Isn't Canadian television excellent? I mean seriously, who else could have come up with anything as a brilliant as the Trailer Park Boys? Nobody, is most likely the correct answer, and not to mention, what other country would accept something so "vulgar" and "offensive"?
Ok well to be fair, the Europeans might allow it on television - but the Americans..well it does play in America but it's on very late.
Trailer Park Boys is yet another example of brilliant Canadian television. It's quirky, rude, vulgar and lastly unique. It's amazing that such a low budget show with no-name actors has already risen to the "Canadian Cult" section.
I bet Mike Clattenburg (TPB's producer/creator) had no idea it would be such a hit, but Barry Dun (another producer, Ricky's dad in the show - Ray) knew it had great potential. In fact, it was Dun's idea to get Trailer Park Boys on television, he thought it would make a great comedy. What do you know? Here we are 6 years after the release of the original film festival movie and TPB is one of the most well known T.V. shows in Canada. Talk to anyone you know (assuming you're Canadian) and I'll bet you if they haven't seen it, they've at least heard of it.
The first question: what makes Trailer Park Boys so great? Well it's obviously hilarious and it features more swear words than you or I can muster (actually probably not..)
However, the often criticism about TPB is that it's swearing and the criminal acts it's characters portray are sending a bad message to younger kids. I don't really want to go into that, but I of course disagree with that.
Trailer Park Boys is far more than a bunch of swearing. It's more a display of an artist's work. For instance, the character are all tailored to the park.
Characters
Mike Smith (Bubbles) is the bomb diffuser, he's the Innocent little bugger. He occasionally acts like a 5 year old kid, ex: likes to play "space", he likes kitties and he is even scared of "shit ropes" and "samsquanch" (I think that's how he says it ;-) )
Rob Wells (Ricky) plays the part, as Mike Clattenburg put it, "the smart guy who never learned anything" He constantly mispronounces words. Further to that his styling characteristics are quite unlike anything we've seen. Where else do you see somebody with a pompadour wearing a hounds tooth shirt? No where.
And what about the mastermind behind the schemes? John Paul Tremblay (AKA as Julian) is an essential part of TPB. In my opinion John-Paul isn't quite as good as an actor as Wells or Smith, but he still brings a big peice to the party. His naive attitude is classic, his looks unmistakable (black shirt, black pants and black sunglasses and of course, his trademark rum glass)
The three of them make the most unique criminal team you've ever seen. Of course, we most certainly must not end it at that. Jim Lahey and Randy are classic T.V. villains. Both of these guys are amazing actors with versatility which you find no where else. Others such as J-Roc, Ray, Cyrus, Lucy & Sarah are must haves.
Other than the actors, the story plots and fantastic backdrops make Trailer Park Boys so entertaining to watch.
Plot
The story lines which Clattenburg and company come up with are always classic. They are always greasy and ridiculous, but always hilarious! Where else do you see a group of criminals syphoning gas and opening an illegal station, kidnapping Alex Lifeson (oh yes..lol) and making a hash driveway which is later shipped in shopping cart handles? No where and in the future, I don't think you can expect to see anything like that. That's part of what makes Trailer Park Boys such a fantastic show - it's an original concept.
Backdrop
Because the production cost of TPB is so low, the arts department is actually left to picking things out alleys which people throw away. As a result, the sets come out looking even better and more trailer park. If you haven't seen any of the 5th season of TPB you won't know, but because they had previously used four real trailer parks, by the time the 5th season arrived it was time for them to build their own - where they could do whatever they wanted (fire off guns and whatnot)
The perfect example is Jim Lahey's trailer: It's has the most disgusting wallpaper, dated 70's couches, a liquor cabinet and lastly, a picture of the Queen.
It's all because of these noticeable features (which you can truthfully only understand if you watch the show) that makes it so great. Never has there been a T.V. show likes this before.
Seasons/Episodes/End
Now to be fair, I have seen about 3 or four episodes of the new season and in my opinion they are downright terrible. Not funny, not ingenious and far too contrived. Perhaps that's the price that the show payed with it's great success (and recent release into the United States)
However I am willing to forgive the team. Simply, how could I not? For 5 straight seasons they gave me (and a whole other bunch of Canadians) unrivaled entertainment and hilarity. Honestly they gave me something to be proud of, and I am proud that Trailer Park Boys is Canadian. It's a cult classic and the efforts of the boys will not be forgotten.
No comments:
Post a Comment