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87-517: Corner Gas is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt . The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. Reruns still air on CTV , CTV2 , CTV Comedy Channel , Much , MTV , E! and are streaming on Crave and Amazon Prime . The series was followed by a feature film titled Corner Gas: The Movie , with the entire cast reprising their roles. The film was released for a limited theatrical run in December 2014. Deriving its name from

174-419: A 19-episode fifth season, which premiered on September 24, 2007. On April 10, 2008, as production of the sixth season began, Butt announced via a press release that he and his production company, Prairie Pants, had decided to conclude production of the series after the sixth season, with the final episodes airing in the spring of 2009. Butt said the decision to end the series while still a popular offering on CTV

261-540: A 30-minute time slot. Throughout their history, American sitcoms have often drawn inspiration from British counterparts. Popular shows like All in the Family , Three's Company , and Sanford and Son were adapted from successful British series. More recently, The Office achieved significant popularity in the United States , following the success of its British counterpart. Numerous television networks in

348-492: A CTV press release issued on March 6, 2007, that implied that the series finale would air on March 12, 2007. Two segments of production footage with time code circulated on YouTube also seemed to indicate a series finale as imminent despite the show's continued success in Canada and recent U.S. sale. On March 7, 2007, CTV clarified its press release, stating it was a season finale, and on March 13, 2007, CTV confirmed an order for

435-462: A Ruby Café customer in "Picture Perfect". (The episode debuted the same day Goodale filed a "mini-budget" in the House of Commons .) Lorne Calvert , premier of Saskatchewan, appears as himself. He appears three times: twice to poke fun at Sweden and once to almost get hit by a thrown newspaper during the appropriately named "Ruby Newsday". Vicki Gabereau appears as herself during a fantasy sequence in

522-416: A cameo appearance. In the same episode, Shirley Douglas' voice is heard. Michael Bublé appears in the sixth-season episode "TV Free Dog River". He calls in (unseen at first) to Davis's jazz radio program, requesting a song from Michael Bublé. After Davis says that "Michael Bublé isn't jazz", the camera cuts to the actual singer, who says sadly that he "cuts across several genres of music". In episode four of

609-544: A core group of characters who interact in a recurring setting, such as a family, workplace, or institution. However, British sitcoms typically consist of shorter series, often six episodes, and are frequently developed by a smaller writing team. The majority of British sitcoms are half-hour comedies recorded in studio settings using a multiple-camera setup. While many adhere to traditional sitcom conventions, some have ventured into more unconventional territory. For example, Blackadder and Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister shifted

696-468: A history plaque. In order to play down this unsavoury branch of her family tree , Lacey instead used a story that Karen made up: that pioneers somehow got hold of a hot air balloon , got an aerial view of the town site, and noticed that the creek formed a shape similar to that of a dog's leg. "Block Party" revealed that the town was founded in 1905, and its founder was a Mr. Harold Main after whom Main Street

783-589: A holder of broadcast rights, and the first to postdate the network's late-1990s corporate restructuring from a cooperative of its affiliated stations into a conventional corporation. Corner Gas can also be verifiably called the most successful of these shows. Corner Gas was filmed entirely in Saskatchewan. The interior shots (Ruby Café interior, Police Department, Oscar and Emma's house, etc.) were filmed at Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios in Regina . All

870-513: A joke about how he seems to turn up on every Canadian TV show. Pamela Wallin , former CBC newscaster, later Canadian Consul General and senator , a native of Wadena, Saskatchewan , played herself. Canadian Idol judges Sass Jordan , Zack Werner , Jake Gold , and Farley Flex appeared as themselves rating Brent's rendition of "It would never rain in Dog River ... If I Could Squeegee the Sky" in

957-519: A mixed anglophone - francophone couple living in Montreal and fighting the disapproval of their families. The cast also included Earl Pennington as Peter's wealthy publisher father Charles, Paul Berval and Pierrette Beaudoin as Marie-Louise's parents Gaston and Thérèse Sauvé, and Daniel Gadouas as Marie-Louise's Quebec separatist brother Jean-Guy. The series, produced in Montreal, was judged

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1044-581: A news anchor for CTV, appeared as himself. Julie Stewart played a paint store clerk (parodying her role in Cold Squad ) in "Grad 68". Comedian Mike Wilmot played Carl Vaughn, Brent's snobby cousin. Colin Mochrie , a prolific Canadian comedy actor best known for his work in the British and American versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway? , made a cameo appearance in the episode "Comedy Night" as part of

