Ruby Reborn

Canadians have every right to be proud of 'Corner Gas'. It's hands down one of the funniest sitcoms to ever emerge from the Great White North, all thanks to comedian and prairie boy Brent Butt, starring as amiable service station proprietor Brent Leroy, working in the tiny, isolated town of Dog River. We get introduced to all the beloved characters here, including Brent's irascible dad Oscar (Eric Peterson), long suffering mom Emma (Janet Wright), sassy employee Wanda (Nancy Robertson), his friend Hank (Fred Ewanuick), and local cops Davis (Lorne Cardinal) and Karen (Tara Spencer-Nairn). Much humour is mined out of the reality of this remote Saskatchewan setting, where people don't ever get up to a whole lot except for making us laugh. In this debut episode, we meet Lacey (Gabrielle Miller), the niece of the local diner owner who's come to take over operation of the place since the old lady died. Brent preaches acceptance to Hank, the kind of guy who doesn't like to accept change, but Hank will have none of it, and tries to boycott the place. Meanwhile, Brent starts a video rental service to which Oscar takes exception. Brent allows Oscar to rent "Jaws" believing he'll never be able to figure out how to connect a VCR to a TV. Here we could already see the wit and energy that would become the series' trademark; the jokes fly fast and furious and there are superb visual gags as well (such as Karen having to set up a speed trap next to - not behind, but next to - a pretty damn small bush. The actors are all fun to watch and the story just moves right along very nicely. It ends with a hilarious turn around for Brent when he's denied the pleasure of a chili cheese dog. All in all, a very agreeable way to spend 22 minutes. Eight out of 10.