News Release

06/01/2007
Smells Like Yukon sort of Go!es national, sort of massacres Mary Poppins, sort of threatens Raffi

WHITEHORSE (SLYwire) Notoriety as a local radio personality, the ability to procreate, and the inability to find a permanent job with the Yukon government have all conspired to land Smells Like Yukon co-creator Mark Koepke a spot on the CBC Saturday morning show Go!

In what may best be described as a blatant example of stunt casting, the show pitted the self-proclaimed “house hunk” against two fierce challengers, including a teenage girl, in a competition to crown “Yukon’s Best Babysitter.” Rumour has it, Mark was nominated by CBC Yukon morning show producer Arnold Hedstrom, who has been allowing Mark and Smells Like Yukon co-producer Jesse Devost to babysit his airwaves for about six minutes every two weeks.

“There’s this whole school of thought that says what I do is called ‘parenting,’ not babysitting,” observes Koepke, referring not to the production of Smells Like Yukon, but to his primary duties as a daytime caregiver to a nine-month old daughter. "Unfortunately, Go! doesn't provide an ideal forum for serious discussions about modern gender roles and new paradigms for manliness. For that, you need a CBC show with the requisite gravitas--like Ideas or The Debaters."

As for why he agreed to appear as a contestant babysitter, it all comes down to self-promotion.

“I could use some extra cash, so I’ve been thinking about expanding my child care services to other people’s kids," Koepke says. "But it’s not just about the money; it’s also about the opportunity to shape young minds. On top of everything, the producers promised me a calendar shoot, but only if I won.”

Following the show’s taping in front of a live audience at the Yukon Arts Centre on May 31, consensus suggests that Mark is unlikely to be inundated with new business. His downfall, if it can be reduced to a single factor, was probably an attempt to sing the classic “A Spoonful of Sugar” while a horrified Kim Barlow plucked the tune on her banjo—but not nearly loud enough to spare host Brent Bambury and the audience permanent hearing damage.

While Mark’s father, among others, will certainly cringe at the exploitation of the beloved Mary Poppins to prove that someone can be both tone deaf and tone dumb, he can rest assured that it was only the music—not Julie Andrews herself—that was bludgeoned to death on stage.

As for Raffi, you can breathe easy, buddy. Mark is all talk, no violence.

Go!’s search for Yukon’s Best Babysitter airs Saturday, May 2 at 10:00 on CBC Radio One. The final segment of Smells Like Yukon (Season One) airs Wednesday, June 6 at around 7:15 a.m.

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For more information, contact:

Media & Public Relations Officer
Smells Like Yukon
Whitehorse, Yukon