History Radio / TheFrantics

* BaitAndSwitch: {{Subverted}} in "Last Will and Temperament", when TheAlcoholic brother Hedge is given 3 crates of whiskey and the wine cellar... and ''then'' is bequeathed [[RunningGag a boot to the head]].

* XanatosRoulette: A burglary sketch on ''Four On The Floor''.

[[DrDemento Dr. Demento]] called them the funniest sketch comedy troupe since Creator/MontyPython.

* OhCrap: The second student from "Ti Kwan Leep," who tried to get in the first shot and...

-->'''''*WHAM![[note]]And another for Jenny and the wimp. *thump* *thump*[[/note]]'''''

The Frantics made their mark initially in Canadian radio; their big break was in 1981, when they were given a regular slot on the CBC Radio show ''Variety Tonight''. The following year they got their own series, ''Frantic Times'', which began as a brief summer replacement for ''[[RoyalCanadianAirFarce The Royal Canadian Air Farce]]'' but eventually graduated to its own permanent slot. By the time it went off the air in 1984, ''Frantic Times'' ran for 113 episodes of inspired lunacy.

-->''And now for Tropers of TVTropes. Who took their time to describe this article, made me laugh, [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife ruined]] [[BreadEggsMilkSquick many lives]]. To Tropers of TVTropes, I bequeath *{{beat}}* [[CatchPhrase a boot to the head]].''
-->'''''*WHAM![[hottip:*:And another for Jenny and the wimp. *thump* *thump*]]'''''

-->''"People talking in movie shows\\

-->''"And another for Jenny and the wimp!"''

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TheFrantics.jpg

*** Mrs. Mulroy did nothing to deserve this treatment. Quite the opposite, in fact. The Lawyer could possibly fall under the heading of "He's a lawyer, he did ''something'' to deserve this''.

* RefugeInAudacity

* {{Will}}: "Last Will and Temperament", of course.

-->'''''*WHAM!*'''''

[[DrDemento Dr. Demento]] called them the funniest sketch comedy troupe since MontyPython.

Their trademark was off-the-wall and often surreal sketches that took advantage of power of radio and audio recordings to produce imagery that would have been too expensive or simply impossible in a visual medium, such as the tales of their Canadian superhero, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YLLaOyQfx8 Mr. Canoehead]], who had had an aluminum canoe [[LightningCanDoAnything welded to his head by a lightning bolt]]. (Attempts to recreate these sketches on television only reduced their comedic impact.) Their comedy was never dumbed down -- in fact, they respected and depended upon the intelligence of the audience, as seen in their sketches [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWNmqdLmAfc "You Were Speeding"]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=aAa2UeuIMu0 "Human Race"]]. They were also talented musicians, as demonstrated by their numerous novelty songs. They are perhaps best known for their routines [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5kGUW6M7W0 "Last Will and Temperament"]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou-yprCsHS0 "Ti Kwan Leep"]], both of which make frequent use of their most famous CatchPhrase, "Boot to the head!"

* PetHeir: subverted in "Last Will and Temperament".

[[DrDemento Dr. Dememto]] called them the greatest sketch comedy troupe since MontyPython.

* ToiletHumor: "Gas Station Washroom", "A Piece of Pie"

-->Shopkeeper: XLIV [[hottip:*:pronounced "ex-ell-eye-vee"]].

** And YouTube has videos of martial arts classes playing out ''Ti Kwan Leep''. Some versions include an extended slow motion fight scene between the Master and the students.

Four-man comedy troupe known for a wild but intellectual style highly reminiscent of ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', but with a uniquely Canadian flavor. Formed in the late 1970s, the group stayed together until the late 1980s, followed by a reunion in 2004. The core members of The Frantics are Paul Chato, Rick Green, Dan Redican and Peter Wildman, but like their spiritual predecessors, two women can be counted among their unofficial membership -- Mag Ruffman and Carolyn Scott.

