Rick Mercer Report: Difference between revisions

''[[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, ''[[22 Minutes|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]]''.

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 - specifically, the [https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/F-5.5/ Accountability Act]), 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 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.