This Is a Book About the Kids in the Hall

by John Semley

Overview

The first book to explore their history, legacy, and influence

This is a book about the Kids in the Hall — the legendary Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in Toronto in 1984 and best known for the innovative, hilarious, zeitgeist-capturing sketch show The Kids in the Hall — told by the people who were there, namely the Kids themselves. John Semley’s thoroughly researched book is rich with interviews with Dave Foley, Mark McKinney, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, and Scott Thompson, as well as Lorne Michaels and comedians speaking to the Kids’ legacy: Janeane Garofalo, Tim Heidecker, Nathan Fielder, and others. It also turns a critic’s eye on that legacy, making a strong case for the massive influence the Kids have exerted, both on alternative comedy and on pop culture more broadly.

The Kids in the Hall were like a band: a group of weirdoes brought together, united by a common sensibility. And, much like a band, they’re always better when they’re together. This is a book about friendship, collaboration, and comedy — and about clashing egos, lost opportunities, and one-upmanship. This is a book about the head-crushing, cross-dressing, inimitable Kids in the Hall.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770413054
Publisher:	ECW Press
Publication date:	10/11/2016
Edition description:	No Edition
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	1170L (what's this?)

About the Author

John Semley is a writer living in Toronto. His work has appeared in The Believer, The New York Times Magazine, Salon, Esquire, The A.V. Club, The Walrus, Reader’s Digest, and a whole bunch of other magazines, newspapers, and websites. He is a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, and the Toronto Star.

Table of Contents

1. Five Bassists: By Means of an Introduction
2. Chapter 1 — Archaic Heritage: The shared dream of the “beautiful day you beat up your dad”
3. Chapter 2 — Mirror Game: Across Canada, two comedy troupes find each other
4. Chapter 3 — Mergers and Acquisitions: The Kids in the Hall and The Audience join forces
5. Chapter 4 — Cool, Or What?: The Kids in the Hall and the Remaking of Toronto’s Queen West Scene
6. Chapter 5 — How to Break into Showbiz: The Kids get their big break . . . eventually
7. Chapter 6 — Special Unicorn Anomaly: The Kids in the Hall become The Kids in the Hall
8. Chapter 7 — Screw You, Taxpayer!: The Kids get scrappy, brassy, and indulgent
9. Chapter 8 — Resolutely Unheartwarming: In which the Kids’ feature film debut tears the troupe apart
10. Chapter 9 — Kicking and Screaming: The Kids break up, see other people
11. Chapter 10 — Same Guys, New Dresses: The Kids in the Hall hit the road again
12. Chapter 11 — Tours of Duty: The Kids enter a new era of peace and reconciliation
13. Chapter 12 — The Opposite of Life . . . Town: The Kids reunite for their most ambitious project since Brain Candy; naturally, tragedy ensues
14. Chapter 13 — History Repeating: In which the Kids reform, tour, tour again, and remain, forever, a buncha kids
15. Afterword
16. Acknowledgements
17. Endnotes
18. Works Cited

Editorial Reviews

“Finally! The Kids in the Hall gets the book their legendary body of work deserves. Just like its subject matter, This Is a Book About the Kids in the Hall is funny, insightful, freewheeling, and strangely touching.” — Tom Scharpling, host of the The Best Show

“Head-crushingly good! Semley has written an immensely readable exploration of one of the architects of contemporary comedy.” — Nathan Rabin, columnist, author of You Don’t Know Me But You Don’t Like Me

“I liked this book so much. I love reading behind-the-scenes dissections of what makes comedy groups work, and I kind of can’t believe there wasn’t one about the Kids already. Now there is one, and it’s delightful! Thank god!” — Mallory Ortberg, author of Texts from Jane Eyre

“Semley’s comprehensive and engagingly written book will appeal primarily to fans of the Kids and also those interested in the history of the comedy scene of the 1980s and 1990s.” — Library Journal

“The personal and interpersonal troubles, network struggles, failures, and triumphs of The Kids in the Hall make the reading absolutely compulsive.” — Psychobabble

“This is A Book About the Kids in the Hall is a book that fans of the troupe, whether you watched their TV show, caught one of their stage shows — and yes, even saw "Brain Candy" — will find as the authoritative story of how five diverse Canadian comedians joined forces to set the gold standard of what modern sketch comedy should be like.” — Montreal Times

“Excellent.” — National Post

“Exhaustively researched and wonderfully written … In his in-depth analysis and really colourful, funny writing, Semley brings fans into the psyche of these 'five losers,' as McCulloch once called them.” — Globe and Mail

“Turns out Semley's monograph is as good as its subject deserves. There's not much new to offer outline-wise, but Semley colours in and shades the broad strokes in such a way that makes the Kids' story more vivid than it's yet been, elevating the usual historical bullet points with blessed context… Semley's subtle triumph here is his acute humour.” — Bookshelf.ca

“I recommend any self-respecting KITH fan snap it up all the same, lest he or she risk a well-deserved head-crushing.” — Flick Attach blog

From the Publisher