House Party (2008 Canadian TV series)

House Party is a 2008 Canadian comedy TV series created and written by Sarah Constible and Matt Kippen, produced by Farpoint Films and Inferno Pictures Inc. that was originally broadcast on The Comedy Network. The six-episode series is about the chaos around an unplanned house party, with each episode focusing on the experiences of one of five key characters. Events unfold as experienced by the title character of each episode with the viewer intentionally left in the dark about certain things. As the series progresses the viewer gets to see more of the events and what triggered them.

Plot

When Adam's parents go away for an overnight trip to Fargo leaving him home alone, he plans for a small gathering of friends in hopes of getting closer to his longtime crush Megan. Things quickly go awry when it turns out his best friend Eric has carelessly invited numerous others. As a full blown house party gets into swing Adam must try to keep it under control, his home intact, the drinks cabinet untouched, get closer to Megan, and Rainbow the cat safe.

Cast and characters

• Michal Grajewski as Adam Palinchuck: A young man whose plans, when his parents go on an overnight trip, for a quiet night in with a few close friends goes awry when a house party develops. He has a long time crush on Megan and had hopes of taking their relationship further.
• Dylan Taylor as Eric: Best friend of Adam, he is loyal and good natured but his love of alcohol often leads to trouble. It is his reckless invitations to all and sundry that instigates the out of control house party.
• Grace Lynn Kung as Allison a sharp tongued friend of Adam with something of a wild reputation. She's desperately trying to hide her true nature from new boyfriend Darren, whom she met in an online chatroom, because she believes him to be a nice guy.
• Sarah Podemski as Megan: Long time school friend of Adam, they both have a crush on each other but neither have managed to express it. Recently she has been away at university but is back in town prompting Adam to invite her over.
• Matthew Edison as Darren: A young Englishman whose true nature is that of an overly aggressive yob. He has gotten stuck pretending to be a nice guy, believing that is what will impress Allison.
• Melanie Leishman as Mandy: Socially awkward and desperate to fit in, partially as a result of having had leg braces which she has only just had removed. Desperate to have fun and make an impression at the party no matter what, she is however prone to overwhelm those she encounters by trying far too hard to fit in and have people like her.
• Kathleen Phillips as Hannah: A quiet and seemingly mousey young woman who hides a darker side and an unhealthy obsession with Adam.
• Max Topplin as Birdy: Neighbour of Adam's, rather skittish and afraid of cats. Has hopes of one day hosting a party of his own.
• Aaron Hughes as Cowboy: Despite his name, not actually keen on cowboy references. Had a one-night stand with Allison, though she does not remember it.
• Brodie Sanderson as Gordon: Mandy's younger brother, he travels in the car with his sister and his friend Yevitz, intending to go on to laser tag. Instead the friends gatecrash the party, embarrassing Mandy.
• Ben Beauchemin as Yevitz: Gordon's friend who was intending on going to laser tag but ends up gatecrashing the party with Gordon.
• Dillon Casey as Sean Goldstein: Described by Adam as "Cool Jesus", he is something of a celebrity among his peers and his presence at the house party elevates its status.
• Aaron Merke as Stan: Perpetually inebriated.
• Sarah Constible as Gretl and Matt Kippen as Iain: Always to be found together at the party. They try to be aloof observers, frequently over socially conscious and judgemental of those around them, usually from the comfort of the couch. Iain is under the impression they are a couple while Gretl thought he was gay.
• Stephen Eric McIntyre as Mr. Bigmin: Birdy's father and Adam's neighbour who wryly observes the comings and goings of the house party while shoveling snow.
• Susanna Portnoy as Mary Palinchuck and Ross McMillan as Richard Palinchuck: Adams parents. Richard is impatinet and easily blows his top while Mary is a counterpoint to this being calm and laid back.

Episodes

Opening sequence

In the opening credits the main cast and crew names, as well as their likenesses, appear on album covers that are seen being flipped through by a partygoer. The title sequence changes subtly for each episode, with the hands and arms of whoever is the title character that week being the ones seen flipping through the albums/credits.

Production

Conception

Sarah Constible and Matt Kippen created and wrote the series. They came up with the idea for the structure that relies on different characters perspectives from their own experiences at parties where major happenings they were completely unaware of would be related to them by others later on. A friend who was a television producer suggested pitching their script. Constible and Kippen would write material for House Party independently of each other, coming together to combine and discuss changes.

Pilot

An initial demonstration pilot version with slightly different cast, directed by James Genn and costing $410,000, was shot in July 2006 for The Comedy Network.

Filming

Shooting of the series proper took place at the Manitoba Production Centre soundstage for a planned 25 days on an approximate $2.9-$3 million budget and wrapped up on 25 April 2008. Additionally exteriors were shot over two days at a house in River Heights. Directing duties were split between Kelly Makin and John Barnard. Producers were Kyle Bornais for Farpoint Films and Brendon Sawatzky of Inferno Pictures. Bornais stated that the party runs from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and that they intended to shoot chronologically by the hour rather than episodically as is more usual. Production designer for the series was Larry Spittle.

Notes

References

External links

• House Party at IMDb
• House Party season 1 at Farpoint Films' official YouTube channel