Super Dave

Super Dave (also known as The Super Dave Osborne Show was) a Variety Show Spin-Off of the Canadian Sketch Comedy show Bizarre. The show starred the late comedian Bob Einstein as the titular daredevil, Super Dave Osborne. Modeled after famous daredevils such as Evel Knievel, Super Dave was well known for his iconic white and blue American suit, crash helmet with collapsible transparent visor, fearless personality, deep voice and a reputation for being the greatest daredevil whoever lived. Sadly nothing could be further from the truth. As this show and Bizarre before it attested to, when he thinks the cameras are off he is an egotistical, foul-mouthed, greedy, attention-hungry jerk, whose stunts often go dangerously wrong in a spectacular way. No matter the severity of the disasters, though, Super Dave returns no worse for wear, ready to go at it again. And the audience loves him for it.

Accompanied by his technical assistant Fuji Hakayito (Art Irizawa) and former sportscaster Mike Walden (As Himself), Super Dave hosted a show which, on top of his stunts, showcased other performances, ranging from musical guests like Ray Charles, to ventriloquist acts like Jeff Dunham, all the while showing off the "Super Dave Compound" -- an amusement park where he performs his stunts to entertain his crowd.

The show itself started in 1987 and ended in 1991, but its success branched off into other mediums, including a cartoon series called Super Dave: Daredevil For Hire in 1992, to a movie The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave in 2000. Sadly with Einstein's passing in 2019, we may never see the lovable accident prone Daredevil again.

Tropes used in Super Dave include:

• Amusing Injuries: The result of his stunts gone wrong, leaves him with various injuries that would kill a human in real life. Including but not limited to getting his head chopped off by a guillotine. And yet despite that, he's able to survive and put himself back together intact.
• Badass Baritone: On top of his his stunts, Super Dave is well known for his deep voice.
• Bait and Switch: Sometimes Super Dave would refuse to do a stunt, either wanting to try again another time, not at all or wanting to do something remotely harmless -- only for that to hurt him as well. The big example being his "King Of The Road" stunt, where all he wanted to do was a week-long sing-along travel to end Highway Profanity. This involved him riding on the roof of a bus and singing the titular song. However at the peak of the song, he gets knocked off by a low bridge.
• Catch Phrase: Super has a few he uses depending on the situation.
  • When he realizes a stunt is about to go bad:

 Super Dave: HOLY SHIT!!!

• • When said stunt hits him:

 Super Dave: YAHOOO!!!

