The Red Green Show

The Red Green Show is a half-hour Canadian television comedy program that aired on various channels in Canada and the U.S. from April 4, 1991 until April 7, 2006. During its fifteen seasons, it had six network homes, but its longest run was with its final network, CBC Television. It found its largest fandom^[1] on U.S. broadcast stations, airing on more than 100 PBS affiliates at its peak. Essentially a cross between a sitcom and a sketch comedy series, it is also a parody of home improvement, do-it-yourself, fishing, and other outdoors shows, particularly The Red Fisher Show.

The Red Green Show
From left to right, Harold (Patrick McKenna), Red (Steve Smith) and Bill (Rick Green).
Created by	Steve Smith Rick Green
Starring	Steve Smith Patrick McKenna Rick Green Jeff Lumby Wayne Robson Bob Bainborough
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	15
No. of episodes	300 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Ronald Lillie (1991-1996) William Johnston (1991-1996) David C. Smith (1996-2006)
Camera setup	Multiple-camera and Single camera
Running time	21 minutes
Original release
Network	CHCH-TV (1991-1993) CFPL-TV (1993-1994) YTV (1993-1994) Global (1994-1997) CBC Television (1997-2006)
Release	4 January 1991 (1991-01-04) – 7 April 2006 (2006-04-07)

Repeats currently air on CBC Television, CTV Comedy Channel, various Public Broadcasting Service stations,^[1] and on the Red Green Channel on Roku televisions. It was produced by S&S Productions, which is owned by Steve and Morag Smith. Directors on the series include Steve Smith, Rick Green and William G. Elliott.

The show

 

The Red Green set used for filming in 2004.

The title character, Red Green (Steve Smith), is a married, middle-aged man who considers himself a proficient handyman, while others do not. He is the president of the Possum Lodge, a fictional men's club in the small northwestern Ontario town of Possum Lake, near the also-fictional town of Port Asbestos. Much of the show centers around Red and his friends at Possum Lodge 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. He trusts most of his work to duct tape, which he calls "the handyman's secret weapon".

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. The main story mostly occurs in the lodge in front of the audience, usually with Red's nephew Harold using a portable studio control board he built himself to control cameras, wipes, effects, and segment cues. Many of these segments are pre-recorded on a hand-held camera by Harold, featuring Red and/or his voice-over narration.

The segments and 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, directing glances and reactions at the audience and/or camera. Some skits regularly interact with the audience, including expected verbal responses from the crowd.

Segments

The show's structure evolved over time and included several regular segments that appeared in almost every episode, interspersed with the main plot. The most frequent segments were "The Possum Lodge Word Game", "Handyman Corner", "Adventures with Bill", and "North of Forty".

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" — frequently followed by Red's handiwork falling to pieces.
• Opening Segment – Used at the beginning of each episode later in the show's run. Red demonstrates quick, creative ways to tackle everyday tasks. This segment is not referred to as Handyman Corner, nor does it end with Red's catchphrase.
• 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 attempts to accomplish a relatively straightforward task, try out a sport, or go on some adventure, invariably leading to all-out slapstick comedy and frequently assisted by Red or Harold.

Rick Green, who portrayed Bill, left the show from 1999 to 2003 in order to focus on the series History Bites, which he created. During his absence, the segment was re-titled "Adventures" and featured other characters.

The Possum Lodge Word Game

Structured like Password and Pyramid, the objective is for 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 through the use of a grouping of words or another word that sounds similar to the answer, winning a cheap and undesirable prize (such as a stack of empty file folders, a trash can, or a visit to a leech farm).

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

In early episodes, Red often recites little bits of poetry in the woods. The segments were named depending on the season and had a humorous twist on a well-known saying. Later, Red and Harold 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. Still later, the characters give brief biographical sketches of "famous" Possum Lake residents.

Male Call and The Experts

A regular segment in which Harold reads a letter supposedly sent by a viewer and Red answers it, often misinterpreting what the viewer was asking. This evolved into "The Experts", where Red and another character answer alleged letters from viewers and always give ridiculous advice. "The Experts" begins with one of the main characters saying, "Welcome to 'The Experts' portion of the show, where we examine those three little words men find so hard to say ..." to which the studio audience shouts in response, "I DON'T KNOW!"

Character-specific segments

• Ranger Gord's "educational" segments feature safety cartoons made entirely by him and featuring anthropomorphic animals that look and act like imbecilic versions of Red and Harold.
• A segment featuring a local animal control specialist (first Garth Harble, later Ed Frid), who handles an animal with disastrous results.
• Mike's Teen Talk, in which Mike Hamar gives outrageous advice to teenagers that contradicts common sense and most laws.
• Brief commercials for Winston Rothschild III's Sewage and Septic Sucking Services.

Conclusion and credits

Episodes typically end with the Possum Lodge membership being called to a meeting in the basement. Before joining them, Red gives a message to his wife Bernice, usually a double entendre, and delivers his signature piece of life advice in the form of a hockey metaphor: "Keep your stick on the ice." As the closing credits roll, the members gather and recite 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."

