Kenny vs. Spenny
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| Kenny vs. Spenny | |
|---|---|
 Kenny vs. Spenny Logo | |
| Created by | Kenny Hotz |
| Directed by | Kenny Hotz Spencer Rice |
| Starring | Kenny Hotz Spencer Rice |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 86 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes. |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBC Television (2003–2004) Showcase (2005–Present) |
| Release | August 26, 2003 – February 19, 2010 |
Kenny vs. Spenny is a Canadian comedy reality television series about Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice, who face each other in various competitions. The loser of the episode must perform an act of humiliation, usually selected by the winner. Hotz and Rice help created the series, and it is typically shot in their hometown of Toronto, Ontario, based mainly out of the house they share. As of November 2008, the show airs on CBC, Global and Showcase in Canada, on Comedy Central in Germany and the Netherlands, on The Comedy Channel in Australia, on Animax in South Africa, on FX in Portugal, on JIM in Finland and on Comedy Central in Sweden. In response to some viewers questioning the authenticity of the show, Kenny asserts that the series is completely unscripted, and is all real. The show finished its sixth season, which premiered November 20, 2009 on Showcase.[1]
The series was nominated for Gemini Awards in 2005, 2006 and 2008 as the best Canadian comedy series, and has received a Rose d'Or nomination in Switzerland for "best international comedy series". The show has spawned several replicas of its format, including a . A French Canadian version, called Frank vs Girard airs on VRAK.TV. Also following this format is Juan vs. Roman in Latin America, Cenk vs. Erdem in Turkey, Elton vs. Simon in Germany, Katja vs. Bridget and Dennis vs. Valerio in the Netherlands.
Overview
The main focus of the series, besides the nature of the competitions, stems from the contrasting personalities of Kenny and Spenny, which usually impact the way each approaches the competitions. Spenny almost always follows very strictly both the rules and his ethics. He not only follows the rules to the letter, but also what he perceives as the intention and spirit of the competition statement. Kenny's approach is typically more unorthodox; he is often willing to use any means necessary—including cheating—to win. Though he does not always break the rules, he is usually willing to bend them. Kenny sometimes admits to the belief that he would not win certain competitions without cheating. Spenny will often bear the brunt of Kenny's plans and pranks. Spenny is often paranoid and sometimes this causes him to sabotage his own efforts. Additionally, Kenny occasionally uses the paranoia to his advantage. Kenny has also occasionally used his position as executive producer to threaten crew members and force them to help him and/or not help Spenny.
Beyond their competitive styles, the contrasting personalities of the two offer much of the humour of the show. Kenny is generally portrayed as an uncouth and charismatic joker with a bizarre, scatological sense of humor. Spenny is a classic straight man, as he stated in one episode "I haven't had a belly laugh since 1987". He rarely laughs or makes jokes on camera. Instead, Spenny usually reacts with exasperation to Kenny's antics, which are often directed at him. Spenny's most common emotional reaction on the show is anger at some act which Kenny has committed. A recurring motif on the show is Kenny's assertion that Spenny is a closeted homosexual, and furthermore that Spenny is in love with him. During competitions Kenny will often arrange events in order to portray Spenny as "humiliation", an embarrassing task, that the loser must perform; although it is implied that the loser must agree to the choice of humiliation, in various episodes where the winner attempts to extend the humiliation beyond what was agreed upon.
The show is usually less focused on who will actually win the competition and more on how each competitor will go about trying to win. This is evidenced by the fact that the person who performs the humiliation is not always technically the loser based on the rules—they just do not know about the rules broken by the winner. On several occasions, Kenny has cheated and still been declared the winner. The show also rarely shows the aftermath of the competition, leaving it unknown how a competitor reacted upon finding out that his opponent cheated. However, in some episodes, the ending credits will have the voices of Kenny and Spenny commenting on an unfair loss.
Production
As of the fourth season, Kenny and Spenny are both executive producers, and receive a credit separate from five other executive producers. Also, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of the hit TV show South Park, joined the show for the fourth season and were also given their own separate credit as executive producers for the ten episodes produced.[2] Both Kenny and Spenny are credited as directors as well. Instrumental and electronica music is frequently used throughout episodes. Ride of the Valkyries, Ravel's Boléro, Sergei Prokofiev's Montagues and Capulets and Peter and the Wolf, Gioachino Rossini's La gazza ladra, Henry Purcell's Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary, Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra, Black Sabbath's Electric Funeral and music by Toronto electronica band Holy Fuck is very frequently used.
Typically, Kenny and Spenny each have their own production assistant, camera operator and sound engineer who film their independent exploits for each episode.
Broadcasting
The show originally aired on CBC. It is produced by Breakthrough Films and Television, and has been since its inception. After the first season, CBC cancelled the show, however Showcase picked up the series in late 2005. However, re-runs of the first two seasons still air on CBC during late night hours, and on CBC's new Bold station weekday afternoons. The show has aired in the past on GSN in the United States, but now airs on Comedy Central. The series also airs internationally on TV 2 Zulu in Denmark, JIM in Finland, TV6 in Sweden, FX (Repeats on Challenge) in the United Kingdom (No longer airing), The Comedy Channel in Australia, FX in Portugal, Comedy Central in Germany, Comedy Central in the Netherlands and The XtraHOT channel in Israel. Fox Entertainment Group in Latin America has also distributed the episodes and can be seen on the Latin American versions of FOX channel and FX.
Episodes
Christmas Special
A Kenny vs. Spenny Christmas Special was anounced to air 22nd December 2010
DVD releases
Video Service Corp has released all 6 seasons of Kenny vs. Spenny on DVD in Region 1 (Canada only).
Beyond Home Entertainment has released the first 3 seasons on DVD in Region 4.
| DVD Name | # of Episodes | Release dates | Bonus Features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 4 | |||
| Kenny vs Spenny: Season One | 24 | November 22, 2005 | August 5, 2009 | Kenny & Spenny commentary over two episodes, biographies, clips from international versions, Pitch. |
| Kenny vs Spenny: Season Two | 13 | November 21, 2006 | December 9, 2009 | Season two promo, two commentaries with Kenny and Spenny, deleted scenes, season three preview. |
| Kenny vs Spenny: Season Three | 13 | November 13, 2007 | April 7, 2010 | Kenny's never-before-seen version of "Who Can Make a Better Porno?", two commentaries with Kenny & Spenny, crew commentary, deleted scenes. |
| Comedy Central’s Kenny vs. Spenny - Volume One: Uncensored | 10 | August 12, 2008 | TBA | Deleted Scenes, additional scenes, commentary tracks, Kenny answers fan mail, Kenny and Spenny reflect on past competitions, Kenny and Spenny's hot mix, Who can pick the biggest booger?, Kenny and Spenny: Men on the Street. |
| Kenny vs Spenny: Season Four | 10 | August 26, 2008 | TBA | Pilot Episode: Who Can Gain The Most Weight?, Alternate Versions of: First Guy to Stop Singing Loses and Who Can Make the Best Viral Video?, Bonus Footage, Deleted Scenes |
| Kenny vs Spenny: Season Five | 10 | November 24, 2009 | TBA | Deleted Scenes, commentary with the crew, commentary with Kenny and Spenny, commentary with Kenny and Spenny and the crew. |
| Kenny vs Spenny: Season Six | 13 | September 7, 2010[3] | TBA Outtakes, photo gallery | |
Statistics
References
External links
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