Corner Gas, Saskatchewan's Sitcom
Canadian TV show Corner Gas is witty prime-time comedy.
Corner Gas is a Canadian sitcom set in Saskatchewan. It's like Seinfeld and Friends without the New York part. Very funny, very real, very Canadian.
In January 2004, a Canadian TV show aired on the CTV network. Now Corner Gas is the most-watched comedy series in the country. (The country is Canada, and that nugget of wisdom comes from the Corner Gas website.)
What is Corner Gas about?
As with so many sitcoms, Corner Gas is more about... well, the situation. The situation is created by the characters and the place.
The place is everything
This is the first time since Who Has Seen the Wind that anyone but a CanLit diehard can remember Saskatchewan being the centre of attention, media-wise. Even Saskatchwanians know their province hasn't exactly been the centre of attention, despite the many fine people and ideas they've produced.
Corner Gas is set in the fictitious town of Dog River. It's flat. Flat, flat prairie with that endless sky and - in Dog River, it's always summer as far as we know. Summer tends to be the best time on the prairies. None of that infamous 40 below weather goes on in summer.
The Dog River of Corner Gas has a gas station called (surprise) Corner Gas, a restaurant called The Ruby, a police station, some houses, and other buildings of convenience, like a grocery store, a hotel (mainly used as a bar but like all prairie hotels, we assume lodging there is at least theoretically possible), and probably a school.
The action is like Seinfeld or Friends without the New York. Can't imagine Seinfeld or Friends without New York? Exactly. The place is everything.
The people
Brent Butt (real name) is a Canadian comedian who was already a known funny commodity before Corner Gas came out. Now he stars as Brent LeRoy, continues to be one of the writing team, and is generally considered the genius behind the whole operation. Brent LeRoy (the character) owns Corner Gas.
It's hard to believe Brent LeRoy makes a living at Corner Gas, pumping about two tankfuls of gas a day and selling the odd bag of chips, but in fact not only does he support himself (in a comfortable lifestyle with a bachelor bungalow in Dog River), but he also has an employee, Wanda.
While Brent LeRoy is a kind of bumbling yet wry sort of joker, Wanda has a saucy, clever edge. Played by the diminutive Nancy Robertson (Mrs. Brent Butt in real life), Wanda is brainy, cocky, sarcastic, and almost always right.
Brent LeRoy's parents, Oscar and Emma, are probably the best-cast duo in the show. Eric Peterson and Janet Wright are veteran Canadian actors who simply seem to be having fun feuding in the way of a couple who've been married for a million years and no longer remember what they're arguing about. The interplay between these two is always good for a laugh, always believable, and one of the many gems of Corner Gas.
Let's see. The police force of two - Lorne Cardinal as Davis and Tara Spencer-Nairn as Karen - couldn't enforce their way out of a wet paper bag. Despite posing yet another insoluble puzzle about the economic underpinnings of Dog River, they defy the stereotype of Canadian police as seen on the media. That's because there's no donut shop in Dog River.
Lacey (Gabrielle Miller) is the new kid in town, the young woman who inherited The Ruby from her aunt. Moving to Dog River from Toronto has challenged Lacey to try and fit in, but she continually does things to emphasize her differentness. Like introducing Pilates classes (Davis was the only one who came) in a town where mat classes (Pilates by any other name) were alive and well already under the direction of Wanda. But no one bothered to tell Lacey that.
Finally, Hank (Fred Ewanuick), childhood buddy and best friend of Brent. Everyone else in Dog River seems to have some kind of job (Oscar and Emma are retired but used to own Corner Gas). Hank does absolutely nothing. Occasionally he'll mend a fence but that's about it. Again, the economic miracle that is Saskatchewan of TV land keeps him going.
The absolute best episode is one rarely seen on re-runs: Season 1, Episode 11, "Hook, Line and Sinker". I call it "The Fish Whisperer". Hank shows us talents we've never seen before, and haven't seen since. Hey, I don't want to spoil it but... Karen was pretty impressed too.
Guest Stars
Corner Gas has been very clever in giving famous Canadians cameo appearances. The selection has been nothing if not eclectic - Prime Ministers, newscasters, sports heroes, the Tragically Hip and Colin James, to name just a few.
Why to Watch
It's funny.
The last episode of Season 4 was also very moving. To a soundtrack of Blue Rodeo, we watched a friend pack everything into the car, say a tearful goodbye and head down the one-way highway to the city. It's an all too-familiar occurrence in real towns all over Canada, where the magic economic miracles of Dog River are just something on TV.
