It didnt seem as if a lot of the posters at SO watched Corner Gas on WGN last night.....so, I thought Id post the reviews here, to persuade anyone who's been reluctant so far, to give the show a try!

By LUAINE LEE - McClatchy-Tribune News Service
http://www.centredaily.com/entertainment/story/190748.html

The funniest show coming to television this fall season is not "The Big Bang Theory" or "Chuck" or "Reaper" - though they are all crackups. No, the knock-down winner is an obscure little show from Canada called "Corner Gas," which arrives with a sneak-peak on Sept. 10 via Chicago's WGN. The show slips into its regular timeslot on Sept. 17 and has several airings (check local listings). This tale of small-towners in far-off Saskatchewan is filled with they type of colorful characters you probably grew up with. TV producers claim earnestly that their shows are "character driven," but you'd have to go back to "All in the Family" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" to make good on that promise. "Corner Gas" manages just that with a wry twinkle and a down-home simplicity.

Here's what Gannett news service had to say about Corner Gas

link: http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070910/ENTERTAINMENT/709100318

Tonight's TV best bets
By GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
"Corner Gas" debut, 8 and 8:30 p.m., WGN. One of the new season's best shows arrives for a sneak peek - or, actually, nine peeks. Officially, "Corner Gas" arrives Sept. 17. Over the next few days, however, WGN will air nine half-hours; it has plenty, 69 have been taped in Canada, over four seasons. You'll find the droll, dry wit of Canadians in general and Brent Butt in particular. He plays the owner of a small-town gas station and convenience store in Saskatchewan. In tonight's opener, a city girl (Lacy Burrows) takes over the adjoining diner. In the second episode, a tax man (Kevin McDonald of Kids in the Hall) visits. In both, the humor is slow, sly and quite wonderful.

So...let the fun begin!

Ireneparalegal said:

Ok Mikey, I am watching it right now. It is friggin' hilarious. The sarcasm, the quick one liners, it is all so funny. I was laughing when they were trying to decide whether it was grammatically correct to say, "a tax man" or "the tax man"... "Since we are talking abt a specific person, then THE TAX MAN is right." OMG I missed the first episode but according to the ticker at the bottom of the screen, we can see the episodes that were shown today ONLINE!!!!!!! www.superstationwgn.com I happened to get home in time to see it.
Corner Gas lived up to the expectations I had and from what you told me. It has no laugh track. Don't need one. I loved when the lady (forgot her name) was telling her old man where she was going to put the tax documents "just in case" and he was babbling on abt Al Capone, and all that stuff. :rofl:

OK, i told everyone at work about it yesterday, and everyone that actually bothered to watch it was very excited about it today, all of them said that they would definitely continue watching.

one of my friends said it was "like a modern-day Green Acres - turned up to ELEVEN"

( Robyrob )
I have watched the 1st episode 3 times now, and still find every second of it hilarious :lol:

:thumbsup:

It sounds funny. But I don't have cable right now so I'm unable to watch it.
I guess you'll need to go online and buy the DVDs....although, if the show goes well in the USA, perhaps youll be able to get the show in stores in a year or two ( Unless youre close enough to the Canadian border, then you can get it in the stores now )

More reviews: http://communities.canada.com/nationalpost/blogs/theampersand/archive/2007/09/13/dog-the-bounty-hunter-to-guest-star-on-corner-gas-seriously.aspx

* Charlie McCollum, San Jose Mercury News: "It's not getting a ton of publicity, but you really ought to sample Corner Gas, a delightful Canadian comedy .... The show is the creation of stand-up comic Brent Butt (it's his real, if unfortunate, name), who also stars as the operator of the town's gas station-convenience store. Butt is quite funny, but the real strength of the series is the ensemble cast playing various townfolk. Without making fun of small-town life, the actors have a grand time acting the quirky foibles of the Dog River residents."

