The Red Green Show is a Canadian television comedy series. It aired on various channels in Canada from April 4, 1991 until April 7, 2006. The show was created by Canadian comedians Steve Smith and Rick Green, both of whom also served on its writing staff throughout its run. Smith played the title role of Red Green, a middle-aged handyman who runs a men's club in the fictional Ontario town of Possum Lake. Most segments feature sketch comedy where Red and the other characters directly relate a story to a live studio audience, interspersed with segments featuring Red and a variety of secondary characters. Recurring themes of the comedy include Smith's love of vintage cars and handyman projects, most of which involve duct tape.
During the show's 15 seasons, it aired across six different networks but its longest run was with its final network, CBC Television. The show has also aired in the United States on PBS. The cast of the show also appeared in a feature-length film, Duct Tape Forever, released in 2003. Reruns air on CBC Television, CTV Comedy Channel, various Public Broadcasting Service stations, and on the Red Green Channel on Roku televisions. It was produced by S&S Productions. Following the show's finale in 2006, Smith has done stand-up comedy tours in character as Red Green.
Premise
Red Green is a middle-aged, married handyman and president of the "Possum Lodge", a fictional men's club in the small northwestern Ontario town of Possum Lake. Much of the show centres around Red and the other characters attempting to fix various problems in the area or carry out projects, but their plans almost always lead to comically disastrous results thanks to Red's use of poorly thought-out shortcuts.
The show's basic concept is that of a cable television show taped in front of a live audience at Possum Lodge with multiple segments recorded at other locations. Main story points mostly occur in the lodge in front of the audience, with the primary characters relating most of the episode's events directly. Interstitial cut-scenes provide lessons and demonstrations in repair work, outdoor activities, and advice for men. Red and other characters often break the fourth wall. Some skits regularly interact with the audience, including expected verbal responses from the crowd.
Characters
Red Green The title character of The Red Green Show, Red Green (played by Steve Smith) is the leader of Possum Lodge and a self-proclaimed handyman who is constantly extolling the virtues of duct tape ("the handyman's secret weapon"). He and his wife Bernice have no children, and have been married for 25 years as of the series premiere. He is seldom seen wearing anything other than his distinctive outfit of a flannel shirt, khaki pants, suspenders (coloured red and green as of Season 3), and a Canadian military field manoeuvres cap.
According to his DVD biography, Red became the leader of Possum Lodge after gradually becoming more involved with it over time and becoming "the only guy nobody hated." At one point, he borrowed a large sum of money from his brother, who lost his job at a bank soon afterward. In repayment, Red employed his nephew Harold as the producer and director of The Red Green Show. In addition to being a handyman, Red also has several main philosophies in life, some of which are passed on to the lodge as a whole. Chief among them is the phrase "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (pseudo-Latin for "When all else fails, play dead"). He also concludes each of his Handyman Corner segments with the phrase, "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." Red owns what is known as "the Possum Van", a 1979–1993 Dodge Ram cargo van, painted to resemble an opossum.
Harold Green Harold (Patrick McKenna) is Red's nephew and the fictional producer and director of The Red Green Show. He is a nerd, having a significant overbite, thick glasses, and a number of verbal tics. Harold ostensibly controls the transitions between segments with a large homemade device. He is often appalled by Red and the other lodge members and he puts much effort into trying to change everyone's behaviour, usually with little or no success.
McKenna made only occasional appearances during the ninth season, and none at all during the tenth. The in-show explanation was that Harold had moved to the city to take an accounting job in a large company. When McKenna returned in the eleventh season, Harold quit that job and was hired by the town of Possum Lake to serve as its public relations specialist. At the end of the series, Harold dates and marries Bonnie (Laurie Elliott), a truck driver who shares many of his mannerisms.
Other characters Bill Smith (Rick Green) - Star of the "Adventures with Bill" segments; an enthusiastic but accident-prone dabbler in a wide range of sports and experiences Ranger Gord (Peter Keleghan) - A forest ranger who has lived in his watch tower for 18 years; known for being forgotten by the forest service, and his eccentric and emotional behaviour, resulting from his isolation Dalton Humphrey (Bob Bainborough) - An excessively frugal store owner who is also shown to be heavily controlled by his wife Mike Hamar (Wayne Robson) - A criminal who is on parole, and is known for his kleptomania Edgar K.B. Montrose (Graham Greene) - An explosives expert, often shown using dynamite in creative and dangerous fashions Winston Rothschild III (Jeff Lumby) - The owner of a sewage pumping business, who is very enthusiastic about his work Hap Shaughnessy (Gordon Pinsent) - A water taxi owner, known for telling exaggerated fabrications about his supposed involvement in various historical events Ed Frid (Jerry Schaefer) - An animal control officer who is afraid of most animals Bob Stuyvesant (Bruce Hunter) - A government employee who spends nearly all of his time playing golf Buzz Sherwood (Peter Wildman) - A reckless pilot whose seaplane is in a constant state of disrepair Dougie Franklin (Ian Thomas) - An American expatriate monster truck enthusiast with a terrible driving record Glen Brachston (Mark Wilson) and Dwight Cardiff (George Buza) - Two lazy marina owners, featured at different times on the show, who find ways to get Red to do all their work for them when he visits
Segments The show's structure evolved over time and included several regular segments that appeared in almost every episode, interspersed with the main plot.
