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REVIEW: Trailer Park Boys – Season 8 (Netflix)

NEW RELEASE

TRAILER PARK BOYS – Season 8 (2014 Netflix)

Thank Santa’s tits! It was with tremendous joy that I watched the long-awaited Season 8 from the Trailer Park Boys this past weekend. I watched five episodes on Saturday night, and five more Sunday morning. Then on Monday, I re-watched my favourite episode, “Orangie’s Pretty Fuckin’ Tough”. As a long time fan, to say that I am pleased is an understatement. I am thrilled. Knowing in advance that a couple characters weren’t coming back (Ray and Trevor are no longer on the show), everything I wanted out of the show was there. There are even a couple new characters, who look like they may be important in the already finished Season 9.

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As if there was no pause at all, Season 8 feels like classic Trailer Park Boys, immediately. Some new characters are introduced, such as Don, who joins Randy as the new Assistant Supervisor. “Officer Highcock”, another new face, is no George Green. He’s smart. But fear not, George Green is back too, although Lahey is approaching retirement.

Trinity is tending bar at Julian’s new in-park club/gym, “The Dirty Dancer”. Bubbles is building his “Shed & Breakfast” for humans and cats. Julian and Ricky have numerous schemes on the go. Ricky’s growing dope at a mad rate, and refining it into honey oil, by special order of Sebastian Bach. He’s also realized that he can use hash as currency almost anywhere: on the bus, at the hardware store, or the dentist’s office. Seems just about everybody accepts Ricky’s $2 hash coins!

There’s also plenty of shady horsecockery. Cyrus and Sam Losco are working together again, and they want to buy the park and bulldoze it to the ground. The only solution is for Julian and Barb Lahey to work together to keep it. Needing capital, Julian sets into motion businesses and schemes galore. Steve Rogers returns for a hell of a bachelor party at Julian’s bar, attracting the attention of the cops.

ORANGIE

Ricky’s life is complicated by some unexpected news. The only thing holding him together is Orangie.  My buddy Chris and I agree on this:   the best element of Season 8 has to be Ricky’s goldfish, Orangie.  Ricky loves to party with him, and takes him everywhere in a bowl with ORANGIE scrawled on it in magic marker.  Ricky’s car now has a sun roof (of sorts), which functions as Orangie’s swimming pool after it rains.  Ricky wakes one morning to find Orangie unresponsive:  “Orangie, you finally passed out in the pool, did you buddy?”  When Bubbles asks what happened, Ricky explains: “We got fucked up on hash tokes and shooters.   Orangie’s pretty fucking tough.  Woke up this morning with my fucking pants down and my hands on my cock, thanks to Orangie.”  Now it’s up to Bubbles to replace Orangie before Ricky realizes the fish is dead.  As if minding a goldfish isn’t enough, Ricky also decides to turn his trailer into a hockey rink.

Bubbles’ doesn’t have it easy either. Due to a complex series of events regarding Steve Rogers, hookers, crabs, and Bubbles’ shed(s), he goes nucking futs at a drug store and is sentenced to community service. Where Ricky has Orangie for support, Bubbles turns to his new puppets…Bobby Turkelino, and little Ricky! And you know what happens when you mix Bubbles and puppets.

The story arc in this season was hilarious, with only one dud in the bunch (I’ll let you figure out which).  Some story points hint at what may be coming in Season 9, and that has me anticipating more hilarity.  Hopefully, Orangie will make an appearance in Season 9.  With a few more trips to the pet store, Bubbles should be able to make that happen.  Trailer Park Boys is off to a hell of a new start, and with the progress made in Season 8, I see no need to stop.

4.5/5 stars

Review by LeBrain with contributions from Chris Thuss.

My series of Trailer Park Boys TV reviews:

IMG_20140712_183919Part one: Seasons 1 & 2
Part two: Season 3
Part three: Season 4
Supplimental: “Dear Santa Claus, Go Fuck Yourself”
Part four: Season 5
Part five: Season 6
Part six: Season 7
Part seven: “Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys”

VIDEOS: The Cottage in the Woods 3

WARNING:  These videos contain 0% Rock.  However the water was nice and choppy this past weekend.  In addition, I saw a cute family of ducks surfing near their nest!

