Who remembers the contests of B!bi and Geneviève, Boulevard Ricalle and Jean-Sylvain Rogatien Dutrisac’s forelock (“I don’t call myself teteux, hello!”)? Many, many Quebecers born in the 1980s and 1990s. Great nostalgics of this era, Simon Portelance and Guy A. St Cyr launched Family Channel Generation, a behind-the-scenes bible of this somewhat crazy and very daring channel. “Yo, young people! »
Posted at 7:15 p.m.
Warning: you will step into a veritable bottomless pit when you open this book devoted to a television channel on which the television culture of an entire generation has been based. All the shows are there, cult series that have become Radio Hell and In a galaxy near you to those who have fallen into oblivion (who remembers RAM ?).
“The Canal Famille is a founder, it’s fundamental to what I do today,” says Guy A. St Cyr, who writes for radio and TV.
Whether it be Tele-Pirate [une émission qui avait été vivement critiquée par la chroniqueuse de La Presse Louise Cousineau] or the follies of Bruno Blanchet at Studio with Guy Jodoin. What emerges from Canal Famille is to be daring, without trying to shock at all costs.
Guy A. St Cyr
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY ZONE3, FROM THE ARCHIVES OF FRANÇOIS DESAULNIERS
The show team In a galaxy near you
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY PAUL CADIEUX, MEGAFUN
Sophie Dansereau and Michel Ledoux, puppeteer behind B!bi
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY TRINÔME ET FILLES
France Beaulé and André Desjardins in Fripe and Puglia
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY FRANÇOIS CHAMPAGNE
Carol Cassistat, Christian Bégin and Élyse Marquis in Tele-Pirate
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY MICHEL GAUTHIER
Lorànt Deutsch and Jessica Barker in the intrepid
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PHOTO JULIE D’AMOUR-LÉGER, PROVIDED BY CINÉ TÉLÉ ACTION
François Chénier, Michel Charette and Robin Aubert in Radio Hell
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY ZONE3
Gregory Charles and Marie-Soleil Tougas in The Resourceful
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“It was TV that gave you the right to dream, that made you feel like you belonged somewhere, and then I think it was a refuge for a lot of people. We valued young people, ”adds Simon Portelance, member of the humorous collective Les Piles-Poils.
These are 250 interviews that the duo conducted with the craftsmen of the channel, from the former vice-president of programming Monic Lessard to Bruno Blanchet (screenwriter and host of the Studio) through the designer of the Romeo Fafard and even the crowd leader in Radio Hell.
The evolution of Canal Famille
He and Guy A. St Cyr connected through Facebook in 2016. “We went for a beer and spent four hours talking almost only about Canal Famille,” recalls Simon Portelance. Three and a half years later, after a “fairly vague” dream of Simon’s which brought the project back to him, they decided to launch themselves. “It was supposed to be a summer project to take my mind off things, in the end it lasted three and a half years,” says Guy A.
All the programs scheduled on Canal Famille from 1988 to 2001 are mentioned in the book and the 15 most important are given more exhaustive chapters. Shows that the authors have reviewed extensively – having been able to get their hands on VHS and material provided by the producers. Many are also available on YouTube. Unis TV also broadcasts, in repeats, Radio Hell and In a galaxy near you.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ZONE3, FROM THE ARCHIVES OF FRANÇOIS DESAULNIERS
In a galaxy near you
“Canal Famille has evolved a great deal over time,” emphasizes Simon Portelance. There were the questioning of the leaders and the arrival of Télétoon which had an influence on the direction of the channel. »
Télétoon dealt a heavy blow to Canal Famille, which had a budget of around $6 million in 1999-2000. In the fall of 2000, the channel broadcast covers in abundance. Its market share fell from 2.5% to 1.4%. On December 5, 2000, his death was announced, giving way to VRAK.TV, which continued to broadcast certain flagship programs of Canal Famille. But, for many, the magic was broken.
Today, too few youth programs have this madness that inhabited the Family Channel, deplore Simon Portelance and Guy A. St Cyr. This audacity and this desire to create emotions too, without being didactic. They quote Barbados, No dumber than usthe work of Simon Boulerice.
As two of the five political parties pledge to fund more Télé-Québec, in the context of the October 3 provincial elections, the authors are calling for an increase in the production of youth content. “For a really long time, there were fewer youth programs in Quebec, then we can see that this generation is 16, 17, 18 years old and they only consume in English,” observes Simon. “No wonder they don’t know Véro,” adds Guy A.
Three questions to the authors
The show that marked you?
Guy A.: “Without a doubt The studio with Bruno Blanchet. They did completely absurd sketches that rival Monty Python. To do a sketch during which the characters just say “pit pit pit” on different intonations, for three or four minutes, then maintain it and keep it funny. It’s phenomenal. »
The one you changed jobs for?
Simon: ” The wind in the willows, The flight, it wasn’t very good shows, but it’s still a channel that didn’t have a huge budget. »
The show you rediscovered?
Guy A.: ” Bookfolie. It’s a show that was considered boring at the time, but to rediscover it through adult eyes is great. Vincent Bilodeau and Fanny Lauzier received young people in the studio. There were discussions about books like 2001: a space odyssey. They read great authors like Herman Melville. But it is sure that for a child, it is daunting. »
Family Channel Generation
Simon Portelance and Guy A. St Cyr
Quebec America
360 pages