The final episode of the series features an altered version of the prayer: "I'm a man, but I changed, because I had to. Oh, well." Steve Smith later identified that this was a tribute to his wife Morag, who had simply commented "Oh, well", upon viewing the first episode in 1991. In one episode, women take over Possum Lodge and change the prayer to "I am woman, hear me roar. I'm in charge. Get over it."

History

 

Steve Smith as Red Green

Smith originally created the character of Red Green for his 1979–1985 sketch comedy series Smith & Smith. The sketch was a parody of the long-running Canadian outdoors show The Red Fisher Show (1968–1989), starring B.H. "Red" Fisher, in which Red and his friends would show silent films of their fishing trips with commentary at "Scuttlebutt Lodge". The character also appeared in Me & Max and The Comedy Mill before becoming the focus of his own series.

The Red Green Show was produced first by CHCH-TV in Hamilton, Ontario, then by CFPL-TV in London, and then by the Global Television Network, before finally finding its permanent home at CBC Television for the 1997 season (its seventh) onward. The show was renamed The New Red Green Show upon its move to Global, and would keep this title until its second season at CBC.

The show ended 7 April 2006 after its 15th season with exactly 300 episodes. This longevity inspired a joke in one episode, where Red says "The question is, can you do anything with crap? Obviously the answer is yes, we're in our fourteenth season."

The last episode was filmed on 5 November 2005, at the Showline Studios Harbourside location. At the time the season began taping, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation locked out staffers who were members of the Canadian Media Guild, rendering the show's regular studios at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre unavailable.^[2] The last episode concluded with the show breaking the fourth wall by thanking the audience and fans for their popularity. In addition, the Man's Prayer was changed to "I'm a man—but I changed—because I had to. Oh, well."

As the show gained popularity, Steve Smith also wrote a syndicated newspaper column, as Red Green, titled North of 40 in which he would give advice to readers.

In previous years, the show would stage live mini-telethons (sometimes called "Red Green-a-thons") for public television stations in the United States. These usually coincided with national PBS fundraising drives, and featured contests between various PBS stations carrying the show. This was done to encourage new stations to carry Red Green, for those who already have it to continue it, and in one year Red playfully dumped stations that chose to discontinue the show in a wheelbarrow.

Since 2000, Red Green has been the "Ambassador of Scotch Duct Tape" for 3M.^[3]

On 14 December 2008, a retrospective special titled "The Red Green Story-We're All in This Together" aired on select PBS stations. The special was released on DVD along with a book. Also, despite stating after the show's final episode that he planned to permanently retire his character,^[4] in 2010, Smith embarked on the "Wit and Wisdom Comedy Tour", in which he gave live performances as Red Green in cities across the United States and Canada.

On 29 November 2012, Steve Smith announced a new "How to Do Everything" Tour, which kicked off in Canada in fall 2013 before going to the United States in spring 2014. The 2016 North American tour, "I'm Not Old, I'm Ripe", began in March and concluded in May, with stops in 25 U.S. cities.^[5] The 2019 North American tour, "This Could Be It", began in March 2019 and ran until the end of October, with shows in 34 U.S. cities and 29 Canadian cities.^[6]

Syndication

From September 1998 to August 7, 2017, The Red Green Show aired on The Comedy Network. From 2002 to 2005, reruns aired on CBC, Thursdays at 12:30pm and Saturdays at 6:30pm Eastern. In the United States, digital multicast network Heartland added reruns of the show to its schedule in September 2018. There is also currently a Red Green Channel on Roku televisions.

Main characters

Red Green

 

Some of the supporting characters that appeared during the 2004 season of the show. Left to right: Dalton Humphrey (Bob Bainborough), Winston Rothschild III (Jeff Lumby), Mike Hamar (Wayne Robson), Blair Cobden (Brad Cowan).

The title character of The Red Green Show, Red (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 is married to Bernice Green and does not have any children. He is seldom seen wearing anything other than his distinctive outfit of a flannel shirt, khaki pants, red-and-green suspenders, and a Canadian military field manoeuvres cap.^[7][8]

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 as a grey 'possum on a pale blue background, and with a licence plate reading simply "POSSUM". It is one of Red's few vehicles that actually runs. It has played (and donated) many parts in "Handyman's Corner" projects, and has been repeatedly damaged as a running gag in the "Adventures with Bill" segments, most often by having one or both side-view mirrors knocked off. After the series ended, the van was scrapped.

Red's dry, often sarcastic wit is balanced by a strong sense of camaraderie with his fellow lodge members, partly because he directs most of his sarcasm toward Harold. Despite this, Harold and the rest of Possum Lodge seem to regard Red with a high level of respect, though occasionally some of the lodge members will challenge his authority in one way or another.

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, wearing thick glasses, and is very eager and sensitive. 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.