1131-461: A proclamation that declared April 13, 2009, " Corner Gas Day" in Saskatchewan. Production of an animated adaptation, Corner Gas Animated , was announced in December 2016, and premiered on The Comedy Network on April 2, 2018, featuring the complete original cast voicing their original characters, save for Janet Wright , who died in November 2016, the month prior to announcement. The role of Emma

1218-519: A rough version of "It Can't Be Nashville Every Night" off their In Between Evolution album. Both The Tragically Hip and Colin James are in the episode "Rock On!" Singer Jann Arden appears as herself in "Fun Run". Noted actress Shirley Douglas (mother of Kiefer Sutherland , and daughter of Tommy Douglas , former Premier of Saskatchewan) plays a woman with the hots for Oscar in "Trees a Crowd". Then- federal finance minister Ralph Goodale appears as

1305-623: A scrum with the Prime Minister at the gas station. During the fifth season three episodes bring in notable personalities. In "Coming Distractions", Duane "Dog" Chapman and Beth Smith from Dog the Bounty Hunter appear to arrest Brent during a fantasy sequence. In the episode "Bed and Brake Fast" hockey player Travis Moen makes a cameo appearance with the Stanley Cup . In "Final Countdown", actor Kiefer Sutherland makes

1392-408: A sitcom have roots in earlier forms of comedic theater, such as farces and comedy of manners . These forms relied on running gags to generate humor, but the term "sitcom" emerged as radio and TV adapted these principles into a new medium. The word was not commonly used until the 1950s. Early television sitcoms were often filmed in front of a live studio audience using a multiple-camera setup ,

1479-567: A sledgehammer to an old barn. Ben Mulroney , host of TV shows Canadian Idol and eTalk Daily and the son of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney , parodies himself during the third-season episode "Dog River Vice". Kevin McDonald of The Kids in the Hall played Marvin Drey, a disliked Revenue Canada agent, in "Tax Man", the second episode of the series. In the same episode Dan Matheson ,

1566-452: A total viewership of 3,114,000. The surnames of all of the main characters and some recurring characters on the show (except for Mayor 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald) are names of small towns in Saskatchewan; Burrows , Dollard , Humboldt , Jansen (Jensen), Kinistino , Leroy , Pelly , Quinton , Runciman and Yarbo . Several notable Canadian celebrities and politicians appeared as guest stars or in cameo roles on Corner Gas . Some celebrities made

1653-464: A veteran of both The Kids in the Hall and Saturday Night Live as Bill, an American who visits Dog River by accident. Saskatchewan-born musician Colin James appears as a local musician (although it is implied that he's actually playing himself) who performs an audition in Brent's garage. The rock group The Tragically Hip appear as "local kids" who practise in Brent's garage. The Tragically Hip play

1740-522: Is a bush that is only seen in the first episode and the last episode. Karen is seen hiding behind it in the Police Cruiser in Ruby Reborn. Davis and Karen are also seen on the last episode hiding behind it before tailing Brent in the final episode. Since there is no wind a cast member is actually lying down shaking the bush. The bush was only planted for those two scenes. In 2006, Corner Gas

1827-427: Is a creepy, eerily Stepford Wives -ish town where everyone is excessively nice and clean-cut, which tends to scare any visitors from Dog River. Thunderface is an in-universe fictional band that was formed in the mid-'80s by lead singer Hank Yarbo, lead guitar player Brent Leroy, and bass guitar player Wanda Dollard. In 2005, the band was expanded to include drummer Karen Pelly, the most competent musician in

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1914-472: Is described as similar to "a small animal caught in some kind of machinery," and their sole gig since 1986 was booked due to the humorous nature of their poor performance. Along with their gig in 1986, they seemed to have done some school performances considering they blew the principal's eyebrows off. The only song they have been heard to play is "Capital Cash" by Fast Exit, a band that Brent Butt played guitar in before he got into comedy. The Surveillance Bush

2001-610: Is known as "the city" in Corner Gas . On 28   September 2014, the building that was used as the FOO[D] MAR[KE]T, the local grocery store, was destroyed in a fire. On 4   November 2016, the set that was used for both Corner Gas and the Ruby was demolished due to the foundations sinking. The structures, erected in 2003 as set pieces, were originally built on boggy land and were not initially built to last very long. In

