The Kids in the Hall often drew their humor from very dark places in their lives. Between sexuality-based harassment, body issues and rough childhoods, some skits felt less geared to make you laugh and more of an opportunity to expel some demons.
I would think that Myra, Bruce McCulloch’s obliviously giddy housewife character, probably has roots in the Kids’ mothers in the same way that the recurring gruff, alcoholic husband archetype is a clear compound of their fathers. The basis of the first skit Myra appears in is, simply, that she makes potato salad for the viewer and hilarity ensues. The skit isn’t gag-heavy, though– far from it, in fact. The skit is made purely by the fact that Bruce has nailed this person’s characteristics and plays it as straightforwardly and genuinely as possible, exploiting the character’s quiet desperation in a way that is equal parts funny and disturbing.
So, consider this my tribute to the Kids’ admirable devotion to their work, no matter how surreal and subversive it sometimes got.
Also, Myra looks a lot like an old friend of mine. Like, a lot lot. Like, a creepy amount. But that's neither here nor there.
-The Classy Moth
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