Recap / Corner Gas S 1 E 07 All My Exes Live In Toronto

"Brent as Lacey's boyfriend. Now that's something I'd like to see."

A Plot: Lacey's ex-fiance is planning on coming into town and Lacey is not sure what to think. Hank, Oscar and Davis are convinced he's a stalker and try to keep him away from her.

B Plot: Emma tries to get Oscar to go see the doctor for a check-up, but he is highly reluctant.

Tropes Referenced:

• Boyfriend Bluff: Hank attempts this with Lacey to scare away her ex. Lacey doesn't take it well.
  Lacey: This is Hank and, uh, he's posing as my boyfriend because, well, he's an idiot.
• Brick Joke:
  • Oscar suggests that when Emma says that she is in the city at the doctors twice a year, she is actually bowling. Emma laughs it off. At the end, we see that really is part of a bowling team.
  • In Stephen's first scene, Karen has a clumsy moment with her billy club and accidentally breaks a taillight on his car. In his last scene, Stephen gets pulled over for the broken taillight. When he tries to explain what happened, the officer doesn't believe him and gives him a ticket.
• Comically Missing the Point: This bit of dialogue:
  Wanda: It does sound like something Hank would come up with.
  Brent: There's no need to insult me.
  Hank: The fact that you find that insulting, I find insulting.
  Brent: I can live with that.
  Wanda: Me, too.
  Hank: Okay, well so can I.
• Crazy Cat Lady: A Discussed Trope, as Brent theorizes that Lacey will probably die alone with a house full of cats.
• Creepy Physical: One of the reasons Oscar doesn't want to see the doctor is that he thinks this will happen.
• Fake Food: While it's still food, the chili cheese dog that Brent and Lacey share in a fantasy sequence was made with a vegetarian wiener and chili because Gabrielle Miller is a vegetarian in real life.
  • Averted every other time they’re shown: the dogs used on camera were usually made with real beef chili from a recipe that the propmaster's father perfected. (The secret ingredient is canned condensed tomato soup).
• Imagine Spot: Brent imagines himself and Lacey eating the opposite ends of a chili cheese dog. Then, after being interrupted, he goes back to his imagination, only this time with him finishing off the dog by himself.
• No, You:
  Oscar: If you're worried about this guy, when he gets into town, you should lay a beating on him. Simple.
  Brent: You're simple.
• Only Bad Guys Call Their Lawyers: Inverted. Davis finds it suspicious that Stephen doesn't call a lawyer. It turns out the reason he didn't call one is because he is one.
• Parental Sexuality Squick: When Oscar discusses his reasons for not wanting to go to the doctor.
  Oscar: A guy my age goes to the doctor and everyone's gonna assume he's gonna get one of those little blue pills. Everyone in town is gonna be saying how I can't get it-
  Brent: [grossed out] Dad!
  Emma: What's he talking about?
  Brent: Viagra.
  Emma: Oh, for Pete's sake! [Beat] Well, if you're going there anyway, you might as well ask...
  Brent: [even more grossed out] Ohhh, Mom! [leaves]
• Road Trip Across the Street: Karen and Davis are outside by their squad car when Karen realizes she led the "stalker" Stephen right to Lacey. A dramatic moment occurs where Davis says "let's roll" and they rush to the car to save Lacey... and pull into the Ruby's parking lot ten feet away.
• Sarcastic Confession: Oscar suggests that Emma is actually bowling when she says that she is at the doctors. She sarcastically agrees with him. However the ending reveals that she actually is bowling
• Shout-Out:
  • Hank compares Lacey's ex-fiance, Stephen, to Kolchak. This later gets mistaken for Kojak and later The Fugitive gets thrown into the mix.
    Brent: [as Stephen leaves] Have fun fighting one-armed vampires in your robot car.
  • The episode's title is a reference to the George Strait song All My Exes Live in Texas.
  • Hank suggests scaring Stephen off by telling him the town holds a lottery where the winner is stoned to death.
    Wanda: I can't believe you read that story.
    Hank: What story?
• Strange Minds Think Alike: Hank's suggestion for scaring away Lacey's ex-fiancé is first to just beat the crap out of him, then when that idea gets shot down he suggests getting cloaks and pretending to sacrifice him to the crops in order to scare him away. Later, when Hank brings up his "beat the crap out of him" idea again, Oscar voices his approval for that plan, and then suggests getting cloaks and sacrificing him to the crops.
  Wanda: You mean pretend to sacrifice him to the crops.
  Oscar: That's right... "pretend"...