And, we're not making this up, but here's a kudo from Fester Chugabrew at freerepublic.com, "the premier online gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web." Fester opines:


You Canadians and TV aficionados may laugh me to scorn for not knowing this before, but here is a comedy show that is on the level of the lowly, common man like me. Seinfeld has always gone over my head. The Simpsons, while very funny, can be a shade too edgy at times.
Corner Gas is the kind of show that could easily make me an addict. Here's a chance for the rest of you Corner Gas addicts out there to chime in as the show makes it's appearance in the States over the coming months and years.
It's been a long time since I looked forward to a particular comedy show on television other than football or baseball. It may be as long ago as Gilligan's Island. Well, the Tracy Ullman Show was right up there for a while.
Anyway, if you haven't checked it out, I think it's worth a try.
FReegards!

i thought I'd just come back in here to give it two MORE thumbs up., I think thats about 5 or 6 of them now.

Cool Rob :) Tonight WGN is playing my favorite show from the first season....The Taxman ( "Thats A taxman, A taxman!!!" )

Haven't been on for a couple of days so I thought I'd stop by and say: Have fun watching guys! Hope everyone's been enjoying it down south of us! And for us (few) Canadians, can't wait for the new season on Monday!

Haven't been on for a couple of days so I thought I'd stop by and say: Have fun watching guys! Hope everyone's been enjoying it down south of us! And for us (few) Canadians, can't wait for the new season on Monday!
Yeah, ive been trying to find some kind of feedback about the ratings and such down there, but, so far i cant find anything, not even on the WGN website....of course, in the east, the show doesnt play until midnight, that cant help matters any. (Of course that puts the show right in primetime, in LA, and thats a good thing! )

Originally Posted by Mikado
I prefer comedies without laugh tracks now, you can actually watch the show without those ridiculous aukward pauses until the audience quiets down, my favorite current sitcom Corner Gas has never had a laughtrack, and i sure dont miss it, I can make my OWN laughtrack!

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal
Yes. Corner Gas is a great example of how laugh tracks are not needed because the show is just so damn funny and hilarious. God, finally a show that is not a reality show, it is not a game show, IT IS GREAT. I swear, I am so thankful for WGN bringing us this charmer. IT IS HILARIOUS!!!!
__________________
Nothing tickles me more than to know you enjoy my show Irene :)
Even if theres just a few of us in this forum, we can all enjoy our little show, Americas best kept TV secret ;) ( Not so secret here in Canada though)

Found this small blurb in the newspaper today:

U.S. TV critics laud Corner Gas
Canadians Corner Gas has captured a new following south of the border. Just out last week on WGN in the States, Corner Gas has already earned top reviews from many U.S. TV critics.
"They seem to be charmed by the pace of it. It's different, I guess, to what they are used to," said the show's creator, writer and star Brent Butt. "If everything is edgy, then it's all bland."

Calgary Herald, Entertainment, Saturday, September 22, 2007

Found this small blurb in the newspaper today:

U.S. TV critics laud Corner Gas
Canadians Corner Gas has captured a new following south of the border. Just out last week on WGN in the States, Corner Gas has already earned top reviews from many U.S. TV critics.
"They seem to be charmed by the pace of it. It's different, I guess, to what they are used to," said the show's creator, writer and star Brent Butt. "If everything is edgy, then it's all bland."

Calgary Herald, Entertainment, Saturday, September 22, 2007
That is great to read. It really is different, but not so different when you think abt what makes great television. It doesn't resort to any sort of fancy sets, big-name stars, special appearances, etc. It is simple, funny, it doesn't require you to have to see the very first episode to know what is going on. I mean, sure you might not catch it right away abt the feelings between Lacey and Brent, but still, that is something that you can eventually figure out in any of the other episodes. It isn't detrimental to the show. It isn't like some of the sitcoms that seem to follow a pattern where if you miss an episode or two, you are doomed, because they tend to be like a serial show. This is just plain and simple, here is an episode, sit down and enjoy. It reminds me of the simple sitcoms of the 60's and 70's.