Have all the good comedy writers defected to the US? Shows like Little Louse on the Prairie, Corner Ass and Trailer Fuck Boys are so fucking awful, I cringe to think that’s the best we Canucks can come up with. We need another SCTV but I guess that’s too much to ask from the likes of our networks.
—Thank Fuck For The Simpsons
This article appears in Feb 12-18, 2009.
agreed on most parts TFFTS except that TPB…i love that show. mindless laughs..its not smart intellectual comedy by any means but its funny.
i do recognize the lack of good canadian sitcoms…i think it may be because of the lack of a huge viewing market which would create big advert dollars which in turn would justify spending money on developing quality shows.
Agreed. Right up there with “Da Kink in Ma Hair”. What an idiotic show.
Honestly I don’t see what the big deal is about Corner Ass. See TV’s entertainment show won’t stfu about it. Yes it’s the show’s last season. Yes it got 5 viewers instead of the usual 2 cdn shows typically generate, but that doesn’t mean we all want to see you kiss the show’s creator’s “Butt”.
I mean the show isn’t AWFUL, but it certainly isn’t in the same caliber as the vast majority of american or even british shows. It’s just “Canadian” and anything “Canadian” (even if it’s the biggest piece of crap ever) is fawned all over, kind of like how Canadians seem to wet themselves whenever they mention “Canada” in an american show.
“Corner Ass and Trailer Fuck Boys”
maybe you should write a sitcom Mr.Funny Pants.
Yeah the Simpsons should have curled up and died years ago. Thank fuck for the Venture Bros., or something that didn’t turn into regurgitation a decade ago.
Oh yes, US tv is so wonderful… Compared to laundry spinning in my washing machine window, maybe.
I find Canadian humor to be much more interesting, albeit sometimes in a kind of awkward way, but if you don’t understand the jokes, maybe you should just change the channel or even turn off the godbox and pick up a book.
TPB is funny. It’s a social statement, tongue in cheek. At least somebody here is working…
And, who says that’s the best we can do? Some of our artists are too talented to be media whores, and good for them.
TPB is one of the greatest Canadian shows, in my opinion better than SCTV, Little Mosque is okay (if original and it puts Muslims in a positive light, which is very risky in a decidedly Christian country) as far as Corner Gas is concerned, you’d need to have lived in Prairies for it to be funny. As most of the characters in TPB are stereotypes of Maritime trailer park dwellers, Corner Gas is a collection of Prairie small town types. Hell, I lived in Winnipeg for a few years and I don’t get half the jokes on that bloody show, and yet my relatives out west are actually sad to see it go off the air. Go figure.
Thank Gawd for Rick Mercer and the 22 Minutes crew. Humour is alive and well in Canuckland.
SCTV was a bad program and even the kids in the hall were not that great albeit a few of their skits. Its just that Cdn TV is not where the money is at if you want to make it big and the only reason people stay in Cdn TV is 1) they can’t make it in US TV 2) they Love it too much here in Canada!
Canadian TV for the most part Sucks! And if the best we can do is Ben Mulroney then there is something wrong.
I used to think Kids in the Hall kicked ass during its original run. Then I saw an ep not too long ago. Bad. SCTV? Never saw it enough to say, but seeing clips in recent years would lead me to believe that like the original star trek, it wasn’t as good as the myth of its greatness. Corner Gas would work well as a 4 ep miniseries.
Little Mosque? Tried to like it but its saddled with bad actresses/actors and lame writing.
I actually like “Being Ericia”. Shoot me now.
BRING BACK THE BEACHCOMBERS!!!!
It was hilarious to watch Nick, Jesse and Relic boating around the western shorelines fighting over fucking dirty old driftwood. Then back to “Molly’s Reach” to make conversation with the RCMP dude and other non-important characters.
Fucking Ben Mulroney…
grrrrr……
TPB’s pretty funny… in my opinion anyways.
I like corner gas too…. but not enough to miss it.
Really, it’s no wonder though…. the states has 10 times the people of Canada. That’s (assuming ratios and probability) 10 times the talent…. and 10 times the morons to pay for the talent. We know that’s skewed because there’s way more than 10 idiotic Americans for every 1 idiotic Canadian.. but I digress.
