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''[[Rick Mercer Report]]'' (or the '''''Mercer Report''''', or '''''RMR'''''; formerly known as '''''Rick Mercer's Monday Report''''' or simply '''''Monday Report''''' before it was moved to Tuesdays) was a [[Canada|Canadian]] comedy news program which aired on [[CBC Television]] from 2004 to 2018. Hosted by comedian [[Rick Mercer]], the weekly half-hour show combined news [[parody]], [[sketch comedy]], visits to interesting places across Canada, and [[satire|satirical]] editorials, often involving Canadian politics. The show's format is similar in some respects to satirical news shows like Mercer's prior series ''[[This Hour Has 22 Minutes]]'', and to [[Jon Stewart]]'s ''[[The Daily Show]]'' – however, the ''Mercer Report''{{'}}s on-location segments were usually played relatively straight in comparison to those on the other shows, since participants were usually aware of Mercer's identity and purpose, showing similarity to [[Stephen Colbert]]'s ''[[The Colbert Report]]''.
Canadian comedy news program (2004-2018) hosted by Rick Mercer. Each week's program involveed satirical news commentary, sketches, parodies of ads and TV shows, and interviews with political/entertainment figures of the day. In addition, there were longer segments of Rick visiting various people/places across Canada. These segments often highlighted ordinary Canadians who do extraordinary things, from [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y5e5w59KcA&feature=relmfu Paralympians] to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0mBSkATzQM&feature=relmfu the Rangers] to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o9K05TX9Rg&feature=relmfu giant pumpkin growers] to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaaZRncubLo&feature=relmfu circus performers] to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8syXAjtnDic&feature=relmfu lobster fishermen] to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeDXiS8Yeho&feature=relmfu RCMP trainees] - in the show's finale, Rick Mercer said that these "everyday Canadians" segments were among his favourites.▼
The first two seasons aired on Monday nights – hence the original name, which was likely also a pun on the then-current name of CBC's main Sunday news broadcast, ''[[CBC News: Sunday Night|Sunday Report]]'' (now the Sunday edition of ''[[CBC News: The National|The National]]''). The ''Mercer Report'' then aired Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m. on CBC. Repeats aired regularly on both CBC and [[The Comedy Network]] Canada.
The tone of the program was quite kind towards the politicians it mocks. Over the show's run, probably every major Canadian political figure was on the show, obviously for the positive publicity of being seen as a comic good sport. Memorable instances include Rick having a burger with Jean Chretien, skinny dipping with Bob Rae, having a sleepover at 24 Sussex (with Prime Minister Stephen Harper reading bedtime election legislation), having Pierre Burton demonstrate the correct way to roll a joint of marijuana (back when it was still illegal... and according to Rick Mercer he used actual marijuana), or [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|getting every member of parliament to participate in a spoof of the Bud Light dude commercial]]. (Only the last of these was not re-run in the series finale.)▼
The program was recorded in front of a live audience at the [[Canadian Broadcasting Centre]] in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], except for the on-location and rant segments. These segments were shown to the studio audience during taping, with their reactions recorded for broadcast.
The show was a spinoff of sorts from ''[[This Hour Has 22 Minutes]]'', where Rick was one of the co-hosts. Unlike ''This Hour'' or ''[[Royal Canadian Air Farce]]'' which derives a major portion of comedy from impressions of public figures, ''The Mercer Report'' tended to get the ''real life'' public figures to come and make fun of themselves.▼
▲
▲The tone of the program was quite kind towards the politicians it mocks. Over the show's run, probably every major Canadian political figure was on the show, obviously for the positive publicity of being seen as a comic good sport. Memorable instances include Rick having a burger with Jean Chretien, skinny dipping with Bob Rae, having a sleepover at 24 Sussex (with Prime Minister Stephen Harper reading bedtime
▲The show was a spinoff of sorts from ''[[This Hour Has 22 Minutes]]'', where Rick was one of the co-hosts. Unlike ''This Hour'' or ''[[Royal Canadian Air Farce]]'' which derives a major portion of comedy from impressions of public figures, ''The Mercer Report'' tended to get the ''real life'' public figures - especially [[Jann Arden]] - to come and make fun of themselves.
{{tropelist}}
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* [[Parody Commercial]]: one or two an episode, always just before a real ad break.
* [[Platonic Life Partners]]: Rick and frequent guest [[Jann Arden]], who took part in many, many embarrassing and possibly-dangerous stunts together. (Rick's openly gay, so "Platonic" was as far as it ever went.)
* [[Rant Comedy]]: A staple of the ''Report'', airing [[Once
** Rick didn't always rant - on occasions when the entire country was aware of something culturally important that had just happened (such as [[The Tragically Hip|Gord Downie]]'s announcement that he had cancer), Rick's weekly oration was rant-free.
* [[Tear Jerker]]: In an episode near Christmas, Rick visited the Canada Post distribution centre in Ottawa and found out that Canada Post replies to letters to Santa in over 20 different languages, including Braille. Rick started to cry.▼
* [[The Slacker]]: Not being trained to do lifting and other work requiring strength, Rick often left it to the professionals to do it.
▲* [[Tear Jerker]]: In an episode near Christmas, Rick visited the Canada Post distribution centre in Ottawa and found out that Canada Post replies to letters to Santa in over 20 different languages, including Braille. Rick started to cry.
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