Saturday, February 23, 2008

Another Canadian Sitcom

Since my last post, I've come across another Canadian sitcom well worth mentioning: Twitch City. The show revolves around a young man, Curtis, who never leaves his house, seems to spend just about all his waking time watching television, and his interactions with his tenants. The writing is clever, the plots are quirky, and there's no laugh-track. There were two seasons produced, for a total of thirteen episodes.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Sitcoms from Canada

There are a number of brilliant (imho) television shows from Canada that don't receive the notice or respect they deserve.

First, there's Trailer Park Boys. This show has already produced seven seasons, several specials, and a feature-length movie. The show follows the exploits (usually just the other side of legal) of Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, their extended families and friends. Their nemesis is the trailer-park manager and his strange (to say the least) assistant. The language can get kind of 'raw', but, if you can get past that, the show is hilarious and has already become a cult classic.

Next, I'll mention Made In Canada. This went through five seasons, though the length of each season was widely variable. For example, season one had six episodes, and season five had seventeen episodes. It's in the style of a mock-documentary, with the characters frequently speaking to the viewer. The stories revolve around the life and work of the CEO and top executives of a second-rate Canadian television production company. They have only two reasonably successful syndicated shows and are constantly trying to capitalize on these quality-disasters. If you liked The Office (especially the original series from Great Britain), you'll love Made In Canada.

Finally, I'd recommend a series from Saskatchewan, now in its fifth season: Corner Gas. This gem showcases the eccentric residents of a small, obscure town (village?) called Dog River. The writing is both clever, funny (very!) and seems to genuinely capture the individual personalities of the various residents. Most of the interactions take place in the gas station/convenience store and Ruby's Restaurant.

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