Canadians can be a little embarrassed about TV shows from our own country because we compare ourselves with the high standards that come from down south (i.e. the US). We don’t have anywhere near as much money to work with or the experienced production teams. We do, however, have our own quirky sense of humor that may not be able to be duplicated by our over-the-border neighbors.
One example from not just my home country but also my own province is a show called “Corner Gas.” It is set in rural Saskatchewan at a rest stop area. The characters make up the very few roles that the small town has which include the coffee shop owner, a convenience store clerk, the gas station owner, 2 police officers, and a few other townsfolk.
The plot of each 30-minute episode basically revolves around some small piece of gossip that spreads around the town and how each person handles it. Everyone gets into everyone’s business and that causes quite a few dramatic and comedic moments.
One of my favorite episodes is when Hank, who is often changing jobs, comes up with the idea to attract more people to their town by building a large sized version of an object so that the town could have the title “World’s Biggest”. Throughout the episode, with a variety of other storylines also occurring at the same time, random suggestions are given. Through much discussion something is chosen but in the end, they visit another town that had already built a larger version of it which defeats any chance that it would have brought people to their own town.
I am not sure if it’s because the humor is so close to home for me or if it’s the way the characters are so relatable that make it one of my favorite shows from Canada. Clips of it still can be found on YouTube, so if you wish, you could give it a try.
Once after a big meal on Christmas day with my mom’s side of the family my uncle googled how far away it would be to drive to the old set of Corner Gas. To our surprise it was only a 2-hour drive away. Without a thought we all jumped into our vehicles and with a 5 or 6 car parade we traveled over to its town. After the drive we all popped out to see the rest stop sign still standing, but barely. The entire set was weathered and run down but was still recognizable. We left after taking a few pics and went back to our Christmas day of snoozing and snacking. I heard that they eventually removed it a year or two later so I was happy our family had gone on that journey while we still could.
Every once in a while, I am gladly surprised to hear of someone who either lives on the other side of the country or even across the world that has heard of the show. A lot of people don’t understand the humor in it at all but there are a few who have fallen in love with this small rural town just as much as I have.
Laura
Vocabulary
quirky (adjective) – a little strange but in an interesting or positive way
revolve around (expression) - to have somebody/something as the main interest or subject
close to home (idiom) – affecting someone personally
parade (noun) - a series of things or people moving together in a line
pop out (phrasal verb) – to leave somewhere briefly
weathered (adjective) - changed in colour or shape because of the effect of the sun, rain or wind
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