Back to TV | The ups and downs of January

There is always a slight feeling in our living rooms when a so-called humorous show does not completely fulfill its mandate.

This is unfortunately what is happening with two new television features in January, the variety show Incredible! hosted by Alexandre Barrette on - as well as the comedy Come to the living room of VAT.

Neither of these two brand new titles comes close to disaster, I would point out. But neither of them makes us laugh out loud or triggers an irresistible urge to come back the following week for another dose of average gags or more or less funny anecdotes.

In Incredible!which started Friday at 8 p.m. in front of 432,000 curious people, a very good score, the comedian Alexandre Barrette welcomes members of the public, therefore gentlemen and ladies Everyone, who has lived incredible stories, which almost become urban legends in their respective families.

Examples? In the first episode, a kind grandfather from Saint-Constant recounted the time he drilled his scrotum – he said rather that he “drilled his pocket” with a 1/8 drill bit – while handling an electric drill.

A hairdresser from Gatineau confides that she accidentally swallowed a whole bottle of peroxide 23 years ago, which literally made her burst, LOL! A Montrealer was sprayed in the face by a skunk, identical twins from Longueuil exchanged places like in an Olsen twins TV movie, while the mechanical bed of the grandfather of a woman from Granby played little tricks on her. time before his death.

At a dinner party, it’s the kind of anecdote that goes around and delights all the guests. On TV, the content is rather thin. The skunk portion, less inspiring, was the weakest of this first hour ofIncredible!. And it’s almost a waste to have hired the actors Antoine Bertrand and Marguerite Laurence, from the film M^lle Ankle boot, to revive this rather banal fragrant memory.

The man from Saint-Constant with the pierced scrotum, who was the star of the evening, was super entertaining, friendly and funny. But was it necessary to add to his passage a very ordinary sketch about Percés Anonymes (phew!), which brought together André Robitaille, Luc Guérin, Didier Lucien, Alexandre Barrette and LeLouis Courchesne?

The first episode ended with a disheveled performance by comedian Jo Cormier, aka Joe Téflon, a very short number which seemed to have been cut during editing.

At the helm ofIncredible!Alexandre Barrette does well with his guests, who each receive a $150 gift certificate from Valentine. Times are tough even for one-night stars.

At TVA, comedy Come to the living roomhosted on Wednesdays at 9 p.m., does not cause general hilarity either. This sitcom very pretty from an aesthetic point of view opens the doors of a funeral home in Montérégie similar to those seen in Another story (Love!) and Six Feet Underbut with embalming jokes.

Come to the living room pits two brothers with completely opposite personalities against each other. The self-effacing thanatologist Daniel (Jean-Michel Anctil) still lives with his mother Paulette (Chantal Baril, the best of the cast), never raises his voice and has had a crush on the esoteric florist (Myriam Fournier) from the municipality for a decade. . The egocentric and indebted Luc (Louis-Philippe Dandenault), a former professional hockey tough guy at the Longueuil Cup, siphons money from his mother and gets by with an addiction to pills.

Of course, the two brothers will get on each other’s nerves as the sudden death of their uncle (Vincent Bilodeau) forces them to work together at the Ostiguy family funeral home. There is potential to be exploited in this unique universe, conducive to discomfort, misunderstandings and emotions. The opposition between the tragic and the comic could eventually become profitable and entertaining. For the moment, the plot remains correct, without however waking the dead with its genius.

On the side of Zenithwhich took off with vigor Thursday evening on -, Audrey-Louise Beauséjour (generation Z) and Claude Cobra (generation Y) were amazing on the large circular stage heated by Véronique Cloutier.

The karaoke of ex-academician Audrey-Louise, on You Really Got MeVan Halen version, was particularly successful. Claude Cobra, from Bleu Jeans Bleu, also shone during the encore with his cover of Still alive by Gerry Boulet.

But it’s his fake neon exercise video infomercial from the 1980s, lying on I’m So Excited by the Pointer Sisters, which wowed audiences both at home and in the studio.

In comparison with the extravagance of the number Look at me by Audrey-Louise Beauséjour, the singing turn of Wilfred LeBouthillier (generation X) seemed very dull and simple. A guitar, a microphone stand, and that’s it.

The evening was difficult for the winner of Star Academy 2003. He voluntarily chose Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams even though he doesn’t speak English. And at the encore, Wilfred obviously didn’t know the song Who will take my place to comrade Marie-Mai.

As for Manuel Tadros, representative of the boomers, he offered an Arabized version of I will love you by Michel Sardou and tackled Lola by Allan Théo, at the end of the course, with the precious help of the choristers.

It was not Alegria, nor completely zero for Xavier Dolan’s dad, but rather a score of 91 points, a small tick above our Jean Batailleur for whom life was hard and love, broken.