Harold's advanced knowledge of computers, television and technology originally landed him the job of producer and director of the television show, often wielding a portable device with dials and a keyboard, used to create the show's visual effects and transitions, although he did not have it in later seasons. This prop was assembled out of an Ampex VR 1200 videotape recorder, a Mini-Tec terminal keyboard, and a set of rabbit-ear antennas. Later in the show's history, he became employed at Multicorp and went to work in the neighbouring town of Port Asbestos. He later became the publicity manager for Possum Lake, and eventually fell in love with Bonnie (Laurie Elliott), a commercial truck driver who shares nearly all of his unusual mannerisms. The two characters were married in the final episode of the series; a flashforward reveals that they are "slowly taking over the community" (Red's words), having had a son and daughter who strongly resemble them in appearance and style of dress.

Harold and Red spend much of their time on the show trading insults and poking fun at each other. While they have shown they can cooperate with one another at times, Harold is often very critical of Red's ideas and schemes, but usually ends up going along with them anyway.

In the film Duct Tape Forever, Harold is not a member of the Possum Lodge until at the end when the brotherhood accepted and took him in.

Bill Smith

Bill (Rick Green) is the star of the "Adventures with Bill" segment, in which he and at least one other character (usually Red) attempt to perform relatively simple tasks or try a sport or game in the clumsiest, most accident-prone way possible. (These segments are done in a silent home-movie format with a voiceover by Red.) Bill rarely actually speaks, and has only appeared on the main set of the show in the second season (still silently) and in the series' final episode. Aside from episode 54 "The Tanks We Get", these are the only times Bill is ever seen in colour, though he shows up in colour at the end of the credits sequence (for the first season, at least) since the "Adventures" segments are shown in black-and-white. When something goes wrong, as it invariably does each episode, Bill can be heard as a muffled scream; these are anticipation of injury, not actual injury, such as Bill screaming as he falls off the ladder, not when he hits the ground. In some segments, Bill can be heard speaking in gibberish, but the explanation for not hearing him clearly is usually that the camera they use for these segments has a weak microphone. Later in the show's history, the "Adventures with Bill" segment was expanded to include more characters, and not necessarily Bill alone.

In each "Adventures" segment in which Bill appears, he usually attempts to do something of an outdoors nature, such as backpacking, building something, chopping down a tree, or playing a sport. Each of his actions are basically slapstick comedy routines—for example, when he swings an axe, it flies out of his hands and smashes into another character or Red's Possum Van. In what has become a classic occurrence, Bill often manages to knock one or both of the side mirrors off the van. He can also store large tools and miscellaneous items in his overalls, and pull them out on demand. Many segments show Bill getting hurt somehow, but apparently not seriously or permanently. (One segment in particular ends with Bill's arms crushed and flattened in a grape press.) There is generally no continuity from one "Adventures" segment to the next, and Bill comes back in the following episode, good as new.

Ranger Gord

Ranger Gord (Peter Keleghan) is the local forest ranger who spends almost all of his time alone in Fire Watch Tower 13 and, later in the series, Tower 3. His full name is Gordon Ranger, but he prefers not to be called "Ranger Ranger." He is always seen wearing his ranger outfit (which he apparently launders using only a blow dryer), and he finds various eccentric ways to pass his time, even while Red is visiting. For example, he has been seen making nature-sounds tapes by verbally mimicking animal noises into a tape recorder, and he claims to use baked beans as his alarm clock. In one episode, he is found by Red to be hibernating.

Gord has worked in his watch tower for more than eighteen years without a paycheque and claims to have been a forest ranger his entire life. His apparent reason for becoming a ranger was that he thought Smokey Bear was talking directly to him in one of his famous public service announcements ("Only you can prevent forest fires"). He frequently breaks out in tears during Red's visits as he talks about how lonely he is or how much of a sacrifice he makes at his job. During one visit, Gord claimed to have gotten so lonely that he ate the watch tower and then later moved on to another tower in season 7. Gord sometimes laments his lack of recognition. Once, he thought that someone had left him some honorary medallions, only to learn from Red that they were beer bottle caps; Gord thought that a Budweiser cap was for being a "bud of the forest". On another occasion, Gord justified his lack of communication with his superiors as a sign that he was doing a "good job protecting the forest", to which Red suggested that his superiors most likely forgot about him. In truth, it turned out that he had been dismissed many years ago, but the message had never reached him.

