The Red Green Show - A History
The show’s roots come from two key places Steve Smith’s Smith and Smith, Me and Max and The Comedy Mill shows from the 1980's and Canadian Outdoorsman Icon Red Fisher.
Red Fisher
Red was loosely based on B.H. “Red” Fisher who was a Canadian sportsman and outdoors television icon from the 1960's and 70's on CTV. Red Fisher’s show became a Canadian legend with his intense love of the outdoors and passion for outdoor activity. Throughout the years his show featured many famous guests including Members of Canadian Parliament and NHL stars like Tim Horton. They were all invited into Red’s infamous Skuttlebutt lodge to talk about bush stories and other topics of the day. The show was well known for its rustic and outdoor feel as well as its unique methods, as it was shot with Red talking about his adventures in great detail. These were shot on an old style 10mm video camera right out in the bush and was a fairly new and innovative concept for the time as it predated modern reality shows like Survivor and Big Brother. What also made it unique was that it was as much a talk show as an outdoor sportsman’s show. I believe viewers identified it in the same light as talking to their grandfather or father and his friends about their adventures which gave it a personal and homey feel.
In regards to the Red Fisher Show, Steve has said “I was actually making fun of a Canadian guy named Red Fisher who had a real fishing show where they sat in front of a piece of paneling and pretended to be sober. I was supposed to meet him at a radio station once but he stayed home to do his laundry. One of my heroes. “
Smith and Smith and The Comedy Mill
Steve and Morag Smith’s variety show from the 1980's, Smith and Smith which was filmed in Hamilton on CHCH TV was a popular 70's style variety show program known for its hilarious sketches and stretches of Canadian life (like the regular sketch parodying the popular Canadian kids program Polka Dot Door). For the show, the character “Ol’ Uncle Red” was created and would become a prime part of the modern day Red Green. Ol’ Uncle Red appeared on several segments where viewers were invited into “the lodge” to watch films of his recent adventures in the outdoors. For Smith and Smith Ol’ Uncle Red was created in this same fashion in order to be a spoof of the Red Fisher show which at the time was the long running Canadian outdoor show at the end of its 25 year run and a national icon. This is sort of in the same fashion of today’s This Hour has 22 Minutes and Airfarce where both shows will have sketch comedy to poke fun at public figures, current news and celebrities.
Tidbits
- The show typical ended with a mailbag segment which was brought over into RGS
- Smith and Smith and RGS shared the same style of a dual monologue.
Me and Max
At the conclusion of Smith and Smith, Steve decided to put out a show called Me and Max with the help of his wife Morag and their children, Max and David (Both had active roles behind the scenes on RGS). This was slightly different from Smith and Smith as it was more of a situational comedy based on various characters the Smith family played. Ol’ Uncle Red was brought forward as “the boys uncle” in several sketches. Despite being a short run (26 episodes), Me and Max helped the character the most. It helped to further develop the character quite a bit as I believe it helped to show Red’s ability to communicate and be associated with youth as well as show the benefit of having a sidekick who is the direct opposite. This would later develop into Harold.
The Comedy Mill
At the end of Smith and Smith in 1985 and Me And Max in 1986, the character was entertaining enough to be brought over into the new show by Steve and Morag Smith entitled “The Comedy Mill” in 1986. This too was filmed in Hamilton on CHCH TV and went in a different direction from Smith and Smith, despite being considered a revival of that series. The show focused more on sketch comedy about hilarious situations (kind of like Mad TV and Saturday Night Live). The character of Ol’ Uncle Red was one of the few things to make the transition from Smith and Smith and continued to be one of the high points in the series.
Tidbits
- A note of interest for this series was the introduction of RGS alumni Peter Keleghan (Ranger Gord) who was a regular on the series after making his start in acting.
- With the conclusion of The Comedy Mill, this marked the retirement of Morag Smith
- Ironically, TV handywoman Mag Ruffman who is known for several S&S Productions shows like Anything I Can Do and A Repair to Remember, as well as writing the Tool Girl column for the Toronto Star, got her start on The Comedy Mill as well.
