Rideau Hall (TV series)

Rideau Hall
Country of originCanada
No. of episodes6 (+ 1 hour pilot)
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBC Television
ReleaseOctober 11, 2002 (2002-10-11) –
November 2002 (2002-11)

Rideau Hall is a Canadian television series broadcast in 2002 on CBC Television.[1]

The show starred Bette MacDonald as Regina Gallant, an earthy, one-hit wonder disco queen who is recommended for appointment as Governor General by a conniving Prime Minister who anticipates that she will become a national embarrassment in the job, allowing him to move ahead in eliminating the position, along with the Canadian monarchy.[2] Regina is brash and loud and highly unsuitable for a formal position, but has a charming common touch.[3]

Each episode has her becoming embroiled in one scandal or another, usually not of her making, only to have things resolve in her favour by the end. Fiona Reid plays her prim and proper executive assistant Eleanor Sharpe, Jonathan Torrens plays her flakey gay press secretary Daniel Van Dusen, and Joe Dinicol plays her laconic, level-headed son Jason. Rejean Cournoyer plays the Prime Minister's aide who is the primary liaison between Rideau Hall and the Prime Minister's office; Barry Flatman played the prime minister in the pilot, but did not appear in the regular series.

Six half-hour episodes plus an hour-long pilot were produced.[4] The show was not renewed for a second season.

References

  1. ^ Lindsay Brown, "Don't buy CBC's hype: Rideau Hall is horrible". Halifax Daily News, October 13, 2002.
  2. ^ Tony Atherton, "Rooting for Rideau Hall: Bette MacDonald stars as a spaced-out boogie mama appointed as head of state". Montreal Gazette, October 11, 2002.
  3. ^ "Comic's parody of Rideau Hall debuts as CBC-TV series". Pembroke Observer, October 11, 2002.
  4. ^ Tony Atherton, "An unfunny thing happened on the way to CBC". Ottawa Citizen, February 27, 2003.