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OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: A second consecutive killer episode featuring Lacey starting a restaurant newsletter, Oscar getting a paper route and the entire town getting mad at Brent because of cartoons he contributes to Lacey's newsletter. A brilliantly-handled subplot shows Hank's talent at convincing customers to tip and Wanda's inability to do the same. This episode only contains four or five truly hilarious moments, but the entire 22 minutes or so runs on a very high level - making it a polar opposite (watch the episode, you'll get the pun) of "Safety First."
MEMORABLE MOMENT: The first time you see Hank's tip jars as a method of determining which is more popular - Brent's cartoon or Lacey's trivia section. This tip jar voting idea is actually pretty popular in the States and has been for years; I first saw it in a New York sports bar in 1989 or 1990. The questions were simple, running along these lines - "which of these two (professional sports figures that you could reasonably expect a New York sports fan to hate) is the bigger (expletive beginning with the first letter of the alphabet deleted)?" Those jars were huge, they were full, and there were almost as many bills as coins in both. I once saw a $50 bill in one of them. The bar's clientele, not surprisingly and much like me, had very little regard for anyone who played on any professional sports team based in or near Boston, especially the Red Sox and Bruins.
MEMORABLE LINE: "Trees suck, is all" from Hank. Although I don't exactly share the sentiment that trees actually suck (they're kind of necessary for the lumber industry, for instance), I'm a city boy who could go the rest of his life without seeing a tree - and even if I weren't, the line is awfully funny.
KUDOS TO GABRIELLE: She cracked me up having Lacey defending her trivia section, especially when she actually used the words "trivia section" three times in five or six seconds. Lacey's always funny when she's neurotic, and Gabrielle always seems to get the most out of quick moments like this.
FUNNIEST LINE IN THIS EPISODE: When a guy on a porch sees a newspaper thrown at his feet and points out that he doesn't get (subscribe to) the paper, Oscar says "Well, you got one now, jackass." I've given Gabrielle credit for perfectly nailing certain scenes elsewhere on the site, and in this case Eric Peterson deserves similar credit. The way he smiles as he says this (a fine example of customer service, I must say) is side-splittingly funny, and as a bonus the fact that it rolls straight into the episode's opening credits doubles the scene's impact. My better half, who has really started to appreciate the show, actually stood up and clapped - laughing her head off, enthusiastically jumping up and down as if the loathsome and reprehensible New York Rangers had just won the Stanley Cup - when Oscar came on the screen and said that. This scene is an absolute classic and is easily one of the top five of the many priceless Oscar moments in the history of the show. Absolute perfection. It's fortunate for us that we didn't see the previews for the episode before watching it for the first time, otherwise the surprise would have been spoiled for her (she didn't know the moment was coming, I did).
FUNNIEST SCENES IN THIS EPISODE:
1.) Hank explaining why he got hired from his paper route.
2.) Brent blaming Lacey for the title of the restaurant newsletter when Wanda slams it.
3.) When Oscar comes home with a bag full of newspapers and claims "They sent me too many."
4.) Wanda's continuous and laughable attempts to solicit tips, especially when she asks a customer "Did you have any questions about our fine products?"
5.) When Emma complains to Oscar that their phone has been ringing off the hook because so many people didn't get their paper, Oscar answers "Well don't look at me, I don't know how they got our number."
6.) Oscar's delivery of a newspaper to the Premier of Saskatchewan.
7.) Oscar whining "No fair!" in response to Emma's "No more TV until you finish your paper route!"
8.) Lacey's lame polling question about trees and the customer's sneer in response to it.
9.) Hank's rundown about what's wrong with trees.
10.) Wanda's lame polling question about free will and Davis' reaction to it.
11.) Karen, Davis and Lacey ganging up on Brent because of his cartoon, especially since none of their points made any sense.
12.) Karen, Davis and Lacey's reaction to Brent's attempt to make peace with a nice (albeit not funny) cartoon.
NOTES:
1.) For this site's American readers, here's a breakout of Hank's attempts to describe the national paper he used to deliver: the "Globe and Post" and the "Post and Beam" is actually the Globe and Mail, and the "National Stick" is really the National Post. In terms of circulation throughout the country, I'm told both papers are proportionally equivalent to USA Today. The actual paper Oscar delivers, however, has the word "Chronicle" in the title.
2.) Vicki Gabereau is a talk show host for CTV who is, I'm told, as big in Canada as Oprah Winfrey is in the States.
3.) This episode features a cameo from the actual Premier of Saskatchewan, Lorne Calvert.