The Kids in the Hall
#101
TV Flash files “#101” as a desk essential hour — The Kids in the Hall (1988–1995) on CBC/HBO/CBS, season 1, episode 1, aired 1989-10-24, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 109 in the The Kids in the Hall guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 1989-10-24 (30 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “#102” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “#101”. #101 is CBC/HBO night one: Head Crusher and Chicken Lady not yet folklore, drag bits without a permission slip, weirdness as language.
Viewer FAQ
Where does #101 sit in the The Kids in the Hall guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 109 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did The Kids in the Hall S01E01 air?
#101 aired 1989-10-24 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Is this a Lorne Michaels SNL spinoff?
He executive produced; the troupe is Canadian anarchists, not a Studio 8H farm team. CBC/HBO launch, later CBS. Weirdness as cult language, not Weekend Update adjacent.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Canadian sketch anarchists: Head Crusher, Chicken Lady, and drag bits played without a permission slip. Late-80s CBC/HBO launch of a troupe that made weirdness a 1990s cult language for night owls. Fearlessness — especially the queer and grotesque turns — that American network sketch still flinches from. Short-form anarchy with long aftertaste.
The permission slip is the form, and they did not ask for one. CBC/HBO from 1988, CBS later, through 1995: five comics rotate characters in sharp, strange, often dark sketch comedy — Head Crusher, Chicken Lady, drag bits without a permission slip. The Kids in the Hall is Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson, with Lorne Michaels as executive producer. Canadian absurdism for U.S. night owls. Influential on later alternative comedy; Brain Candy and reunion tours extended the…
Filed against
- Dave Foley as Various
Dave Foley’s various Kids in the Hall turns made Canadian sketch a 1980s catalog night-owl language — Head Crusher adjacent, drag without a permission slip, then NewsRadio stretching the deadpan into workplace jazz. TV Flash files him as…
- Bruce McCulloch as Various
Bruce McCulloch was one of the Canadian sketch anarchists on The Kids in the Hall — Head Crusher, Chicken Lady, drag bits played without a permission slip. Late-80s CBC/HBO launch of a troupe that made weirdness a 1990s night-owl…
- Kevin McDonald as Various
Kevin McDonald worked The Kids in the Hall as various anarchists — Canadian sketch, Head Crusher and Chicken Lady folklore, drag bits without a permission slip, late-80s CBC/HBO weirdness as a 1990s cult language. The desk files him as…
- Mark McKinney as Various
Mark McKinney helped Canadian sketch go feral as various on The Kids in the Hall — Head Crusher, Chicken Lady, drag bits without a permission slip, late-80s CBC/HBO launch of a troupe that made weirdness a 1990s cult language for night…
- Scott Thompson as Various
Scott Thompson helped The Kids in the Hall make weirdness a 1990s cult language — Canadian sketch anarchists, Head Crusher, Chicken Lady, drag bits without a permission slip, late-80s CBC/HBO launch. Fearlessness, especially the queer and…