The special program celebrating 20 years of Everybody talks about it, which will be broadcast in two weeks, is undoubtedly the best episode of recent years, by far. Filmed in January, it gives rise to great TV moments. Difficult, it must be said, to do otherwise when almost all the most prestigious guests in Quebec are gathered on the same stage, from Véronique Cloutier to Dany Laferrière via Pauline Marois, Janette Bertrand and Justin Trudeau.
The media were invited on Wednesday to view the 500e of Everybody talks about it, which turns out to be closer to the spirit of the first seasons. Especially since Dany Turcotte agreed to reprise his role as the king’s jester for the occasion. The presence of the politically incorrect Thierry Ardisson, the one who created the concept of Everybody talks about it in France, also sets the tone.
The guests seem more relaxed than we’re used to since the show went live. Ditto for host Guy A. Lepage.
For more than two hours, we laugh as much as we are moved by revisiting archive images that have marked the history of the Quebec version. Justin Trudeau’s eyes water when he rewatches an old clip in which he says that his father’s worst mistake was divorcing his mother. “Politics is roughbut it’s important,” confesses with a lump in his throat the Prime Minister, who announced his separation last summer.
Christian Bégin took advantage of the 500e of the big Sunday meeting to make amends again, he who allowed himself in 2004 to judge the performance of Stéphane Rousseau in Barbarian invasions. Reunited on the same set 20 years later, the two actors said they had made peace since then.
Discomforts
In 20 years, Everybody talks about it will have been punctuated by discomfort. Probably the worst of all: Raël’s appearance in September 2004. “A crazy man,” maintains Pauline Marois today, who was also on set that evening. “I should have been more rebellious,” the former prime minister emphasizes with regret, reviewing the images of the surrealist interview the guru gave.
This 20th anniversary special Everybody talks about it achieved the feat of bringing Pauline Marois and Justin Trudeau to the same table, who had the decency to salute the courage of his political opponent for having established the CPE network. The tone was also courteous between former snipers Richard Martineau and Patrick Lagacé, who have had stormy relations for several years.
Only Mario Dumont declined the invitation to participate in this 500e. The former leader of the Democratic Action of Quebec did not wish to return to his difficult time at Everybody talks about it in 2007, in the middle of the electoral campaign. Chantal Hébert then told him that he was not ready to become prime minister.
The advantages of assembly
At the time, exchanges between guests could be heated. They are almost always smooth since the pandemic, which is since the show went live. While assembling the 500eGuy A. Lepage was a little nostalgic for the time when Everybody talks about it was shot three days in advance, he admitted. However, live is here for good.
“Editing, it’s true, has its advantages. But I don’t know how that show could not be live now. When we started Everybody talks about it, almost nothing happened between Thursday and Sunday. Today, the news is constantly evolving,” argued Guy A. Lepage to journalists on Wednesday, after the press screening.
The show’s host and co-producer says he enjoys doing his job as much as he did 20 years ago. Good for him: Radio-Canada confirms that Everybody talks about it returns next year.