TODAY:  A comedic duo that's been supplying yuks on Access Communications has taped segments to air on CBC's Just for Laughs.  

By NICK MILIOKAS
of The Leader-Post

The cable guys are moving to network television.

James Whittingham and Kevin Allardyce, known to local viewers by their first names alone, will appear this season on CBC's Just for Laughs.

It could be the break they've been waiting for.

The up-and-coming comedians, stars of The James and Kevin Show, on Access Communications, are hoping the exposure will be a boost to their careers and take them beyond community television.

In each of the ten shows, beginning with the premiere September 22, Whittingham and Allardyce will be doing three 60-second segments, which are used to connect the various headline acts on  Just for Laughs.

"We've been described as "hosts" of the show, but that isn't totally accurate." says Whittingham.  "What we do on this show is what we've been doing on the cable show -- short skits."

The segments were shot over the last week of July, in Montreal, during the Just for Laughs Festival.

"It was incredible," Allardyce says.

"I kept thinking to myself, 'They fly us down first-class, they put us up in a five-star hotel, and here we are working with some very big comedians.'  We kept waiting for someone to say, 'The emperor is wearing no clothes.'"

Whittingham and Allardyce were so busy taping their own segments that they didn't have much opportunity to get up close and personal with their celebrated colleagues.

Over the course of the season, however, they will be seen on Just for Laughs with comedians like Drew Carey, David Hyde Pierce, Roseanne, Martin Mull, and The Smothers Brothers, among others.

"It's going to look as though we know and love all these people and the feeling is mutual," Allardyce says.  "But they'll probably be wondering 'Who the hell are these guys and what are they doing on our show?'"

They would have to take that up with Dan Redican, who has produced comedy shows for CBC radio and television, and arranged for Whittingham and Allardyce to appear on Just for Laughs.

"Dan has taken us under his wing.  He's gone out of his way to help us," says Whittingham.

"He needed somebody to do these segments, and he thought of us.  He's taking a big risk.  We aren't the stars of a top-rated comedy series--we're just a couple of cable guys."

The cable guys have been pals for about 12 years.  Both are graduates of the University of Regina.  Whittingham studied film and video, Allardyce took religious studies and political science.

"I've got friends who did anthropology degrees," Allardyce says, "I tell them that's not were the humor is--it's all in religious studies and political science."

Whittingham and Allardyce came to Access Communications at the invitation of Jack Hilkewich.  He thought it might be interesting to have them do comedy segments on What's Up.

"They became very popular segments on the show," Allardyce says.  "The show, unfortunately, passed away.  But then we got our own show, just like the Simpsons."

Says Whittingham, "We did those segment just for fun.  We really had no notion of anyone else enjoying them."

Over the last three years, with a fourth and final season still to come, The James and Kevin Show has attracted a faithful audience in Regina.

"Humor is such a subjective thing," says Whittingham.  "It's been a learning experience these last four years.  It's hard to say, "Let's do this.  Everyone is going to think it's funny.'  We've tried to do what we think is funny, and it worked for us."

Says Allardyce, "I'm always shocked and amaze at the number of people who come up to us and say, 'We watch you guys and we love your show.'  That's really something, for a cable program."

Taping for the fourth and final season is complete.  As well, Access Communications will air The James and Kevin Marathon beginning at 4 p.m. on Sept. 21 (Think of it: 16 episodes--eight hours' worth--of man-in-the-street shtick!)

"It's been great, but it's time to try something on a slightly larger scale,"  Allardyce says.

"We want to strike now while the iron is hot.  If we're going to make something of our careers, now is the time to do it."