Bob and Doug McKenzie were a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted The Great White North, a sketch which was introduced on SCTV for the show's third season when it moved to the CBC in 1980. Bob is played by Rick Moranis and Doug is played by Dave Thomas.
"The Great White North" (originally known as "Kanadian Korner") was a panel show that played upon Canadian stereotypes. Bob and Doug, two dumb beer-swilling brothers wearing heavy winter clothing and tuques, would comment on various elements of Canadian life and culture, frequently employing the interjection "Eh?" and derisively calling each other a "hoser." Among the topics discussed were snow routes, the Canadian-built robot arm on the Space Shuttle, and "why there aren't enough parking spaces at take-out donut shops."
The sketch was conceived when SCTV moved to the CBC television network. Each episode to be broadcast on that network was two minutes longer than those syndicated to the United States. The CBC network heads asked the show's producers to add specifically and identifiably Canadian content for those two minutes. Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas thought that this was a ridiculous request, since the show had been taped in Canada, with a mostly Canadian cast and crew, for two years. The request inspired them to create a parody that would incorporate every aspect of the humorous stereotype of Canadians.
The segments would be videotaped at the end of a day's shooting, with just Thomas and Moranis and a single camera operator. The sketches were for the most part improvised on the set, and after doing several such ad-libbed bits, they would then select the best ones for use on the program.
To their shock, the comedians found that this filler material had become one of the most popular parts of the show, and they rode the crest of a fad that produced two comedy albums and a movie, Strange Brew. The popularity eventually faded, but the act is still fondly remembered by Canadians as an affectionate parody of themselves. On their album, The Great White North they sing their own version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, which is frequently played on the radio around the holidays in both Canada and the United States.
The duo revived the act for television commercials for Pizza Hut and the Molson Brewing Company, and played a variant of the act for the Walt Disney Pictures animated feature film, Brother Bear, with their characters being a pair of goofy moose named Tuke and Rutt.
Currently, Animax Entertainment (of which Dave Thomas is executive creative director) is developing an animated version of Bob & Doug. An animated teaser short also produced by Animax Entertainment was on the Warner Bros. Strange Brew DVD.