History Bites

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History Bites
Image:Historybites logo.gif
History Bites Logo
Genre Sketch comedy/Docudrama
Running time
Creator(s) Rick Green
Executive producer(s) David C. Smith
Starring Rick Green, Ron Pardo, Janet van de Graaf, Teresa Pavlinek, Peter Oldring, Sarah Lafleur, Danny DiTata, Jeremy Winkles, Eric Lunsky, Amy McKenzie, Duncan McKenzie, Sam Kalilieh
Narrated by Rick Green
Country of origin Canada
Language(s) English
Original channel History Television
Original run 1998–2003
No. of episodes 102
Official website
IMDb profile

History Bites was a television series on the History Television network that ran from 1998-2003. Created by Rick Green (The Frantics, Prisoners of Gravity, Red Green), History Bites explored what would be on television if the medium had been around for the last 5,000 years of human history. Typically, a significant historical event was chosen and mock news, sports and entertainment programming was created around it. Each episode included several segments of Green offering historical background of the episode's chosen era and otherwise showed frequent shifts from one comedy sketch to another (as well as returning to certain sketches repeatedly) representing a channel-surfing viewer who never watched any one sketch for more than a few minutes at a time.

Reruns of History Bites are currently being shown on History Television and The Comedy Network.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Contemporary movies, television shows and personalities (Martha Stewart, Don Cherry, Tom Brokaw, Dennis Miller, Larry King and Andy Rooney, among others) were comically adapted to the chosen era. For example, the legendary revenge story of the "47 Ronin" of early 1700s Japan was told in the style of a made-for-TV movie modelled on the real-life film The Godfather. Television sitcoms such as Seinfeld and All in the Family were also frequently parodied, with the characters commenting on time-appropriate events, be it Joan of Arc's virginity or the benefits of joining The Immortals (the elite warriors of ancient Persia). Game and reality shows were parodied as well, including a depiction of the Donner Party as participants in an 1846 version of Survivor, and almost every episode featured segments that parodied Jeopardy!, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and/or The Weakest Link, in which contestants answered trivia questions about the common beliefs of the featured era. Anachronisms were frequent and deliberate, adding to the show's distinctive humour. For example, in one episode set in AD 100 and focusing on gladiatorial combat, the "Zamboni family" was responsible for tidying the Colosseum between bouts, in reference to modern Zamboni machines that clean rink surfaces during intermissions at hockey games.

[edit] Settings

The earliest (by far) setting for an episode is 6000 BC, in which viewers were advised on pre-monotheism ritual as well as the new technologies of agriculture, the bow and arrow and house-building. It also included a parody of a hospital show in which the treatment for every ailment was a trepanning. The most recent setting was 1880, in an episode largely about "The Shootout At Fly's Photographic Studio", a historically more accurate description of the event commonly known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

The show's production values improved over its five seasons, increasing and refining the use of sets, costumes and props. Never lost was Green's message (stated explicitly in the first episode and alluded to in the closing of each episode) that fond nostalgia for the past is misplaced and that the lives of our ancestors were rife with oppression, ignorance (including casually-held antisemitic and/or racist beliefs), disease and suffering. Ultimately, the title History Bites has a double meaning, referring to the "soundbites"-like nature of the short clips from each sketch, as well as the often brutal and unpleasant nature of the history being satirized.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season One

Pic Title Original airdate #
The Gods Must Be Angry Unknown Pilot
A look at the Mount Vesuvius eruption (79 AD).
The Black Death October 1, 1998 101
A look at the Black Death in Europe (1348 AD).
Caligula Is Croaked October 8, 1998 102
A look at the Roman Emperor Caligula (41 AD).
Dead Philosopher Walking October 15, 1998 103
A look at the Greek philosopher Socrates (399 BC).
Great Fire Of London October 22, 1998 104
A look at the Great Fire of London (1666 AD).
Charlemagne October 29, 1998 105
A look at the great Emperor Charlemagne (800 AD).
The Declaration Of Independence November 5, 1998 106
A look at the American Declaration of Independence (1776 AD).
Magna Carta November 12, 1998 107
A look at the signing of the Magna Carta (1215 AD).
Pure Vandalism November 19, 1998 108
A look at the Vandals, the barbarians who and the sacking of Rome (455 AD).
The French Revolution November 26, 1998 109
A look at the French Revolution, in the time just preceding the execution of Robespierre (1794 AD).
The Spanish Inquisition December 3, 1998 110
A look at the Spanish Inquisition (1492 AD).
Bjarney & Friends December 10, 1998 111
A look at the Viking Bjarni Herjólfsson, who discovered North America (998 AD).
The Battle Of Waterloo December 17, 1998 112
A look at the Battle of Waterloo (1815 AD).
The Bloody Aztecs December 24, 1998 113
A look at the fight between the Aztecs and Cortez (1521 AD).


