“Take off, ya hoser”: Remembering Bob and Doug McKenzie

Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis as Bob and Doug McKenzie, the fictional brothers and hosts of "The Great White North" on SCTV in the 1980s.
Source: https://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2020/08/23/how-gut-feeling-made-million-bob-doug-mckenzie
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It was a fad that swept the nation – toques, ear muffs, scarves, parkas and lots of plaid checkered shirts and coats. It was spawned by two beer-guzzling brothers who called each other hosers and hosted a segment called “The Great White North” on the fictitious SCTV or Second City Television.

They were Bob and Doug McKenzie, played by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis and their popularity stretched beyond “SCTV” on CBC and NBC, to a hit song, Christmas song and all the way to a major motion picture called “Strange Brew”.

The Mackenzie brothers are back in the news again these days as Thomas and Moranis have reprised their roles to take part in a campaign to protest the federal government’s tax increases on liquor.

The Great White North
SCTV was a uniquely Canadian show that not only capitalized on some of the best comic minds in Canada, but told uniquely Canadian jokes. Simple examples that come to mind are the soap opera “Moncton”, and the crime drama, “Magnum P.E.I.”.

Out of that environment came a segment as Canadian as hockey, the maple leaf and the beaver. It was called “The Great White North” and was hosted by Bob and Doug Mackenzie. They made jokes, drank beer out of stubby beer bottles, mocked each other as only brothers can, and dressed in ear muffs, toques, and parkas.

Their speech was punctuated with plenty of “eh” and if they were annoyed told each other to “take off”. If they were really annoyed they would call each other “hosers”.

Soon, the popularity of Bob and Doug would expand beyond Friday nights on CBC.

Heard it on vinyl
One of my cousins first played it on her turn table. It was a record, issued in 1981, called “The Great White North” and featured the song “Take Off”. I remember the chorus, by what I thought was a female voice, belting out “taaaake off, to the Great White North.” I recently learned it was actually Geddy Lee of Rush. In fact, Moranis went to elementary school with Geddy Lee.

The song was so popular, it made it all the way to number 16 on the Billboard 100 Singles chart in March of 1982.

Another track that really resonated in our junior high was Bob and Doug’s re-working of “The 12 Days of Christmas”. It included five golden toques, four pounds of back bacon, three French horns, two turtle necks , and a beer in a tree. That too, was uniquely Canadian.

A third track I recall was “The Beer Hunter”, a parody of the movie “The Deer Hunter” and Russian Roulette. Instead of a loaded gun though, the weapon is a beer can that may or may not have been shaken. Opening it may or may not mean a beer face wash.

Going to the movies
The McKenzie brothers even made their way on to the big screen with the theatrical release in 1983 of “Strange Brew”.

I never saw the movie in its entirety. One scene I do remember is one of the brothers trapped in a beer vat and to save himself, he drank the whole thing. He looked bloated too.

According to Wikipedia, the movie is loosely based on “Hamlet”.

Hoser Day
At its height, Bob and Doug McKenzie and “The Great White North” gripped the country. It was a huge national fad.

In Social Studies class at St. Joseph’s Elementary Junior High we used to watch a show on CBC called “What’s New?”. It was about current events, aimed at junior high-age students. It also had quizzes that we took periodically.

One day, we were watching “What’s New?” and one of the segments was on Bob and Doug McKenzie, “The Great White North”, and how schools across Canada were having “Hoser Days”. They showed news clips at schools of students wearing toques, parkas, plaid, and ear muffs, holding stubby beer bottles and frying back bacon, made out of paper.

Our student council wasn’t very progressive, but one thing our social convenor finally did was plan a “Hoser Day”.

I remember that day distinctly. When I walked through the front doors of the school, one of our teachers, Mr. C, walked by in costume. Except he was wearing orange coveralls and a fisherman’s rain cap. He definitely showed up dressed like a goof, but nothing like a hoser. As he walked past, one of my classmates said, “That’s not it at all.” Looking back, I do give our teacher credit for dressing up.

However two classmates that knew exactly what it was were Mike Kozbial and Joe Darveau who dressed like Bob and Doug. They were awesome.

I also recall my friend David Perlich wearing a lumberjack coat and toque. He told me when he was getting ready the night before, he had nothing to wear but, when he told his mom what he was trying to do, she said his dad had a lumberjack coat somewhere. She found it, and David made a fine hoser.

Parting thoughts
Something I recently discovered is that “The Great White North” was intended to be a spoof of and mock Canadian content rules. Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis were actually thumbing their nose at the CBC. They were poking good natured fun at some of the unique things about being Canadian – drinking beer, best done out of stubby bottles; eating back bacon; wearing toques, ear muffs, parkas and a healthy helping of plaid; and most importantly, frequent using the word “eh”.

What resulted was something that became a national institution. It spawned Hoser Days at schools, songs, records, and even a movie. Not only did Bob and Doug McKenzie become household names in Canada with their beer guzzling commentary, but they went international. NBC wanted “The Great White North” included when they picked up “SCTV”.

Bob and Doug McKenzie became part of the fabric of Canadian culture, the same fabric you could see in their toques, scarves, parkas, and maybe even ear muffs.