Review: Corner Gas Animated “The French Prints of Bell Heir”

Overview:

Dog River has inherited an antique bell, and everyone wants to give it a ding. To keep things on schedule, the mayor appoints an official bell ringer, Hank. The new lord of the ring loves his new job until it becomes too much responsibility. And the constant ringing has awakened dormant hypnotism within Wanda.

Meanwhile, Emma has acquired a French press, which has her and Oscar becoming snobs about their coffee. Lacey is not as fond of the coffee maker, especially since the couple have stopped drinking her coffee. Unfortunately, when the press turns up broken, it makes her the prime suspect. Thankfully, Karen has started a new town database of fingerprints that will hopefully clear her name.

Our Take:

Corner Gas Animated has come into itself in season four. Last week’s episode was quite possibly the best episode of the entire spin-off series. The freshest batch of episodes have been some of the most entertaining since the live-action show was in its prime. Unfortunately, these excellent additions have been like a countdown to the series’ conclusion at the end of the season. Thankfully, there are still many great episodes to watch along the way.

This latest edition showcases the ambitious attitude the series has taken in this final year. Four plots intermingle with each other, and every one of the cast members gets their own individual arch.

The driving plot through this piece is the arrival of an antique town bell in the centre of Dog River. The path of Hank wanting to ring the bell, becoming king of the ring, and getting tired of the duty would often be enough to fill an episode. However, this story throws in some depth with Wanda becoming triggered by the hourly rings.

Wanda faces a lot through this episode. Typically, the one to mock everyone else, she faces much embarrassment. Not only does she believe herself to be a Russian spy every time she hears the bell, but she also has to face the fact that she was hypnotized years ago. Thankfully, Brent is a good friend and pulls her out of it before she can do too much damage to herself.

This subplot also brings in one of the biggest guest stars of the year, Simu Liu. The star of the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings makes this the first Marvel superhero to appear in Dog River. However, Brent Butt confirmed for us in an exclusive interview earlier this year that Liu made his recording before Marvel came calling. He even joked that it had some part to do with the casting choice.

With so many working pieces, this episode could have quickly become a convoluted mess. Thankfully, Corner Gas has some of the best sitcom writers in Canada, made evident by their multiple awards and accolades. This episode just helped showcase how complex they can make this little show about a gas station in the middle of nowhere.