History Series / TheRedGreenShow

* PollutedWasteland: PlayedForLaughs with Possum Lake (see CoolClearWater entry above), and with the lodge property itself. Members leave junk strewn all over the place, the runoff has polluted the lake so heavily that almost nothing can live in it, and there's a tire fire that's been burning for years (finally put out in "No Retreat"). The town council wants to demolish the lodge at one point, but relents after it proves to contain such high levels of toxic chemicals that tearing it down would massively contaminate the area.

* PollutedWasteland: PlayedForLaughs with Possum Lake (see CoolClearWater entry above), and with the lodge building itself in one episode. When the town council wants to shut the lodge down and demolish it, the guys try to prove that it's old enough to be preserved as a historic landmark. A chemical analysis of the front door reveals such high levels of asbestos and toxic chemicals that tearing the lodge down would massively contaminate the area, so the council lets it stay.

** In one episode, Red, Dalton, and Mike hurt themselves. Mike goes to a masseuse and feels better, and recommends Red and Dalton go as well, which they first refuse but change their minds once they find out she's attractive. It turns out she's a male undercover cop, and Red and Dalton are disgusted, but Mike doesn't care and plans to keep going, since he was the only one going there specifically for treatment and not just to get touched by a pretty girl (although you would think he'd at least be concerned about the cop part).

* ProductPlacement: 3M became a sponsor of the show, and Red a spokesman, after they saw how much Scotch duct tape (a 3M brand) the show used.

** Dougie Franklin is in a car accident on a roughly monthly basis. His brother and father aren't much better.

* DrivingTest: After an incident involving the Possum van and a speed bump, Red has his driver's license revoked and has to get retested to get it back. When it seems that Red is doomed to fail the written portion, he sends Harold in his place, who gets into an accident on the driving portion.

* TheCatfish: Season Four's "The Catfish Project" has the Lodge hold its annual "Catch A Catfish For Confirmation" fishing derby. Old Man Sedgwick wins the derby by catching a catfish that's somehow ''forty-seven feet long.'' [[note]]When Old Man Sedgwick tossed out his boat anchor, it tangled around Stinky Peterson's ankle and dragged him into Possum Lake. The catfish swallowed Stinky, died and floated to the surface, and when Old Man Sedgwick dragged it to shore it belched out Stinky.[[/note]] The Lodge members come up with all sorts of money-making ideas for it, but the catfish wasn't really that big. [[spoiler:Moose Thompson accidentally let his still-going propane tank fall into Possum Lake, where a three-foot catfish swallowed it. The propane kept going, inflating the catfish and filling it with propane gas. When Moose tried to cut the catfish with a chainsaw, a spark ignited the propane and blew up the catfish. The resulting EarthShatteringKaboom caused bits of catfish to rain over Possum Lake for over 30 minutes. Red was dazed from the explosion, but Moose's chainsaw, overalls, body hair and future family were all gone for good.]]

** In the intros to the 1996 episodes, Red would say, "What you're looking at here are some segments from this particular show, the main message being, 'For gosh sakes, don't even think about changing the channel.' I tell ya something: If you want to make sense of this program, you have to give it your undivided attention." In the same episodes, during the bumper leading into the first commercial break, which shows a clip of the show to follow, Red says, "Stay tuned. Whatever this is, we've got lots more of it."

* CoolClearWater: {{Subverted|Trope}}. With all the snowmobiles falling through the ice, runoff from the lodge and the marina, junk being thrown in, the appropriately named [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Mercury Creek]], and the proximity of "Stinky" Peterson, Possum Lake has become an environmental nightmare. In a season nine episode, an analysis of the water reveals that it isn't technically water at all: it's 40% methyl alcohol with lots of dissolved manganese and sulfates. Near the end of the series, Harold complains that the lake has turned into a giant blob of jelly.

* CowardlyLion: Ed Frid was afraid of ''every'' animal, but he sometimes pulls through just fine.

--> '''Red:''' Crosswords don't prevent memory loss, they ''confirm'' it.

* ShowTheFolksAtHome: At the start of every Possum Lodge Word Game, Harold shows the word of the day and says it ''a la'' ''Series/{{Password}}''. The lodge member who has to guess the word plugs their ears to avoid spoiling the game. Harold would originally show the audience the word silently, but he started saying it after a blind viewer told Steve Smith that not knowing the word immediately diminished his enjoyment of the segment.

* SignatureHeadgear: Red's Canadian military field maneuvers hat. To a lesser extent, Winston's helmet. Hap's Royal Canadian Regiment hat also qualifies.

** Mike Hammer's character gets his name from a [[Literature/MikeHammer Mickey Spillane character.]]

** A chainsaw cutting through a still picture of the lodge, which falls away in pieces

** A gasoline can or car battery plunking onto the screen and exploding

* CrosswordPuzzle: Red discusses trying to work on one while cooking dinner because he'd heard crosswords can prevent memory loss.

* CoveredInGunge: Happens to Red and/or Harold quite a bit, and serves as a measure of just how badly wrong their latest plan has gone.

* ButNowIMustGo: In the final episode [[spoiler: Bill leaves the lodge to marry a nurse.]]
* ButtMonkey: Harold.
* CanadaEh: Often played straight, or exaggerated for laughs. Expect lots of references to curling, forest rangers, hockey, and Tim Hortons.
** Becomes a plot point in "The Network Deal" when an American network interested in buying out the show wants to [[InsistentTerminology tailor]] Red's vocabulary and use of the metric system to suit American audiences.

* CaptainCrash: Buzz Sherwood is known to crash his plane on a fairly regular basis, and he is often seen pulling tree branches out of his pontoons or propeller.
** Likewise, Dougie Franklin claims about once a month to [[NeverMyFault run into a bad driver.]]

* {{Hammerspace}}: Bill's overalls.

* TheMovie: ''Duct Tape Forever''.