“SURFIN’ BIRD!”

Enjoy the videos below.

See also:

RECORD STORE TALES Part 308: The Cottage in the Woods
The Cottage in the Woods 2

Blu-ray REVIEW: Trailer Park Boys – Don’t Legalize It (2014)

NEW RELEASE

Thanks to Chris Thuss for loaning this disc to me.

TPB3_0001TRAILER PARK BOYS – Don’t Legalize It (2014 Entertainment One)

Directed by Mike Clattenburg

Two years prior to the start of the new Trailer Park Boys opus, Ricky and Julian were released from jail for the 17th time.  Jim Lahey has suffered from a Ricky-induced stroke.  He now limps with a cane, hooked on coke (“white liquor”), still beside an increasingly disgusted Randy.  Lucy is living with mall cop George Green (aka “Fucky McFucksnapper”).  Ricky and Julian have ceased working with each other.  Ricky’s growing dope on an unprecedented scale, in a house in the subdivisions, but the Shitmobile only drives in reverse.  Bubbles is delivering chicken and beer on bicycle, living under J-Roc’s front step.  Terry & Dennis (the Flappy Bird Brothers) and Sam Losco are working for Cyrus.  And Lahey’s buying coke from Sam.  It’s a viscous circle.  Julian was bouncing at a local club, but now has taken a step up (?) in the world by selling piss.

Let me repeat that: Julian is selling piss.

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Clean piss, stolen from the military, at $60 a vial.  Paying $60 to pass a drug test and keep your job is apparently worth it in Julian’s world.  “Liquid gold,” he calls it.  The quality and freshness of the piss is important to his customers.  Ricky’s business of choice, however, is about to be shut down.  Canada is legalizing marijuana, turning Ricky from king of the hill to unemployed overnight…unless he can stop legalization.

Allow me to repeat that too:  Ricky needs to stop the legalization of marijuana.

Bubbles then receives a mysterious letter from a lawyer: his long-lost parents have passed away, but have left Bubbles a piece of land in Kingston, Ontario.  All he has to do is claim it.  Since Ricky needs to get to Ottawa to stop legalization, and Julian needs to get to Montreal to sell his stolen piss, it only makes sense to combine road trips.  Or a “working vacation,” says Julian.  He’s turned the Dirty Burger into a “Piss Wagon” to transport the liquid gold.  And Lahey’s following them.

Will things go off the rails when Randy dumps all Lahey’s “white liquor” out of the window of their station wagon?  Can Julian trust Cyrus?  Will Bubbles stay in Kingston?  And can Ricky stop his precious illegal crop from being legalized and taxed by government dicks?  All will be decided by the time they get to Ottawa…

Trailer Park Boys shows are known for the mangled English known as Rickysisms.  Some of my favourite lines and Rickyisms in this installment included:

“Instant carla, fucky!” – Ricky.

“Just shutty that fucky!  What’s with your hair man, you think you’re a fucking Beavil or something?” – to Randy regarding his “Beatles ‘do”.

(Laughs) “Meth!?  He’s selling piss, you fucking dum-dum.” – Ricky to Lahey, who thought the test tubes and hazmat gear meant Julian was cooking crystal meth.

“Cocksuckers chicken-jacked me!” – Bubbles after being mugged for chicken.

“Julian, can you stop handling the weiners for a second?” – Bubbles

The movie is dedicated to Richard Collins, aka Philadelphia Collins, who passed during the filming of the movie.  Phil Collins has some excellent scenes in this installment despite being confined to a wheelchair.  It is also dedicated to Brian Huggins (Shitty Bill) and Rita MacNeil.