Red was loosely based on B.H. “Red” Fisher who was a Canadian sportsman and outdoors television icon from the 1960's and 70's on CTV. Red Fisher’s show became a Canadian legend with his intense love of the outdoors and passion for outdoor activity. Throughout the years his show featured many famous guests including Members of Canadian Parliament and NHL stars like Tim Horton. They were all invited into Red’s infamous Skuttlebutt lodge to talk about bush stories and other topics of the day. The show was well known for its rustic and outdoor feel as well as its unique methods, as it was shot with Red talking about his adventures in great detail. These were shot on an old style 10mm video camera right out in the bush and was a fairly new and innovative concept for the time as it predated modern reality shows like Survivor and Big Brother. What also made it unique was that it was as much a talk show as an outdoor sportsman’s show. I believe viewers identified it in the same light as talking to their grandfather or father and his friends about their adventures which gave it a personal and homey feel.
In regards to the Red Fisher Show, Steve has said “I was actually making fun of a Canadian guy named Red Fisher who had a real fishing show where they sat in front of a piece of paneling and pretended to be sober. I was supposed to meet him at a radio station once but he stayed home to do his laundry. One of my heroes. “
Smith and Smith and The Comedy Mill
Steve and Morag Smith’s variety show from the 1980's, Smith and Smith which was filmed in Hamilton on CHCH TV was a popular 70's style variety show program known for its hilarious sketches and stretches of Canadian life (like the regular sketch parodying the popular Canadian kids program Polka Dot Door). For the show, the character “Ol’ Uncle Red” was created and would become a prime part of the modern day Red Green. Ol’ Uncle Red appeared on several segments where viewers were invited into “the lodge” to watch films of his recent adventures in the outdoors. For Smith and Smith Ol’ Uncle Red was created in this same fashion in order to be a spoof of the Red Fisher show which at the time was the long running Canadian outdoor show at the end of its 25 year run and a national icon. This is sort of in the same fashion of today’s This Hour has 22 Minutes and Airfarce where both shows will have sketch comedy to poke fun at public figures, current news and celebrities.
Tidbits
- The show typical ended with a mailbag segment which was brought over into RGS
- Smith and Smith and RGS shared the same style of a dual monologue.
Me and Max
At the conclusion of Smith and Smith, Steve decided to put out a show called Me and Max with the help of his wife Morag and their children, Max and David (Both had active roles behind the scenes on RGS). This was slightly different from Smith and Smith as it was more of a situational comedy based on various characters the Smith family played. Ol’ Uncle Red was brought forward as “the boys uncle” in several sketches. Despite being a short run (26 episodes), Me and Max helped the character the most. It helped to further develop the character quite a bit as I believe it helped to show Red’s ability to communicate and be associated with youth as well as show the benefit of having a sidekick who is the direct opposite. This would later develop into Harold.
The Comedy Mill
At the end of Smith and Smith in 1985 and Me And Max in 1986, the character was entertaining enough to be brought over into the new show by Steve and Morag Smith entitled “The Comedy Mill” in 1986. This too was filmed in Hamilton on CHCH TV and went in a different direction from Smith and Smith, despite being considered a revival of that series. The show focused more on sketch comedy about hilarious situations (kind of like Mad TV and Saturday Night Live). The character of Ol’ Uncle Red was one of the few things to make the transition from Smith and Smith and continued to be one of the high points in the series.
Tidbits
- A note of interest for this series was the introduction of RGS alumni Peter Keleghan (Ranger Gord) who was a regular on the series after making his start in acting.
- With the conclusion of The Comedy Mill, this marked the retirement of Morag Smith
- Ironically, TV handywoman Mag Ruffman who is known for several S&S Productions shows like Anything I Can Do and A Repair to Remember, as well as writing the Tool Girl column for the Toronto Star, got her start on The Comedy Mill as well.