Later in the series (seasons 9 to 13, between 1999 and 2004), Ranger Gord made a series of 23 short "educational" cartoons about the environment. Written, animated, produced, directed, and voiced by Gord in person, these films always feature an animated version of Gord as a muscle-bound superhero type (sometimes with absurdly-bombastic and self-aggrandizing opening titles such as "Ranger Gord presents: Ranger Gord in Ranger Gord's educational films. Drawn, written, produced, and voiced by Ranger Gord. Starring Ranger Gord"), and Red and Harold Green make appearances as a 'possum (due to Red's being the Possum Lodge leader) and beaver (as a sarcastic reference to Harold's "toothy" overbite), respectively. Dalton and Mike also appear in one short, depicted as a bear and a raccoon, respectively. The cartoons' subjects have included finding money at the end of a rainbow, planting a cell phone to grow a telephone pole, and waging a fire-fight against the Sun and its deadly ultraviolet rays. The cartoons were actually written by staff writers, starting with Shaun Graham, who wrote the six original shorts.^[9] All 23 shorts were designed, directed, and animated by Bryce Hallett of Frog Feet Productions.^[10]

The original fire watch tower shown in seasons 1–2 was the treehouse in Steve Smith's backyard in Hamilton, Ontario, that he had put up for his sons.^[11] From seasons 3 to 6, it was filmed in an actual watch tower, in reality located at Port Carling, Ontario. By season 8, it was a set. Gord appeared in the lodge during season 7, saying that he had eaten the front two legs of the tower ("I ran out of creamed corn, so I got hungry") and caused it to fall over. In the movie Duct Tape Forever, the tower had burned down (an obvious irony, since Gord's whole purpose in the tower was to watch for forest fires; the implication may have been that Gord either had been "sleeping on the job" when a lightning-bolt ignited the tower and thus was not watching out for fire the way he'd been supposed to, or else that he had accidentally started the fire himself while using a cook-stove or performing some other activity inside the tower which involved using flames or heat) and Ranger Gord was then in charge of a train station located at the end of a section of unfinished tracks and thus where no trains ever run; this is an obvious pun on Gord still having a "dead-end job", just like his former merely-self-maintained forest ranger position that the National Forest Service cared nothing about.

Supporting Characters, Season 1 onward

Hap Shaughnessy

Hap Shaughnessy (Gordon Pinsent) is the water-taxi captain of Possum Lake, but he is much better known at Possum Lodge for his self-aggrandizing tall tales. In virtually every appearance he makes on the show, he makes a ridiculous claim to have been a significant person in history, or to have accomplished some incredible feat. Nobody else on the show believes him, but he will go to great lengths to tell his stories anyway. For example, he has claimed that he owns a coat that belonged to Santa Claus, that he once filled in for Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, that he once raised tigers in Kenya, had a magnetized metal plate in his head, drove the Aston Martin featured in Goldfinger which he used as an actual spy, and that he even died and came back to life at the 1988 Summer Olympics. In one episode, it is hinted that he lies about his past because he has a poor self-image. In the final episode, he claims to have been appointed Canadian ambassador to Guam.

Hap is always seen wearing a Royal Canadian Regiment baseball cap, which is a nod to Pinsent's own military service as a soldier in the Regiment during the early 1950s.

Dougie Franklin

Dougie Franklin (Ian Thomas) is an American immigrant who drives a huge "Meals on 4 Wheels" monster truck he calls "Imelda", and who is a self-proclaimed expert in two areas of life: cars and women, in spite of never having had a successful date, and several automotive altercations, partly due to his inability to understand Canadian traffic laws, and his reckless driving. His brother Ben was seen in a few episodes, played by Ian Thomas' actual brother Dave Thomas of SCTV.

Jimmy MacVey

Jimmy MacVey (Will Millar) is a Scottish Postal Worker who is "in the process" of restoring an old wooden boat in his spare time, at the expense of losing his wife who left him. Through several episodes, he demonstrates how to repair certain portions, such as using autographed novels as shims, and a ceiling fan and a camera tripod as the propeller and propeller shaft, respectively.

Jack the Hermit

Jack (Tim Sims) is an advertising executive with a family, who is suffering from extreme paranoia, complaining about the cold war, bombs, pollution, terrorism, lawyers, dictators, and of course taxes. He has taken to hiding in a crack in the ground cave armed with a hockey stick to await the end of Western Civilization with his 6-week supply of canned goods.

Glen Brackston

Glen Brackston (Mark Wilson) is the operator and only employee of Brackston's Marina. Glen is a large and incredibly lazy man, often seen sitting on his lawn chair or napping. He has suffered five heart attacks, and has seven daughters. In the earliest seasons, his laziness was due to his obsessive focus on his RV. Later on, he would appear with Red in the "Boating Tips" segment, where he would give advice or instructions on how to maintain and care for boats. However, he would often make Red perform these tasks for him, citing his poor health as leaving him unable to do it on his own. Glen is a Boston Red Sox fan; he is usually seen wearing a Red Sox cap.

Bob Stuyvesant

Bob Stuyvesant (Bruce Hunter) works for the Ministry of Natural Resources, and is almost always seen playing golf, although he always plays poorly. Hotheaded and contemptuously arrogant, Bob claims to know everything about golf, but can't seem to apply it to his own game, taking wild slices and often sending his ball into water or bushes, prompting an instant temper tantrum and causing him to throw his golf club. Same with women – Bob has been married 5 times. When out golfing, Bob purports to be "conducting undercover research" for the Ministry, claiming that he is taking soil and air samples. He once claimed that his golf ball was a "dimpled ergonometer", and that his putter was a "wind speed calibration wrench".

