On the CBC

Our national broadcaster is airing two shows in the next little while that touch upon the CF mission in Afghanistan in a unique way.

First up is Stand Up in Kandahar, a comedy bit airing tonight at 8:00 PM:

Stand Up In Kandahar is a one-hour CBC TV comedy special recently shot on location at Kandahar Air Field (KAF) in Afghanistan. KAF is the temporary home for about 2500 Canadian men and women serving in support of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.

The hour-long special is hosted by Shaun Majumder (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, “24”, Just For Laughs). Sharing the stage with him are some of Canada’s funniest stand up comedians: Mark Critch (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Halifax Comedy Fest), Irwin Barker (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Yuk Yuks, Winnipeg Comedy Festival), Tim Nutt (Just For Laughs Tour, Yuk Yuks), and Erica Sigurdson (Vancouver Comedy Festival, CBC Radio’s “The Debaters”, Halifax Comedy Fest).

More interesting, though, is the prospect of The Crazy Eights, scheduled for Thursday, March 29th at 8:00 PM:

Armed with cameras, filmmaker Gordon Henderson spent the month of October 2006 in Afghanistan with Canadian troops. The Crazy Eights is an intimate video journal of his time with The Royal Canadian Regiment Charles Company Eight Platoon.

The Crazy Eights have suffered more than any other Canadian military unit in the war. Over Labour Day 2006 weekend, the platoon was in the thick of Operation Medusa, the biggest battle Canadians have been in since the Korean War. Then the next morning, the platoon was strafed by an American plane. An A10 Warthog literally gunned them down in friendly fire. There were only eight soldiers left standing.