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Comedy Now!: Bowser and Blue — Full Frontal Unity

George Bowser & Rick Blue

CTV · 1997 · 30 min

Acoustic satire targeting Canadian politics, language barriers, and poutine.

George Bowser and Rick Blue bring their acoustic guitars and regional grievances to a national audience, turning late-nineties Canadian political friction into musical satire. The duo breaks down the linguistic and culinary quirks of their home province, delivering a strict grammar lesson on conjugating expletives in “The Use of the F-Word in Canada”. They also detail the specific temperature requirements of cheese curds in “The Night They Invented Poutine”. The angle is less about solving the country’s problems and more about mocking anyone taking the separatist debate too seriously.

Broadcast as part of the inaugural season of CTV’s Comedy Now! in 1997, the special caught the comics at a television peak. They aired two network specials that year, functioning as reliable commentators on the tension between anglo-Quebecers and the francophone majority. The setlist, later released on their live album Crackpots, stretches beyond provincial politics to include medical novelty songs like “We Love Anaesthetists” and the heavily sarcastic title track.

The set list

1 bit
  1. Full Frontal Unity

    A musical satire advocating for Canadian unity across anglophones, francophones, and indigenous peoples, referencing the national debt, healthcare, and Canadian inventions like penicillin, the Tilley hat, and time zones.

How it plays

Tone
Satirical, absurdist, playful
On stage
Satirical musical duo blending comedic songs with pointed political and cultural commentary
About
Canadian national unity, Quebec nationalism and separatism, Canadian identity and inventions, Healthcare and the national debt

Backstory

Quebec nationalism and the ongoing Canadian national unity debate regarding English-speaking Quebecers, federalism, and the constitution