Corner Gas Season 1

Let's all visit the tiny prarie town of Dog River, Sascatchewan, where, as the theme says, "there's not a lot goin' on."

I dare you to name three great canadian comedies. Can't ? Well, how about 2 ? Still can't ? Well, don't feel bad. There aren't any great canadian comedies....aside from Red Green, that is. Corner Gas is the exception to the rule. In the small town of Dog River, there's the only gas station for miles, Corner Gas. And in the attached building right next door, there is the Ruby diner. Other than a small bar elsewhere in town, the diner and the gas station is pretty much it. The town is inhabited by the sheriff, Davis, and his deputy, Karen. Next, there's Brent Leroy (series creator Brent Butt) who runs the Corner Gas gas station after his dad retires, and his best friend, the dimwitted Hank, the on again off again town mechanic. There's Brent's mom and dad, Emma and Oscar. Lacey runs the Ruby (inherited from her aunt) and Wanda, the sharp tongued woman who works at the gas station.

Corner Gas can be a bit hard to describe. I'd say it's like Seinfeld....only funny. If you like Red Green or shows like that, then you'll like Corner Gas. To most, the show could be a bit boring at times as there's really no explosions, car chases, or shoot-outs. But if you have a sense of humour of any kind, you'll love it.

The first (of six) seasons comes to dvd in a 2 dvd set. Disc one has.....

Episode One - Ruby Reborn
Dog River is in for a change when the local diner/coffee shop gets a new owner in the form of Lacey, the niece of the deceased owner.

Episode Two - Tax Man
Hank helps Brent's dad stay one step ahead of a tax auditor and everyone gets a lesson in proper article use.

Episode Three - Pilates Twist
Lacey tries to offer a Pilates class, but no one seems interested. In fact, Wanda, the worker at the gas station is downright mad. Brent's dad, Oscar, is worried about being buried in a cheap quality coffin.

Episode Four - Oh Baby!
The town takes a keen interest when Brent agrees to babysit Wanda's six year old son.


Episode Five - Grad '68
Karen, the deputy, tries to crack a high profile case of graffiti where someone in Dog River's past spray painted Grad '68 on the local water tower.

Episode Six - World's Biggest Thing
Dog River tries to attract tourists with a giant landmark while Oscar struggles to stop a love-struck admirer from ruining his marriage.

Episode Seven - All My Ex's Live In Toronto
Hank and Oscar try to protect Lacey from her ex-fiance while the Dog River police track down a fugitive.

Disc Two has......

Episode Eight - Cousin Carl
Brent tries to prove his prodigal cousin is a dork while Dog River puts on it's annual talent show.

Episode Nine - Cell Phone
Brent and Davis get in a war over who has the smallest cell phone.

Episode Ten - Comedy Night
Lacey asks Brent to join her book club and helps him humiliate an annoying comedian from out of town.

Episode Eleven - Hook, Line, And Sinker
On a fishing trip, Karen doesn't sleep with Hank, while the entire community of Dog River enjoys a very public battle of wits between Brent and Lacey.

Episode Twelve - Face Off
The Dog River hockey team takes it's goalie Brent for granted and turns to an unlikely hockey expert for help.

This is a great show. One of my absolute favourites. For extras, episode 1 and 10 have commentaries from Brent Butt, the creator, and David Story, the director.

As to the picture quality....the picture can be a bit dark at times, especially during inside scenes. But I'm pretty sure that it was just my tv. When I adjusted the brightness, it seemed fine. The quality is definately better than the reruns on WGN.

One of my favourite things about the set, setting aside the actual episodes, the first season's insert isn't your average insert advertising other dvds or tv shows. Corner Gas's first season set has an insert made to look just like a menu from The Ruby diner and each feature is made to appear as an item choice.

If you're any kind of fan of canadian comedies or just comedies in general, I completely recommend picking up the first season of Corner Gas on dvd. Though, I do have one warning. At the american amazon.com, the set runs 40 dollars, while at the canadian amazon.com (where I got my set from), the same set goes for only 16 dollars. Go figure ! Definatey get it from the canadian amazon.com. The same goes for the rest of the show's five sets. So....

Picture quality - 9/10
Audio - 10/10
Extras - 8/10

All in all, I wish that they had included commentaries for every episode. There was certainly the space. But aside from that, this is one of the best tv dvd sets I've seen in a while.