FILL 'ER UP
If you live south of the border - the Canadian border, that is - you've probably never heard of the sitcom Corner Gas. It only crossed my path because my friend Jacq from Regina, Saskatchewan (the city that rhymes with fun) lent me the Season One DVDs that her brother sent her. At first it seemed like a dullsville knockoff of Northern Exposure. Eccentric characters out in the middle of nowhere, one stoplight in town, two cops who have absolutely no law and order to enforce. That kind of stuff.
But I was hooked by the end of Season One, and wanted to see the next batch of episodes so much that I fell for an eBay scam (the disc quality is fine, but they slapped me with a $10 shipping fee for 5-15 day delivery). I'm particularly fond of Emma Leroy, the wiseass redhead matriarch of a clan that includes a fumbling retired husband and the main character, Brent, who oversees the negligible flow of business at the Little Gas Station on the Prairie. Beside the gas pumps and the food mart, the most of the "action" takes place at Ruby's Cafe and the town bar.
One strange thing: I've seen over 20 episodes, and it's always summer in Dog River. My expert witness (I'm talking about Jacq, of course) tells me that Mother Winter slams Saskatchewan pretty damned hard, with major snowfalls and temps as low as minus-40. If I wasn't so distracted by these weather anomalies I could spend a lot more time trying to figure out who's going to win the next curling competition or who's going to be appointed as the next friendly ambassador to a solitary tourist who's only in town because he took a wrong turn.
If you live south of the border - the Canadian border, that is - you've probably never heard of the sitcom Corner Gas. It only crossed my path because my friend Jacq from Regina, Saskatchewan (the city that rhymes with fun) lent me the Season One DVDs that her brother sent her. At first it seemed like a dullsville knockoff of Northern Exposure. Eccentric characters out in the middle of nowhere, one stoplight in town, two cops who have absolutely no law and order to enforce. That kind of stuff.
But I was hooked by the end of Season One, and wanted to see the next batch of episodes so much that I fell for an eBay scam (the disc quality is fine, but they slapped me with a $10 shipping fee for 5-15 day delivery). I'm particularly fond of Emma Leroy, the wiseass redhead matriarch of a clan that includes a fumbling retired husband and the main character, Brent, who oversees the negligible flow of business at the Little Gas Station on the Prairie. Beside the gas pumps and the food mart, the most of the "action" takes place at Ruby's Cafe and the town bar.
One strange thing: I've seen over 20 episodes, and it's always summer in Dog River. My expert witness (I'm talking about Jacq, of course) tells me that Mother Winter slams Saskatchewan pretty damned hard, with major snowfalls and temps as low as minus-40. If I wasn't so distracted by these weather anomalies I could spend a lot more time trying to figure out who's going to win the next curling competition or who's going to be appointed as the next friendly ambassador to a solitary tourist who's only in town because he took a wrong turn.
Oh, I just read on the Corner Gas website (www.cornergas.com) that the producers just struck a U.S. distribution deal with Superstation WGN, which means that episodes will soon be invading about 70 million American TV sets. If this offends you in any way please don't kill the messenger. Blame Canada, not me.
posted by Stephen @ 5:03 PM
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