Their trademark was off-the-wall and often surreal sketches that took advantage of power of radio and audio recordings to produce imagery that would have been too expensive or simply impossible in a visual medium, such as the tales of their Canadian superhero, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YLLaOyQfx8 Mr. Canoehead]], who had had an aluminum canoe [[LightningCanDoAnything welded to his head by a lightning bolt]]. (Attempts to recreate these sketches on television only reduced their comedic impact.) Their comedy was never dumbed down -- in fact, they respected and depended upon the intelligence of the audience, as seen in their sketches [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWNmqdLmAfc "You Were Speeding"]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=aAa2UeuIMu0 "Human Race"]]. They were also talented musicians, as demonstrated by their numerous novelty songs. They are perhaps best known for their routines [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5kGUW6M7W0 "Last Will and Temperament"]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou-yprCsHS0 "Ti Kwan Leep"]], both of which make frequent use of their most famous CatchPhrase, "Boot to the head!"

* BaitAndSwitch: {{Subverted}} in "Last Will and Temperament", when [[TheAlcoholic the alcoholic]] brother Hedge is given 3 crates of whiskey and the wine cellar... and ''then'' is bequeathed [[RunningGag a boot to the head]].

* WidgetSeries: So very, very wickety.

** Arthur Durham Muldoon, the late gentleman whose will is read in "Last Will And Temperament," can count as well. Giving the "nasty" family members a boot to the head is one thing. But when the one who read the will, who had nothing to do with the family antics, [[DisproportionateRetribution was given a Tasmanian Devil... to be placed in his trousers... EEUUGGH!!]]

* CatchPhrase ("Boot to the head!", "Taste gunwale!")
* ComedicSociopathy (Probably the entire point of "Last Will And Temperament")
* FingerPokeOfDoom (''Boot to the head!'')

* {{Homage}} (Writers of ''[[RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]'' {{fanfic}}tion love referencing, or even incorporating whole, the "Ti Kwan Leep" sketch.)

* HorseRacing (Parodied in "The Human Race")
* HurricaneOfPuns (In "You Were Speeding", mixing the terminologies of thought/education and driving/ticketing)
* {{Jerkass}} (Ed Gruberman of "Ti Kwan Leep")

* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: (The "Dirty Words" sketch)
* LightningCanDoAnything (Like weld a canoe to a person's head...)
* MindOverMatter (Boot to the head!)

* OldMaster ("Ti Kwan Leep")
* PetHeir (subverted in "Last Will and Temperament")

* PlaceWorseThanDeath ("And so I leave my entire estate of ten million to [[spoiler:the people of Calgary so they can afford to move someplace decent]].")

* RunningGag ("And one for Jenny and the wimp", in "Last Will and Temperament")

* SuperHero (Mr. Canoehead)
* ThatPoorCat (Mittens, in "Last Will and Temperament")
* ToiletHumor ("Gas Station Washroom", "A Piece of Pie")
* ViewersAreGeniuses (Appears to be a core value of their comedy)
* TheVoiceless ([[http://wallywashis.name/mp3/The+Frantics/Boot+to+the+Head/The%20Frantics%20-%20Bill%20From%20Bala.mp3 "Bill from Bala"]])

* {{Will}} ("Last Will and Temperament", of course)
* XanatosRoulette (A burglary sketch on ''Four On The Floor'')

-->''And now for Tropers of TVTropes. Who took their time to describe this article, made me laugh, [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife ruins]] [[BreadEggsMilkSquick many lives]]. To Tropers of TVTropes, I bequeath *{{beat}}* [[CatchPhrase a boot to the head]].''

** Arthur Durham Muldoon, the late gentleman whose will is read in "Last Will And Temperament," can count as well. Giving the "nasty" family members a boot to the head is one thing. But when the one who read the will, who got nothing to do with the family antics, [[DisproportionateRetribution was given a Tasmanian Devil... to be placed in the trousers... EEUUGGH!!]]

* BaitAndSwitch: {{Subverted}} in "Last Will and Testament", when [[TheAlcoholic the alcoholic]] brother Hedge is given 3 crates of whiskey and the wine cellar... and ''then'' is bequeathed [[RunningGag a boot to the head]].