Now being 10 seasons in, do you feel like you’ve more or less “captured” Canada . . . or could you do another 10 and not even scratch the surface?
The latter. Definitely “Answer B.” We could easily do another 10. People often say: “When are you going to run out of towns?” And the answer is: “Never.” Every town we go to, there’s five [other towns] in the vicinity that also have an interesting story to tell.
Looking back, do you feel there were some growing pains in the show’s early episodes?
One hundred per cent. I tried to be funny in the interviews — and I quickly learned, you’re talking to people about floods and mine closures and fishery closures. I learned early on that the luxury that I have in the format of the show is that I can just be earnest when I talk to people and get their story . . . then take a few days to ponder it and I get to be funny later, on stage.
Just how different are the sets you do on this show compared to what you would do in a regular standup gig?
It’s not like getting up at a comedy club. It’s sort of a cross between a comedy routine and a wedding speech; everybody’s there for a reason, everybody’s on the same side right from the get-go. I mean, at a wedding speech, even if somebody gets up and they’re not funny, no one’s gonna yell “You suck!” from the back of the room and throw a rotten tomato at you.
You stop in British Columbia a couple times this season. What’s your experience been like out here?
I always make a joke that never makes it to the broadcast: “The Men in B.C. Black.” Every time I’m in B.C., I enjoy it so much that I think, “Why don’t I just move to B.C.?” And then the next time I end up in B.C. to do an episode, I think: “Oh my God, I meant to move to B.C.!” The Men in B.C. Black, whenever I leave, they come to the airport and zap me, and I forget my experience. It’s such a beautiful part of the world . . .
As much as you and your team plot things out ahead of time, do you also have the chance to just roam around town and try to find things you didn’t plan for?
Yeah, absolutely. We’ve got a shooting schedule and we’ve got people lined up for interviews, but there is a little bit of room for exploration. We were just out in Nova Scotia in a town where a guy genetically engineered giant pumpkins. Then I saw this huge metal sculpture in the town square of a giant pumpkin — this, like, taller-than-me pumpkin. And there was a plaque there, but the plaque was a bit worn away and I couldn’t quite read all of it. The joke there was that this pumpkin, it reminded me of The Tragically Hip. I said, “You’ve got a gourd/Gord that’s become legendary . . . even if you don’t quite get all the words.”
Given all of the random facts you pick up doing this series, you must be a very interesting guy to chat with at parties.
Yeah, I think people are often disappointed that I’m not that funny in a given social setting. But I do have a lot of weird knowledge. Anything that comes up [in conversation] — from uranium to polar bears to “sexing a fish” — I do find I often pipe up with, “You know, I interviewed a person . . .” and then sort of blurt out some outrageously odd information.
The season finale of Still Standing airs Tuesday, December 3, on CBC
MEMORABLE ROLES:
A standup comic by trade, this native of Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, is best known for his turn as old-timey Toronto copper George Crabtree — faithful sidekick of Sherlock Holmes-esque sleuth William Murdoch — on CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries. Popular as ever, the period drama is now in the midst of its 18th season.
CURRENT GIG:
Given that long-running Canadian TV series are a rarity, it’s quite remarkable that Mr. Harris is on not one, but two shows with at least 10 seasons under their belt. Year 10 of Still Standing wraps Tuesday, as Jonny ventures to yet another small town suffering through hard times, chats up the locals and crafts a standup routine devoted specifically, lovingly to them.