''Double Exposure'' was a Canadian
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
and
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
comedy series which satirized contemporary Canadian politics. The show starred the married couple of Linda Cullen (born 1958) and Bob Robertson (1945–2017),
and focused primarily on the stars' voice impersonations of Canadian political and cultural figures. In addition CBC staff announcer Bob Sharples provided the introductions and conclusions to ''Double Exposure'' shows and provided narration for many ''Double Exposure'' skits.
It played on CBC Radio (now known as
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...
) at 11:33 on Saturday mornings and on CBC Stereo (now known as
CBC Music
CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...
) on Saturday evenings at 6:32 (one half-hour later in
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
). Unlike many previous CBC radio comedies, such as ''
The Royal Canadian Air Force'' or ''
Frantic Times
''Frantic Times'' is a Canadian comedy album, performed by The Frantics comedy troupe. The original LP was released in 1984, and was reissued as a CD with additional tracks by Deep Shag Records in 2003. The album is wholly made up of sketches and ...
'', the show would be recorded wholly in a studio without a live audience. The duo made the jump to television with an initial satirical special in 1994, and became a television series in 1997.
Radio show
The radio version of the show ran from 1986 to 1997 on
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
. Prior to the launch of their own show, Robertson and Cullen were known as regular contributors of comedic sketches to
Jack Farr
Colonel Jack Farr is a former Army officer specializing in military intelligence, who was deployed to camp Camp Delta at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
''USA Today'' reported that Farr was in charge of all interrogations, at Guanta ...
's ''
The Radio Show
''The Radio Show'' was a Canadian radio show, which aired on CBC Radio One, CBC Radio from 1983 to 1992. The show incorporated some aspects of a conventional radio talk show, filtered through the warped comedic sensibilities of host Jack Farr.John ...
''.
It satirized contemporary Canadian politicians such as
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...
,
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...
,
Preston Manning
Ernest Preston Manning (born June 10, 1942) is a retired Canadian politician. He was the founder and the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance in 2000 which in tu ...
,
Barbara McDougall
Barbara Jean McDougall (born November 12, 1937) is a former Canadian politician. She served as a Member of Parliament from 1984 to 1993, and as Secretary of State for External Affairs from 1991 to 1993. She did not run again in the 1993 Canadi ...
,
Bill Vander Zalm
William Nicholas Vander Zalm (born Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie van der Zalm; May 29, 1934) is a Dutch-born Canadian businessman and politician who served as the 28th premier of British Columbia and leader of the British Columbia Social ...
and others, as well as international figures such as
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
. Robertson specialized in such impersonations as
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
,
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot ( ; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an Independent politician ...
,
John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
, and
Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to:
Queens regnant
* Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms
* Queen B ...
, and Cullen could do imitations of
Sandie Rinaldo
Sandra Rinaldo, née Brycks (born 16 January 1950) is a Canadian television journalist and anchor for CTV News. She is the daughter of survivors of the Holocaust and is of the Jewish faith.
Youth and education
She was born in Toronto, and was fi ...
,
Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...
,
Julia Child
Julia Carolyn Child (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American pu ...
and
Sister Wendy
Wendy Mary Beckett (25 February 1930 – 26 December 2018), better known as Sister Wendy, was a British Catholic religious sister and art historian who became known internationally during the 1990s when she presented a series of BBC television ...
, among others.
Typical sketches on the radio show would include over-the-top impersonations of
Brian Tobin
Brian Vincent Tobin (born October 21, 1954) is a Canadian businessman and former politician. Tobin served as the sixth premier of Newfoundland from 1996 to 2000. Tobin was also a prominent Member of Parliament and served as a cabinet ministe ...
rescuing frozen
turbot
The turbot ( ) ''Scophthalmus maximus'' is a relatively large species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae. It is a demersal fish native to marine or brackish waters of the Northeast Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is a ...
from the dinner plate, or Preston Manning "ee-lim-inating" everything possible. Broadcaster
Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Louise Clarkson ( zh, c=伍冰枝; ; born February 10, 1939) is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as the 26th governor general of Canada from 1999 to 2005.
Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 1941, as a refuge ...
was mocked by a parody of her diction and demeanour with the recurring catchphrase "I'm Adrienne Clarkson, and you're not", derived from Chevy Chase's early ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' refrain. (Clarkson subsequently became
Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...
near the end of ''Double Exposure''
's television run.)
In 1994 the show was named the best weekly network program on CBC Radio and Stereo. They also occasionally did special radio shows targeting specific Canadian political events, such as the
2000 Canadian federal election
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 37th Canadian Parliament, 37th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal ...
. They also won an
ACTRA Award
The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.[CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...]
to rival network
CTV until 2000. On radio, the show consisted of comedic sketches and monologues; on its CBC television specials, their voice impersonations were often set to actual film clips of the politicians being satirized. The weekly series on CTV featured the pair in live sketches as well.
Other projects
In 2000, ''Double Exposure'' returned to CBC for a rare special radio program on the evening of the
federal election.
In 2002, Cullen and Robertson joined with other comedians in the new satirical comedy series ''
Point Blank
Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm or gun can hit a target without the need to elevate the barrel to compensate for bullet drop, i.e. the gun can be pointed horizontally at the target. For targets beyond-blank range ...
'', which aired on
The Comedy Network
CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming and operates two time-shifted feeds, runni ...
. In November 2004, Cullen and Robertson were inducted into the
BC Entertainment Hall of Fame
The BC Entertainment Hall of Fame in Vancouver was founded on 24 July 1992 to honour British Columbians that have made outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Star Walk inductees are honoured with a brass plaque on Granville Str ...
.
On December 16, 2005, the Double Exposure team appeared on
Lorne Elliott
Christopher Lorne Elliott, known by his stage name Lorne Elliott is a Canadian comedian, musician, author, and playwright. He is best known for his 11 years as host of the CBC Radio program '' Madly Off in All Directions''.
Career
Elliott first be ...
's show ''
Madly Off in All Directions'' on CBC Radio One. This was their first appearance on CBC Radio in five years.
In 2008, Cullen and Robertson launched Gross National Product, a website which features satirical
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Barry Allen
** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...
animations.
Gross National Product
In May 2009, they started blogging and podcasting.
From 2016 until Robertson's death in 2017, Cullen and Robertson produced and starred in ''Double Exposure's Newzapalooza'', a weekly program for AMI-audio
AMI-audio is a Canadian 24-hour English language non-profit audio broadcast television service. AMI-audio offers a variety of content to Canadians who are blind, partially sighted or otherwise print restricted.
AMI-audio produces daily live pr ...
.
Jennifer Robertson
Jennifer Robertson (born November 24, 1971) is a Canadian actress, writer, and comedian. She is known for her starring role as Jocelyn Schitt in the CBC sitcom ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020), for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award and ...
, Robertson's daughter from his first marriage,Schitt's Creek
''Schitt's Creek'' (stylized as ''Schitt$ Creek'') is a Canadian television sitcom created by Dan Levy (Canadian actor), Dan Levy and his father, Eugene Levy, that aired on CBC Television from 2015 to 2020. It consists of 80 episodes spread ove ...
''.
Discography
References
External links
Official site
Official podcast site
featuring new content
* ttp://www.freedb.org/freedb_search_fmt.php?cat=misc&id=2f0d2e16 Track listing for their first album on freedb.org, accessed on November 15, 2005
Transcript of another ''Double Exposure'' skit, accessed on November 15, 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Double Exposure (Comedy Series)
1990s Canadian sketch comedy television series
Canadian radio sketch shows
CBC Radio One programs
CBC Music programs
1986 radio programme debuts
1997 radio programme endings
1997 Canadian television series debuts
2000 Canadian television series endings
Canadian satirical radio programs
CTV Television Network original programming
Canadian political satire
Canadian comedy duos
CTV Comedy Channel original programming
Television shows filmed in Vancouver
Radio programs adapted into television shows
Canadian news parodies
Canadian political comedy television series
1980s Canadian radio programs
1990s Canadian radio programs