/90)

 I don't know if I would call Prisoners of Gravity worth a look see.
 The subject material is interesting and unusual, but the presentation
 is stupid.  Constant interruption by pointless video effects, stupid
 camerawork on guests, annoying background sound effects.

 I have it from a reliable source (a relative who worked on the show) that
 everybody on the show, including Rick, thinks this is stupid, but the
 producer/director is on drugs.
-- 
Brad Templeton, ClariNet Communications Corp. -- Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473

keithh@atreus.uucp (Keith Hanlan) (02/26/90)

In article <34504@watmath.waterloo.edu> kgdykes@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ken Dykes) writes:
-
-The following is a request from a friend in USofA... while I have "heard of"
-The Frantics, I have to admit to knowing nothing.  Can anyone out there shed
-some light on me so I may answer him?  Thankx!!
-   -ken
-
->You wouldn't happen to know (and if you don't know, can you find out) if
->recordings by a Canadian comedy group called The Frantics are still available?
->I'm primarily looking for a couple of routines I refer to as "The Reading Of
->The Will / Boot To The Head" and "Tae Kwon Leap / Boot To The Head" -- I don't
->know what the "real" titles of the bits are.

You can find the Frantic's "Boot to the Head" album on ATTIC LAT-1232. It
is current.

Good stuff that.

Keith Hanlan
Bell-Northern Research, Ottawa, Canada 613-765-4645
uunet!bnrgate!atreus!keithh or (via bitnet) keithh@bnr.ca
"You're making me feel wierd Adrian" Jack Carney to Adrian LeDuc, Apartment Zero