Smith & Smith/The Comedy Mill vs The Red Green Show
There are numerous similarities between the 80's shows Smith & Smith/The Comedy Mill and the modern Red Green show. The table below shows the similarities noted:
There are numerous similarities between the 80's shows Smith & Smith/The Comedy Mill and the modern Red Green show. The table below shows the similarities noted:
Spun off Filler
After Smith and Smith stopped filming, Steve Smith was approached by the management team of CHCH Hamilton in the late 1980's. They were looking for low budget show ideas to put into various spots of their daily lineup. This was essentially called “filler” in the business. Steve threw out a character from Smith and Smith, Ol’ Uncle Red, as something he would be interested in exploring more as a spin off. They agreed and The Red Green show was born on CHCH for the 1990 season. Looking back while being interviewed for CTV in 2020 for the inaugural Possum Lodge Podcast, Red mentioned that “I said to them give me enough money so I can do something but not enough so you care what it is.”
With a cast of mostly unknowns at the time, the show started filming in Hamilton, as well as with some location shoots in the GTA(Greater Toronto Area).You can see more in the Locations of the Show page. The show's concept would be a spoof of the Red Fisher Show and had the styling of a local cable TV show taped with hand held cameras and produced by a whizkid nephew of the star (Harold). It was to be a story with a patchwork of segment which is a basic function that was used throughout the series. Throughout time the segments have evolved and changed, with the inception of the "franchise" segments of Adventures with Bill ("Adventures" in the later seasons, Handyman Corner and the Possum Lodge Word Game after season 6).
Season 1 is noticeably different from any other season, as only Red and Harold are shown in the lodge. Further the Red Green Show Crest were worn by the two main characters during this season only. It is believed that this was dropped for season 2 as it may confuse viewers since they introduced the Possum Lodge Crest for the lodge meetings in season 2.
With a cast of mostly unknowns at the time, the show started filming in Hamilton, as well as with some location shoots in the GTA(Greater Toronto Area).You can see more in the Locations of the Show page. The show's concept would be a spoof of the Red Fisher Show and had the styling of a local cable TV show taped with hand held cameras and produced by a whizkid nephew of the star (Harold). It was to be a story with a patchwork of segment which is a basic function that was used throughout the series. Throughout time the segments have evolved and changed, with the inception of the "franchise" segments of Adventures with Bill ("Adventures" in the later seasons, Handyman Corner and the Possum Lodge Word Game after season 6).
Season 1 is noticeably different from any other season, as only Red and Harold are shown in the lodge. Further the Red Green Show Crest were worn by the two main characters during this season only. It is believed that this was dropped for season 2 as it may confuse viewers since they introduced the Possum Lodge Crest for the lodge meetings in season 2.
Trouble at First
While fresh and hilariously funny, the show did not perform overly great ratings wise. The first three seasons saw very mediocre ratings. Despite this, the only bright spot was that it showed small and steady improvements with each passing season. This lead to the show almost being almost canceled by CHCH after each season it was on air. Had it not been for Steve’s past success and ability to keep things together, Red Green would be nothing more than a footnote for 90's Canadian television. In addition, the small and loyal group of fans of the show helped make Steve’s case. It has been noted that someone posted on a billboard in Hamilton, Ontario “Forget the whales, save Red Green” in response to CHCH’s desire to cancel the show at the end of the 3rd season. Bad luck finally managed to catch up to RGS at the conclusion of the 3rd season as CHCH ultimately decided to back out of the series.
The New Red Green Show
Everything changed after the 3rd season. While things looked bleak, it ended up catching some good luck and was picked up by CFPL London under an agreement with YTV (Yes the show was on YTV from what I can tell between 1995 and 1997!) and Global. Steve displayed great business smarts by purchasing the rights to the show from CHCH under his production company, S&S Productions, after it was initially canceled which helped to pave the way for the CFPL deal. This was because he now had complete control as owner, to create and distribute the show. S&S Productions even went so far as to purchase airtime on Global and sell commercials. That said, due to the large amounts of changes behind the scenes, as well as the possible legal ramifications, the producers decided to change it to the “New Red Green Show” format. This would bring a different direction for seasons 4-6. Most notably, meant less of the regulars would be appearing on the show. However it also meant the introduction of new ones as well (Dalton Humphrey, Mike Hamar and Winston Rothschild).
