Review: Corner Gas Animated “Doctors Without Borders”

Overview:

Wanda officially receives her doctorate in philosophy. Everyone in town starts to misinterpret her education and ask her to treat their medical conditions. When she begins to receive baked goods for her help, she goes all out and turns the gas station into a doctors office.

Meanwhile, Brent is getting frustrated with the local teenagers, but when Lacey defends them, they think she is cool. So, the teens decide to start skateboarding in front of The Ruby. To keep her reputation up, she tries to remain cool as they continue to cause a ruckus. At the same time, Oscar has gathered a mob to protest Karen and Davis both being left-handed.

Our Take:

Congratulations to Wanda for finally receiving her doctorate, all be it temporary. This feels like a story that the Corner Gas writers have had in their back pocket for some time. The misunderstanding of Wanda’s education by the town is the exact style of humour that you would expect from this show. And, of course, Wanda being Wanda, she would capitalize on their naivety. There is a good chance this is what the franchise intended to lead to for quite some time. Thank goodness for this animated reboot that opens the doors for some of these lost tales.

We also received a little peek into Oscar’s psyche, with his demonization of left-handed people. By the end of the episode, he reveals that he too was born left-handed and his family forced him to become a righty. Of course, the senior comes from a different time, but this is the kind of upbringing that would develop such a bitter and angry old man. The show handles this dark history not with making you feel bad, but with skewing it into a joke. However, it is hard to ignore that this kind of thing would have a significant impact on the way that Oscar is.

One of the best things to see from this episode is Brent’s disgruntled behaviour towards the town’s teenagers. He truly is Oscar’s son. At first, it seemed a little out of character. I mean, Brent is not really the type to care about much. His laid back nature usually leads to these things being other peoples problems as he sits back and enjoys the drama. However, seeing him actually speak out against the rambunctious youth and receive the backlash for being uncool was worth it. And, even then, Brent is not the one that ends up with the complex as Lacey steps in and wants to be seen as the cool one. Funny thing is, Brent’s nonchalant attitude to be being treated like an unhip old man, kind of makes him much more chill. Although, we all know the coolest adults in town are Hank and Wanda.

This was a fun episode to end the season on. Not that it was the most exciting, but this felt more in tune with the original series, and played on some particular topics for the more dedicated fans. It has been stated many times before that Corner Gas Animated does not officially sit within any timeline of the original series and stands as an alternate universe with no ongoing story. However, these little homages to Wanda’s education, or Brent and Lacey’s potential romance, are great for the fans that have been dedicated for the long haul. This was one of the most well-rounded episodes of the season with solid plotlines and a prominent amount of humour. As I prepare to write a full season review, which should be available next week, this may be one of the standouts of the year.