‘Corner Gas’ closing up shop
Brent Butt was asked what the viewing public can expect in the final episode of Corner Gas.
Will you laugh? Will you cry? Will you be angry? Will you get indigestion? All of the above?
“It will make you question your sexuality,” Butt said. “That’s what we were going for.”
Well, if that’s the case, it would be a different direction for Corner Gas, which wraps up its six-year run tomorrow on CTV.
We’re fairly sure that Butt, the creator and star, was just kidding about the sexuality thing. But please note, we said “fairly” sure.
Butt announced last year that this would be the final season for Corner Gas, which by all measures is the most successful sitcom in Canadian history. Actual shooting on the series was completed last fall, so for Butt and the rest of the cast — his wife Nancy Robertson (Wanda), Gabrielle Miller (Lacey), Fred Ewanuick (Hank), Eric Peterson (Oscar), Janet Wright (Emma), Tara Spencer-Nairn (Karen) and Lorne Cardinal (Davis) — Corner Gas already feels like quite a long time ago.
“I don’t watch it every week, because I’m doing a lot of stuff and I’m busy,” Butt said when asked if he follows along with the broadcast dates. “By the time they hit the air, I’ve seen each episode about 50 times, right? So I don’t feel a need to make sure I’m home to watch.
“But if I’m around, there’s something nice about watching it on TV as it airs, knowing that the rest of the country is watching it, too. It’s that shared experience thing. And it has commercials and everything, so it feels more like, ‘Hey, I’m on a TV show,’ as opposed to sitting in an edit suite by yourself.
“It does seem as if it was a while ago. But it was such a big part of my life, a lot of it still seems pretty fresh.”
Butt said he’s happy with the way the final episode turned out, in terms of it being simultaneously kind of the same and kind of different.
“My mandate was, I wanted it to feel like an episode of Corner Gas, but I still wanted to have a special element to it,” Butt said. “I’m very proud of it because I think that was nailed.
“If you’re a fan of Corner Gas, this feels like an episode of Corner Gas. But because it’s the finale, it has a little something different that you’ve never seen before, something we’ve never done, and it worked really well.
“I think it ends in a really good way.”
The pilot has been completed for Butt’s new show Hiccups, which stars Robertson, and he’s waiting to see if it will be picked up as a series by CTV. Butt also is working on a comedy special of his own.
But whatever Brent Butt does from now on, he already is Canadian TV royalty. How many people can say that?
Thanks for the laughs, Corner Gas.
Billy Bob Thornton's band cancels Canadian tour
TORONTO – Billy Bob Thornton's band has canceled the rest of its Canadian tour after the actor compared the country's fans to mashed potatoes with no gravy in a testy interview that caused a sensation online.
The Boxmasters opened for Willie Nelson on Thursday in Toronto, where they reportedly were booed and met with catcalls of "Here comes the gravy."
A note posted on Nelson's Web site Friday said the Boxmasters were canceling the rest of their Canadian dates "due to one band member and several of the crew having the flu."
The cancellation came two days after Thornton made world headlines with a belligerent appearance on CBC radio's "Q."
The actor apparently didn't like that host Jian Ghomeshi started the interview with references to Thornton's Hollywood career.
Thornton refused to answer many of Ghomeshi's questions directly, mumbling: "I don't know what you're talking about." He later said Ghomeshi's producers had been told ahead of time not to talk about his film career.
Thornton also had some unkind words for Canadian crowds.
"Canadian audiences seem to be very reserved," he told Ghomeshi. "We tend to play places where people throw things at each other. Here, they just sort of sit there. And it doesn't matter what you say to 'em. ... It's mashed potatoes but no gravy."
Before his Thursday night gig, Thornton tried to clarify those remarks, saying he loved Canada and his "mashed potatoes" comment had been aimed at Ghomeshi.
Media around the world delighted in the story. Entertainment Weekly's Web site ran the headline, "Billy Bob Thornton: What's his problem?"
NASA to announce module name on `Colbert Report'
NEW YORK – Stephen Colbert is still clinging to hope that NASA will name a new room at the international space station after him.
The space agency said Friday it would announce the name of the module Tuesday on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report." Astronaut Sunita Williams will appear on the program.
The agency held an online contest, letting the public vote on a name for a future addition to the station. "Colbert" beat out NASA's four suggested options: Serenity, Legacy, Earthrise and Venture.
The comedian said in a statement: "I certainly hope NASA does the right thing. Just kidding. I hope they name it after me."