NY alone has ~2/3 the population of Canada.
How many shows are made there? At any time of day, you there is some show set or broadcasting from NY.
Put everyone from BC to Quebec in a place twice the area of New Brunswick and see how people get along and the talent that is actually discovered.
Big bucks in the states if you’re known. It’s all about padding the pockets.
I cannot believe thatcorner gas actaully has anyopne believing this is original content Brent Butt must have been a Beachcombers lovers, jeez it 90% the same right down to the dozey cop & local riff raff & curmudgeons Relic types, Molly’s reach is not the gas station grill, jeez what a blantant rip off, even the token Aboriginal. good lord do we have to rehash this type of stuff it was funny when I was 14 but the parallels & story lines are predictable. save me.
Shut your festering gob. Corner Gas is a wicked show. I think Canadian shows are a hell of a lot wittier and subtly hilarious…di du ever think that maybe you’re just too stupid to understand the jokes? Or maybe you’re just not funny. Ponder that while watching your shriveled up Simpsons. Now that’s a show that should’ve crawled into the basement and died about 10 years ago.
Too stupid to understand the jokes? Thats a joke, right?
Canada consistently produces great documentary / reality tv programs though, ex. Holmes on Homes, Restaurant Makeover, Matchmaker. All great shows!
Though matchmaker has never been the same since the old host left.
I love TPB, though I thought their last special was a little lackluster. Hopefully the new movie will be better.
As for Corner Gas…I dunno. It just seems so whitebread and squeaky clean.
I didn’t know Holmes on Homes was Canadian. I love watching that guy get all worked up about other contractors.
O.K., this wasn’t a sitcom – I miss Littlest Hobo and its catchy little theme song. And all the washed up celebrities of yesteryear making guest appearances and emoting as if King Vidor was directing. I was always waiting for him to get hit by a speeding bus or picked up by the pound and gassed but he was always helping some poor schlep out of a jam. Then fuck off to the next town.
And let’s not forget our dear friend Hammy the Hamster – Down on the Riverbank. Watching GP fly through the air in that jeep made my fucking day.
As far as sitcoms go, Im a fan of both Being Erica and Heartland (bad acting, interesting story once you get into it though – a bit “racier” than the series of teen lit its based on). There are a couple other good original series’ on there too though, The Week the Women Went – interesting to watch, even if youre not a housewife. Its a kinda cool social experiment :).
Theres that new series too, Flashpoint – my familys really into it, although I havent watched it enough to testify to that.
Anyway, Im going to go watch Degrassi 😉 Haha!
We also have really good comedians (of the stand up variety, and the few shows) – not to mention, if you stay up late watching CBC some nights they show short Canadian films, yea – some of them are pretty out there – but Ive never seen one I didnt like, or at the very least never seen one that didnt make me think!
LOL, TTFN: The littlest hobo. I totally forgot about that show. That was the best. show. ever. (even though I cried every time it was on — poor dog never had a home 🙁 )
But 22 Minutes, TTFN? You think 22 Minutes is even remotely funny these days? Since the majority of the original crew left it’s turned into the shits. I much prefer the Mercer Report. Rick Mercer is a scream.
Forgot about Flashpoint!
How can you go wrong with Sonny the Stripclub owner and the Pink Power Ranger???
NO
Corner gas is awesome because of the fact that it is hard to do a sitcom these days with out drugs, sex and swearing ALSO we have Degrassi TNG
Pfft…American TV is the shits… every car that is in a crash explodes a fireball..people shooting a million bullets and not hitting anyone..who’s fucking who in an office or a hospital..and every fucking show about crime, jesus…Reality this and realty that,Fuck-off..Blah Blah Blah…TV in general just fucking sucks..if is wasn’t for the odd half believable Canadian TV program I’d fire the TV into a fucking snowbank…
There is no Canadian produced TV drama or comedy that is worth watching. It is because the CRTC has mandated that these shows must be produced regardless of whether anyone watches them and hence mediocrity rules. The Cancon laws in this country are actually having the opposite effect to what was intended. The CRTC needs to be blown up and these idiotic cultural censorship laws repealed.
You should check out The Lot, it is a new show produced by people in Halifax.