Corner Gas
Corner Gas. The greatest Canadian sitcom you never heard about. It’s true. Really, is Canadian television known for its great sitcoms? Not hardly. However, comedian Brent Butt broke that mold and created one of the most endearing situational comedies I’ve ever seen.
First off, let me state what I don’t like about most sitcoms: they aren’t really situational comedies. Often times, they are situationally dramatic comedies, and very light on the comedy. Of that, I am not a fan. When I watch a sitcom, I want to laugh. I don’t want to watch a dramatic storyline. I can watch a serialized drama for that, if I want to. No, I want to be entertained and laugh. I want to see the funny characters I love in odd situations. That’s what a sitcom is about, it’s very definition is in the name.
Hank, the oddball unemployed friend, comes up with a crazy billboard scheme.
With Corner Gas, we have an actual sitcom. From the way the show plays out, you can definitely tell that Brent is a Seinfeld fan, not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, it’s a great thing. No, they don’t out and out rip off Seinfeld. It’s just the way the dialog plays out, where some of the conversations have that Seinfeld feel to them, yet the way the actors interact within the scenes, as well as bringing life to their characters, really brings the show into its own.
The show takes place in the town of Dog river, and focuses on a select group of residents. It’s a small town located in Saskatchewan. There are a few locations that are regularly visited in the show, such as the Corner Gas fuel station, The Ruby, a diner located adjacent to Corner Gas, the bar in the hotel, the Police station, and Brent’s parent’s house.
Wanda, a book smart, wise cracking attendant at Corner Gas.
The characters are really what make this show so great. They are written so well, that there is a certain familiarity you get with them in a short time. You can tell that Brent and writing crew are very knowledgeable with what does and does not work in not only the world of sitcoms, but the character reactions, motives, and personalities. Not to mention how they behave when put into different situations. Usually hilarity, much to the benefit of us, the viewer.
Speaking of the characters, we have Brent Butt, who plays Brent Leroy. He runs the corner gas station in town, taking over for his Father after he retired. Said Father, Oscar Leroy, is one of the funniest characters on television ever, with his grouchy attitude, his non-understanding of technology, and skewed, suspicious outlook on all things. Oscar’s wife and Brent’s Mom, Emma, is much more grounded, but not without her own grouchiness. She is the perfect ‘straight man’ to Oscar, and is tough as nails, even when knitting.
Oscar tries to figure the internet, while Emma looks on.
Working at the gas station with Brent is his longtime friend Wanda Dollard, a single mom who is wicked smart and often displays her knowledge, often times confusing the more simple minded residents of Dog River. She often has conflicts with Dog River’s village idiot and Brent’s oldest and best friend, Hank Yarbo. He is, next to Oscar, an excellent character with some great jokes and just an overall twisted perspective on things, if not simplistic. Although, more often than not, his dim wit shows through. This makes him the perfect punching bag for Brent and Wanda, and everyone else in the town.
There are two police officers, Davis Quinton and Karen Pelly. Davis is the seasoned of the two, but also the softer. He is a good natured person with a big heart and sometimes the innocence of a child. Actually, he’s like a big kid in an adult body. Karen is the new cop who sees things more ‘by the book’ and is a bit more rigid.
Officer Karen Pelly, she's the rookie cop.
Finally, we have Lacey Burrows, who in the first episode of the show, moves to Dog River from Toronto to take over The Ruby, the local diner, after the previous owner, Lacey’s Aunt, passes away. She often struggles with fitting into the community, as she feels she is viewed as the outsider of the town. Of course, her constant need for approval doesn’t help matters much.
The beauty of these characters is that they are not only people you can identify with, but you probably know or have known one or two people who are exactly like them. It’s just easy to relate to them and enjoy their presence on your television screen, and the characters are put out there from their first scenes…there is no building where you need to ‘get to know’ them first. I know that may sound two dimensional, but it is not. It’s just that the characters are written so well, and portrayed so well by the actors, that you get the majority about who they are within a few scenes. More important than that: they’re funny! The writing is just so snappy and the actors do a great job of bringing that energy to the screen.
Lacey Burrows, she took over The Ruby diner after her Aunt died.
The situations are often complemented greatly by the characters. Hank is always trying some new way to make money. Brent is just living day to day on a diet of comic books and chili cheese dogs. Lacey just wants to fit in to the community,she sees herself as an outsider in Dog River, and often goes to great lengths to try to find acceptance. Oscar is usually up to some sort of confusing thing that only makes sense to Oscar, (sometimes Hank, too), while Emma does her best to tolerate her husband. Karen and Davis walk the not so mean streets, (or drive), and Wanda is usually getting caught up in some way to lord her knowledge over everyone else in town. The situations are always funny and never too absurd, (although sometimes they are on the border), finding the right balance to tickle your funny bone.
Davis, the good natured cop with a heart of gold.
Sadly, Brent ended the show at the sixth season mark, mainly because he didn’t want to over extend his welcome, (to which I don’t think anybody would think that), and wanted to go out on top. While I respect this decision, and actually greatly appreciate it since there’s nothing worse than seeing a great show start to go bad, I wish he would have continued on just a bit longer. I know there had to be more stories he wanted to tell. There was mention by Brent and the cast about a possible movie in the future, which I think would be wonderful, even if it didn’t make it stateside. Still, I do respect the decision and applaud it, even.
We still watch the show at our house, (Canadian DVD’s are Region 1, in case you didn’t know, which means they play just fine on our American DVD players), and will more than likely continue to do so for years to come. I suggest you give this great show a chance as well, and maybe I’ll see you at The Ruby.
I’ve found some clips on YouTube. There are a lot of different ones on there, even some full episodes, (although broken up into 2 or 3 parts), but I’ve decided to embed a couple clips from some of my favorite episodes. Enjoy!
Oscar tires of his neighbors lawn ornaments and takes action.
Taking the size issue into the realm of technology. Edited to show the whole story line.
My kids favorite episode. This is edited to show the whole Pink Eye storyline from the episode.
All content ©® 2010 The Viewing Screen, except where explicitly stated. All images ©® their respective owners.
Leave a Reply