Corner Gas Countdown, #9

#9: All My Ex's Live in Toronto
Ahhh, one of the first season classics. Lacey is a little worried about her ex-boyfriend coming out to Dog River for a visit. Ohh, by ex-boyfriend she means ex-fiancee. By ex-fiancee she means ex-fiancee whom she abandoned at the alter and broke up with the groom by phoning his parents. By ex-fiancee whom she abandoned at the alter and broke up with the groom by phoning his parents she doesn't mean that he's a crazy stalker. Through some Hank-related miscommunication, that's exactly what Hank and Oscar and Davies come to believe though, and when fatally-niceguy Steven shows up with Karen in tow there's a whole lot of excitement. The subplot of Oscar needing to be arrested to go to the doctor was also beautifully done, and in a way that facilitated the main plot rather than being tied in at the end or B-plot in its entirety. Best scenes have to be Oscar and Davis at the doctors (the handcuffs were necessary, as Oscar did take a swing at the cop), Karen and Davis' long-ride to The Ruby from slightly off-screen from The Ruby, and Davis' gun/baton wife/lover ramblings (which feature the only obscure reference to his failed marriage). Ultimately the end scene in the police interrogation room and Steven's later legal troubles remind us that maybe some city folk just don't belong in the country. (Unless they look as good in a tanktop as Gabrielle Miller!)

Honourable Mention: Physical Credit
A generally passable episode, the main reason to watch is the parody/homage to "Do It", the Partici-paction commerical from the 80s. "The Canadian Fitness Guide is the last great thing this country ever acheived" is the classic old-man rant you'll hear if you hang around the rural west for more than 18 minutes, and in the end the shuttle run saves the day. If Corner Gas is Canada's Seinfeld, then the shuttle run rescue in "Physical Credit" is equivalent to George Constanza's video game coming to life in "The Frogger"

#99: I Love Lacey
Years ago The Simpsons did "a Superbowl-themed episode without showing any football" that received meta-criticism within the episode itself. The one time during the show's run that the Grey Cup was held in Saskatchewan, and they couldn't even make it to Taylor Field? Emma and Wanda in the Dollar Store was a little agonizing, Davis and Karen "scalping" tickets from a prostitute was pretty agonizing, and even Oscar and Hank robbing a dead man was agonizing. Oddly enough the saving grace was Lacey and Brent's almost kiss moment on the farm, but it was made agonizing by Lacey's cell phone calls to the towing company that she was passing off as calls to her Mom. Such a waste, which is odd because the next episode of the 2nd season that took advantage of the unresolved kiss was excellent.

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