''Madly Off in All Directions'' was a Canadian radio comedy show that aired for several years on

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...

, featuring comedian

Lorne Elliott Christopher Lorne Elliott, known by his stage name Lorne Elliott is a Canadian comedian, musician, author, and award-winning playwright. He is best known for his 11 years as host of the CBC Radio program ''Madly Off in All Directions''. Career Elli ...

. It formerly aired on Sunday afternoons at 1PM (1:30PM in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

), as well as on Saturday evenings on 6:30PM with repeats on Friday mornings at 11 AM. It was replaced in September 2006 by a comedy show ''

The Debaters ''The Debaters'' is a Canadian radio comedy show hosted by Steve Patterson. It airs on CBC Radio One, Saturdays at 1:30PM and Wednesdays at 11:30AM, Eastern Time. During each episode, two debates take place between two sets of two contestants. ...

''. The show travelled around Canada, recording in front of a live audience at various local venues. The show provided a mix of stand-up, improvisational, sketch, and musical comedy. Elliott usually began the show with a monologue, and introduced the acts that followed, often comedians who were local to the area, who were given the chance of national exposure through the program. Elliott's work first caught the attention of CBC with the airing of one of his concert performances on ''

Definitely Not the Opera ''Definitely Not the Opera'' (or simply ''DNTO'') was a magazine-style radio program focusing on aspects of pop culture and storytelling, that aired on CBC Radio One on Saturday afternoons from 1994 until 2016. The show's running time varied ov ...

''. He also did additional comedy segments for other CBC radio shows, including '' Basic Black'', ''Sunday Showcase'' and '' Morningside''. He was given the retiring ''

Royal Canadian Air Farce The Royal Canadian Air Farce was a comedy troupe that was active from 1973 to 2019. It is best known for their various Canadian Broadcasting Corporation series, first on CBC Radio and later on CBC Television. Although their weekly radio series ...

s traditional radio show timeslot in 1996, and the show became a regular weekly showcase of Canadian comedy. The name of the show was derived from a line used by famous Canadian humourist

Stephen Leacock Stephen P. H. Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humorist in the world. He is known ...

in his story "Gertrude the Governess". ("Lord Ronald said nothing; he flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions.") This phrase was both literally and figuratively applicable, as the show travelled across Canada, and the host and his guests covered the full range of the comedy spectrum. There were two years that the format was changed, and Elliott travelled exclusively to smaller venues, accompanied only by Derek Edwards. These tours were intended to be more intimate affairs, and also served as a bit of a break for Elliott, as the pared-down format required much less planning and arranging. After a summer series consisting of repeats in 2006, the show was quietly replaced by ''

'' in its former timeslots. Beginning in April 2007, further repeats of the show were broadcast Monday afternoons on CBC Radio One.Hotsheet for Monday, April 16, 2007
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Discography

*Lorne Elliott: Selections From All Directions (Vol.1) *Lorne Elliott: Selections From All Directions (Vol.2)

Footnotes

External links

Official CBC Radio page for the show
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Speakers.ca Lorne Elliott bioLorneElliott.com site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madly Off In All Directions CBC Radio One programs Canadian radio sketch shows 1990s Canadian radio programs 2000s Canadian radio programs