Review: Corner Gas Animated “Paper Sashay”

Why does Oscar hate the paperboy?

Overview:

A neighbouring town’s newspaper has gone under, and the citizens of Dog River are worried that the Howler may be next.  Emma and Wanda team up to try and find ways to save their local news, while Oscar devises a plan to start an online version and recruits Brent to help him.  When the online paper begins to catch steam, Wanda delivers him a fake cease and desist order.  However, when the paper does go under Oscar’s online version becomes essential.

Meanwhile, Karen has been getting dive-bombed by a crow until it shows an appetite for her muffins, and Karen decides that she should make friends with it.  When the bird steals Hank’s swiss army knife, Karen doesn’t believe him.  Hank hunts down security footage of the bird with his knife, but it also shows that it has been using the muffins to make a nest instead of eating them.

Our Take:

I should preface this by saying I am writing this review out of order.  Watching two episodes back-to-back, it can be easier to write the second one while it is fresh and return to the other one after.  I do this regularly, but some things stand out to me as these two episodes are significantly different.  Where the other episode stood out as a unique and exciting script, this one was much safer.  This is classic Corner Gas, and one of the closest to the original series that we have seen yet this season.  It takes on the topics that impact rural Saskatchewan.  It has two congruent storylines that deal with the relationships and roles of the characters.  There’s not a lot that helps it to stand out.

The main topic at hand is the dying paper industry and how it impacts rural communities.  While this may be a viable issue to discuss, it does feel out-dated.  It is a concern that was at its height when the internet was still young.  Enough time has passed that we can be comfortable with certain things transitioning to paperless.  A transition of a small town’s local news into online form seems like a natural thing at this point.  I think we have all already agreed on this, in some way, and we’re comfortable with the idea that some things will continue to be printed and somethings won’t.  It’s not a topic that really needs acknowledging anymore.

There is a lot of conflict between the characters in this episode.  Hank and Karen are battling over whether or not a bird is a thief.  But, more interesting is having Oscar and Emma on two sides of a rivalry.  Not a new concept, but it is always fun when the devoted couple has friction.  Their dynamic is one of the most fun relationships to watch.  They can be so completely different, yet they are incredibly loyal and loving.  That’s why it makes it great to watch them play on opposite sides like this.

Season two has felt like a completely new show from the previous year.  However, this episode could have easily come from last year.  It feels like a step back when it came to the way the plot developed.  There was a lack of humour, that doesn’t hold up to these new standards established this season.  There is a lot more that could have come out of these stories.  I almost expect Corner Gas to take a late topic like the paper industry and turn it somewhere unpredictable.  Unfortunately, nothing stood out as original.