It wasn’t installed with a lot of fanfare. But, in light of the tough times many of us are going through right now, maybe it’s time to share a good-news story in Edmonton.
A monument that celebrates Edmonton’s connection with one of comedy’s most-loved institutions is now a reality. Bob and Doug McKenzie can now be found in the ICE District, telling all you hosers to take off, eh? And, if you’re making sure to keep your social distance, check it out.
In 2012, Avenue ran a cover story on SCTV’s Edmonton history, how the seminal years of this influential comedy show were shot at the south-side ITV studios, which now houses Global Edmonton.
And, we thought, why not do more than a story? Our late publisher, Orville Chubb, championed the idea that, heck, why not have a statue that celebrates SCTV and its lasting legacy? Wayne Gretzky has a statue, we have a statue of a guy taking a lunch break in Churchill Square, why not a statue that celebrates some of SCTV’s most famous characters?
We launched a petition and held a launch event at Metro Cinema, where we screened some of the show’s most famous skits. With the support we received through the online petition and this event, we recognized that our city was rallying behind the idea.
SCTV’s first season was filmed in Toronto, but the show was in risk of being cancelled before it could even really gain any sort of momentum. It was Dr. Charles Allard who laid the groundwork for the show to move to Edmonton, and to blossom as a staple on both CBC and NBC. It was from Edmonton that characters such as the McKenzie Brothers, Johnny LaRue, Guy Caballero and Edith Prickley would emerge as pop-culture staples.
It was fitting that the Allard family shared our vision for an SCTV monument. We formed a committee and, as committees are wont to do, things went dark. We worked behind the scenes. We didn’t make many public pronouncements. What did we do? We rallied support behind the scenes, selected a sculptor from a series of submissions and filled out a lot of paperwork.