Supporting Characters, Season 2 only

Noel Christmas

Noel Christmas, the Head of Security (Kevin Frank), who in his overzealousness often causes more problems than he solves.

Helmut Wintergarden

Helmut Wintergarden, the Head of Maintenance (BJ Woodbury), who continually works on the pumps, but never really gets them fixed, as they continue to leak.

Doc Render

"Doc" Render, the Medic (Neil Crone) who "stretches" the truth, has a gambling problem, and borrows money from others but never pays them back.

Douglas Hendrychuck

Douglas Hendrychuck, the Treasurer (David Huband), who pinches every penny and complains about members wanting money for stupid things.

Eddie Johnson

Eddie Johnson, the Cook (Bill Carr), who has lofty aspirations of performing on Broadway.

Murray Woolworth

Murray Woolworth, the Store Owner (Ed Sahely), who is crooked and overcharges others for defective merchandise and then refuses any returns or refunds.

Dwayne Dortman

Dwayne Dortman, Murray's dimwitted Assistant (Nick Johne), who often tends to give away their scam.

Supporting Characters, Season 3 onward

Dalton Humphrey

Dalton (Bob Bainborough) is the owner of Humphrey's Everything Store out on the main highway and is one of Red's best friends. He is one of the few financially successful lodge members. He is a cheapskate and tries to conserve money as much as possible, shortchanging and cheating people. When not griping about the state of things at his store, he generally complains about his troubled marriage to Ann Marie and their daughter's spending habits.

Dalton has been with the show since season 4, and takes part in the vast majority of the show's main storylines. He has a strong relationship with Red, joining him on his regular fishing trips and taking part in many aspects of the Possum Lodge operations. He also takes his fatherhood very seriously, often trying to pass on his ideas and wisdom to other people (most notably Harold). He generally tells people exactly what he thinks of them, even if it means offending them.

Ann Marie only appeared onscreen once, in the final episode, in which she and Dalton renewed their wedding vows (her face was obscured by her bridal veil); however, she was sometimes seen in shadow in scenes set near their home (her voice was provided by Jennifer Irwin). Their daughter, Tabitha, appeared in the film Duct Tape Forever, played by Tracy Dawson, although there she goes by the name Mandy.

Mike Hamar

Mike (Wayne Robson) is a career criminal who joined Possum Lodge while on parole from federal prison. He has become another of Red's best friends and often tries to help out around the Lodge, though he is not very good at handyman tasks in general. He talks a lot about his troubled childhood, mostly about his mother, exotic dancer "Bambi Bazooms" (episode 100), and many "fathers". Mike suffers from low self-esteem and poor planning, usually causing those around him to try to cheer him up again. He is the only character who regularly refers to Red as "Mr. Green". As revealed in the final episode, Mike eventually becomes police chief of Possum Lake and the local crime rate falls to zero, primarily because he was responsible for so much of it.

Winston Rothschild III

Winston (Jeff Lumby) is the owner and sole employee of Rothschild's Sewage and Septic Sucking Services. Like Dalton and Mike, Winston is one of Red Green's friends and takes part in the day-to-day operations at Possum Lodge. He is always seen wearing a hard hat, off-white button-down shirt, a bow tie and hip waders. He is generally upbeat and has a positive outlook on life, and is usually able to look on the bright side of things, even in the face of certain disaster. He is also a fan of self-help speakers Anthony Anthony (whom he likes to quote frequently), Wally Himmler, cited as the author of "How to Have More of Everything" (episode 80), Ed Big, cited as the author of "Think Big by Ed Big" (episode 78), and Walter Mollusk, creator of the video, "Seize the Self-Help Course of the Day" (episode 86).

A true entrepreneur, Winston describes sewage and septic sucking as his lifelong dream. He owns his own equipment and a septic truck, apparently his only means of transportation, even on his usually unsuccessful dates. Throughout the series, he appears in a wide variety of commercials advertising his septic sucking business, usually with a humorous quip, such as "We're number one in the number two business"; "We'll take that smell off your hands"; "We come in a truck and leave in a daze", etc. In later episodes, his commercials tend to parody the advertising campaigns of numerous Canadian companies. The final episode reveals that he gets a job investigating government corruption.

He also has a tendency to confuse certain phrases and adages, saying things like "Significant Mother" or "Catch-23".

Secondary Characters, Season 3 onward

Edgar K. B. Montrose

Edgar Montrose (Graham Greene) is Possum Lodge's First Nation explosives enthusiast. He believes that any problem, including leaky roofs and invasive weeds, can be solved with explosives. He is usually seen wearing singed overalls, a cracked construction helmet and a pair of ear protectors, though he rarely covers his ears with them. According to him, he was born in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and he started using explosives at a young age. He later enlisted in the Army and was dishonorably discharged after only three weeks, when he blew up the mess hall ("... turns out they were only thinking of building a new one"). Edgar said that his love for explosives came from watching a lot of Road Runner cartoons as a kid.

