Due to some completely random occurrence (the specifics of which are already completely forgotten), I have been mainlining all things Kids in the Hall for about the last 2 weeks. Initially I was just catching up on their "new" (aired last winter in Canada, airing now in the States on IFC) TV mini-series, Death Comes to Town. This triggered a surprisingly powerful wave of nostalgia, which led to YouTube queues of epic proportions, packed full of old KITH clips from their original sketch show. It wasn't long before the floodgates busted wide open, and by happy coincidence, Twin Sis stumbled upon our KITH DVDs.
We watched the first two seasons this weekend, and besides being impressed with how well the show has held up to the years, we were amused and appalled to realize how completely we had absorbed the show into our DNA. We watched long-forgotten sketch after long-forgotten sketch, bursting into surprised peals of laughter every time one of our lines popped up. We were about 14 or 15 when the show was new, and the sad reality is that my sister and I apparently communicate -- with each other and the world at large -- almost entirely through KITH quotes. It's embarrassing, you know. It's like we were feral orphans who grew up in the wild forest with a late-night Canadian TV show as our only companion and guardian. Like Nell but with a funnier accent.
Way back in the day, our friend Danny was tickled beyond belief when we first introduced him to the Blade Rogers sketch. Henceforth every time we saw him, we'd say, "Dan. Is that you, Dan? Are you...Blade Rogers?" Our answering machine was filled with messages from Blade -- even after we moved from Chicago to Portland in 2000. "Hey. It's Blade Rogers. Call me back." It just became the way we communicated. He wasn't Danny [last name redacted] anymore. He was Danny Husk from AT & Love, Blade Rogers gone mainstream.
The catchphrases became second nature over the course of 20 years. Most of them stayed conscious, but it's hilarious just how many of them became permanently embedded in our individual and collective subconscious. And then, several decades later, you find yourself hearing your most oft-spoken words parroted by the actors in your favorite TV show.....
Also, for the record: Owning chickens for the past year has made me appreciate Mark McKinney on a whole new level.
We watched the first two seasons this weekend, and besides being impressed with how well the show has held up to the years, we were amused and appalled to realize how completely we had absorbed the show into our DNA. We watched long-forgotten sketch after long-forgotten sketch, bursting into surprised peals of laughter every time one of our lines popped up. We were about 14 or 15 when the show was new, and the sad reality is that my sister and I apparently communicate -- with each other and the world at large -- almost entirely through KITH quotes. It's embarrassing, you know. It's like we were feral orphans who grew up in the wild forest with a late-night Canadian TV show as our only companion and guardian. Like Nell but with a funnier accent.
Way back in the day, our friend Danny was tickled beyond belief when we first introduced him to the Blade Rogers sketch. Henceforth every time we saw him, we'd say, "Dan. Is that you, Dan? Are you...Blade Rogers?" Our answering machine was filled with messages from Blade -- even after we moved from Chicago to Portland in 2000. "Hey. It's Blade Rogers. Call me back." It just became the way we communicated. He wasn't Danny [last name redacted] anymore. He was Danny Husk from AT & Love, Blade Rogers gone mainstream.
The catchphrases became second nature over the course of 20 years. Most of them stayed conscious, but it's hilarious just how many of them became permanently embedded in our individual and collective subconscious. And then, several decades later, you find yourself hearing your most oft-spoken words parroted by the actors in your favorite TV show.....
Also, for the record: Owning chickens for the past year has made me appreciate Mark McKinney on a whole new level.
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