No, Paul. Eating an artificial fire log is stupid.

January 5, 2005 11:01 AM

The Great Eastern ran on CBC Radio from '94 until '99. Sublimely funny, the show lives on with complete episode archives, select clips and some detailed backstory. I haven't heard anything as well written in a long, long time. Subtle satire at its best.
posted by cmyr (7 comments total)

thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou

Paul Moth is great, and definitely under-appreciated outside of the cult of CBC that still remembers The Great Eastern.

The episode with the former Newfoundland African colony was my fave.
posted by Space Coyote at 11:17 AM on January 5, 2005

I echo the multiple thank-yous! In the best Canadian humour tradition The Great Eastern created a fictional world whose events were reported in a completely deadpan style. The writing was incredible with a million clever little asides that you missed if you weren't paying attention.

Note that Paul Moth resurfaced in a summer replacement last year that was equally good.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 11:51 AM on January 5, 2005

Ah, the Great Eastern! The absolute pinnacle of Canadian humour! I have most episodes in MP3 format and listen to it sometimes when I'm driving. It is coffee-up-your-nose funny!

Paul's blog was great while the summer show ran. His final comment on that was...

One last week to work on this stupid show. Future prospects ... bleak.

Finally get first cheque from CBC. $312 a week. There's got to be some kind of fucking mistake. Union dues? Health? Pension? Income tax? Don't I get any of this fucking money?

Thank you, cmyr. I wish more people knew about this fabulous show...
posted by 327.ca at 12:19 PM on January 5, 2005

I actually won a Great Eastern tee for successfully naming that noise from NF one episode. My favourite references were to some of the non-existant books that Jorge Louis Borges' created, that Paul claimed to have found in a used-bookstore in St John's.
posted by djfiander at 12:40 PM on January 5, 2005 [1 favorite]

I actually won a Great Eastern tee for successfully naming that noise from NF one episode.

No! I always thought that the contestants were made up!
posted by 327.ca at 4:14 PM on January 5, 2005

Thank you!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:44 PM on January 5, 2005

Great post, thanks!

I grew up pretty close to the Great Eastern's coal-fired transmission tower in St. John's.

I loved the humour, especially the jokes and references that only a true townie would understand.
posted by MiG at 8:13 PM on January 5, 2005