Edgar's heavy use of explosives over the years has caused him to lose most of his hearing, which often leads to nonsensical responses to questions and comments. For example, Red will ask him, "What have you brought for us today, Edgar?" and Edgar will respond, "Oh, just fine, Red." He is also missing a finger on his left hand, though the story of how he lost it changes each time he tells it. He claims to not have many friends, and according to his DVD biography, he has "yet to meet a woman that likes to spend a Saturday night watching [him] blow a fully-grown Douglas Fir tree clean over the lake." The final episode reveals that no one knows his whereabouts after his attempt to make a self-heating recliner with plastic explosives; the smoking remains of a recliner are displayed on-screen, suggesting that he blew it and himself up in the process.

Edgar's middle initials, K.B., are rumored to stand for "Ka Boom!", his favorite catch-phrase. His favorite movie is The Bridge on the River Kwai, saying, "Did you see that baby go up at the end?" After seeing the movie Dances with Wolves, Edgar thought that the "Native guy" should have received an Oscar for his role. (Greene had been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Kicking Bird in the movie, but lost to Joe Pesci in Goodfellas.)

Ed Frid

Ed Frid (Jerry Schaefer) is Possum Lake's second animal control officer (the first being Garth Harble, portrayed by Derek McGrath). He is deathly afraid of almost all animals, and believes they are out to get him. He is featured on The Red Green Show in the "Talking Animals" segment, in which Red tries to get him to show the audience a small animal, such as a weasel or a leech. Invariably, something goes wrong and causes Ed to panic, usually bringing an abrupt and comedic end to the segment. The final episode reveals that he becomes the leader of a local animal rights group.

Buzz Sherwood

Buzz Sherwood (Peter Wildman) is a local bush pilot known around Possum Lake for his eccentric antics in his small Cessna seaplane, which he moors on the Possum Lodge boat dock. He has an incredibly boisterous personality, often acting extremely hyperactive and happy-go-lucky. Despite being in his 40s, he still views himself as a child, and is known for his wild laughter and habit of punching people's arms in greeting (especially Red and Harold). He is the founder of Buzz Off Airlines.

Dwight Cardiff

Dwight Cardiff (George Buza) is the only character ever shown to be lazier than Glen Brackston. Dwight is the operator at the Port Asbestos Marina, although he occasionally traveled to the Lodge to appear on the show. Dwight is unwilling to do anything that requires him to move, such as going inside when it rains (what he calls "passive environmental interaction"). He also claims to have had a pet snail as a child, but it "ran away on [him]".

Arnie Dogan

Arnie Dogan (Albert Schultz) is an accident-prone roofer with aspirations of becoming a country music singer seen during the sixth, seventh, and eighth seasons. Frequently wearing some type of orthopedic appliance from his latest mishap, he insists that roofing is "in [his] blood" and that he continue with his work despite its seemingly hazardous nature. Arnie is renowned for having written over 17,000 songs (most of which are terrible) and he enjoys playing them for lodge members at any opportunity, much to the chagrin and irritation of the latter.

Walter

Walter (Joel Harris) is a youthful lodge member who first appeared in season 9 and remained through season 14. He is mostly seen in the renamed "Adventures" segment, which took the place of the "Adventures with Bill" segment when Rick Green (who portrayed Bill) had left the cast to work on the series History Bites. Walter considered himself a handyman, and possessed extraordinary physical strength which Red attributed in part to the fact that he did not have a girlfriend. He shared many traits with Bill, including being accident prone, rarely speaking, and very rarely appearing outside the "Adventures" segments. The episode "The IQ Test" reveals that Walter is a police officer by trade.

Joel Harris, who played Walter, was also the show's stunt coordinator. He died in 2015.

Minor characters

Throughout its fifteen-season run, The Red Green Show sported a cast of well over forty secondary and minor characters, ranging from fellow Possum Lodge members to guests making single appearances, and even audience members appearing on the set. Below are the credited minor and one-time characters from all fifteen seasons.

Kevin Black

Kevin Black (Paul Gross) is a yuppie developer from the big city who is usually outwitted by the landowners of Possum Lake during the sixth through eighth seasons. He is frequently surprised by the rural aspects of Possum Lake, such as the idea of having to dig a well in order to get water.

Dale

Dale (Gavin Crawford) is new to town, and a night-school student who works part-time days at the gas station. He is a well-mannered, well-meaning, rather skeptical young man who often plays the foil to Red's comments and jokes. He first appeared in the ninth-season premier episode, where we learn he not only does not recognize the Possum Van, but has never heard of Possum Lodge - both impossibilities for any local. He made appearances throughout the season, not only selling Red gas, but also appearing as an innocent passerby/casualty in the background of many skits during the season.

