We have now handy it to them, Canadians might be fairly humorous. The largest current sitcom from our neighbors to the north is clearly Schitt’s Creek. It is easy to see why, because the characters, humor, and tone cemented the present’s standing as one among tv’s greatest comedies. However Schitt’s Creek was removed from the primary present to discover the eccentricities and goings-on of a small Canadian city.
In 2004, CTV launched the comedy Nook Fuel. It adopted the distant city of Canine River, Saskatchewan and the colourful solid of characters who known as it house. Nook Fuel hailed from stand-up comedian Brent Butt, who additionally starred within the main position. Regardless of its relative obscurity at this time, the present really ran for a formidable six seasons and over 100 episodes. And it is even free to stream for our readers within the States. Whereas Schitt’s Creek has undoubtedly earned its place in historical past, it would not want a monopoly within the Canadian comedic sphere. Underrated exhibits like Nook Fuel deserve love, too. So let’s check out why followers ought to test it out, and the place all 107 episodes might be streamed at no cost.
The Quirky Forged of Nook Fuel
Every colourful important character represents some cliché of small-town folks. Brent Butt stars as Brent Leroy, proprietor of the titular Nook Fuel station. He is your good-natured everyman, if a bit of bit sarcastic and lazy. The restaurant related to the gasoline station is owned by the neurotic Lacey (Gabrielle Miller), who’s simply moved from Toronto in the beginning of the present. Brent’s dim-witted greatest good friend Hank (Fred Ewanuick) is unemployed all through the sequence, typically hanging round and pestering these on the gasoline station. That features Brent’s co-worker Wanda (Nancy Robertson), who takes pleasure in reminding everybody else that she’s probably the most educated within the city.
Brent’s father, Oscar (Eric Peterson), is the proverbial grouchy outdated man. He complains about something beneath the solar, from the trivial to downright inane. This results in fixed bickering with Brent’s mom Emma (Janet Wright), who calls the pictures round the home. The principle solid is rounded out by Canine River’s whole police drive of two officers, Davis and Karen (Lorne Cardinal and Tara Spencer-Nairn). Senior officer Davis would not take his job too significantly, with the city’s low crime price resulting in frequent slacking off. Rookie Karen is extra of a rule-follower and tries to maintain Davis on monitor.
The recurring solid is made up of the rest of the eclectic Canine River inhabitants. This contains the wonderfully-named Mayor Fitzy Fitzgerald and his grandmother, bartender Paul, and insurance coverage and liquor salesman Wes. A number of outstanding celebrities and politicians additionally made cameos on the present, together with then-Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper.
‘Nook Fuel’s Distinctive Kinds of Humor
It is troublesome to position Nook Fuel‘s humor into one tidy categorization. However the type was sufficient to web the present a number of Canadian Comedy and Gemini Awards over its run. A lot of it’s character-based, with some misunderstanding or widespread aim driving every week’s plot. Reasonably than telling rapid-fire jokes, the humor arises out of the characters’ commentary on the state of affairs. In that sense, it is just like Schitt’s Creek. However there’s additionally a Seinfeld-esque component to the writing.
Many plots are certainly about “nothing” and the trivialities of every day life. In a single episode, Oscar and Emma have a days-long battle over whose accountability it’s to place the lid again on the sugar container. One other sees Brent refusing assist from Hank to keep away from “owing him one” sooner or later. And within the very first episode, Brent incurs the wrath of Oscar when he begins promoting films on the gasoline station. It is your basic situational humor to which everybody can relate in a single type or one other.
Nook Fuel has additionally experimented with cutaway gags and fantasy, although to not the extent of one thing like Household Man. These are principally restricted to daydreams and fantasy sequences dreamt up by one of many important characters. Headlines within the native sensationalist tabloid The Canine River Howler present the present’s fair proportion of visible and sight gags. That newspaper was forward of its time with its inaccurate, fear-mongering, and infrequently misspelled tales. And there is the compulsory neighboring city that everybody in Canine River hates. Right here it is the city of Wullerton, and the Canine River residents all spit on the bottom each time they hear the identify.
Nook Fuel ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. It was revived for the large display screen in 2014 with Nook Fuel: The Film, which boasted comparable rave critiques. An animated spin-off, appropriately titled Nook Fuel Animated, ran for 4 seasons from 2018 to 2021. It featured each solid member apart from Janet Wright, who handed away in 2016. The animated present allowed for additional experimentation with the fantasy and absurdist storylines favored by the unique hit.
All 107 episodes of the unique sequence might be streamed at no cost on The Roku Channel. And Amazon Prime Video has the primary season of the animated sequel. Followers of north-of-the-border humor ought to put this one on their record.