Twelve_Parallax_Seconds After reading a bunch of negative reviews of this show, I felt I had to write one myself. Most of the reviews seem to be by canadians who know Rick Mercer from other shows, where he supposedly was "a lot funnier. What happened?" I am not from Canada and had never heard about mr Mercer before stumbling upon this show, and I love it. The show's main premise is that Mercer travels around Canada and meets with people from different places and walks of life. It's a great mix of destinations, and you get to learn a lot about of canadian geography, and the people who live there. Sometimes, he goes to far away rural places, like Inuvik, NT, where he attends the Sunrise Festival. In another show, he goes to The University of Victoria, where he learns about neuroscience. Interspersed with the travel reports are short bits with satirical commentary on canadian political matters. Mercer is a funny guy and he makes fun of the people he's talking to, and the places he's visiting in his travel reports. The jokes are never nasty, and he always makes himself the butt of the joke in the end. My only criticism is that the constant joking makes the interviews a bit shallow. Then again, the comedy is part of what makes this show great. The political commentary bits are funny, but are not what makes the show stand out. They feel a bit generical to an outside observer, since it's difficult to identify with the issues when you don't live there. For canadians, they may be spot on, I have no idea. Mercer's outrage for what to me seems to be mild concerns about the canadian government (compared to the US), only makes me feel like Canada is a damn great place to live in. Coming from northern Europe, I know a lot about US geography and the people there. That annoys me to no end, because I find the USA a lot less interesting than Canada. Unfortunately, I know almost nothing about Canada. For instance, I had never heard about a place called Nunavut. I actually had to google it to realize it was a territory, not a town! So this show is a godsend for a foreigner who wants to learn more about Canada and canadian life in a playful way.

kirkir-17920 If you look at all of the terrible shows CBC has produced, RMR is really a gem. Basically, the plot of every episode sees Rick Mercer going to some obscure place in Canada. He is guided by the staff of the facility, and makes a few jokes along the way. Mercer really has a wonderful comedic personality, and some of the jokes he comes up with are quite clever and entertaining. What may possibly be funnier than Rick's journeys, are the skits the show puts on; sort of like Saturday Night Live. These are where Mercer's jokes really shine, and they are what make this show extremely entertaining. This is really a success on the part of the CBC, and I really hope this show keeps airing.

mksnows This show has formerly Funny TV personality Rick Mercer go places and talk to people then try to do what they do but he doesn't know how to do it so that is funny.Did you see the one where Rick Mercer goes to talk to the gymnastics team about doing gymnastics then he tries to do gymnastics with them, but Rick Mercer doesn't know how to do gymnastics so he just fell down and stuff and that is funny.Maybe you saw the one where he went to talk to the scientist who was studying hypothermia about hypothermia but he didn't know much about hypothermia so he got into a tub of ice to learn about the hypothermia study? That was funny because Rick Mercer got into a tub of ice and then got cold, who saw that coming? Maybe you saw the one where Rick Mercer went to talk to the swim team about swimming then he tries to go swimming with them but in a completely unexpected turn of events Rick Mercer went swimming with them anyway..... but Rick Mercer doesn't know how to swim very well so he just splashed around a lot and also he wore a funny bathing cap so that is the height of comedy right there.Somebody should cancel this show and either send Rick Mercer back to This Hour has 22 Minutes or send him into retirement.

gusglarp Remember when Rick Mercer was funny? 22 Minutes was a great show when Rick Mercer was on it and Made In Canada was a great show once too. Talking To Americans was such a funny special too. But like my friend said "Rick Mercer woke up one day and wasn't funny any more" I think that day was when Rick Mercer Report went on the air. What is the point of this show? Rick Mercer reads wacky fake headlines, shows pictures of bad sheds that people mail in and then spends about 20 minutes of the 30 minute show going somewhere and just talking to people hoping to say something witty or clever enough to get on TV and maybe even make somebody somewhere laugh. We're supposed to be interested in seeing Rick Mercer visit a gymnastics team and then try to do some of their moves, and then suck at it on purpose while trying desperately to be "funny". Rick Mercer got old or just lost interest or just ain't funny any more. Even his classic rant bits have lost all their bite and humor. You can say that about CBC comedy in general though because how many years have they been sticking Air Farce on TV to deliver the same kinds of useless jokes?