Tired of the well-worn covers of La petite vie on Saturday nights? So good news. Claude Meunier is working on new episodes of his cult sitcom, which Radio-Canada will be reviving to mark its 30th anniversary this fall.
Posted at 6:00 am
According to my spies, all of the actors in the original cast of La petite vie would reprise their roles, with the exception of Serge Thériault, 74, who has serious health problems. The interpreter of Jacqueline Paré, aka Moman, suffers from a severe depression that has locked her in her home for more than seven years, as revealed in the touching documentary Dehors Serge hors by Martin Fournier and Pier-Luc Latulippe, released in 2021.
And how will the Paré family and their patriarch Ti-Mé, a big fan of trash cans and vertical beds, be resurrected on Radio-Canada? Difficult to pinpoint exactly. Sources speak of four brand new episodes, others of six.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY RADIO-CANADA
Back in 2009, the characters from La petite vie returned to our screens for the Christmas Story Special.
The creator of this absurd universe, Claude Meunier, was not available for an interview on Thursday. I have also contacted all the comedians’ agents on this classic show and no one has commented. For its part, Radio-Canada does not want to confirm anything for now.
Now how will La petite vie fare without her beating heart, that of matriarch Jacqueline, famed for her nightcap and juicy turkey? The secret hovers. It would be a very bad idea to entrust this role to another actor.
Moman is Serge Thériault, period, with the facial expressions and intonation created by the actor. The person who would succeed him seems a pale imitation.
One way around Serge Thériault’s absence would be to make Ti-Mé (Claude Meunier) a widower, which would allow the author to plunge his bearded hero into even more confusing family situations.
According to my information, Marc Labrèche would most likely have worn the costume of credit union manager Rénald “Pinson” Paré, husband of the very colorful and ethereal Lison (Josée Deschênes), known by the nickname Creton.
The Paré family also gathered around the Formica table Thérèse (Diane Lavallée), Madame Steak corn from India potatoes, and her lying husband Réjean Pinard (Marc Messier), who uses the third person singular of himself.
The eldest of the Paré children, the growing Rod (Bernard Fortin) has always been mom’s darling, while Caro (Guylaine Tremblay) wore the clan’s rebel label.
PHOTO PAUL CHIASSON, THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Little Life
La petite vie ran on Radio Canada for four full seasons between 1993 and 1998. In March 1995, the comedy broke a record with an estimated live rating of 4,098,000 viewers. Outside of Bye bye, we don’t see such astronomical numbers anymore, as Numeris measures audiences electronically, rather than relying on diaries that gloved volunteers fill out.
The popularity of La petite vie is unstoppable even after its 72nd revival. Since January, the old episodes submitted before Live from the Universe have drawn an average of 624,000 addicts, beating several big winter novelties the networks broadcast weekdays.
Claude Meunier brought back his dysfunctional characters from La petite vie in three specials (Le bogue de l’an 2000, Noël chez les Paré and Noël Story) and screwed his patriarch at the helm of a talk show, Le Ti-Mé Show, which ran in 2015- ran for two seasons in 2016.
As for the stunning documentary Dehors Serge hors, it hasn’t been released on digital platforms yet, which hampers its impact I feel. To see it you have to go to the room where it plays sporadically. For example, filmmakers Martin Fournier and Pier-Luc Latulippe are presenting it this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Station Vu, a neighborhood movie theater in Pointe-aux-Trembles, east Montreal.
For 68 minutes, Dehors Serge hors follows Serge Thériault’s wife, Anna Suazo, his teenage daughter Mélina, and the actor’s two neighbors, Robert and Jolande Racicot. Only once do we see Serge Thériault, from behind and in a long shot, when he decides to see a psychiatrist.
Serge Thériault has rarely left his home in the Joliette region since 2015. He suffers from severe depression and spends his days lying on the living room sofa, unable to move.
This intimate and by no means voyeuristic film shows the impact of mental illness on the environment of a loved one who refuses to seek treatment. Serge Thériault’s wife, with whom he has lived for more than 18 years, is exhausted and drained. Neighbor Robert, an angel who lives in the apartment below Serge and Anna’s, has not abandoned his “artist friend” even though he never opens the door.
In La Semaine des 4 Julie, at the end of January, Anna Suazo confided that Serge Thériault was recovering but that he hadn’t seen his psychiatrist for two years.
This story is truly heartbreaking. The mother of all Quebec is suffering before our eyes and there is nothing to do but tell her we love her and wish her well.