Charlie Farquharson

Charlie Farquharson (Don Harron) is welcomed as a new member of Possum Lodge in the season 13 premier episode. He is a cantankerous old fart from Parry Sound, often making unfavorable comparisons between it and Possum Lake. He makes infrequent appearances through season 14. Don Harron was famous for playing the KORN radio announcer on the American comedy-variety show Hee Haw during the 1970s.

Bonnie Green

Bonnie (Laurie Elliot) is a professional truck driver from Port Asbestos, and a major nerd. She and Harold met on the internet in the last episode of Season 13. They are well suited to each other, eventually get engaged, and then get married at Possum Lodge in the final episode - Red performed the ceremony. Bonnie and Harold eventually had two children, a boy and a girl.

Bobby

Bobby (Stephen Doornekamp) appeared in the season 12 episode #240 "Never Send A Man" as a Saint Catherine's Boy Scout several times, including in an outdoor-survival ability gameshow against Red.

The cast, while primarily male, in later seasons did include occasional female characters as well, including network executive Kelly Cook (Sugar Lyn Beard) and Anne-Marie Humphrey (Jennifer Irwin), Dalton's wife. Additionally, over the years, more and more women attended tapings and appeared as Possum Lodge members in the end scene.

Unseen characters

In addition to the already long list of acted characters, there are several characters who are frequently referred to but are never seen. The most frequently mentioned are Red's friends Junior Singleton, Buster Hadfield, Moose Thompson, Stinky Peterson, and Old Man Sedgewick. The in-show descriptions of these characters are often far-fetched and outlandish, as are their actual names:

Bernice Green

Red's wife, whom he married without waiting for the results of the pregnancy test. Red claims they had tried to have children but after Harold was born they took that as a warning. She is often exasperated with the antics of Red and the other lodge members, and often tries to encourage Red to partake in activities like the arts and eating at fine restaurants, usually to disastrous effect. In one episode, she faked a love letter from one of Red's old girlfriends (which turned out to be an affectionate letter from Red's mother) and Red resolved to take Bernice out to dinner any night the episode aired, to prevent her from seeing it and becoming jealous. In spite of this she and Red do seem to be close, and Red often implies they have an active sex life, usually ending the show with an innuendo of some kind. Bernice has a niece named Alicia whose oral condition has earned her the nickname "Horse" (at one point, out of desperation, Harold considered marrying Alicia).

Old Man Sedgewick

Orville Lloyd Dutton Manly Alvin Norbert "Old Man" Sedgewick. Old Man Sedgewick's age is never officially disclosed, although he is reported to have known John A. Macdonald when the latter was only a child, and in one episode, he is said to have been born "sometime in the Mesozoic era". He has a 97-year-old son, and both of his parents are still alive (his father being nicknamed "Dead Man Walking Sedgewick"). Sedgewick is often described as being irritable and suffering from senility, for which he takes medication. He helped build Possum Lodge and made a deal with its original members to allow him to move into the building whenever he wants.

Junior Singleton

An odd member of Possum Lodge. Married to his wife Noreen shortly after meeting at a tool swap, with an entire episode dedicated to preparing for his stag party. Junior is often the first to question Red's decisions or authority and at one point tried to found a rival lodge which failed. It is implied that Junior and Noreen are obese. Junior's hands are seen retrieving a storm window that Red has appropriated for a project in Episode 126, near 6:04.

Moose Thompson

Mooseworth Hugo Largess "Moose" Thompson is an extremely overweight member of the lodge. He is implied to be rather dim-witted, saying that he thought his nickname made him sound stupid, so he considered changing it to "Moose Johnson".

Stinky Peterson

Stephen Riechen Puanteur "Stinky" Peterson has a pronounced stench and appalling personal habits. At one point Harold wondered if the scent was dangerous or toxic, which Red assured him was not the case because the lodge members keep canaries by his front door. In one episode Stinky burned his mattress, releasing a cloud of toxic gas that surrounded the Lodge and forced Red, Mike, and Dalton to take shelter there until the air cleared.

Flinty McClintock

[A.K.A. "Flinty Watson" when first mentioned in Episode 54]: Owner of a scrap metal yard, tow service, and an "African Lion Safari" which mostly consists of snow fences and a lion so lazy and out of shape it might be a deformed pig.

Buster Hadfield

An extremely lazy divorcee who once spent more time at the Lodge than at home, precipitating his divorce. His daughter Susie once stole Harold's lunch money, but it was later found that she might have feelings for Harold and did that to get his attention, which of course went nowhere.

Wally "Kickback" Kibler

The Mayor of Possum Lake. Rumored to be on the take.

Lloyd Carson

Rarely if ever mentioned previously, and then only in passing - until the eleventh season, when Red announced his passing. In episode #239 "The Missile Crisis" we learn that Lloyd was strange, always dressed in military combat clothing, and that he was married four times - that's it. And that his estate was administered by the bank and that most of his possessions were declared junk, and thus Red was able to claim an antique musket from it.

Fuzzy Norton

A character rarely mentioned and thus poorly defined.

