La Petite Vie
La petite vie was first a stage sketch of the comedy duo Ding et Dong, formed by Claude Meunier and Serge Thériault, and later a hit Quebec television sitcom aired by Radio-Canada from 1993 to 1999. In total, 59 episodes were created plus 3 specials, two for Christmas and one for New Year's 2000.
| La petite vie | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Claude Meunier |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | Quebec French |
| No. of episodes | 59 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Radio-Canada |
| Original release | 1993 – 1999 |
Widely considered a classic of the Quebec television, it was the first Canadian TV show (of either English or French language) to ever gather more than 4 million viewers, a performance it achieved twice in 1995 (since surpassed by Bye Bye 2018 with 4.41 million).[1]
Synopsis
The stories of La petite vie, sketch and television show, revolve around the strange couple simply known as Pôpa and Môman (Quebec Joual for pa and ma). The sketch was memorable for the pillow talk scenes with the beds comically placed straight up so the actors, seemingly laid on the bed but still standing (a pun with the French saying «histoire à dormir debout» "story to sleep standing-up", a story that doesn’t make sense), would be clearly visible to the theater public. This would be kept in the sitcom, where the context made it even more surreal.
While the sketch usually featured only the couple, the sitcom introduced a vast array of relatives, creating very bizarre but endearing caricature of a Québécois working class family.
An episode of La petite vie holds the Guinness World Record for the highest market share ever achieved by a single television program.
Characters
Paré family
- Aimé "Ti-Mé" Paré (Claude Meunier)
- Jacqueline "Moman" Paré (Serge Thériault)
- Réjean Pinard (Marc Messier)
- Thérèse Paré (Diane Lavallée)
- Rénald "Pinson" Paré (Marc Labrèche)
- Lison "Creton" Paré (Josée Deschênes)
- Caro Paré (Guylaine Tremblay)
- Rodrigue "Rod" Paré (Bernard Fortin)
- Stimé (Stéphane Rousseau)
Friends
- Paul « Pogo » Gauthier (Rémy Girard)
- Linda Gaudette (Sylvie Potvin)
- Jean-Lou (Michel Côté)
- Bobby (Gilles Renaud)
- Agathe « Bobonne » (Véronique Le Flaguais)
- Momo (Benoît Brière)