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OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: This episode is middle of the road at best by the show's standards - funnier than most episodes of most sitcoms, but nothing special in the corner Gas legacy. Three plots get roughly equal attention: Brent struggling to master the use of his new digital camera, a trivia game being introduced to the town bar, and a wooden lawn gnome that looks like Oscar. If I were to list all Corner Gas episodes from top to bottom based on which ones are funniest, this one would rank in the lower half of the list.
That said, in a strange way it was easily one of the most enjoyable for me to watch. I've read and seen a number of interviews with the cast members of Corner Gas in which they say that part of the show's success is that you can relate to what you see. There is no episode of the show I have seen to date (and I've seen all 50) that I can relate to better than this one. More than anywhere else it made me see that there's a little bit of Dog River everywhere - even in places like Washington and Las Vegas. To wit:
1.) Emma and Oscar have a neighbor whose yard looks like a freak show. I have a neighbor whose back yard, other than its lack of one windmill and 18 strategically-placed holes, is indistinguishable from a miniature golf course.
2.) Brent has a prehistoric camera which is about the size of a safe deposit box. Although I've never owned a camera like that, the only reason I even bothered to upgrade to 35MM (which is still what I use - I'm not much of a photography buff) is that 110 film eventually became impossible to find in stores (remember those pocket-sized Kodak Ektralites which were all the rage in the 1980's? I used the same one for about 15 years). Obviously, I'm not the photographer of the household.
3.) Lacey's initial enthusiasm towards bar trivia (or lack thereof) reflects my opinion, too. A lot of my friends could play that stupid game for hours on end (and often do), whereas I'd rather dive off of the Washington Monument headfirst into a woodchipper than spend a minute playing bar trivia.
4.) Davis is about to go to Las Vegas, but plans on nothing but seeing shows because he doesn't know how to gamble. The last time I was in Las Vegas with some friends (road trip bachelor party), they actually planned their days' activities around CSI reruns on Spike TV (hell, why actually see Las Vegas in real life when you can watch a show SET in Las Vegas instead?)- and each of them lost hundreds of dollars because they didn't know how to gamble. One guy's Blackjack "system" was to never take a hit, even if the dealer was showing a ten spot or an ace and he was showing a three or four (his reasoning, believe it or not: "the house never has to play out its cards if you bust, that's the house's advantage, so by not taking hits I level the playing field"). Another buddy of mine actually split a pair of tens because he was "feeling lucky." A third spent all of his gambling time playing video poker, and I once saw him cast aside three sixes because he had the ace and king of hearts and apparently preferred the idea of going home in a private jet. I, on the other hand, labored feverishly at the Blackjack tables for four days to win a grand total of $60 - so maybe I should stop my Las Vegas after-action report right here.
MEMORABLE MOMENT: Aside from what I've mentioned above, it has to be Davis' pathetic attempts to get recognition when the bar crowd was chanting Wanda's name. Kind of funny, but difficult to watch such a likeable character act like such a child. It was even more embarrassing then the list of shows he planned on seeing in Vegas, and that was pretty embarrassing in itself (to give you an idea: I'd actually rather play bar trivia than see any of those shows).
An honorable mention is Lacey reconsidering the trivia idea when she finds out that T-shirts are available as prizes. Lacey is a pretty good dresser and it's hard to imagine her being interested in one of those ridiculous shirts, no matter what the color. Davis, on the other hand, had no problem with wearing one even though "WANDA" was written on the back, which easily seals this episode as the most embarrassing one in the history of the show for the character of Davis Quinton.
MEMORABLE LINE: "Oh, an afternoon of barley questions. Boy, am I missing out." from Lacey. In one short sentence she lays waste to bar trivia, and rightfully so.
KUDOS TO GABRIELLE: Nancy Robertson was easily the comedic MVP of this episode, but Gabrielle made me laugh out loud when Brent pops into the bar and tries three times to take a picture of Lacey and Hank. During each successive attempt the expression on Lacey's face gets less and less friendly, which was hilarious in itself, but the scene was capped off perfectly when Lacey answered Brent's question about whether or not the flash went off.
FUNNIEST LINE IN THIS EPISODE: After Wanda promises to answer trivia questions quickly and then promises to save her fascinating stories for afterwards, Hank says "Or save them all for the end, after I've gone home." This is nicely punctuated by a barely perceptible smirk from Lacey.
FUNNIEST SCENES IN THIS EPISODE:
1.) Wanda's sarcastic remarks about Brent's camera, especially the "carburetor" and "bonnet" cracks.
2.) Emma's casual responses to Oscar's hysterical remarks about the gnomes and trolls in their neighbor's back yard.
3.) Hank wondering why Toronto, instead of a city closer to the center of Canada, is the nation's capital.
4.) Lacey's guess at Hank's question about herbicides and barley.
5.) The repeated instances of Irish music accompanying shots of the Oscar-like gnome.
6.) After Lacey says "no one knows everything," Wanda gives detailed answers about megapixels and the house odds on roulette. If pressed to narrow down this list to two funny moments, I would put this one in a tie with Wanda's remarks about Brent's camera.
7.) When Karen threatens to put the gambling stuff away, and Paul immediately comes up and tells her to put the gambling stuff away.
8.) Lacey telling Wanda that her fascinating and educational stories aren't helpful to the game - or fascinating.
9.) Wanda's choice of team name when she pairs up with Davis.
10.) Oscar's description of "perfect Emma," followed by Emma's reaction.
NITPICKS:
1.) In this episode, Brent gets a digital camera as an upgrade to his Polaroid knockoff - but in "Wedding Card" (season 2, episode 2) he had a 35MM camera during the amazingly lame stag party he threw for Oscar.
2.) Karen wants to know the odds of a crime going down in Dog River, but in "Security Cam" (season 2, episode 8) she had no problem estimating the chances of a riot breaking out in Dog River being 50/50 (it either does or doesn't) and slams Lacey's "lousy math skills" because Lacey didn't immediately come to the same conclusion.
NOTE: The guy Hank turns to and asks "Did you know that?" (regarding Ottawa being Canada's capital) is Ralph Goodale, a Regina native, Canada's Finance Minister from 2003-2006 and the man who may well have replaced Paul Martin as leader of the country's liberal party if not for his inability to speak French.
TRIVIA: The answer to the Beatles question (the song originally called "Scrambled Eggs") is "Yesterday." I didn't know it myself (I never could stand the Beatles; I've always thought they were the most overrated right-place-at-the-right-time band that ever tuned a guitar), so I looked it up for this site's readers as a public service. No need to thank me, but if you do feel so inclined, see if you can find any of the items on The Milk Carton.