• Determinator: No matter how badly the stunts injure him, Super Dave does not know when to quit.
• Don't Try This At Home: A disclaimer both in-universe and out. While mostly Played For Laughs, Bob Einstein was well aware that people might try to emulate the stunts shown and would put more emphasis on it as time went on.
• Engrish: Fuji speaks in a stereotypical thick Japanese accent, complete with Rs replacing Ls, Played for Laughs. However when the cartoon Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire came about, his actor Art Irizawa was asked to tone it down so no one could get offended by it.
• Epic Fail: The staple of the show and its title character. Super Dave's stunt's rarely succeed, but when they fail, they fail spectacularly, whether it be by his own hand, Fuji's, Walden's and sometimes even an extra or guest star that was brought on for a specific task.
• Friend to All Children: Super Dave cares more about and gets along better with kids than he does adults, be it his own family or his fans. Much of why Super Dave insists on Don't Try This At Home, is because he doesn't want to see kids get hurt doing his stunts.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Played with, Fuji is solely responsible for designing and building the inventions that Super Dave uses in his stunts. However as cool-looking as they are, part of the reason why Super Dave's stunts go wrong is because Fuji made a mistake in them.
• Informed Ability: Played with. On the show and preceding shows that feature him, Super Dave has often been advertised as one of the world's greatest daredevils. And while he does have knowledge of the craft, as well as having met real world daredevils such as Robbie Knievel, the stunts go wrong, averting what they were originally intended for. So it's left ambiguous to whether or not he could do it, if it was done right.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While off camera, he is an egotistical, foul mouthed jerk, he does have moments where he shows heart. He cares very much about his family and his fans. This is specially prominent in The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave, when he was willing to go through his spectacularly bad stunts to raise money for a heart operation for his girlfriend's son Timmy.
• Kayfabe: even in interviews with serious news shows (including As It Happens, as re-reported when Bob Einstein passed away), Super Dave would say that his stunts were real.
• Made of Iron: Super Dave has gone through many disasters pertaining to his stunts, including but not limited to: surviving long falls, getting hit by cars, getting shot with arrows, blown up and crushed. Yet he's able to live through it and come back for more.
• Major Injury Underreaction: Played with, while he does complain about the pain wrought onto him by the injuries. The tone of his voice suggests he treats them like a normal person would treat a paper cut.
• Never My Fault: Played with. Sometimes when the stunts go awry, Super Dave blames everyone but himself, when it's often his own screw-up that does him in. Other times it is their fault. However most of the time, the fault lies in both parties due to Poor Communication Kills.
• Nice Character, Mean Actor: In-Universe. On camera, Super Dave maintains a friendly demeanour, but when he doesn't think the cameras are rolling, he does often acts like an egotistical jerk. Sometimes it happens on-camera as well, especially after the stunts go wrong.
• Poor Communication Kills: Sometimes, even when the stunt is carefully prepared, to the point where Super Dave mentions having a signal but the stunt still goes wrong due to premature use of said signal, prompting Fuji or one of Super Dave's crew to hit him while his guard is down.
• Riddle for the Ages: How does Super Dave survive the stunts gone wrong and come back the next episode unscathed? Within the show, there were varying hints such as Fuji giving Super Dave a mantra to help him withstand the pain ("Baloon Ball"). Whilst some viewers have made their own guesses, including but not limited to his use of "Genuine Saskatchewan Sealskin Bindings". However it wasn't until the movie "The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave", that we got a proper answer. The beginning of the film opens with a funeral for Super Dave's Grandfather. His father, hands little Super Dave, a gold locket that belonged to him. His Grandfather spoke to him through the picture in the locket telling him, not to lose it. Stating that while he'll still get hurt in his stunts, the locket has the power to soften the blows.
• Running Gag: Whenever Super Dave prepares for a stunt, he is often fitted with some variation of safety restraint made from "Genuine Saskatchewan Seal Skin Bindings". Part of the humor is the fact that unless you count zoos, there is no open water in Saskatchewan. Nor do seals inhabit the province. So naturally it gets a laugh every time.
• Sophisticated As Hell: Super Dave has a foul mouth, especially when his stunts go wrong. However sometimes, for added humor he would often speak eloquent poems....that end with a swear or two.
• Sound Effect Bleep: In both this show and it's parent show Bizarre. Whenever the shows are aired in public or daytime television, every time Super Dave swore, it was often censored by the sound of a car horn. Some viewers have often found it more funnier than the actual swearing.
• Status Quo Is God: No matter how prepared he is. No matter how much safety precautions he takes. No matter how manySaskatchewan Seal Skin Bindings he straps himself with. No matter if he wants to do a stunt or not, you can bet Super Dave is always gonna get hurt by the end of the show.
• Stylistic Suck: Whenever Super Dave gets hurt, it's often obvious that a dummy takes place of the actor. However rather than ruin the illusion, it makes it look more hilarious. Other times, when he has to have his face shown on screen; it's often camera tricks and prop use at play. Which sometimes even make the stunts look more real.
• Took a Level in Kindness: In his later episodes, as well as later shows, Super Dave is much more nicer.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Played with. When Super Dave's stunts backfire, Mike Walden does express concern. However when Super Dave acknowledges his concern by listing the injuries, as well as how much time he has to live, Walden brushes it off as Super Dave being ok. When he closes out the show, Super Dave can still be heard in the background complaining and needing help.