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Out of Gas? Say it ain't so!
Published: 4/24/2008 2:51 PM
Last Modified: 4/24/2008 2:51 PM

Great. Just great. I find a situation comedy I really, really enjoy – one worth programming the DVR to capture every time it airs, reruns and all that make me seriously consider laying a bunch of bucks to buy the first four seasons on DVD – and they announce that this will be the final season.

Wellll…… Shoot.

The show is "Corner Gas," and earlier this month, crea –

What's that? Never heard of "Corner Gas"?

Few people south of the 49th parallel had heard of this show, until WGN, the so-called "superstation" out of Chicago began airing episodes in Sept. 2007. I had seen some of the advertisements for the show, but because the station tended to air the show at odd (well, odd for me) times, I never took that time to investigate further.

But, out of curiosity, I went to the show's website, watched a bit of an episode, and was immediately hooked.

"Corner Gas" is set in the town of Dog River, Saskatchewan; the show's creator, a comedian named Brent Butt, plays Brent Leroy, the owner-operator of the only gas station in this one-horse town. He's also the relatively sane person in a circle of eccentrics – his dim-bulb best friend, his wise-cracking employee, his crotchety parents, the ditzy owner of the restaurant next door, the gung-ho if cheerily inept police team, the deeply insecure mayor.

It's a very familiar sit-com set-up, true. But what sets "Corner Gas" apart from a lot of television comedies is its inherent sweetness. For all the verbal sparing that goes on, for all the put-downs that elicit chortles of "Scorch!" from onlookers, there's precious little meanness in the humor. "Corner Gas" might rival "Seinfeld" in the eccentricity of its characters, but you never get the sense that these people are being ridiculed, which was the source of much of "Seinfeld's" humor.

And it has touches of pop culture self-awareness as does "The Simpsons." One episode begins with Brent interrupting Canada's prime minister during a national address because "this is the only time they give me – the rest is pretty much 'Canadian Idol.'" In another scene, Brent and his employee Wanda discuss movies and wonder if viewers are more interested in characters and relationships or good production values – as a boom mike drops into the frame, bonks Wanda on the head, and she casually bats it away.

Silly, yes. But every so often, you need a thankful of gentle silliness. And "Corner Gas" offers that service with a smile.



Reader Comments 3 Total
Nicky (5 years ago)
It's such an underrated show. The final episode hasn't even aired yet but I already miss its unpretentious and not-overdone humor. As with Seinfeld, I can watch CG episodes again and again and never get bored. Farewell "my happy place"...
Watts (5 years ago)
The announcement I saw, dated April 10, said that the season that they have just begun filming, the sixth, will be the last one.

And I agree, it is hugely underrated -- in part, I suppose because it airs only on WGN, and therefore is under the radar of most television writers. But on the positive side, WGN does air it a bunch of times.

I also agree you can watch these episodes dozens of times and still crack up. And it has the BEST theme song i've heard in decades.

thanks for commenting.
Suanne (5 years ago)
I love, love, love this show! I have family in living in Saskatchewan and they are a little Corner Gas-like. So sad the show's going away, but so happy we got to enjoy it in the States!
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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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