Funny Farm (1974–1975) User Reviews

A Low-Budget, Canadian Rip-Off of "Hee Haw"

[prosebank · 3/10 · 2 October 2009]

I vaguely remember sort of enjoying this show when it aired, but I was only 5 at the time, and I liked "Hee Haw" then. Despite my extreme youth, I knew "Funny Farm" was a complete rip-off of "Hee Haw", and I knew that Blake Emmons & his white-guy afro were ridiculous.

Ironically, "Hee Haw" was created by two Canadians, Frank Peppiatt & John Aylesworth, who went to the States for the work, when the CBC dragged its heels on renewing their contracts (something for which the Ceeb has been infamous, almost since its inception). "Hee Haw" was deliberately intended to be a country version of "Laugh-In". And it succeeded in this ambition.

It's unknown how Peppiatt & Aylesworth reacted to this hopelessly lame rip-off of their show, by fellow Canadians---if they even knew it existed.

Unoriginal From The Title Down

[animal_8_5 · 3/10 · 12 March 2006]

This was one of those terrible attempts at "quality entertainment" at Canada's CTV network during the mid-1970s. Who the hell was this Blake Emmons anyway, and how the bloody hell did he rate as host of anything? I understand he later filled in as a game show host on the show "Chain Reaction", before plummeting into absolute oblivion.

Funny Farm at its best was a rural Laugh-In...actually reasonably funny stuff, except the show was ruined every week with crappy country music. About all I recall about the show were the tasteless "fat" jokes about comedienne Monika Parker (Canada's answer to Hee Haw's Lulu?) and guest appearances of Ted Zeigler's hilarious drunk guy character.

A country band named 'Eastwind' backed up Blake Emmons in Funny Farm throughout much of its run, winning Top Canadian Band honors in 1975, 1978 and 1979. OK, I should have liked it better than I did, because in small-town Canada, what else was there on the tube to watch? Still, I probably could've lived without it. Hell, I lived without Hee Haw...!