2088-564: Is one of the leading channels in India, dedicated entirely to Sitcoms. Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is the longest-running sitcom of Indian television and is also known as the flagship show of SAB TV . On Tiptoes and Shabhaye Barareh were among the first and most important sitcoms that led to the growth of this type of comedy in Iran, both receiving wide critical and audience acclaim. El Chavo del Ocho , which ran from 1971 to 1980,

2175-432: Is owned by Lacey Burrows ( Gabrielle Miller ), who inherited it from her Aunt Ruby and moved to Dog River from Toronto . Brent's parents, Oscar Leroy ( Eric Peterson ) and Emma Leroy ( Janet Wright ), are lifetime residents of Dog River. Dog River's police force, consisting entirely of veteran Davis Quinton ( Lorne Cardinal ) and rookie Karen Pelly ( Tara Spencer-Nairn ), keep the peace in the small town—a very simple task—and

2262-412: Is owned by Lacey Burrows ( Gabrielle Miller ), who inherited it from her Aunt Ruby. The series completed its run following broadcast of its sixth season on April 13, 2009, with a total of 107 episodes. The show averaged one million viewers per episode. Corner Gas received six Gemini Awards , and was nominated almost 70 times for various awards. On April 6, 2009, Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall signed

2349-485: Is south of the also fictional Crowley Lake. The town's name is an homage to series creator Brent Butt's hometown of Tisdale, Saskatchewan , through which the Doghide River flows. However, in the show itself, the second-season episode "Rock On!" revealed that the town was named after a great-great uncle of Lacey's who drowned a dozen dogs in the river. She discovered this trivia while researching information for

2436-424: Is voiced in the animated version by actress Corrine Koslo . The series was created by Canadian comedian Brent Butt , who imagined what his life might be like had he remained in a small Saskatchewan town rather than pursuing stand-up comedy. He originally developed the storyline for CTV and The Comedy Network . Corner Gas references many tropes about Canadian identity , often ironically. The show focuses on

2523-725: The Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy Series . In 2020, the sixth and final season of Schitt's Creek was nominated for 15 Primetime Emmy Awards . This broke the record for the most Emmy nominations given to a comedy series in its final season. During the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards , the show became the first ever comedy or drama series to sweep the four acting categories ( Outstanding Lead Actor , Outstanding Lead Actress , Outstanding Supporting Actor , Outstanding Supporting Actress for Eugene Levy , Catherine O'Hara , Dan Levy , and Annie Murphy respectively) and one of only four live action shows, along with All in

2610-753: The RTR channel. The "boom" of Russian sitcoms began only in the 2000s, when in 2004, the STS started the highly successful sitcom " My Fair Nanny " (an adaptation of the American sitcom " The Nanny "). Since that time, sitcoms in Russia have been produced by the two largest entertainment channels in the country — STS and TNT . In 2007, the STS released the first original domestic sitcom — " Daddy's Daughters " (there were only adaptations before), and in 2010, TNT released " Interns " —

2697-576: The Series Mania Television Festival in Paris, was praised by critics, and earned numerous awards and nominations. Also in 2013, At Home with Julia was criticized by several social commentators as inappropriately disrespectful to the office of the Prime Minister. The show nevertheless proved very popular with both television audiences and critics, becoming the most-watched Australian scripted comedy series of 2011. It

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2784-516: The United States feature sitcoms in their programming. CBS , TBS, Nickelodeon , and Disney Channel are just a few examples of networks that air sitcoms. Excuse My French (1974 TV series) Excuse My French was a Canadian television sitcom , which aired on CTV from 1974 to 1976. Produced by CFCF-TV 's Champlain Productions division, the series starred Stuart Gillard and Lisa Charbonneau as Peter and Marie-Louise Hutchins,

2871-565: The 1970s and 1980s many British sitcoms also screened on the Seven Network . By 1986, UK comedies Bless This House and Are You Being Served? had been re-screened several times by ABC Television ; they were then acquired and screened by the Seven Network. In 1981, Daily at Dawn was the first Australian comedy series to feature a regular gay character (Terry Bader as journalist Leslie). In 1987, Mother and Son won

