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OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I didn't have much hope for this one, especially since it's so rare that any show (sitcoms or otherwise) manage to produce a really decent Christmas episode. Even Cheers, the gold standard of American sitcoms, had very limited success with this. The sad state of affairs is that before seeing this episode the only show I've ever seen create a good Christmas episode was the 50% hit and 50% miss Married with Children (the episode I'm referring to is the one where the parachuting mall Santa plummets to his death in the Bundys' back yard, although the two-parter with Sam Kinison based on "It's a Wonderful Life" was pretty good, too).
That said, although this really isn't one of Corner Gas's best episodes, it was far better than I expected. There's no preaching, characters don't deviate from their normal selves just to send a message, and there are plenty of flashes of the genius that makes Corner Gas as good of a show as it is.
Aside from the plots in the episode description, there's a pretty good one showing Hank conducting a one-man charity drive for a family he believes to be poor.
MEMORABLE MOMENT: When the Calgary ticket agent explained to Lacey that "YYZ" is the three-letter airport code for Toronto, my better half turned to me and excitedly said "So THAT'S why that Rush song is called 'YYZ'!" (She was referring to an instrumental which is the third song on Rush's 1981 "Moving Pictures" album). I started laughing and got a lighthearted smack in the back of the head for doing so, but in my defense this "Rush / YYZ" line came from a girl who worked at a travel agency to have some extra money in her pocket during law school.
MEMORABLE LINE: "I like those odds" from Lacey when told that flying to Vancouver MIGHT get her to Toronto. Almost anyone who has tried to fly during Christmastime more than once has a "trip from Hell" story like Lacey's to tell. One of my more harrowing personal tales of holiday travel woe involves a flight from California to New York which ended up with me spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in a Minneapolis hotel after two unscheduled stops - and yes, before anyone asks, my luggage WAS lost. - permanently, as a matter of fact. No big deal, though - nothing beats having to shop during the holidays for otherwise unnecessary clothes for yourself in a city you don't know all that well, and then having to replace a lot of the Christmas gifts you've already bought once you finally reach your destination.
KUDOS TO GABRIELLE: Some of her funniest work of the season takes place on a plane as she does her best to ignore a vet obsessed with cats. Particularly amusing is after an announcement on the plane when she tells the vet that they shouldn't talk any more in case the pilot has anything else to say.
FUNNIEST LINE IN THIS EPISODE: "Oh, okay, you don't want a real robot goat, you just want a toy one" from Lacey. I've heard some of my friends describe birthday and Christmas presents they bought or intend to buy for their kids, and few of the descriptions make any more sense than what Lacey said.
FUNNIEST SCENES IN THIS EPISODE:
1.) Hank's reaction upon learning that Santa was going to bring him a Boston Bruins scarf. This isn't as funny as the next scene on this list, but it rang well with me because I hate the Bruins, too.
2.) Brent's reaction upon learning that Santa was going to bring him a treadmill.
3.) Learning how Wanda skillfully managed to acquire a Chew Bot.
4.) The flashbacks of how Oscar ruined past Christmases for the Leroys, especially when he handed the cutlery to young Brent.
5.) Wanda playing with the Chew Bot and then telling Brent to grow up when he asks what she's doing.
6.) Brent saying "They don't build robot goats like they used to."
7.) Lacey answering "Y-E-S" after heating the rundown of how she might be able to make it from YYC (Calgary) to YYZ (Toronto) via YEG (Edmonton).
8.) Hank mistakenly assuming that Emma wanted to donate Oscar to a poor family.
9.) When Lacey uses "YYZ" to describe Toronto, and the Edmonton ticket agent says "This isn't CalGARY, we don't talk that like that."
10.) Hank telling Wanda "I'm not trying to start a fight - you say you're a bad mother, that's good enough for me."
11.) Brent complaining about real food made right on the stove and a Christmas tree made of wood.
12.) Lacey's response to the vet's words about a cat's visual cortex.
NITPICK: If Toronto was "completely snowed in," why did the ticket agent at Regina's airport tell Lacey that she could easily catch one of several flights to Toronto from Calgary? Does Alberta-based aircraft cut through snow better than planes originating from Saskatchewan?