Ruby Reborn Corner Gas Episode 101 Review
Summary and Review of the Corner Gas Series Premiere
Oct 3, 2009
The Corner Gas series premiere, "Ruby Reborn," first aired on January 22, 2004. The show was an instant hit, and has since won 30 awards. The charm and success of Corner Gas is in its quirky, often stupid, but mostly lovable characters, which help make the show's impeccable comedic timing possible.For a guide to all six seasons of Corner Gas episodes, see the Corner Gas Episode Guide.
Premise of Corner Gas
The idea behind Corner Gas is that if the show's creator, stand-up comedian Brent Butt, had not been successful, he would still be in small-town Saskatchewan working at a gas station. Butt's character in the show, Brent Leroy, is successful in his own way: he owns a gas station, the titular Corner Gas, which gets some good business due to being the only gas station for miles around. The gas station is attached to a small diner, which, in "Ruby Reborn," is taken over by the late former owner's niece from Toronto.
Summary of Episode 101 "Ruby Reborn"
The episode begins with a short sketch unrelated to the rest of the episode, which became a successful format for most of the episodes to come. A tourist getting gas points out that Saskatchewan is flat, and Brent and Hank (Fred Ewaniuck) pretend to be surprised. When the tourist asks if they're always sarcastic, Brent observes that there's "nothing else to do."
After the opening credits, Brent, Hank, and Wanda (Nancy Robertson) discuss Lacey (Gabrielle Miller), the mysterious newcomer from Toronto, who is taking over the cafe next to Corner Gas. Hank worries that Lacey might be stuck-up or on drugs. The next thing we see, predictably, is the headline of the Dog River Howler, a sensationalist and frequently inaccurate local newspaper, which reports: "Big City Woman Destroys Landmark."
Next, Karen (Tara Spencer-Nairn) and Davis (Lorne Cardinal) argue over who is Car 1 and who is Car 2.
Oscar (Eric Peterson), Brent's father and former owner of Corner Gas, gets upset over Brent's new plan to rent videos at Corner Gas. Lacey complains about the Howler headline, and Hank comes up with possible plans to get back at them, which mostly involve throwing watermelons.
Davis convinces Lacey to brew some coffee, since everyone misses Ruby's good coffee.
Emma (Janet Wright) tries to break up the argument between Oscar and Brent by getting Oscar to rent a movie so that he understands what he's arguing against. Brent agrees and rents Oscar Jaws, knowing that Oscar doesn't have a VCR. He then rents Oscar a VCR, knowing that he'll never figure out how to hook it up.
Lacey introduces the new, redecorated cafe. People don't really like the changes, but try to make Lacey feel better. Emma reassures her that people will keep coming because no one will drive to Wullerton (cue everyone spitting at the name of Dog River's rival town) just for coffee. Hank, on the other hand, decides to boycott.
Brent introduces Lacey to the town bar. Oscar pretends that he's been able to hook up the VCR and watch Jaws, so Brent and Lacey tease him by making up parts of the movie, such as the shark having a sword fight and then returning to his home planet.
Hank is picketing the new coffee shop; Brent stops the boycott by breaking Hank's sign. Emma hooks up the VCR for Oscar, but he's sure she did it wrong because the scenes Lacey and Brent mentioned aren't in the movie. Lacey reveals one last change: naming the cafe the Ruby, after her late aunt. Brent, however, starts his own boycott because Lacey has taken chili cheese dogs off the menu.
Review of "Ruby Reborn"
Even after over a hundred subsequent episodes, "Ruby Reborn" remains one of the best episodes of Corner Gas. The show was hilarious from the start, almost to the point where it wasn't able to get any better. The character interactions, the workings of a small town, and the humorous twists on mundane situations in "Ruby Reborn" established Corner Gas as sort of a Canadian Seinfeld-ian "show about nothing" - a point made in their theme song, "There's Not a Lot Going On." "Ruby Reborn" was a solid beginning to the show and its first season, still one of Corner Gas's best.
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