2958-431: The 1990s these included: Dekh Bhai Dekh (1993), Zabaan Sambhalke (1993), Shrimaan Shrimati (1995), Office Office (2001), Ramani Vs Ramani (Tamil 2001), Amrutham (Telugu 2001–2007), Khichdi (2002), Sarabhai vs Sarabhai (2005) F.I.R. (2006–2015), Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (2008–present), Uppum Mulakum (Malayalam 2015–present), and Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain (2015–present). SAB TV

3045-482: The 2010s, resulting in a decline in sitcom popularity. Nevertheless, there have been recent efforts to revive the sitcom genre. For instance, Netflix released So Not Worth It in 2021, featuring many creators from popular South Korean sitcoms. Popular South Korean sitcoms include the High Kick series, which has spawned several spin-offs. British sitcoms , like their American counterparts, often revolve around

3132-417: The Family , The Golden Girls , and Will & Grace where all the principal actors have won at least one Emmy Award. Sitcoms started appearing on Indian television in the 1980s, with serials like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (1984), Nukkad (1986), and Wagle Ki Duniya (1988) on the state-run Doordarshan channel. Gradually, as private channels were permitted to operate, many more sitcoms followed. In

3219-457: The Howler, will even print "(SPIT)" after printing the word "Wullerton". However, the people of Wullerton may not hate Dog River, as seen in the fourth season's finale. (However, this was only part of Hank's fantasy sequence, and may not accurately reflect Wullerton's actual sentiment towards Dog River). The reason for this antipathy was never explained. Publicity for the second season indicated that

3306-508: The Prairie bought the gas station and fired Brent. Hank then debated with them the location of Mercy (the Saskatchewan town where Little Mosque takes place) in relation to Dog River. In summer 2006, the cast of Corner Gas presented a fund-raising benefit event for Regina's Globe Theatre called Corner Gas...Live , in which the cast presented a live episode of the TV series. The popularity of

3393-578: The Ruby and Corner Gas sets had once again fallen into disrepair and, due to being built on a bog, had begun to sink and were declared unsafe. On November 4, 2016, the buildings were demolished. Despite this, however, the town of Rouleau announced at the same time plans for a walking tour of surviving Corner Gas sets to launch in 2017, while the Western Development Museum branch in Moose Jaw announced plans to exhibit artifacts from

3480-735: The Television Drama Award for portraying a woman suffering from senile dementia and her interaction with her family, presented by the Australian Human Rights Commission . In 2007, Kath & Kim ' s first episode of series 4 attracted an Australian audience of 2.521 million nationally. This was the highest rating for a first episode in the history of Australian television, until the series premiere of Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities in 2009, which garnered 2.58 million viewers. In 2013, Please Like Me received an invitation to screen at

3567-531: The U.S. distribution rights for broadcast stations and cable channels. The show was offered to cable networks such as WGN America on an all-cash basis; the show was also offered to local stations on cash-plus-barter basis, though it was unknown if any channels other than WGN America carried the series. The series was carried by WGN America during the 2008–2009 television season; it was not broadcast in Chicago on WGN-TV . Sitcom The structure and concept of

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3654-588: The United States in 1926 with the radio show Sam 'n' Henry . The subsequent success of Amos 'n' Andy , also created by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll , solidified the sitcom's place in American radio programming. The transition to television brought about significant changes in the sitcom format. Mary Kay and Johnny , which premiered in 1947, became the first American television sitcom. Today, American sitcoms typically run for 22 minutes, allowing for approximately eight minutes of advertising within

3741-406: The case of Davis and Lacey. The rival town of Wullerton is "just down the road". It is stated in the episode "Tax Man" that Corner Gas is the only gas station for 60 kilometres (37 mi) in any direction. Series creator Brent Butt has said the town lies somewhere between Regina and Saskatoon ; these two cities are 257 kilometres (160 mi) apart, so this fact does not contradict anything said on

3828-423: The episode "Hook, Line and Sinker". TSN sportscaster (and U8TV: The Lofters alumnus) Jennifer Hedger and her SportsCentre colleague Darren Dutchyshen appeared as themselves in the episode "Face Off". The second season also attracted notable personalities. "Wedding Card" featured hockey star Darryl Sittler as himself. Pat Fiacco , then-mayor of Regina , appears in the episode "Whataphobia" as Stan,

