Shoresy

(Review updated after Season 3).

Shoresy, notorious as one of the dirtiest players in all of (ice) hockey, plays for the Sudbury Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are last in the four-team Northern Ontario Senior Hockey league and the owner is thinking of folding the team. Shoresy is determined to not have that happen and assembles a formidable team.

For me the best part of Letterkenny was the hockey stuff. The Reilly and Jonesy sub-plots, often consisting of satire on jock culture, were always very funny and were the only consistently funny part of the show.

It's for this reason that I watched Shoresy, a Letterkenny spin-off concentrating on an occasional-yet-incredibly-memorable character in that show. Initially it showed some of Letterkenny's shortcomings: the repetitiveness, the wasted potential for great drama and sentimentality, the clumsy sub-plots. It was never dull though and the humour generally worked.

As it went on the show developed more of a heart and the comedy got sharper, making for a very entertaining and engaging experience. The dramatic plots got better as time went on, moving from merely a structure to hang jokes on to the essence of the show. We see the trials and tribulations of a sports team, the camaraderie, the rivalries, the internal struggles, the milestones, the career choices.

By the end of Season 3 it is absolutely brilliant and has seamlessly transformed itself from a decent comedy into an excellent drama. There's still a fair amount of humour but it's the drama that drives it now.

The magic formula of rapid-fire banter, extreme vulgariry and just a touch of heart continues in this spinoff of Lettekenny. Being a "southerner" and never played a game of hockey, some of the jokes went way over my head, but was still, just a treasure to watch. The shot of those five, big hockey meatheads standing around in Shorsey's kitchen, eating ice cream cones, each with a protective bowl to catch any drips, I'm sure is a nod to Moms everywhere, but it also gives us an idea what these guys are going to be like. Its small details like this, not necessarily the big laughs that get me.

I hope to see more this show and Keeso, in the future.

Only 6 episodes thus far and they damn well better come back with more.

The dry humor is refreshing and hilarious, and the one liners are gold.

The scenes where Shoresy is ref'ing the kids is the best and if you don't laugh you should check your pulse.

Jared Keeso is the man. Shoresy is one of those shows my wife can't stand but one that I will watch over and over. Hockey, trash talking, fighting, and all in my hometown. I can't wait to see the upcoming episodes.

Usually, spinoffs flop or at the most meet the expectations of their origin stories. This spinoff certainly meets the level of charm that Letterkenny has to offer, and so much more.

Do you love the verbal assaults Shoresy delivered to Jonsey, Reilly, and anyone else who rubbed him the wrong way in Letterkenny? Do you love the quick-witted banter that exited in Letterkenny, not just including that which involves our new protagonist? Do you want a fairy-tale story told with a fairy-tale ending but not in a traditional fairy-tale manner?

If your answer to any of that is a firm "yes," then this is the spinoff for YOU. If not, give your balls a tug, you loser.

EDIT: Just watched the season 3 premiere. This is one of those shows that can keep the original creative magic from start to finish. I was dying. The "your mom" Shoresy jokes are just absolutely brutal.