Et Dieu créa... Laflaque
Et Dieu créa... Laflaque is a satirical show on Quebec television that comments on current events by the favour of the show's main character, Gérard D. Laflaque, a stereotypical, family father and an announcer. Created by the cartoonist Serge Chapleau, he is broadcast on a weekly basis since 2004 by Télévision de Radio-Canada. There are currently seven seasons. Its title translates to "and God created...Laflaque" in English.
Description
Et Dieu créa... Laflaque is a program that takes a stand on current affairs via its main character, typical family man and cheeky news anchor Gérard D. Laflaque. The brainchild of Montreal-based political cartoonist Serge Chapleau, the program has aired weekly since 2004 on Radio-Canada.
Concept
Gérard D. Laflaque made his television debut in the early 1980s as a latex puppet. Nowadays, like the show’s other characters, he is created using CGI animation. His name was inspired by former minister and acting leader of the Quebec Liberal Party Gérard D. Levesque. The program follows two storylines. The first involves Laflaque’s family life with his wife Georgette, his son Marcel and his Asian girlfriend Laurence (a recent addition to the cast), his insufferable father Pépère (another recent addition), his dog Tarzan, and his next-door neighbour, a gay inventor named Edmond. A caricature of reporter Louise Cousineau recently joined the cast as a recurring character who owns a corner store. As part of the second storyline, we watch Laflaque pick apart the news of the day with no holds barred on a current affairs show accompanied by his cameramen Roger and Henri (recently replaced by a man who is part of numerous religions), his producer Paulo, the lovely Sarah-Laurie Joly, and the puppet Ti-Bas (another new arrival). Another recent arrival is a caricature of intellectual Denise Bombardier.
Laflaque regularly welcomes all kinds of guests, mostly caricatures of politicians including Paul Martin, Jean Charest, Stephen Harper, Gilles Duceppe, Jacques Parizeau, André Boisclair, George W. Bush, Guy Bertrand, Mario Dumont, Pauline Marois, Stéphane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton, Nicolas Sarkozy, Régis Labeaume and Denis Coderre. Christopher Hall made regular appearances to deliver reports and ask ridiculous questions to people in the streets, but stopped appearing since the season 3 for an unexplained reason. Sometimes Segments unrelated to the news will appear in the "current affairs" part of the show, such as a cooking segment, the 'Petit Laflaque Illustre' which explains an everyday object in a ridiculous way, and 'Stade Trek' a Star Trek parody featuring the former political leaders cruising around the galaxy in Montreal's Olympic Stadium.