3915-461: The episode and is most of the time driven by a single character. The secondary plots are sometimes slightly intertwined with the other stories. The Corner Gas opening sequence follows a cold open . The opening theme music , "Not a Lot Goin' On", was written by Craig Northey of the rock band Odds and Jesse Valenzuela of the rock band Gin Blossoms , while the closing theme, "My Happy Place"

4002-418: The fire department did not respond as they were chasing a stray dog (the same one Hank thought to be " The Littlest Hobo "). Fitzy saw Davis in the aftermath as the only first responder there and gave him the new title of Chief, Volunteer Fire Department. The Dog River Police Department owns two police cars, both 1994 Ford Crown Victorias . In every episode save series premiere "Ruby Reborn" and "Dark Circles,"

4089-490: The first episode aired, CTV renewed it for a second season of 18 episodes. Butt's main co-writers were This Hour Has 22 Minutes writers Mark Farrell , Paul Mather , Kevin White, and Andrew Carr. As broadcast of the fourth-season finale approached, there was a flurry of news reports suggesting that the series was coming to an unexpected end, based upon televised promotions for the episode, leaked plot details, and wording of

4176-647: The first sitcom, filmed as a comedy (unlike dominated "conveyor" sitcoms). Sitcoms, or "시트콤" in Korean, gained significant popularity in South Korea during the 1990s. This popularity was fueled by the success of shows like Dr. Oh's People , LA Arirang , and Men and Women . The use of computer graphics (CG) in sitcoms began to increase in the late 1990s as more broadcasters adopted CG technology. This led to more visually dynamic and creative sitcoms. However, viewer preferences shifted towards dramas and thrillers in

4263-441: The focus from domestic or workplace settings to the world of politics. A more recent development in British comedy is the mockumentary , a style that blends documentary and comedic elements. Shows like The Office , Come Fly with Me , W1A , People Just Do Nothing , and This Country have successfully employed this format to explore a variety of topics and characters. Sitcoms, or situation comedies, made their debut in

4350-533: The group. (While filming, Fred Ewanuick did his own singing as Hank, Brent Butt played all his own guitar parts, and Nancy Robertson learned to play bass shortly before filming commenced. Only Tara Spencer-Nairn did not do her own playing for the episode.) Thunderface has suffered from relative anonymity due to confusion with their name (as well as the fact that they have had only one gig since 1986). They have been referred to as "Rumblepuss," "Thunderbread," "Thunderchunks," and "Wonderface," among other names. Their sound

4437-421: The headline "Crosswalk HELL—Mayor Insane." Another example occurs (mentioned in the same episode) when coyotes wander into town to eat cats, prompting the incorrectly spelled headline "Cattle Killed by Werewolfs [ sic ]." An example of simply untrue reporting can be seen in the first episode, in which a headline reads " Moose Jaw Gets NBA Franchise", and at an unseen time, they declared that Canada

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4524-414: The intervening years, they had become a tourist attraction. In summer 2021, the police station building collapsed, and the debris was removed. On 5   November 2021, the grain elevator burned to the ground. Each episode of Corner Gas is written following a specific formula: two or three (almost always three, once four) storylines are presented in each show. The main storyline usually opens and closes

4611-592: The junction of Highways 39 and 714. The grain elevator, built in 1972, was destroyed by fire on November 5, 2021. After falling into disrepair when the show ended, the Rouleau sets were purchased by businessman Sylvain Senecal and restored as a souvenir shop. The sets were open from May 1 until late September where Corner Gas, Saskatchewan and regular convenience store items could be purchased, and were later once again utilized for Corner Gas: The Movie . However, by 2016,

4698-499: The latter of which continues in some modern productions such as The Big Bang Theory and Fuller House . Other formats make use of a laugh track or "canned laughter". Since the 1990s, sitcoms have since expanded to animated sitcoms , with successful shows of the genre including The Simpsons , King of the Hill , and Family Guy . Critics have debated the exact definition of a sitcom, mostly regarding productions created at

4785-458: The lifestyle of small-town folk; though set in a small town in Saskatchewan, its stories are not chiefly about Saskatchewan or Canada, but rather the day-to-day interactions of the residents of Dog River. Corner Gas was produced by CTV and Prairie Pants Productions. Prairie Pants Productions is a company assembled by Brent Butt, Virginia Thompson and 335 Productions. 335 Productions is a partnership between Brent Butt and David Storey. (The name of

