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OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: By Corner Gas standards this one is middle-of-the-road. Plots include Emma giving Brent's childhood toys to Hank, Wanda trying to talk down to people in an effort to be "colloquial," and Oscar being so horrified to learn he's on an allowance that he decides to sell cookies door-to-door. The gag about Wanda sounding like a southern belle was cute but overdone. The gag about Brent's toys will resonate with anyone whose mother gave away his or her favorite toys (in my case, my baseball / football / hockey cards, which would probably be worth thousands now), but really wasn't all that funny. The episode was saved by Oscar, whose reaction to learning he was on an allowance could have carried any episode all by itself.
MEMORABLE MOMENT: Either of the times when Brent jumps or runs in slow motion and the Six Million Dollar Man bionic sound is audible. My first childhood crush was "The Bionic Woman" star Lindsay Wagner, someone with whom Gabrielle actually appeared with in "Voyage of Terror."
MEMORABLE LINE: Actually, any of Wanda's southern expressions in this one qualify, a good example being "That sky's as clear as a belching church" or "they're (the clouds) as white as a nun's caboose." I served in the military with a guy from Tennessee who must have had at least a thousand (believe it or not, I really don't think I am exaggerating here) of these expressions in his repertoire, my favorite of which was always "It's as quiet as a foam rubber wind chime."
KUDOS TO GABRIELLE: She absolutely nailed the scene when Lacey told Wanda that some people are put off by her (Wanda's) large words, Wanda answers, and Lacey gets flustered in her response.
Better still is this gem (if you're one of those who thinks I give Gabrielle too much credit for small scenes, start up your keyboards and get ready to blast me): When Lacey used "The Blair Witch Project" as an example to calm Wanda down and Davis refutes the example, the way Gabrielle says "Oh, yeah?" is an outright example of comedic perfection. One line, two words, and absolutely side-splitting humor - all because Gabrielle used the perfect tone of voice and facial expression. I know some of you don't agree with me when I heap praise on Gabrielle for moments like this, but even as someone with no experience in acting I know that the small scenes are as important as the longer ones, whether it be comedy or drama. Nobody could have handled those two words better than Gabrielle did here (although to give credit where credit is due, the line from Davis just before this moment was also done quite well by Lorne Cardinal).
Before some of you write in and tell me I'm smoking an illegal controlled substance, make sure you include the following scene as well: Gabrielle deserves another major kudo for her perfectly understated reaction to Brent's explanation as to why he wore a disco sun visor as a kid. All she did was mutter "Mmmm," but the look on her face was completely perfect for the scene. Add this one to the ever-growing list of perfectly-executed one-second scenes I tend to use explaining how good of an actress Gabrielle is.
FUNNIEST LINE IN THIS EPISODE: Oscar's "It's not an allowance - it's a set amount of money that Emma doles out at a set time every week�HOLY HELL! I'M ON AN ALLOWANCE!"
FUNNIEST SCENES IN THIS EPISODE:
1.) Brent's sword fight with someone who was "quite the scoundrel." To Brent Butt's credit, he looked very skilled in the scene, as did his opponent (who I'm guessing was played by Fred Ewanuick).
2.) Emma's classic way of agreeing to patch Brent's pants.
3.) Lacey's incorrect answer to Hank's earthworm answer, Wanda's correction, and Hank deciding to go with Lacey's version.
4.) The "allowance" scene with Oscar answering questions from Brent and Hank.
5.) When Brent tells Hank that Emma is patching up his (Brent's) pants, and Hank looks behind the counter to see if Brent is wearing any.
6.) Oscar going off on Emma about his allowance.
7.) Oscar's first attempt to sell cookies.
8.) Karen demanding full documentation from a kid who was looking for Walk-a-thon sponsors.
9.) The sight of Brent in the 1970's outfit Emma was making. I'm eternally grateful that clothing styles had moved on well past that by the time I reached adulthood.
10.) Oscar demanding that Karen make Phil buy cookies.
11.) Lacey trying to use "The Blair Witch Project" as an example to calm Wanda down, the response by Davis, and Lacey's reaction.
12.) Seeing Brent's pants after Emma was done patching them up. Yeesh.
13.) Lacey silently scoffing at Brent when he explains why he wore a disco sun visor as a kid.
14.) Karen confiding in Oscar and Oscar using it against her.
15.) When Oscar asks Karen what she needs the money for, and Karen immediately replies "I'm greedy."
16.) When the Girl Guide shakes down Oscar for money.
17.) Oscar stealing Karen's purse. By the way, am I the only one who thinks Karen's purse is horrifically ugly?
18.) Oscar mocking Brent for acting like a kid and then demanding a raise in his allowance.
NITPICK: In this episode, Emma points out that Brent is "pushing 40." This reminded me of something I had filed away for future reference from third-season episode "Picture Perfect," in which in the opening scene it's established that Brent got his Snapmaster camera (the Polaroid knockoff) on his 13th birthday. Near the end of that episode, it's established that the camera has been taking good pictures since 1973. In other words, unless Brent was given a used camera for his birthday, he was born sometime in 1960. Since the first-ever episode of Corner Gas is shown in The Howler to take place on July 12, 2003, Brent should have been 42 or 43 in Ruby Reborn and definitely older by that now. (Note: in real life, Brent Butt was born on August 3, 1966, which is the day comic legend Lenny Bruce died).
I have to give my props to my better half and her ridiculously photographic memory at this point. Please keep in mind that while I watch these episodes repeatedly, she basically views each one only once - twice, tops. The episode in question here is "Merry Gasmas," and she had only seen it once up to the point I'm about to relate.
I mentioned the above fact to her when we were watching this episode, and without hesitating she said "Didn't Wanda say that Brent and Hank were pushing 40 when they were looking through the catalog to see what Santa would bring them?" I paused the episode, sat there in deep thought for a moment, and she rolled her eyes and said "Oh, just go ahead." So I took out the tape, put in the second disc of the season 3 set, watched "Merry Gasmas" up to the point in question, and of course she was right. Now you can see that the freakish license plate item she found that I mentioned in my review of Highlander episode "Epitaph for Tommy" was no fluke.