Conan vs. Canada

[Timber Loftis]

Seems Triumph the Insult Comic Dog started a tempest in a teapot last week during Conan O'Brien's hiatus in Toronto.

While the audience and most regular Canadians interviewed thought the bit was funny, several politicians proved that even normally down-to-earth Canucks are capable of inserting sticks up their asses. Read on.

February 16, 2004
An Insolent Puppet Roils Canadian Politics
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

ORONTO, Feb. 15 — Conan O'Brien came to Toronto last week, and he nearly started a civil war. Just kidding, sort of.

On a taped segment on Thursday night's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" on NBC, the puppet Triumph the Insult Comic Dog visited the Winter Carnival in Quebec City and touched the third rail of Canadian politics by telling the Québécois they ought to learn English since they live in North America.

"So you're French and Canadian, yes?" Triumph asked a passer-by in a Continental accent. "You're obnoxious and dull."

If that were not enough teasing along the delicate cultural divide between Francophone and Anglophone Canadians, the puppet told another: "I can tell you're French, you know. You have that proud expression, that superior look."

And of a third, rather plump, man the puppet asked: "Are you a separatist? Maybe you should try separating yourself from doughnuts first."

Worst of all, perhaps, the Toronto audience laughed heartily.

Such dialogue was hardly what Toronto's tourism authorities had in mind when they invited Mr. O'Brien to bring his show here — along with Canadian comic stars like Jim Carrey and Mike Myers — to boost American interest in a city that is still hurting from last year's SARS epidemic.

The four-night production did fill an estimated 700 hotel rooms, and gave some part-time work to scores of stagehands who have had a lot less work in recent months because of SARS and a rising Canadian dollar.

But the seemingly harmless if crass remarks of a puppet created a blaze of protests on the floor of the House of Commons and became fodder for national politicians seeking to win Québécois votes. Canada is in the midst of the biggest political scandal in more than a generation, but the foul-mouthed puppet was still front-page news and heavily covered on national television.

"We can all make jokes about each other but you don't start telling people in Quebec they have to speak another language," said Stephen Harper, a Conservative member of Parliament who is a contender for Prime Minister in elections expected this year. "That's completely unacceptable."

Alexa McDonough, a member of Parliament from the social democratic New Democratic Party, demanded that the show return an estimated $750,000 it received in Canadian taxpayer's promotional money for coming to Toronto. She characterized the puppet act as "vile and vicious."

CHUM television, the local broadcaster, cut the puppetry act out of a rebroadcast of the episode and issued an apology. Leading Quebec politicians generally refused to comment.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a character created by the comic and writer Robert Smigel, appears often on "Late Night." Triumph has landed some controversial shots before, and his targets have included the rapper Eminem and "Star Wars" fans. But his latest television fray could be the biggest since the 1999 "South Park" animated movie "Bigger, Longer and Uncut" farcically depicted a war between Canada and the United States.

Some commentators expressed puzzled amusement at all the fuss. A headline in Saturday's Toronto Star read: "Oh, Canada! We let ourselves be baited by a dog puppet." Nevertheless an editorial in the same issue of The Star said the sketch "wasn't clever it was hateful and, yes, racist."

The editorial went on to say, "O'Brien would never have dared such a stunt at home in New York City with American Hispanics or Jews," and added: "Goodbye, Conan. Don't come back soon."

Political satire is a big part of Canadian culture, and it can be rather ribald. It can also be rather anti-American, with hefty helpings of insults about President Bush and American ignorance about things Canadian. Crude anti-French jokes are not uncommon outside Quebec, but they are generally told in private along with other ethnic humor considered politically incorrect.

One reason nerves became so frayed was that the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog routine came just three weeks after Don Cherry, the CBC hockey commentator and an hero among a certain class of rough-and-tumble Anglophone Canadians, poked fun at French Canadian and European players for wearing protective visors on their helmets.

That remark was one in a string of statements made over the years deemed unfair to Québécois players, leading the CBC to design a seven-second delay system to suppress any future insults before they are broadcast.

Tensions in Quebec have subsided since a 1995 separatist referendum went down to a narrow defeat, and laws designed to protect the French language have been effectively enforced. A pro-federalist premier was elected in Quebec by a landslide last year.

Mr. O'Brien stopped short of an apology, although in his fourth and final taping of the week, he said, "For those of you who don't know me, I'm the guy who was hired to make Don Cherry look good."

Marc Liepis, a spokesman for NBC, said neither Mr. O'Brien nor the network would have any further comment.

[pritchke]

Heres the deal he could say anything he wanted about white, English, speaking Canadians but the Quebecois are very sensitive.

A few days before this happened Don Cherry "Coach's Corner on Hockey night in Canada" said something like "Almost all players who wear visors are French(from Quebec) and Europeans." For this comment he was investigated by the governments cultural or language commissioner (a crap position that waste tax dollars) and has a 7 minute delay on his show. In the end it was discovered that what he said was true. Now how anyone could find that offensive is beyond me. Conon I can see be offensive, but that is the humor, and if you know or watched his show before Conon will offend anyone he can and the Quebecois were ripe for the picking as they are so sensitive. One of the things I like about Don Cherry is he speaks his mind. Yes we are losing our Freedom of speech up here as well. Gesh, he should have went to Newfoundland and made fun of the Newfies at least theyy would have laughed at his jokes, as they are a people that know how to laugh at themselves.

[pritchke]

Conan apoligizes:
http://www.canoe.ca/Television/feb18_conan-sun.html

Last night, on O'Brien's first show back in the Big Apple after his week of hosting from Toronto, the late-night talk-show host issued an apology on behalf of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

The nasty puppet pooch pooped all over Quebecers at their annual Winter Carnival in a controversial sketch on last Thursday's Late Night With Conan O'Brien.

After performing his usual monologue, O'Brien began his apology with the help of an interpreter who "translated" his comments into French:

O'BRIEN: "People of Quebec, I'm sorry."

TRANSLATOR: "People of Quebec, I'm an albino jackass."

O'BRIEN: "We meant no harm with our comedy piece the other night."

TRANSLATOR: "The other night, I wet the bed like a little girl."

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

I'm all for sensitivity. I'm all for awareness. But I'm *also* all for humor and levity. Sometimes people should take offense. Sometimes they should laugh and shrug it off. What did they EXPECT from "Triumph the INSULT Comic Dog"?!
The audience seemed to enjoy it. Why do politicians have to get offended 'for' the people they represent? Maybe if the AUDIENCE complained. But they didn't.

[Timber Loftis]

Isn't Conan originally from Canuckistan?

[SpiritWarrior]

I agree with Illumina. If they watched Conan regularly what the hell did they expect? If they don't, then they should perhaps check out the guys show before inviting him over for tourism boosts.

[Stratos]

This reminds me of something I saw on the Jay Leno Show once. They went to Canada, I don't remember where, asked some short questions to anyone on the street and then let the audience decide 'Gay, or just French Canadian?'.

[Night Stalker]

Timber, I thought he was Canuckistani. Didn't he get his start on "The Kids in the Hall" in the late 80s early 90s?

[Timber Loftis]

Surely Conan wasn't a "Kid." Though, he certainly looks like one of them.

BTW, I'm squishing your head. Squish, squish. [img]graemlins/gore.gif[/img]

I wonder if Conan will also go apologize to Bon Jovi or Star Wars fans for Triumph's antics.

[Night Stalker]

[img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img] ER?! [img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img]

[img]graemlins/bonghit.gif[/img]