I just don't get the inexplicable popularity of this show...

Perhaps it'a a sign of the times when a show like Corner Gas becomes so popular, at least in Canada. As a Canadian, what can I interpret from this? That there are a hell of a lot of unimaginative conservative citizens in our country? That television is so bad in general that by comparison Corner Gas is the only show marginally worth watching? Or are all these rabid fans biased because they're related to Brent Butt? I'll concede that last one was a stretch...

Canada has had success from time to time with comedies like Red Green, Kids in the Hall, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Trailer Park Boys, etc, but with sitcoms... not so much. We can do satire, we can do mockumentaries, we can even do late-night, and some of the best comedians out there are Canadian. So why can't we get a sitcom right??

I've seen maybe 6 or 7 episodes of Corner Gas. I tried to give it a chance. 6 or 7 episodes may not sound like much but if a show can't make a person laugh after 2 or 3 episodes (allowing for the occasional "bad" episode), that's usually a bad sign. Frankly, I think I was being generous. To get right down to it; this show is just downright BLAND. Every single joke falls flat, every character is dirivative and one-dimensional, and the writing is clumsy and unimaginative. A sitcom has to take some chances and at least *attempt* to be witty and relevant, but that just isn't the case here. To paraphrase BloodTheTelepathicDog's review of this show; If a joke's incoming punchline is obvious it won't be funny when it comes. Corner Gas is full of the worst kind of dry, conservative, uninspired "humor"; it doesn't take ANY chances and simply doesn't deserve the awards and accolades it has recieved. I'd honestly rather sit quietly and watch paint dry... Just my opinion...