The Frantics
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The Frantics was a Canadian comedy troupe consisting of Paul Chato, Rick Green, Dan Redican and Peter Wildman.
The group formed in the late 1970s. In 1981, they were given a weekly radio slot on the CBC Radio show Variety Tonight, then hosted by Vicky Gabereau. In the summer of 1982 they were the summer replacement for the Royal Canadian Air Farce. They got their own permanent time slot in the Fall of 1983, and their show, Frantic Times, subsequently ran for 113 episodes until January 1986.
In 1986, they moved to television, producing a CBC series called Four on the Floor, which lasted only one season.
A couple of short radio series followed, including Fran of the Fundy (a 3-part spoof of Anne of Green Gables) in 1987, and the 8-part The Frantics Look at History in 1988.
The Frantics were noted for off-the-wall humour, with some skits and novelty songs reminiscent of The Goon Show and Monty Python's Flying Circus. They satirized everything from suicide hotlines to current ads to Tom Swift science fiction. They were particularly known for the recurring character Mr. Canoehead, a crime fighter with a full-sized aluminum canoe welded to his head by lightning, and for the catch phrase "Boot to the head!" which is also the title of their most famous song.
Some of The Frantics' radio sketches were also aired in the United States on the Dr. Demento show, a feat they would share with later Canadian comedy acts such as The Arrogant Worms.
In 2004 the troupe reformed, returning to stage with a mix of new and old material which was released on CD in the form of the Official Bootleg CD - Live at the Tim Sims Playhouse. Following the success of their "Older But Wider" stage tour in Ontario, The Frantics filmed a comedy special for the Canadian Comedy Network/CTV, due to air sometime in Fall 2005. They also appeared at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival that year, whose performance was broadcast on the CBC Festival of Funny radio show, marking their first on-air reunion since 1988.
Discography
| Frantic Times | (1984, re-issued 2002) |
| Boot to the Head | (1986) |
| Official Bootleg CD - Live at the Tim Sims Playhouse | (2004) |
External link
- TheFrantics.com (http://www.thefrantics.com/) – The Frantics
- Frantics.org (http://www.frantics.org/) – Unofficial Frantics Web Site