4872-436: The officers have an overabundance of free time. Finally, Brent's best friend Richard Henry "Hank" Yarbo ( Fred Ewanuick ), who is constantly unemployed, spends his time hanging out with Dog River's residents and drinking coffee, for which he rarely pays, at The Ruby. The first episode of Corner Gas aired on January 22, 2004, and attracted 1.5 million viewers. The first season consisted of 13 episodes. Less than two months after

4959-505: The on-location sets of Corner Gas , including the service station. Many components of Dog River are, in fact, real attributes of Rouleau, notably the combined liquor and insurance store. On February 9, 2010, Google Street View extended its coverage of Canada, including all streets within Rouleau. The remnants of the Corner Gas and Ruby standing sets, along with the grain elevator labelled "Dog River" are visible from ground level at

5046-479: The outdoor scenes and all scenes that take place in the gas station were filmed on location in Rouleau , a small town on Highway 39 between Moose Jaw and Weyburn . The grain elevator was repainted to read "Dog River" instead of "Rouleau"; however, the water tower still reads "Rouleau" – with post production effects used to repaint it to read "Dog River" in the first-season episode "Grad 68". Regina

5133-528: The owner of Dog River's miniature golf course. "Poor Brent" has an appearance by long-time CTV National News anchor Lloyd Robertson , playing himself. Canadian and world champion curlers Randy Ferbey and Dave Nedohin (both of whom curl for Alberta ) appear as themselves providing advice during the hotly contested Dog River curling championship, the Clavet Cup in episode "Hurry Hard". The episode "An American in Saskatchewan" features Mark McKinney ,

5220-417: The peace in Dog River. In "The Littlest Yarbo," a short-lived Fire Department consisting of two firefighters, David and Carol (both showing remarkable similarities to Davis and Karen, respectively), was established by the mayor when the volunteer fire chief decided to sleep in as opposed to respond to a fire. The volunteer system was reestablished after Hank, Davis, and Oscar lit an uncontrollable leaf fire and

5307-446: The police use only one of them. The residents of Dog River have a pathological dislike of the residents of Wullerton, a neighbouring town, to the point that they spit on the ground whenever the rival town is mentioned, much to Lacey's hygienic disapproval when such action takes place within her cafe. They are so used to doing so that they sometimes do not realize it when they spit (especially within said cafe). Dog River's local newspaper,

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5394-535: The production company is derived from the fact that Tisdale, Saskatchewan , Butt's hometown, lies at the junction of Saskatchewan Highways 3 and 35 .) At The Comedy Network, Michelle Daly is Director of Content and Ed Robinson is the President and General Manager. At CTV Inc., Susanne Boyce is President, Creative, Content and Channels and again Ed Robinson is Executive Vice-president, Programming. Brent Butt

5481-476: The public broadcaster was out of touch with Canadian audiences. This was later revealed to be untrue; The Comedy Network was in fact the first and only network to which the show was proposed. Fred Ewanuick appeared as Hank on the Royal Canadian Air Farce ' s 300th episode in a spoof of Corner Gas , in which Yasir ( Carlo Rota ) and Sarah ( Sheila McCarthy ) from CBC's Little Mosque on

5568-418: The roadside gas station in the fictional town of Dog River , Saskatchewan , Corner Gas is the only gas station for 60 kilometres (37 mi) in any direction. Brent Leroy (Butt) is the proprietor of the station, which was formerly owned by his father, Oscar ( Eric Peterson ). Wanda Dollard ( Nancy Robertson ) works at the station's convenience store as a retail assistant. An adjoining coffee shop , The Ruby,

5655-527: The same episode Dan Redican from The Frantics , and more recently Puppets Who Kill , makes an appearance as a worker in the Regina International Airport . He repeatedly says "made that call." Comedy Inc. star Roman Danylo makes a cameo as a passenger sitting next to Lacey on a plane from Alberta to Vancouver . He claims to be a "cat doctor," and not a veterinarian. He manages to out-chat Lacey while talking about cats during

5742-530: The same episode. Ken Read , also known as " The Crazy Canuck ," is a champion alpine skier and member of the Canadian Olympic Committee . During episode "Physical Credit", Read receives a browbeating from Oscar (which first aired the day after closing ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics ). Olympic long-track speed skater medal winner Cindy Klassen makes a cameo appearance in the fourth season episode "Dog River Dave". Mike Holmes ,

