Sunday, December 7, 2008

In Canada, We're Saying Goodbye to "Trailer Park Boys" Tonight


All across Canada, fans of the innovative, original, hilarious and gloriously profane series Trailer Park Boys will be saying a fond farewell to the series, which comes to an end on the Showcase network tonight. The recent decision made by the producers to end the series evidently caught many folks by surprise, including the stars of the show who learned of the cancellation only a day before the news went out on the TPB website. I'm a huge fan of the series, especially some of the earlier seasons, and though in the U.S. it was briefly on BBC America (and completely bleeped for language, therefore hardly watchable) and now fans can seek it out online, it's really a north of the border phenom. I wrote about it four years ago on my original TV blog, and the show has never let me down.

Trailer Park Boys is uniquely Canadian, and particularly Nova Scotian, as it's filmed in and around Halifax and the stars are fairly local boys. The best way to get acquainted with the Ricky (Robb Wells), Julian (John Paul Tremblay) and Bubbles (Mike Smith), if you're not already, is to watch the series. You can read about it, but until you experience for yourself the almost inexplicably effective blend of profanity, lawlessness, friendship, sentimentality, poverty, ingenuity and community that makes up Trailer Park Boys, you'll never understand why this show is so incredibly special. There's NOTHING like it on U.S. TV, and I can't imagine anything like it ever making it there. O Canada!

The Trailer Park Boys are a part of what makes Canada so great, and we look forward to at least another TPB movie, and honestly, this bunch of memorable characters is simply too special to put down easily. I suspect they will return, and of course the entire talented group of performers who brought the Sunnyvale Trailer Park to life will go on to other things, but they should know, and I'm sure do, that they made history with Trailer Park Boys, and are in our hearts forevever.

I'm going to link to one of my favorite episodes from the show here, entitled "If You Love Something, Set It Free" in which a mountain lion plays havoc with the boys latest pot crop and Bubbles, inveterate cat lover, takes the big kitty under his wing. It's from the show's amazing 4th season, which also contained the incredibly insane episode "Conky" where Bubbles comes under the power of his evil childhood hand puppet which has been recovered from a swamp. You must watch both of them! I'll say it again...there's nothing like this on U.S. TV. (There are lots of TPB episodes on Google Video, so check them out!)
I just have to include some video here, so here's a compilation of some of the endearing Bubbles' best moments, from a fan on YouTube:




Trailer Park Boys, you were one of the first things I fell in love with in Nova Scotia!

(Check out all the TPB websites linked in this article for more on this truly one-of-a-kind television experience! They also have a Christmas Show which you should watch at holiday time!)

2 comments:

Jane said...

Well this update has come in the nick of time, can't wait to go on the link and check it out. Our Sunday night shows are dwindling...just one more Dexter left and then it's adios to the great Sunday night HBO and Showtime programs! Nice to know there is something cool to watch on the web!

Dean Treadway said...

Much love to the Trailer Park Boys. I consider myself Canadian to the core for loving this amazing series. I'm glad that the three leads got to show their stuff for as long as thye did. Unfortunately, I don't expect to see them again, as their incredible performances on the show have typed them too much (at least for the next couple of years). But, as Orson Welles said, you only need one hit to be remembered.