My homeland of Nova Scotia was the home of a television show that ran seven seasons called the Trailer Park Boys. The series was done as a mockumentary following the lives of a small group of petty criminals who lived in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. There's Julian, the "brains" of the operation, whose ambition is to retire by 35, his best friend Ricky, whose only real talents are growing pot, mangling the English language, andmaking up unbelievable excuses that the cops often end up believing, and Bubbles, who lives in Julian's tool shed, tends to cats, and evolved from a background character in the first episode, to become the show's most iconic character, and the gang's voice of reason and morality.
Too keep up the show's mystique the stars would do all public appearances and interviews in character, even hosting a nationally televised awards show in character.
Despite its modest, no budget, beginnings, the show went on to become a global cult phenomenon, winning awards and viewers in Britain, Australia, the USA and a dozen other countries, a profitable feature film, produced by Ivan Reitman, and a sequel movie in the works.
An interesting, possibly apocryphal, but very believable, story, about the making of the show was that after the show's success in foreign markets, MTV made an offer to buy the show. Now you must remember that the show is about pot-smoking, foul-mouthed, drunk, petty criminals. MTV said they loved the show, but would only buy it if the characters stopped smoking pot, using foul language, getting drunk, or committing any crimes.
If that doesn't tell you how that whole MTV-Viacom business thinks, I don't know what does.
Here is the entire premiere episode of the series, and while it was more raw, and not as gut busting funny as later episodes, it does lay the foundation of the entire show. It also marks the first appearance of a character named Cyrus, a crazy, gun waving gangster, and occasional nemesis, who I swear was based on a real life criminal from around those parts.
NSFW for language.
Too keep up the show's mystique the stars would do all public appearances and interviews in character, even hosting a nationally televised awards show in character.
Despite its modest, no budget, beginnings, the show went on to become a global cult phenomenon, winning awards and viewers in Britain, Australia, the USA and a dozen other countries, a profitable feature film, produced by Ivan Reitman, and a sequel movie in the works.
An interesting, possibly apocryphal, but very believable, story, about the making of the show was that after the show's success in foreign markets, MTV made an offer to buy the show. Now you must remember that the show is about pot-smoking, foul-mouthed, drunk, petty criminals. MTV said they loved the show, but would only buy it if the characters stopped smoking pot, using foul language, getting drunk, or committing any crimes.
If that doesn't tell you how that whole MTV-Viacom business thinks, I don't know what does.
Here is the entire premiere episode of the series, and while it was more raw, and not as gut busting funny as later episodes, it does lay the foundation of the entire show. It also marks the first appearance of a character named Cyrus, a crazy, gun waving gangster, and occasional nemesis, who I swear was based on a real life criminal from around those parts.
NSFW for language.
Thought you might like to know that the new Trailer Park Boys Countdown to Liquor Day trailer just posted today at MovieSet. Looks absurd!
ReplyDeletePremieres soon at the (prestigious) Atlantic Film Fest in Nova Scotia.