5829-544: The same episode. Prior to the debut of Corner Gas , the cast had appeared on Gabereau's CTV talk show, during which Brent Butt promised to get the talk show host a guest appearance. "Merry Gasmas" features This Hour Has 22 Minutes anchor Gavin Crawford as a worker in the Calgary International Airport . He would always call cities their airport names (YYC, YEG) which confused Lacey horribly. In

5916-491: The season finale would reveal the reason for the spitting; however, the episode as broadcast did not actually do so. This practice of looking down on neighbouring towns is common in many prairie communities, primarily those in Saskatchewan and Alberta, such as Tisdale, Melfort, and Wilcox. Wullerton is first shown onscreen in Corner Gas: The Movie , as for the reason Dog River residents hate it so much: Wullerton

6003-543: The series Alienated in 2004, giving her the rare distinction of playing major roles in three unrelated television series during the same calendar year (although Robson Arms had never been aired until 2005). As of fall 2007, two seasons of Robson Arms featuring Miller and Ewanuick have been produced and released to DVD. Early in the run of Corner Gas , Toronto Sun television critic Bill Brioux reported an unconfirmed rumour that it had been unsuccessfully pitched to CBC Television , which came to be cited as evidence that

6090-427: The series, including the original Corner Gas sign. The town has its own newspaper, The Dog River Howler (usually just called " The Howler "), to which almost everybody has contributed at one point or another. Its headlines are usually rife with inaccurate, sensationalist reporting. An example of exaggeration can be seen in "Hero Sandwich," in which a proposal to install traffic lights at a four-way intersection prompts

6177-468: The series. In fact, the term "the city" has been used at various times in the series to refer to Regina. The third-season episode, "Fun Run" has one character drive to Weyburn for a lark, suggesting Dog River is probably closer to Regina than it is to Saskatoon. In the episode "Outside Joke", when the Corner Gas station is believed to actually be outside the town limits, it is said to be in the fictional municipality of Pitt Creek. In "Kid Stuff", Wanda says it

6264-532: The show has earned an estimated $ 1 billion in syndication fees alone for Televisa . Gliding On , a popular sitcom in New Zealand in the early 1980s, won multiple awards during its run including Best Comedy, Best Drama and Best Direction at the Feltex Awards . The first Russian sitcom series was "Strawberry", which resembled "Duty Pharmacy" in a Spanish format. It was aired from 1996 to 1997 on

6351-471: The sitcom caused such a rush for tickets that the Globe Theatre's online ticket sales system briefly went down as a result. Another benefit was held during the summer of 2007. On November 24, 2006, it was announced that Corner Gas would air on the U.S. WGN America beginning September 17, 2007. Corner Gas was syndicated to WGN America by Multi-Platform Distribution Company (MPDC), which acquired

6438-459: The sixth season, "Meat Wave", Canadian science broadcaster and environmental activist David Suzuki also appears in a cameo. Dog River ( Rouleau, Saskatchewan ) has a population of "about 500" according to "Census Sensibility". According to the Corner Gas tagline , it is 40 kilometres (25 mi) from nowhere, but still within a relatively short drive to "The City", where characters are often shown going to shop or attend "support meetings", in

6525-735: The star of Holmes on Homes , helps to fix Oscar's bathroom in the episode "Jail House"; Wanda claims to have dated the Holmes character. CTV CEO Ivan Fecan makes a cameo appearance during the episode "Blog River". "Gopher It" featured then Prime Minister Stephen Harper as himself, stating that regardless of whether Dog River plans to commemorate prairie dogs or gophers, he appreciates both. Canada AM co-anchors Seamus O'Regan and Beverly Thomson appear, playing themselves. Unlike most cameos, O'Regan and Thomson appear extensively in this episode to parody their on-screen image. CTV National News reporter Rosemary Thompson appears, playing herself in

6612-656: The trip to the Rouleau or Regina sets to film their appearances, others were filmed in the applicable locations (e.g., scenes involving cast members of Canadian Idol and Canada AM were filmed at the respective programs' studios). Two successive sitting prime ministers , Paul Martin and Stephen Harper , made cameo appearances; Corner Gas is the only fictional sitcom (as opposed to sketch comedy series) in which sitting prime ministers have appeared. Two successive sitting premiers of Saskatchewan , Lorne Calvert and Brad Wall , also appeared in episodes. "Demolition" features former Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson , taking