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Special features: a 1976 vintage VW camper is discussed in the “Cars Of” feature.  Apparently that camper was a bitch!  The Laheymobile is an ’89 Crown Victoria station wagon that Randy is not allowed to fart in.  Ricky’s Shitmobile is a ’75 Chrysler New Yorker, which had to be drastically revamped structurally just to make it safe to film with.  Then there’s the Dirty Burger, which is actually an old camper that Robb Wells and John Paul Trembley bought years ago.  “Dogs, Busses & Barf Tubes” reveals the origins of Bubbles’ bus.  My favourite featurette is “The Cock Bomb Problem”.  What’s the “Cock Bomb” you ask?  The crew and cast ceaselessly pranked each other by drawing cocks on all of their stuff.

I felt that Trailer Park Boys went a little too dark on the last couple outings.  The final TV episode before the recent revamp of the show was the dour “Say Goodnight to the Bay Guys”, which was followed by the similar downer movie Countdown to Liquor Day.  Don’t Legalize It has its own moments of sadness and quite a few tears, but measured against its predecessor, it’s a much funnier and re-watchable film.  I think this captures the heart of the series better than the last film, even though many characters are absent or have smaller roles.  The core is the triumvirate of Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, along with the evil duo of Randy and Lahey.  As long as you have those ingredients, you have potential for a lot of fuckery.  Don’t Legalize It delivers.

4/5 stars

Further reading:
TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Movie (2006 Alliance Atlantis)
TRAILER PARK BOYS – Big Plans, Little Brains: The Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons
TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Third Season
TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Fourth Season
TRAILER PARK BOYS Xmas Special (Conky Puppet, Dope and Liquor Editions)
TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Fifth Season
TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Sixth Season
TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Seventh Season
TRAILER PARK BOYS – Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys

VIDEO: The Cottage in the Woods 2

COLLAGE

If you missed the original story about the Cottage in the Woods, please check out Record Store Tales Part 308.

Another long weekend in Canada has come and gone.  This time we came with a side mission: visiting Condor Fine Books in Kincardine, Ontario.  We’ve been going there for years, and the owner is a really nice guy.  He has a crazy selection of old and interesting books, with a healthy section on UFOs and the paranormal.  That’s alright by me.

I hope you enjoy my latest video, with book finds and lots of scenery.

Part 308: The Cottage in the Woods (VIDEO BLOG)

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RECORD STORE TALES PART 308:  The Cottage in the Woods

As bad as the stress used to get, there was always one place I could return and truly recharge my batteries:  the cottage.

I’d pack a dozen or so CDs (tapes in the early days) and go on long walks with my Discman.  Eat some steaks.  Check out the water, rivers and funky bridges.  The phone never rang.  Heck in the early days there were no phones here.  No cable TV, no wi-fi.

Today, I created, edited and posted the video you’re about to see in one day, entirely at the cottage.  How unimaginable to me back then.

I tried to re-create the experience of being here visually — probably the most peaceful place in the world.  I hope this gives you a taste.  Enjoy

BLU-RAY REVIEW: Trailer Park Boys – “Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys”

The final part in my series of Trailer Park Boys reviews, as we gear up for the debut of Seasons 8 & 9! 

IMG_20140712_183919Part one: Seasons 1 & 2
Part two: Season 3
Part three: Season 4
Supplimental: “Dear Santa Claus, Go Fuck Yourself”
Part four: Season 5
Part five: Season 6
Part six: Season 7
Part seven: “Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys”

TPB-SGTTBG_0001TRAILER PARK BOYS – “Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys” (2008 Alliance Atlantis)

“Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys”, the “final” Trailer Park Boys episode before the big movie Countdown to Liquor Day, is actually one of my least favourite episodes (right down there with “Steve French” and “Oscar Goldman”). A one hour special tacked on after Season 7, “Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys” follows Ricky, Julian and Bubbles after their big haul at the end of the last season. It took two years to finally do a DVD/Blu-ray release.  To date, this is the only Trailer Park Boys episode released to Blu-ray.  The movies, of course, are available on Blu.

Thought that the boys had finally made it rich, and everything was sweet? You’d certainly think so after seeing the hunky-dory last episode in Season 7. This is not the case! Turns out Julian has hidden the money, until such time as he feels it’s safe to distribute it. Ricky’s Shitmobile does have some sweet new rims, but it is now missing a tire. Old recurring nemesis Sam Losco knows about the cash, and with the help of Barb Lahey, finds out where it’s hidden. Before you can say “shit tides”, Ricky, Julian and Bubbles are broke once again, and Lahey is back on the liquor.

