Royal Canadian Air Farce

The Royal Canadian Air Farce is a comedy troupe best known for their radio and television series which were broadcast in Canada by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Although their weekly radio series ended in 1997 and their television series ended in 2008, the troupe are still active through an annual New Year's Eve special on CBC Television.

History

Theatre revue and radio years

The group started in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 as an improvisational theatre revue called The Jest Society, a pun on then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's famous goal of making Canada a "Just Society". The original cast was John Morgan, Martin Bronstein, Patrick Conlon, Gay Claitman and Roger Abbott.

After a number of personnel changes, the group became the "Royal Canadian Air Farce" as early as 1973, broadcasting through CBC Radio from the Curtain Club in Richmond Hill, Ontario (400 Newkirk Road at Elgin Mills Road East). The CBC gives the date of the first broadcast as December 9, 1973. By this time the lineup consisted of Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, Luba Goy, John Morgan, Dave Broadfoot and Martin Bronstein. They quickly became one of the network's most popular programs. Most of their later shows were based in Toronto and recorded in CBC's Cabbagetown Studios; however as the troupe became more popular, they frequently travelled throughout the country to record their weekly radio broadcasts, which featured a mixture of political and cultural satire heavily influenced by the style of Wayne and Shuster. The touring show also often included one or more sketches satirizing local culture or politics, which were not aired on the national radio broadcast.

Air Farce Live

Air Farce Live, also credited as Air Farce, previously Royal Canadian Air Farce, and Air Farce—Final Flight! for the final season, was a Canadian sketch comedy series starring the comedy troupe Royal Canadian Air Farce, that previously starred in an eponymous show on CBC Radio, from 1973 to 1997. The top-rated television show was broadcast on CBC Television, beginning in 1993 and ending in December 2008. The Air Farce Live name was adopted in October 2007. For the show's final season which began October 3, 2008, the series was renamed Air Farce—Final Flight!.

The show was a weekly topical sketch comedy series focusing on political and cultural satire and was one of the most popular Canadian television shows. It was initially aired as a radio series beginning in 1973, and on radio, Air Farce continued for 24 seasons through 1997. In terms of the troupe's TV career, the first Air Farce TV special aired in 1980. A short-lived Air Farce TV series was broadcast in 1981, and further TV specials aired in 1982, 1983, and 1984. After a long hiatus from TV, a 1992 New Year's Eve special for CBC-TV was well received, and a new Air Farce TV series began in October 1993. The TV series was retitled Air Farce Live beginning with the October 6, 2007 broadcast and was the first Canadian sketch comedy series to be broadcast in HD. The show was broadcast live in the Atlantic time zone and tape delayed in the other time zones.