6699-523: The turn of the 21st century. Many contemporary American sitcoms use a single-camera setup and do not feature a laugh track, instead more resembling documentaries or the comedy-dramas of the 1980s and 1990s. Although there have been few long-running Australian-made sitcoms, many American and British sitcoms have been successful in Australia, since sitcoms are considered a staple of the government broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). In

6786-405: Was "a very difficult decision ... and one I felt I had to make. (CTV) made it clear that they were keen to do more seasons ... I wanted to exit gracefully, on top of our game." The show's final episode aired on April 13, 2009, airing in simulcast on CTV, The Comedy Network, and A . The episode attracted 2,914,000 viewers on terrestrial television and an additional 235,000 on The Comedy Network, for

6873-413: Was a driving force as creator, writer, showrunner, executive producer, actor and, occasionally, director of the show. Paul Mather, Mark Farrell, Brent Butt, Andrew Carr, Kevin White, Robert Sheridan, Norm Hiscock , Dylan "Worts" Wertz and Gary Pearson all contributed to writing the series. David Storey, Mark Farrell, Robert de Lint, Jeff Beesley and Brent Butt provided direction in the program. Corner Gas

6960-475: Was apparently at war with Switzerland. The paper is also rife with misspellings, for example in the third season that "Hank is PHYCIC [ sic ]" (the story was "contunied [ sic ]" on page 30) or in the fourth season that "Cop nabs barely [ sic ] thief" (after Karen mentions that the arraigned person was "barely a thief" for having stolen a truck loaded with barley ). The "Police Department", consisting of Davis and Karen, keeps

7047-530: Was followed up by a television series of the same name that ran from 2001 to 2018, airing in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Corner Gas , which ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009, became an instant hit, averaging one million viewers per episode. It has been the recipient of six Gemini Awards and has been nominated almost 70 times for various awards. Other noteworthy recent sitcoms have included: Call Me Fitz , Schitt's Creek , Letterkenny , and Kim's Convenience , all of which have been winners of

7134-474: Was named (it was later renamed Centennial Street in 2005, the origin of the name being forgotten). Main also constructed Dog River's first building, a wooden shack which Hank Yarbo would burn down a century later in order to maintain the accuracy of his Lego scale model of the town (he ran out of blocks and could not make a replica of the shack). A real-life Regina tour operator regularly takes busloads of tourists to Rouleau to visit "Dog River". Visitors can tour

7221-531: Was nominated at the 2012 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards for Best Television Comedy Series. Although there have been several notable exceptions, relatively few Canadian sitcoms attained notable success in Canada or internationally. Canadian television has had much greater success with sketch comedy and dramedy series. The popular show King of Kensington aired from 1975 to 1980, at its peak garnering an average of 1.5 to 1.8 million viewers weekly. The 1999 movie Trailer Park Boys

7308-401: Was promoted by CTV as the network's "first original narrative comedy series." While it is not, in fact, the first Canadian-produced sitcom ever aired on CTV, having been preceded by The Trouble with Tracy , George , Snow Job , Excuse My French , and Check It Out! , it is the first CTV sitcom in which the network itself has held a primary production role, rather than acting solely as

7395-546: Was the most-watched show on Mexican television and had a Latin-American audience of 350 million viewers per episode at its popularity peak during the mid-1970s. The show continues to be popular in Central America as well as in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Spain, the United States, and other countries. Syndicated episodes average 91 million daily viewers in all its American markets. Since it ceased production in 1992,

7482-464: Was the only Canadian-made top-20 TV show in all of Canada (other than a hockey telecast), the rest being U.S. imports . It first premiered in January 2004, outperforming all U.S. sitcoms among adults aged 25–54. Since 2004, the series' production coincided with that of another CTV program, Robson Arms in which Gabrielle Miller and Fred Ewanuick also co-starred. Miller also had a recurring role in

7569-406: Was written by Northey and performed by Odds. Corner Gas is the only gas station for 60 kilometres (37 mi) in any direction (according to the first two episodes of season one, "Ruby Reborn" and "Tax Man"). Brent Leroy ( Brent Butt ) is the proprietor of the station and Wanda Dollard ( Nancy Robertson ) works at the station's convenience store as a retail assistant. An adjoining diner, The Ruby,

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