The Red Green Show

A fantastically funny show about Red Green and some other men living up at Possum Lodge in the Yukon Territory. It's Canadian, but you don't need to be Canadian to love this show. Some of the older episodes are a little bit boring, but they still manage to top American shows like "Will and Grace". I will be very sad if this show goes off the air.

I think that the Red Green Show is always nonstop laughs, no matter the date of the episode. As long as it keeps going as it is (maybe if Bill comes back?), then it will be the top Canadian humour show!

I always love the Handyman Corner, the possum lodge Word Game, and ESPECIALLY the Ranger Gord cartoons... Harold is funny, even as a beaver... even that sound he makes. I can imitate that sound. Wahahhhh!

I used to think that "The Red Green Show" was stupid, but as I watched more episodes I caught on to how great this show is. It really does a superb job of poking fun at the "male bonding" craze that was going on in the 1990's and the entirely male cast represent all sorts of hilarious stereotypes of manhood. They do it so well and it always makes me laugh. And hard at that, too.

Steve Smith portrays Red Green, the leader of the Possum Lodge that's 135 beer stores away from Toronto. His mis-adventures mostly involve the goings-on in his lodge with real and fictionally members of his fraternity. Smith delivers a great performance as the grizzled "King of Men" but it's Patrick McKenna's Harold, Green's nephew that steals most of the episodes. McKenna's character is a nerdy but loveable bumbler who always flashes those pearly whites, has hilarious mannerisms, and just shines with his lack of aloofness. Plenty of recurring characters shine in this series. Co-creator Rick Green's ode to Harp Marx/Teller in the Green narrated "Adventures With Bill" are always a hoot, as Bill always seems to be abused by Red AND Murphy's Law. Gordon Pinsent's compulsive liar/tall tale teller Hap Shaughnessy, Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene's explosive specialist Edgar Montross, and Peter Keleghan's lonely teary-eyed Ranger Gord are just three of the hilarious people Red interacts with.

Don't forget those classic "Handyman's Corner" segments where his "Handyman's secret weapon" (Duct tape) is always regularly abused; they rule. The Red Green Show, along with Absolutely Fabulous, are two sitcoms that Americans need to watch to understand why some people think that American sit-coms have lost their touch.

...and you might come close to getting the essence of what made "Red Green" so enjoyable. Never mind "The Man Show", THIS was the real deal!

What originally attracted me to the show was that it was indeed funny (in a bemused, Newhart way), but it also had a bit of an edge to it. There were some genuine barbs and mean-spirited feelings, some real cynicism and misanthropy concealed in the campfire songs and moose-poop jokes. In the last few years, that edge sort of went away (similar to the way "The Simpsons" lost a lot of their original venom after more than 10 years), but it was always funny and packed with clever word plays and tongue-in-cheek observations of the male psyche and character.

Many characters came and went over the years mostly wonderfully played by talented actors; the one I missed most was 'Garth Harple', the first "Animal Control Officer", whose sad sack demeanor and heavy handed irony ( his motto, "Another Super Day!!" could be teaser for every awful work assignment you ever had) was perfect for the show.

I admire Smith and company for quitting when they were still ahead...it must have been hard to abandon the money machine and a relatively sure thing, but to admit that you need to move on to other projects is the hallmark of true craftsmen at their best. Many many thanks to "The Red Green Show" for innumerable moments( over more than a decade) where I would almost snort beer (or milk) out my nose at some well done jape, sight gag or pratfall.

I've seen many mixed responses to this show. Frankly, I think it's awesome, but that's just me. The thing is that you need to realize that this is a scripted show: it follows a set pattern, which may change with the season (e.g. some seasons don't have Ranger Gord's little cartoons), but it's still a stage production and therefore is limited somewhat by the locations it shows (we never really go outside the lodge or into Possum Lake town).

Also, for some parts of this show, you need to turn your brain off. Just do it; it's healthy in moderation. So what if most of the Handyman Corner stuff is physically impossible? Most of it works IN THEORY, and considering Possum Lodge, that's good enough.

There are parts of this show that rock and parts that are mediocre. Ranger Gord is always funny, and the Experts Portion of the Show (where men examine those three little words men find so hard to say: "I Don't Know!") is also worth a peek. My sister loves Adventures with Bill/Walter/Etc.; I think they're okay but not worthy of such high worship. That's one problem with conglomerations: you get a lot of variety, not always a good thing.

In summary, should you ever be vacationing Up North, check this out. If it's not your kettle of fish, it'll only be 22 minutes of your time wasted. You probably waste more waking up.

7/10. I would rate higher, but it IS a TV show and it may change - possibly for the worse.