Hiccups

I'm Canadian. I understand references to Canadian culture whether they are topical or not. I was a fan of Brent Butt's stand up comedy long before his sitcom days and I was a fan of Corner Gas, especially during the first few years. Then the humour became stale and forced. Hiccups, in a sense, cuts out the middle man. It starts off being stale and forced without first being funny. I've seen only two episodes and I have no plans to see more. The show has a long way to go before it can be considered mediocre let alone good.

The problem with this show lies in the writing. The actors are talented but what can anyone can do with a lame premise and lame lines? Because of the status that Butt and Robertson enjoy in Canada this sitcom may be back next year but, judged on merit and not reputation, it needs to be terminated as soon as possible.

Being that i'm in the US I don't get this show =( But the fact that I watch a vast majority of my TV programs on the internet I happened to stumbled across this show. Upon Googleing it: Brett & Nancy looked a little familiar (probably from their stand~up days) & it sounded cute so I gave it a shot. I was hooked after the first episode!!! It's cute and funny! I love Nancy Robertson, she is absolutely Adorable & Hilarious!!! Also, upon getting hooked on this show I learned about their previous sitcom, "Corner Gas", which was considered to be a big hit. I think "Corner Gas" is OK but but I don't think it holds a candle to "Hiccups"!!!

Yes, I was a Corner Gas fan, too and yes I was not ready for Hiccups. I needed time to heal and blah, blah, blah.

But, come on, this is a really good show. The over-the-top main character, Millie Upton, is a joy to watch and Nancy Robertson delivers in every episode. Since the genre of man-child movies and sitcoms (commercials, etc.) has forever been (obviously) a No Girls Allowed Club, it's great to see a woman take on a "chronic child" character and nail it.

The supporting characters that orbit around Millie's planet are well-developed and likable. Yes, the stories are sometimes far-fetched and unbelievable but so were the story lines on Curb Your Enthusiasm (yet another man-child show) and it didn't stop that show from being a huge hit.

The writing and comedy style still has notes of the wry, understated nature that was common on Corner Gas. But even though this is not Corner Gas, it's still a good watch.

I'm hoping for a Season 3!

If Hiccups was handled differently it could have been a success. The cast are all superb, and the writing whilst not rib crackling funny is whimsical and heartwarming enough to make it more than watchable. However, it suffers from the weight of expectation and its gestation time was far too short.

After the mega success of Corner Gas, and much to the disappointment of its millions of adoring fans to its much to early demise, Brent Butt et el wrote produced and aired the first season of Hiccups less than a year from the CG series finale.

Not enough time had past to allow the general public to move on from it's beloved sitcom. All eyes were on Brent Butt to repeat the success of CG and a lot of it's former fans were still hurt from it's passing to give the new show a chance.

The other problem is it's accessibility. One of the main reasons of Corner Gas' success was that it was relatable. For the majority of it's audience they identified and loved small town Canada with its collection of adorable eccentric locals. Dog River was a place where most people grew up in or wanted to live in. Hiccups is a world of millionaire authors,publishers and slick slimy agents - High flying City Dwellers. The first episode of the long delayed second season takes place partly in LA. How many average Canadians can identify with that?

The show could still be a moderate success, however it needs to ground itself firmer in reality, tone down the central character of Millie who at the moment is still far too unstable to make a connection with the audience and for CTV to show it some love and to not pre-empt it on a whim, and recommission the show early to allow Brent Butt & the writers the time to create stronger more 3 dimensional characters.

Though in reality what the people are truly waiting for is not a third season of Hiccups or more projects from former Corner Gas alumni but a Corner Gas movie, or even better a full seventh season of Canada's greatest sitcom of all time.

I just found this show and I am so glad I did. I'm a fan of Corner Gas so I thought I would give Hiccups a try. I wasn't hooked right away. Robertson's character Millie was pretty outrageous, which at first struck me as too much and out of place...but then by the second episode I found her character endearing and hilariously oddball. Robertson and Brent Butt are great together in the show. All the other characters start to fill out as the show progresses and bring more subtle, but added flavor to it. Robertson is amazing in this and her outrageousness really becomes a natural, dynamic aspect of the series. Her facial expressions, body language, and line delivery are comic gold!