According to Red (4th Red Green.com chat of January 2010) "Well we've always been different so we started with the Red Green Show and then in our fourth season my producers changed it to the NEW Red Green Show and then after our sixth season we went our separate ways and I went back to calling it the Red Green Show. So the new ones aren't new or old, they're in the middle. Told you we were odd." The irony which came from this period was S&S Productions interest in selling the show to new and foreign markets. During "The Network Deal" in season 5, the show fictionally goes through a storyline of selling to an American network and the changes associated with this. In real life this was the exact same story, as S&S was attempting to sell the show to some new markets. It was mentioned that a Scottish network in particular was seriously considering purchasing the rights to the show. At this time PBS in the United States also started airing the show at various stations across the country.
It is without a doubt a complete change from the raw feel of the first 3 seasons, seasons 4 through 6 helped to evolve the show to what we know from the CBC years by trying new concepts and ideas which would become staples of the show moving forward.
According to Red (4th Red Green.com chat of January 2010) "Well we've always been different so we started with the Red Green Show and then in our fourth season my producers changed it to the NEW Red Green Show and then after our sixth season we went our separate ways and I went back to calling it the Red Green Show. So the new ones aren't new or old, they're in the middle. Told you we were odd." The irony which came from this period was S&S Productions interest in selling the show to new and foreign markets. During "The Network Deal" in season 5, the show fictionally goes through a storyline of selling to an American network and the changes associated with this. In real life this was the exact same story, as S&S was attempting to sell the show to some new markets. It was mentioned that a Scottish network in particular was seriously considering purchasing the rights to the show. At this time PBS in the United States also started airing the show at various stations across the country.
It is without a doubt a complete change from the raw feel of the first 3 seasons, seasons 4 through 6 helped to evolve the show to what we know from the CBC years by trying new concepts and ideas which would become staples of the show moving forward.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
CBC bought the rights to the show for the 7th season after the partnership. And with this new deal, it brought the show back to “The Red Green” show during the second year (8th year of the show). This was primarily shot in downtown Toronto at the CBC studios (with the exception of the last season which was shot in Burlington due to a strike). S&S Productions took over the full production of the show at this point and it started to get increased play in the United States, primarily from PBS which have created strongholds of support which are still present today. This partly had to do with Steve's intention on being a part of local PBS station pledge drives which were very popular among fans.
Today the show is till shown on CBC periodically. While they have the rights to show seasons 7-15, CBC typically shows episodes from seasons 14 and 15 in a random fashion. During Christmas (throughout December) CBC airs "A Merry Red Green Christmas" every year.
As of January 2010, there is no set time slot for the show and it appears to be shown at random.
Today the show is till shown on CBC periodically. While they have the rights to show seasons 7-15, CBC typically shows episodes from seasons 14 and 15 in a random fashion. During Christmas (throughout December) CBC airs "A Merry Red Green Christmas" every year.
As of January 2010, there is no set time slot for the show and it appears to be shown at random.
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
RGS has had a long and solid history with PBS in the United States. Starting in the 5th season (1995), Red Green aired all over the US and became an instant cult classic, much like it was becoming in Canada. What helped with this surge in popularity in the 1990's was the shows commitment to be involved in PBS drives. They frequently would have live telethons which occasionally were refereed to as "Red Green-a-thons". There were also numerous PBS drive giveaways with special RGS items (as shown on the collectible guide) which also added to the popularity. Typically characters would appear on the drives in character and crack jokes and play tricks. On one occasion Red actually dumped images of all the stations which stopped airing the show in the previous year into a wheelbarrow on stage to get fans riled up. On another (the 2000 Red-a-thon) Hap Shaughnessy showed up to discuss how he created PBS, along with Ranger Gord inducting stations into his "Hall of Fame" once they had 2+ years of strong support in the top 10% of stations. In recent years they have aired Duct Tape is Not Enough during pledge drives. Starting in 2010 and in conjunction with the RGS stand up tour, there has been increased promotions and work to get the show back on PBS stations which had stopped carrying the show since 2005. This has been met with much success and buzz as many fans are re-discovering the show again.
Currently RGS airs on numerous PBS channels throughout the US (check your local listings).
Currently RGS airs on numerous PBS channels throughout the US (check your local listings).
