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OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Every sitcom has a weak episode here or there - even Cheers produced a few dogs (the most notable being that insipid episode with Nick, Carla and the dance contest). For Corner Gas, this episode is as low as it gets. I freely admit I know little about curling outside of the basic rules, and I certainly didn't recognize the apparently famous Alberta curlers during a cameo in the episode, but the first problem here is that almost all of the episode's comparatively few instances of humor are strictly incidental to the characters in question (example: Hank being too obtuse to get Lacey's lame "hair" joke about curling). The second problem, and definitely the bigger of the two, is that it doesn't feature a single original idea - everything (except, of course, for the fact that the episode is tied to curling) has been done before in one sitcom or another, for example:
� The concept of a lost item, supposedly of tremendous value, turning out to be worthless;
� The idea of pissing off a woman to make her stronger;
� Having a female who knows almost nothing about a sport make a laughable gaffe in terminology. Here it's Lacey saying "have a heart" instead of "hurry hard," but as big of a fan of Corner Gas and Gabrielle as I am, this doesn't come close to a number of similar instances, most notable being from (yes, you guessed it) Cheers when at the end of a long Red Sox game Sam was about to call a Boston pitcher who borrowed his lucky bottle cap:
Diane: "Do you have the number of the bullpit?"
Sam, mocking her: "Uh, no, they're probably in the bunkhouse by now."
As much as it pains me to say it, this episode makes "I Love Lacey" look pretty good by comparison. Even if a few outlandish examples of curling-related humor that would normally crack up most Canadians happened to make it past me, there is nothing in this episode (other than the aforementioned incidental character-related humor, rare as it happened to be this time) which is even remotely representative of the usual high standards of the show.
On the bright side, however, each of the next three episodes is so good that you'll be able to forget that this one was such a letdown.
MEMORABLE MOMENT: The rolling of the credits. I hate to be so harsh regarding a show I like so much, but the only appeal of this episode is that if you already like it, your favorite character is bound to show up at least once. The downside is that the expectations you have of that character and all the others have no chance of being met because the script is so weak and unoriginal. Seinfeld fans who sat through that wretched "werewolf" episode should have no problem understanding what I mean here.
In the spirit of the category, though, if pressed to name one moment I would pick the part where Lacey, having just joined Oscar and Emma's team, gets unceremoniously dumped in favor of a drug-addicted old crone who just had her hip replaced. Yes, curling was being taken so seriously that in this case it was decided that a shell of a woman who has even a modicum of experience on a consistently losing team (two wins, 87 losses, and a draw against a third-grade class) is preferable to a young and physically fit woman who has no curling experience at all. With a 2-87-1 record one would think it would be worth the risk to give the younger woman a shot, but later in the episode you see that sticking with Mother Time was actually the right move.
MEMORABLE LINE: Along the lies of the aforementioned memorable moment, we have "You did your best, Lacey, but you're no drug-addicted old broad straight out of hip surgery" - from Wanda to Lacey. Because the only original part of this episode is the connection to curling, this line is the most memorable by default.
KUDOS TO GABRIELLE: She had the by far toughest job in the episode - remaining likeable as she rattled off one annoying dumbass joke after another. She pulled it off, which is something I would think that very few actresses could do. She even had me feeling sorry for Lacey after the rest of the gang no longer had any reason to pretend the jokes were funny and went out of their way to let her know so - a pretty impressive accomplishment on her part given the utter distaste I have for such lame attempts at humor.
FUNNIEST LINE IN THIS EPISODE: In an attempt to anger Emma to ensure a strong shot by her, Oscar cracked me up with "I broke your new blender making homemade cement, and your broom is stupid." The latter half of that quote reminded me of a couple of the funnier moments in the first-season episode "Comedy Night."
FUNNIEST SCENES IN THIS EPISODE: The best part of Corner Gas is that even during a rare lame episode, you can still expect a few killers:
1.) When Hank tells Lacey that he wants back the half of his tab he paid to her, claiming she got the money under "false pretenses," Lacey tries the logical "you ate food and didn't pay for it," and Hank has nothing better than "don't change the subject."
2.) Oscar's ill-fated attempt to compliment Emma as he gets the color of her eyes wrong after 35 years of marriage.
3.) When Hank explains that the next shot could result in the win of the Clavette Cup, Wanda rips him for it, Lacey points out that the information could be useful for those not fully in the loop, and Hank repeats his commentary. The funniest part of this is how Hank is staring into the camera: as a commentator, he's no Al Michaels, but he's a lot funnier - especially when he tries to get verbose.
BLOOPERS:
1.) In the opening scene, Hank grabs a sugar dispenser and starts sweetening his coffee. As the angle of the camera goes back and forth, so does the angle of the dispenser in his hand.
2.) In the same scene, look at the level of the sugar at each stage: it goes from a third full to empty (as Hank says "Slow?") to a third full (as Hank puts it down) again.
3.) Same scene, more of a nitpick than a blooper: Lacey is stacking muffins, puts down four on the tray, and takes an awfully long time to put the fifth down before resuming her original pace.
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