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Review : Trailer Park Boys Season 1+2 on DVD
The funniest TV show I have seen in years in Trailer Park Boys. It is a Canadian mockumentary surrounding the residents of a run down trailer park outside of Nova Scotia. It is shot mostly with a hand held documentary style and the film crew is often seen in the shots and break the "fourth wall" with the characters several time. It has a really wry sense of humor and has lots of ad-libbed lines to add a sense of depth and realness to the show.
Despite the name is has absolutely nothing to do with the American South. It is completely void of NASCAR and Country Western music.. Thank God. These boys are 100% proud Canadian down to their "A-boots". The first couple episodes I watched eerily reminded me of a few neighborhoods like it in Eastern Washington when I was growing up there.
The show had plenty of swearing and adult illegal subject matter but since Canada is where we got Kids in the Hall from they don't seem to have a problem with it. The only place that it actually was shown in the US was on the BBC America channel and even then they censored the show. Luckily for us you can get it off Netflix since those foreign subversives up in Canadaland use the same DVD format as us.
Most of the plot focuses around friends since childhood and trailer park natives Julian and Ricky who both got out of jail at the start of the series. They are both lovable fuck-ups and rather getting real jobs they usually hatch illegal and semi-though out schemes to make ends meet. Everyone will acknowledge the camera crew that is following them around and they will give asides to the camera telling them their sides of things. The actors always stay in character when doing media promotions and they use lots of ad-libbing to really build believable characters. It is alot more successful in building characters that you care about than say the US version of The Office.
Julian lives in the trailer park and is always in a black T-shirt and has a rum and coke in his hand. He is seen driving around town and any other possible activity with his glass of rum and coke in hand. He sort of has his shit together and is well like in the park but rather than getting a real job he gets caught in some dope growing and other various criminal activities with his pal Ricky.
Ricky is a goatee and pompadour clad long time friend of Julian who lives in Julian's shitty beat up black car that missing a door. Ricky has a rather twisted sense of right and wrong but is limited by his grade nine education. He has some great lines butchering the English language. He has a daughter who smokes and wants to go to jail just like her daddy. Ricky and Justin are the constantly drunk Burt and Ernie of the trailer park.
Bubbles lives in a shed in the trailer park and feeds all the stray cats in the park by stealing shopping carts from one mall and selling them to another mall. He has massive thick bug eyed glasses and has a low monotone gravely voice. He is one of Ricky and Julian's best friend and despite is rather unique look he is the smartest person in the trailer park.
Mr. Lahey is the bitter former cop who takes his job as trailer park supervisor way too seriously. He is obsessed with catching Ricky and Julian in the act but always ends up looking like an ass. He is constantly accompanied by his partner (in many ways) Randy. Randy has never wears a shirt and his hairy giant pot belly gut sticks out while his performing his duties.
Seasons 1-5 are out on DVD. The movie just came out and Season 6 is due out in May and Season 7 is currently showing on TV in Canada. I am completely obsessed with this show and I know that it is simply the most intelligent, witty and sarcastic shows on TV. I know this sounds stupid but it is one of the smartest shows that I have ever seen. I have to watch it without drinking anything for the fear of snorting it out my nose laughing. It is a damn shame that there is not one TV channel in the US that has the balls to air this show uncensored. It makes me damn proud to be a North American.
Jake at March 19, 2007
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Comments
The title- Trailer Park Boys- might put more than a few unenlightened people off this...
Posted by: Jim @ Hohocognitive at March 20, 2007 4:25 AM
What's wrong with the American South?
Posted by: Boyd at March 21, 2007 8:35 AM
Nothing per say.. I love southern cooking but can't stand corporate rock "Country Western" but if you say Trailer Park Boys in the US of A people will think your talking about the "South" when in all fact these boys are from the Great White North.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at March 21, 2007 10:11 PM
im glad to see you like the trailer park boys jake.. i am lucky enough to live in canada and it is one of my favorite shows. have you heard randy's backstory yet? when i found out i laughed my head off. ps. love ur site keep it up
Posted by: studwiser at March 27, 2007 4:41 PM

