Super Dave (TV series)
| Super Dave | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | ''The Super Dave Osborne Show'' |
| Genre |
Sketch comedy Variety |
| Created by | Allan Blye Bob Einstein |
| Directed by | Jack Budgel |
| Starring |
Super Dave Osborne Robert Gruenberg Art Irizawa Don Lake Michel Lauzière Pat McNeilly Mike Walden |
| Composer(s) | James Dale |
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 95 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
Glen Warren Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1987-1988) Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts, Markham Ontario, Canada (1988-1992) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network |
Showtime (United States) Global Television Network (Canada) |
| Original release | 1987 – 1992 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Bizarre |
| Followed by | "Super Dave All-Stars" |
Super Dave (also known as The Super Dave Osborne Show) is a Canadian/American variety show starring and hosted by the fictional character Super Dave Osborne (played by Bob Einstein). It ran from 1987 to 1991 on Showtime in the US and the Global Television Network in Canada. Super Dave was spun off from the sketch comedy series Bizarre, which featured Bob Einstein in recurring roles, including Super Dave. Super Dave made his first appearance on the 1972 TV series The John Byner Comedy Hour. Einstein then regularly played the character on the short-lived 1976 variety series Van Dyke and Company, starring Dick Van Dyke.
Super Dave took place in a theater with an audience. The stage featured his signature "bulb wall" - a movable wall lined with red, white and blue light bulbs, which would act as a curtain. He would often do an introductory monologue, and introduce guest performers there. The studio was located at the fictional "Super Dave Compound" – a combination resort/theme park/learning center/etc. (anything needed for a particular episode). In the first season, in 1987, the compound was often referred to as the "stunt compound" or "Super Dave Complex". In the second season, the show moved to a different studio. It featured the same stage setup - the bulb wall and the billboard sign behind it; however, the studio was much larger. In the original studio, the stage was at the lowest point in the studio and was surrounded by a semicircle of bleacher-style seats (It was the same studio where Bizarre was taped, the Glen Warren Studios at CFTO-TV in Toronto). The new studio was a typical theater with a raised stage, a balcony of seating and private boxes. This was the Markham Theatre in Markham, Ontario.
A typical episode consisted of a teaser scene of Super Dave outside the studio, often somewhere else within his compound; his theme and introduction in the studio, usually featuring one or more artistic performances; followed by another remote scene, usually a stunt.
Musical guests on the show included Ray Charles, Celine Dion, Doug and the Slugs, k.d. lang, Jerry Lee Lewis, Colin James, Bobby McFerrin, Kenny Rogers, and Sonny Bono. Other types of performances were also featured, including ventriloquist Ronn Lucas, ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, impressionist André-Philippe Gagnon, comedian Steve Allen, talk show host Regis Philbin, and the Smothers Brothers, whose variety show Einstein got his start writing for.
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