Episodes

Main article: List of The Red Green Show episodes

DVD releases

Acorn Media has released portions of The Red Green Show on DVD in Region 1 in various incarnations.

In 2002–2003, they released six compilation DVDs labeled as "Stuffed and Mounted" volumes 1 through 6. Each DVD contains episodes from various seasons of the show up to season 10 (the most current season at the time these DVDs were released). However, there were no episodes from season two. These DVDs feature a spoken-word introduction by Steve Smith (out of character, as evidenced by his higher-pitched voice).

In 2006, Acorn began to release the series on DVD in complete season sets. Of note, the releases are identified by year, not season number; thus the 7th season is labeled as "1997 Season", the 8th season is "1998 Season", and so on.^[12] Seasons 7 through 11 were released in this format.

In 2010, Acorn changed formats again, they began releasing compilation sets which contain episodes from multiple seasons all grouped together. The first release, The Red Green Show: The Infantile Years, features all 72 episodes from the first 3 seasons in a 9-disc set. Extras include introductions by Steve Smith, and Red & Harold character biographies.^[13] Seasons 4 through 6 were released in The Red Green Show: The Toddlin' Years.^[14] Seasons 7 through 9 were released in The Red Green Show: The Delinquent Years.^[15] Seasons 10 through 12 were released in The Red Green Show: The Midlife Crisis Years.^[16] On 20 September 2011, Acorn released The Red Green Show: The Geezer Years,^[17] which contains episodes from the final three seasons (13–15).

Season sets

DVD Name	Season	Ep #	Release Date
The Red Green Show: 1997 Season	7	17	2 May 2006
The Red Green Show: 1998 Season	8	14	15 May 2007
The Red Green Show: 1999 Season	9	17	26 February 2008
The Red Green Show: 2000 Season	10	19	16 September 2008
The Red Green Show: 2001 Season	11	17	10 March 2009
The Red Green Show: The Infantile Years – Seasons 1991–1993	1–3	72	26 January 2010
The Red Green Show: The Toddlin' Years – Seasons 1994–1996	4–6	72	2 November 2010
The Red Green Show: The Delinquent Years – Seasons 1997–1999	7–9	47	15 March 2011
The Red Green Show: The Mid-Life Crisis Years – Seasons 2000–2002	10–12	54	31 May 2011
The Red Green Show: The Geezer Years – Seasons 2003–2005	13–15	55	20 September 2011
The Red Green Show: The Complete High Quantity Collection	All	300	16 October 2012^[18]

Special releases

DVD Name	Description	Release Date
Red Green, DVD (Duct-Tape Virtuoso Deluxe)	A collection of segments from various episodes centring around duct tape	8 May 2001
Duct Tape Forever	Full-length feature movie in which Red and Harold enter a duct-tape sculpture competition	29 April 2003
Red Green: Hindsight is 20/20	A retrospective on The Red Green show	11 May 2004
It's a Wonderful Red Green Christmas	A collection of Christmas episodes	19 October 2004
Red Green's We Can't Help It, We're Men	A collection of shorts and segments about men	10 May 2005
The Red Green Story: We're All in This Together	A retrospective on The Red Green Show, two years after the final season	2008 (PBS only)
Red Green is Special	Box set containing Hindsight is 20/20; Duct Tape Virtuoso Deluxe; We Can't Help It, We're Men; and The Red Green Story.	12 May 2009

Reception and legacy

During the show's run, The Red Green Show was nominated for 23 Gemini Awards, but only won once, in 1998, for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series given to McKenna for his role as Harold Green.

In 2023, Smith would later be inducted into the Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame in both the Creator and Performer categories.^[19]

References

1. "Last-Laugh Tracks: The 40 Best Cult TV Comedies Ever". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
2. . Archived from the original on 28 May 2007.
3. "3M Canada : Company Information". www.3m.com. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
4. Nancy MacPhee (7 October 2011). "Red Green's wisdom and duct tape coming our way". Retrieved 17 January 2014.
5. Red Green On Tour
6. "Red Green On Tour". Red Green. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
7. . Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
8. "Bottled Water Conclusion..." www.facebook.com. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
9. Shaun Graham Bio - Wild Sound
10. 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 ISBN 978-1-932907-49-0, p225
11. CBC television interview for Life & Times 8 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
12. . www.tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
13. . www.tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
14. . www.tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
15. . www.tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
16. . www.tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
17. "The Red Green Show: The Geezer Years Seasons 2003-2006". 20 September 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2018 – via Amazon.
18. Lambert, David (21 August 2012). . TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
19. » 2023 CCHOF Inductees

External links

•  Television portal
•  Canada portal

 

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Red Green Show.

• Official website
• The Red Green Show at CBC.ca
• The Red Green Show at PBS.org
• The Red Green Show at IMDb  
• The Red Green Show on YouTube
• The Red Green Show — Behind the Scenes (Part 1) on YouTube
• The Red Green Show — Behind the Scenes (Part 2) on YouTube