Another scheme is hatched, this time revolving around a Country & Western dance. Can the boys make a little cash, or will Lahey win yet again? One thing for certain: you can count on some dirty dancing, backstabbing schemes, and Philadelphia Collins eating balogna sandwiches.  That I promise you.

Look for cameos by The Tragically Hip (specifically Gordon Downie and Bob Baker).  Blu-ray bonus features are sparse either way, just some behind-the-scenes stuff.  It does come with a cool Bubbles-as-Scarface mini poster though.  That would look cool in your man-cave.

Unfortunately “Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys” did not feel like a proper episode. It felt like an afterthought. It was revealed that a full season was intended, but all those ideas were distilled down into one episode.  Good thing the boys will be back on TV this fall.

3/5 stars

 

DVD REVIEW: Trailer Park Boys – The Complete Seventh Season

Part six in my series of Trailer Park Boys reviews, as we gear up for the debut of Seasons 8 & 9! 

Part one: Seasons 1 & 2
Part two: Season 3
Part three: Season 4
Supplimental: “Dear Santa Claus, Go Fuck Yourself”
Part four: Season 5
Part five: Season 6

TPB7_0001TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Seventh Season (2007 Alliance Atlantis)

Even though it’s the most different from the classic, early seasons, the 7th and final season of Trailer Park Boys may be my favourite.  It featured a lot of changes, buit the show seemed revitalized by them.

Gone are Cory and Trevor, never to return (well, Trevor at least). In their stead are some new chracters: Tom Collins, the two “alien Trevors”, and expanded roles for Philadelphia and Jacob Collins. (Yes, apparently they are related! Nice ret-con.)

Ricky and Julian have roped Bubbles into helping them with their meat stealing business. Things go bad for Bubbles when he’s left in a freezing meat locker. (“Just pretend it’s winter,” says Rick. “Pretend you’re making snowmen out of meat.”) Bubbles decides never to work with the boys again, and then heads down to the United States with Ray (who is back on the road) selling scrap metal. Things go bad yet again when Ray is arrested for picking up two prostitutes (“friends of the road”), with Bubbles left hanging without a ride.

True friends Ricky and Julian head down to Maine to rescue Bubs, and to cheer him up, take him to a model train convention. There they meet Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) who wants to buy some of Ricky’s dope. A plan is set in motion, combining Bubbles’ skill with model trains and the Bach plan.

In other twists, Randy’s been messing around, and Lahey is still a cop, albeit things didn’t exactly work out for him the way he wanted them to. Jacob is obsessed with Julian, who realizes that he and his two “alien Trevor” buddies will make perfect “jail cover”. When Conky shows up, things get fucky.

Beefed up to 10 episodes, the 7th season was a change of pace.  A fresh direction was much needed after the 6th season, when it seemed Clattenberg and Co. were just treading water a bit. Having Sebastian Bach appear in multiple episodes was a stroke of genius, trumping the previous one-off with Alex Lifeson. Bach is hilarious.

The Rickyisms, amazingly, might be even more clever and off the wall this time. Another well written season, the absurdity of this show has been taken to an entirely new level. Smuggling dope across the border via a model train? It’s so stupid that you can’t help but laugh. All this leads up to a hilarious cross-border confrontation.

Sometimes a show suffers when new characters are needlessly added.  I don’t think that happened here.  Beefing up the characters of Jacob and Phil, as well as introducing Tom Collins, was exactly what this show needed before it seemed like it was on repeat. Sometimes a show needs a shot of new blood after this many seasons, and Trailer Park Boys was very lucky to have the entire original cast intact for 6 whole seasons plus a feature film. In addition, this season wraps up in a nice neat little package like never before. You may even get warm fuzzies. But will it last?

No, it wasn’t to last. One last episode was tacked on (“Say Goodnight To The Bad Guys”) which we will talk about next time.  The jail-freedom-jail-freedom cycle never ends!

