I've neglected my favourite show, next to The Rick Mercer Report. That would be Corner Gas. This show is about small town life in the flattest place on earth, Saskatchewan. (Hope I spelled that correctly...) Anyway, I've haven't laughed so hard for such a long time until this show came along. I am faithfully getting the series DVD's as they become available...I'm that serious about how funny it is. I'm so interested in this show that I've suggested that we tour the town where it's filmed. Maybe we will visit Dog River!
This show does have uniquely Canadian references in it, too, which my wife has to explain to me, but I find the humor so universal. It is more 'small town humour' than Canadian humor. You'll notice as an American in Canada, I sometimes put my 'u' into words like 'humour' and sometimes I don't. (I love Canadian spelling!)
The main characters are:
*Brent - Owner of Corner Gas.
*Lacy - Brent's next door neighbor, owner of the diner, The Ruby
*Hank - Brent's best friend and rarely employed layabout (he must have inherited the house)
*Frank - Brent's crusty, cranky old dad
*Emma - Brent's wise-cracking, eye-rolling mom
*Davis - The cop who likes to 'be real' and relax
*Karen - The newer cop who likes to be careful to follow regulations.
The writing on this show is fantastic and the characters are so small town. There is so much recognition of basic human foibles and follies hiding in this show too. It demonstrates, as true comedy should, how people can sometimes just be plain silly about their obsessions and priorities. In that way this show is more 'real' than the shows that call themselves 'reality'.
The show is proof of that famous quotation: "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." Corner Gas demonstrates that we can either laugh at this foolishness, or go insane. I'll go for the former. See you at The Ruby!
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