This time of year is rife with holiday episodes, and for the most part, I think we TV audiences agree that we'd rather our favourite shows take an extra week off rather than produce what is often a badly-written show with too much room given to guest stars playing the parents of our lead characters (negative bonus points if one of them is Jane Kaczmarek, Elliott Gould or Candice Bergen).



But sketch comedy shows are the exception. Something about the holidays brings out the best -- and frequently the most acerbic -- in comedians, which is why I'm actually excited to watch the 'This Hour Has 22 Minutes' holiday special (CBC on December 13 at 8PM). As cast member Mark Critch explains, "Christmas is about being together as a family even if the family hates each other. There's a slow build from forgetting to put out your sister's potato salad to your father yelling, 'I drink because I hate you!'"

Shaun Majumder is a busy man these days. The energetic star of 'This Hour Has 22 Minutes' and ABC's crime drama 'Detroit 1-8-7' is about to embark on a cross-Canada comedy tour called 'This Tour Has 22 Cities ... The Road to Majumder Manor.' He will also be filming the tour and turning into a behind-the-scenes documentary and a one-hour comedy special for HBO Canada.

As if that's not enough, he's also turning a personal passion project into a 12-part TV special called 'Majumder Manor' (the network and air date will be announced shortly). He recently bought his old school in his hometown of Burlington, Newfoundland, and is in the process of converting it into a high-end bed and breakfast to help rejuvenate his hometown and attract tourists. He'll be doing some fundraising on his tour to support local businesses in Burlington.

We caught up with the hard-working comedian during a recent stop in Toronto. His charming fiancé, actress Shelby Fenner ('Vantage Point') was with him, and the two hinted that they may or may not get married during the 'Majumder Manor' finale. What teases!

Now that it's official - Conan O'Brien's job at NBC is over as of Friday - it's time for Conan to think about how he wants to spend the next few months. He's free to take a new job as of September 1st, but in the meantime, if there's nothing to prevent him from taking part-time gigs, I have a few ideas of how he could spend his time.

'This Hour Has 22 Minutes' and Conan

I give Mark Critch full credit for this idea. Last week, he finished up a broadcast by inviting the beleaguered O'Brien to join the cast of '22 Minutes.' Conan should do it.

Rick Mercer of the satirical Canadian program This Hour Has 22 Minutes interviews Americans to find out how much they know about Canada in these very funny videos found on YouTube. The special is called Talking to Americans, and features clips of Mercer asking about drilling for plutonium in Mount Rushmore, and whether or not America should bomb Saskatchewan (which I spelled correctly on the first try, thank you very much). Anyway, it's the kind of "approach people on the street and set them up to look silly" bit we've seen a million times before, but it's still pretty damn funny. Noteworthy: This Hour Has 22 Minutes also featured Colin Mochrie of Who's Line Is It Anyway?

The first video is after the jump, and you can watch the rest of them here.

[via Boing Boing and Digg]