Repair and Handyman segments Handyman Corner – Red demonstrates creative and often humorous ways to tackle relatively common tasks, or he builds things out of other everyday items such as turning a car into an exercise workout station. The segment always ends with the popular tagline, "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy". If It Ain't Broke, You're Not Trying! – Members of Possum Lodge bring in broken items for Red to fix, telling bizarre stories of how they became damaged.
Adventures with Bill A black-and-white segment in the form of a silent home movie, accompanied by Red's narration, background music, and sound effects. Bill Smith (Rick Green) attempts to accomplish a relatively straightforward task, try out a sport, or go on some adventure, frequently assisted by Red or Harold and using an assortment of impossibly large objects he pulls out of his overalls. However, the effort invariably degenerates into slapstick comedy as the characters fall victim to a series of outlandish mishaps. When Rick Green left the show from 1999 to 2003, other characters took Bill's place in these segments.
The Possum Lodge Word Game A game which requires one contestant (usually Red) to get another one to say a certain word in 30 seconds by giving them various clues. However, the guesser consistently provides humorously mismatched answers based on their preoccupation with their own work or lifestyle. In nearly all games, the guesser eventually says the correct word by accident or a form of word play, typically winning a comedic prize described at the start of the segment.
North of Forty Red gives out sage advice from behind his fly tying workbench, usually talking to older men about married life or coping with changing society. This segment always concludes with another famous Red Green phrase: "Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together."
Buddy System Two characters (typically Red and one of his friends) give men advice on how to get out of trouble, usually with their wives.
Poetry, songs, biographies During the first six seasons, Red often recited short bits of poetry in the woods. Some of these segments were named after a particular season and included Red's commentary on it, while others were presented as original poems and often included a humorous twist on a well-known saying. During the first eight seasons, Red and Harold would perform a humorous song while sitting by a campfire, with Red singing and playing guitar, and Harold accompanying him on spoons or other instruments and occasionally singing as well. In the ninth and tenth seasons, Red would present a brief biographical sketch of a "famous" Possum Lake resident, with additional comments by other characters.
Male Call and The Experts "Male Call," featured in the first six seasons, involves Harold reading a letter supposedly sent by a viewer; Red provides an answer, frequently misinterpreting the viewer's question. "The Experts" had a similar format and debuted in the third season, running until the end of the series; here, Red and one or more of his friends gave ridiculous advice in response to alleged viewer letters. The host of "The Experts" (usually Harold) introduced the segment by referring to "those three little words men find so hard to say." The words in question were "I don't know," at first said by the host and later shouted by the studio audience.
Character-specific segments Teen Talk: Red or Mike gives advice to teenage viewers about growing up. Brief commercials for Winston Rothschild III's Sewage and Septic Sucking Services. Talking Animals: At Red's urging, Ed reluctantly talks about a small animal he has brought in, only for it to break loose and attack him. Ranger Gord's Educational Films: Animated segments, ostensibly created by Ranger Gord himself, offering advice on wilderness safety to anthropomorphic animal versions of Red and Harold. These segments were animated by Bryce Hallett of Frog Feet Productions,Animation Unleashed: 100 Principles Every Animator, Comic Book Writer, Filmmaker, Video Artist, and Game Developer Should Know, by Ellen Besen, 2008 Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City, CA , p225 with Keleghan providing the voices of all characters.
Conclusion and credits Episodes typically end with Red giving a message to his wife Bernice, usually a double entendre, followed by his signature piece of life advice in the form of a hockey metaphor: "Keep your stick on the ice." Beginning with the second season, the end of each episode also incorporates a meeting of the Possum Lodge members in the basement, opened by a sound effect of a squealing opossum and a recitation of the Lodge motto: "Quando omni flunkus moritati", mock Latin for "When all else fails, play dead". This is frequently followed by a reading of general announcements and/or a recitation of the Man's Prayer: "I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess." During the second season, the meeting begins before the closing credits and continues under them; in all subsequent seasons, the meeting only runs under the credits.