Yeah, season 7 is probably my favourite. Not a weak episode in the bunch, and a great story arc.

5/5 stars

DVD REVIEW: Trailer Park Boys – The Complete Sixth Season

Part 5 in my series of Trailer Park Boys reviews, as we gear up for the debut of Seasons 8 & 9! 

Part one: Seasons 1 & 2
Part two: Season 3
Part three: Season 4
Supplimental: “Dear Santa Claus, Go Fuck Yourself”
Part four: Season 5

TPB6_0001TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Sixth Season (2006 Alliance Atlantis)

Season 6 of Trailer Park Boys, that Canadian “mockumentary” program about three lovable ex-cons who can’t stay out of trouble, shall forever be remembered for two simple words:

“Piss jugs”.

Yes, piss jugs. Seems that Ricky’s father Ray (Barrie Dunn) is still living in his old truck cab, and can’t break the old trucker habit of peeing in jugs. “Way of the road boys,” he says, even though his truck cab doesn’t move an inch.

Piss jugs of varying hues of yellow and orange inhabit every episode of the brief but hilarious season 6. There are only six episodes once again, but five of those six are classic. (The only one I didn’t enjoy as much was “Where in the Fuck is Oscar Goldman”.)

As for this season’s story arc:  Randy has finally dumped Mr. Lahey for his out of control drinking. Randy then finds a new love in a surprising place, while Lahey straightens himself out. But now he pretends to be drunk, to ensnare Ricky, Julian and Bubbles.   His plan?  Send them back to prison again, of course.  His logic is that if the Boys see him constantly blasted out of his tree, their guard will be down.  It will be easier to catch them committing crimes, which is an inevitability.  In the meantime, the Boys have started some businesses of their own: “Kittyland Lovecenter” for Bubs, “Garbageland” for Ricky (basically selling stolen goods and garbage), and “Cory and Trevor’s Convenients Store”.

TPB6_0004Things get fucky by the fifth (and best) episode:  “Halloween 1977”.  Seems Halloween of ’77 was the night that Lahey got fired from the police force, kicking off his drinking problem.  And he’s just found an old home movie from that night, proving he did nothing wrong and didn’t deserve to be kicked off the force.  I’m sure it won’t surprise you that very young versions of Ricky, Julian and Bubbles may have had something to do with it.

Season 6 is more of what you love about Trailer Park Boys. After the somewhat darker Season 5, the 6th season takes you back to a more familiar setting. In a way, this season was treading water a bit, with many familiar story elements returning (Lahey quitting drinking, Randy leaving him again). By the end of the season however, things have been drastically shaken up, which will lead right into Season 7.  Stay tuned….

4/5 stars

DVD REVIEW: Trailer Park Boys – The Complete Fifth Season

Part 4 in my series of Trailer Park Boys reviews, as we gear up for the debut of Seasons 8 & 9! 

Part one: Seasons 1 & 2
Part two: Season 3
Part three: Season 4
Supplimental: “Dear Santa Claus, Go Fuck Yourself”

TPB5_0001TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Fifth Season (2005 Alliance Atlantis)

Just when they made enough money to buy the park and retire for life, Ricky, Julian and Bubbles are in for some nasty surprises in Season 5. Yes, the boys are down on their luck a bit in season 5, but it is no less funny or well written than the rest of the series.

Corey and Trevor, as revealed at the end of Season 4, ripped off the boys. Freshly released from jail and expecting to be rich beyond dreams of avarice, Ricky’s none too happy about the double-cross.  Worse, it doesn’t take long for them to end up homeless. And if that wasn’t enough, Cyrus is back in town.  And he’s sitting on a lot of hash that is just too tempting to Julian.

New characters include Terry & Dennis or “the flappy bird brothers”, according to Bubbles, due to their, errr…birds hanging out of their bathrobes all the time. Terry & Dennis have teamed up with Cyrus, and now the boys have three foes to deal with. If that wasn’t enough, Lahey’s drunker than ever. This time he doesn’t want Ricky to go back to jail — he wants Ricky dead.

