This Hour Has 22 Minutes - Regular Characters and Segments

Regular Characters and Segments

Talking to Americans

Rick Mercer tours the United States, talking to Americans as if from a Canadian news program, asking them about "Canadian issues." The object is to see how little some Americans know about their northern neighbours. The piece was so popular that the CBC had Mercer create a one-hour TV special based on the segment. It became the highest rated comedy special in Canadian television history when it aired on Canada Day, 2001. Some truly memorable bits include Mercer getting Americans to say "Congratulations Canada on legalizing VCRs!" and getting a professor at Princeton University to sign a petition against the re-starting of the Annual Toronto Polar Bear Hunt. In an election 2000 segment, he convinced then-Governor of Texas George W. Bush that Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was named Jean Poutine and that he was supporting Bush's candidacy. The success of the CBC special got Mercer attention on numerous American media outlets, including ABC News Nightline. Mercer abandoned the concept after Sept. 11, 2001.

No Pun Intended

A Ludacris-ish Indian rapper/politician played by Shaun Majumder who frequently raps about election issues and what he will do if elected.

Babe Bennett

A 22 Minutes "sexual affairs correspondent" played by Cathy Jones, Babe is a sassy suffragette, 1940s style, who talks about sexual matters. She ends each segment by saying "I'm just goofin' around!"

Marg Delahunty

Mary Walsh crashes press conferences, hosts a "sleepover" for the nation's leading female (and gay) politicians, and threatens to "smite" the likes of politicians as "Marg Princess Warrior" (a loose parody of Xena).

Mark Jackson

22 Minutes's teenage correspondent that talks to politicians and who is played by Gavin Crawford. (The character is carried over from The Gavin Crawford Show.)

Bas MacLaren

A 22 Minutes correspondent portrayed by Mark Critch. He talks to politicians about current events and is also one of the 22 Minutes anchors.

Misses Enid & Eulalia

Two elderly women who talk about daily events (portrayed by Cathy Jones and Mary Walsh, respectively). Upon Walsh's departure from the show, Jones has appeared alone as Miss Enid. (The characters were normally introduced as "the Misses Enid and Eulalia", meaning "Miss Enid and Miss Eulalia", but this was frequently misunderstood by viewers as "Mrs. Enid" and "Eulalia" without an honorific.)

Streeters, aka The Rant.

A weekly commentary on current events and political issues, which quickly became the show's most famous feature, by Rick Mercer in black and white presentations. This segment was later used in colour presentations on the Rick Mercer Report series.

Max Pointy

A spoof of CBC personality Rex Murphy's political commentaries for The National, performed by Colin Mochrie. Max would start off with a legitimate political issue but end up on an unrelated and generally inane point by the end of his rant. Discontinued when Mochrie left the show.

That Show Sucked!

with Ma and Eddie Reardon (portrayed by Mary Walsh & Greg Thomey) who make fun of TV shows, with Ma saying that whatever show that Eddie watches "Suck" and constantly demanding that he give her "the G.D. clickerbox". Discontinued when Walsh left the show.

The Quinlan Quints

four quintuplets (the fifth one went missing and has never been found) who live in Buchans, Newfoundland and Labrador - inspired by the fame of the Dionne quintuplets; portrayed by Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer, Greg Thomey and Mary Walsh (Colin Mochrie plays Mercer's quint role for seasons 9 and 10). Discontinued when Mochrie left the show.

Inside Media Counter-spin

A satirical talk show with the host portrayed by Cathy Jones. The host makes blatantly stereotypical statements about her guests.

Panic Room with Betty Hope

Host Betty Hope (played by Cathy Jones) parodies Nancy Grace in "breaking news" style segments, in which she interviews someone knowledgeable about a given threat and then spins the facts to make them sound more dramatic and dangerous.

The Right Answer

Two conservative commentators (played by Rick Mercer and Greg Thomey) debate various issues in the news. When one of them makes a point, they hit a chess timer. Discontinued when Mercer left the show.

The Special Eds

Mercer and Thomey portray two members of the RCMP - Special Constable Ed Cochrane and Special Constable Ed Codner - with questionable ethics. Discontinued when Mercer left the show.

Nathan Fielder On Your Side

Nathan is a reporter for 22 Minutes asking the strangest questions in one-on-one interviews, as well as questions you wouldn't expect to be asked in a TV interview. His segments usually start with a shot of people walking along a street. He talks almost exclusively in a monotone and has laughed once, to date. He also claims to be allergic to dogs.