Comedy Network
In Canada, the specialty channel, The Comedy Network debuted in 1996 and billed itself as "Time well wasted". This was a natural fit for the show. It immediately began airing old episodes of the show during prime time slots. The show is still shown today during the week and typically airs seasons 1-6. After talking to an employee via email, they mentioned that the network currently only had the rights to the first 6 seasons which limits what they can show and at what time (Ie: they showed only seasons 4-6 between 2003 and 2008 as they no longer had the rights to the first 3 seasons. This changed in 2009/2010 as it was restored). Viewership is still very strong, but steady. They have also showed the RGS special "We're all in this together" periodically and this is also available for viewing at the Comedy Network website.
Update - Summer 2011 - Comedy Network has gotten the rights to seasons 6-13 and is showing these episodes randomly. In addition, the spin off sister channel "Comedy Gold" is showing seasons 1-3 on a daily basis.
Currently RGS airs weekdays between 7-8am and 10-11am EST.
Update - Summer 2011 - Comedy Network has gotten the rights to seasons 6-13 and is showing these episodes randomly. In addition, the spin off sister channel "Comedy Gold" is showing seasons 1-3 on a daily basis.
Currently RGS airs weekdays between 7-8am and 10-11am EST.
The Possum Lodge Podcast
It was the brainchild of Dave Smith, longtime writer and Steve Smith's son that came together first in 2019 as Red's one man show, "This could be it tour" was winding down. To keep the brand alive and vibrant, a podcast would be a fun element to do something different, but maintain the same humour and style as the show had. When interviewed about it in June 2020, before the first episode was launched Steve, interviewed for CTV News mentioned "’I’m an old guy and all the shows were on the radio and you had to create the pictures in your mind that’s one of the reasons I have a half decent imagination and that’s something I want to pass on the next generation.” Dave Smith also confirmed that "It’s essentially a radio show version of the TV show", which will be great news for fans of the show.
The podcast was teased in the January 2020 Possum Lodge meeting and set for it's inaugural podcast on June 28tyh, 2020. As Steve and Dave Smith had written 600 pages of script for the shows, the initial plan is to make 12 shows and drop them once a month, on the last Sunday of each month.
As Steve told the Ottumwa Courier in June 2020, “We’ll kind of, next year, see what the support’s like and see if it’s kind of worth it to do it again,” Dave said. “It’s going to be supported by fans who want to do that, and we figure if they don’t want to support it, then we’re not going to do it again. But if they do, then we’ll be here.”
It was the brainchild of Dave Smith, longtime writer and Steve Smith's son that came together first in 2019 as Red's one man show, "This could be it tour" was winding down. To keep the brand alive and vibrant, a podcast would be a fun element to do something different, but maintain the same humour and style as the show had. When interviewed about it in June 2020, before the first episode was launched Steve, interviewed for CTV News mentioned "’I’m an old guy and all the shows were on the radio and you had to create the pictures in your mind that’s one of the reasons I have a half decent imagination and that’s something I want to pass on the next generation.” Dave Smith also confirmed that "It’s essentially a radio show version of the TV show", which will be great news for fans of the show.
The podcast was teased in the January 2020 Possum Lodge meeting and set for it's inaugural podcast on June 28tyh, 2020. As Steve and Dave Smith had written 600 pages of script for the shows, the initial plan is to make 12 shows and drop them once a month, on the last Sunday of each month.
As Steve told the Ottumwa Courier in June 2020, “We’ll kind of, next year, see what the support’s like and see if it’s kind of worth it to do it again,” Dave said. “It’s going to be supported by fans who want to do that, and we figure if they don’t want to support it, then we’re not going to do it again. But if they do, then we’ll be here.”
CBC Video/Writeup
I have been provided with a link to an archived video and write up that was used when the show made the switch to CBC back in Season 8. This is another great resource as to explain some of the background details of the show and I highly recommend having a look at it
https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/steve-smith-on-creating-the-red-green-show
I have been provided with a link to an archived video and write up that was used when the show made the switch to CBC back in Season 8. This is another great resource as to explain some of the background details of the show and I highly recommend having a look at it
https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/steve-smith-on-creating-the-red-green-show