Like previous seasons, Season 5 is loaded with hilarious dialogue and absurd situations. The ever quotable Ricky has almost been topped by his dad, Ray, who plays a bigger role than ever. As Ray might say, “that’s the way she fucking goes, boys.” Which is pretty much the theme of this season. You win some, you lose some. The way she fuckiing goes.

“Holy fuck! A space suit! Dee-cent!”

My favourite moment is in the episode called “Jim Lahey Is A Fuckin’ Drunk And He Always Will Be”. In this one, Bubbles gets a toy rocket, and the boys try to cheer him up by playing “space”. Didn’t you place “space” when you were kids? I know you did! Maybe without the space weed, but still.

Clocking in at a generous 10 episodes (which is the most ever for a season of TPB…so far), Season 5 adds lots of new wrinkles. Some fans didn’t like the way season 5 went, and my response to that is that if you don’t change up the formula on a show like this, your show is doomed to jump the shark. Instead, Mike Clattenburg and Co. have chosen to make things less comfortable for the boys and see how things pan out. Funnier than ever, is how!

Five stars, as always. Not a dud episode in the bunch, and actually some of the series’ best.

5/5 stars

DVD REVIEW: Trailer Park Boys – The Complete Fourth Season

Part 3 in my series of Trailer Park Boys reviews! This one features BRIAN VOLLMER of HELIX!

Part one: Seasons 1 & 2
Part two: Season 3

TRAILER PARK BOYS – The Complete Fourth Season (2004 Alliance Atlantis)

Clattenberg and Co. decided to shake things up a little bit in season 4, and alter a successful formula. This is something they would not be afraid to do in later seasons, usually quite successfully. Season 4 features some of the Trailer Park Boys‘ all-time best episodes, included S04E05 aka “Conky”.

As revealed at the end of season 3, Lahey & Randy, as well as Julian, have ended up in jail. This is quite a switch from the way things usually go (Julian in jail with Ricky) at the end of a season.  Ricky (!) is now the Trailer Park Supervisor, and Bubbles his assistant. They spend their days playing hash hockey (which, according to Sarah, is all they do). Ricky also has been using his position for illegal credit card scams, stealing the park money, and other greasy deals.  He’s also been growing dope on an unprecedented scale.

Things for awry for Ricky when Julian, Randy and Lahey all get out early.  Ricky has quarantined several trailers (including Julian’s) behind a giant wall, where he is growing all his dope. J-Roc, T, and new addition DVS (aka “DVD”) are on board with Rick to help sell his dope at the Snoop Dogg concert. Lahey and Randy, now homeless, are powerless to do anything. That doesn’t stop them from trying….

While I won’t spoil all the twists and turns of this season, I will tell you some of the highlights.

1. Conky. The greatest character in the show’s history makes his debut (a goddamn puppet at that).  It might be the best episode of the show’s entire run.  It has certainly become a fan favourite.

2. The Green Bastard (from “parts unknown”). Bubbles gets to live his dream of being a wrestler, in a match over who gets to control the park!
3. Rita MacNeil. Sure, Ricky could have been nicer to Rita and her band, but harvesting dope is a stressful thing. Rita is obviously a good sport and a cool woman for appearing on the show as herself.
4. Bubbles gets extra credit for coining the word “Samsquantch” (Sasquatch).

GREEN BASTARD

Unfortunately this season contains one hiccup.  The episode “If You Love Something, Set It Free” (aka “Steve French”) isn’t that shithot.  In this one, Bubbles befriends a mountain cat addicted to dope.

DVD extras are your usual fare: deleted and alternate scenes galore. The most valuable cut scene was a cameo by Brian Vollmer of Helix. All Ricky wants is for Vollmer to give him an R!  This occurs near the beginning of the season, and it would have been damn cool had it remained in the aired episode.

Pick up season 4 of Trailer Park Boys and find out just what happens when you leave Ricky in charge of anything!

5/5 stars

Season 4 was followed by the 2004 Christmas Special “Dear Santa Claus, Go Fuck Yourself”.  Since I already reviewed this a while back, you can just clicky clicky to check out my review on that essential episode!