[edit] Season Two

Pic Title Original airdate #
Gutenberg's Laptop 1999 201
A look at Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press (1455 AD).
Cartier Does Canada 1999 202
A look at the explorer Jacques Cartier (1536 AD).
Ransomed By Vikings 1999 203
A look at the abduction of the Archbishop of Canterbury by the 'Scandinavian Mafia' (1011 AD).
Operation Desert Crusade 1999 204
A look at the Christian Crusade to reclaim Jerusalem (1099 AD).
The Celibate Celebrity Of 1429 1999 205
A look at Joan of Arc (1429 AD).
The Big Sex Scandal 1999 206
A look at King David and his wife Bathsheba (970 BC).
The Sistine Ceiling 1999 207
A look at Michelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel (1512 AD).
Saying No To Terrorism 1999 208
A look at Moses (1200 BC).
Galileo Cops A Plea 1998 209
A look at Galileo's heresy trial (1616 AD).
Worse Than Genghis Khan 1999 210
A look at Tamerlane, last and worst of the horseback barbarians (1402 AD).
The Commander In Chief Is A Eunuch December 10, 1999 211
A look at Cheng Ho, the eunuch leader of a Chinese treasure fleet (1403 AD).
A Woman For All Seasons December 17, 1999 212
A look at Hildegard von Bingen (1170 AD).
Bulbs, Boom & Bust! December 24, 1999 213
A look at the Dutch Tulip Bubble (1730'S AD).
Cleo Can Kiss My Asp October 8, 1999 214
A look at Cleopatra, Antony, and Octavian (31 BC).
My Canada Includes Quebec October 15, 1999 215
A look at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759 AD).
The Not-So-Great Wall Of China October 22, 1999 216
A look at the Great Wall of China (240 BC).
Invasion U.S.A.! October 29, 1999 217
A look at the invasion of Washington D.C. and the burning of the White House during the War of 1812 (1814 AD).
Spartans, Get Ready To Rumble! November 5, 1999 218
A look at the Battle of Thermopylae (490 BC).
Welcome To Oz November 12, 1999 219
A look at the deportation of English prisoners to Australia (1787 AD).
The Tiananmen Square Of 532 A.D. November 19, 1999 220
A look at Emperor Justinian (532 AD).
The Pregnant Pirates November 26, 1999 221
A look at the capture and trial of Anne Bonney and Mary Read (1720 AD).
The King Has Left The Building December 3, 1999 222
A look at Empress Catherine the Great and Pugachev's revolt (1774 AD).
Shakespeare In Love - Drake In Battle December 10, 1999 223
A look at the Spanish Armada (1582 AD).
Everything You Need To Know About God December 17, 1999 224
A look at the Council of Nicaea (325 AD).

[edit] Parodies

Films, television programs and personalities parodied on History Bites include:

This film, television, or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
 

[edit] Animation

The fifth season of History Bites and most of the specials feature cartoon segments in a wide variety of styles animated by Bryce Hallett aka Frog Feet Productions These include parodies of Batman: the Animated Series (aka Captain Puritan), Pokémon/anime cartoons, Scooby Doo and 1950's educational films as well as original material & styles in the specials. The cartoons are short but ambitious considering the modest budget of the show.

[edit] Specials

  • History Bites "The End Of The World" was a one-hour special on how people reacted to the first new millennium on December 31, 999.
  • On Canada Day, July 1, 2005, a one-hour History Bites special was shown on History Television titled "Mother Britain", covering the history of the relationship between Canada and Britain from the first explorers to the patriation of the Constitution. It featured actors portraying all 21 Canadian Prime Ministers up to that point.
  • History Bites "Uncle Sam" is another one-hour special, about the history of U.S./Canada relations. These episodes did not feature the channel-surfing theme that earlier episodes did.

[edit] Actors

Regulars on the show include:

Notable guest stars include:

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../h/i/s/History_Bites_11d8.html"