Bizarre was a weekly Canadian TV sketch comedy series, airing from 1980 to 1985. The show was hosted by John Byner, and produced by CTV at the CFTO Glen-Warren Studios in suburban Toronto.
The series contained slapstick sketches, monologues, TV parodies, and performances by guest stand-up comics. Byner's interactions with members of the studio audience, or with show producer Bob Einstein (who often came in to halt a sketch midway through), provid...
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Bizarre was a weekly Canadian TV sketch comedy series, airing from 1980 to 1985. The show was hosted by John Byner, and produced by CTV at the CFTO Glen-Warren Studios in suburban Toronto.
The series contained slapstick sketches, monologues, TV parodies, and performances by guest stand-up comics. Byner's interactions with members of the studio audience, or with show producer Bob Einstein (who often came in to halt a sketch midway through), provided an early example of removing the fourth wall. Much of the humour on the show was considered risque during the original run of the series.
Two versions of the show were produced: episodes that aired on the Showtime cable network in the United States contained nudity and coarse language. The versions that aired on CTV (and later in syndication) had the nudity removed and the language bleeped by a horn-honking sound. Although the "adult" version is most closely associated with Showtime, it did go out on a few independent TV stations during the...
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