Recap / Corner Gas S 1 E 09 Cell Phone

"Look at you two with your tiny little phones. They're like Barbie phones!"

A Plot: Davis and Brent compete over who can own the smallest cell phone, with Wanda using the term "Big Phone" as an insult.

B Plot: After being initially rejected, Lacey is determined to get into the Dog River Chamber of Commerce. She works to get an old grain elevator declared a historic site, but this proves foolhardy as it blocks the town from getting their new cell tower and keeps the rats around.

C Plot: After Paul puts in a new claw machine at the bar, Oscar gets hooked on it. Emma tries to trick him into quitting.

Tropes Referenced:

• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • Brent and Davis' competition over who has the smaller cell phone is an extremely blatant parody of a competition over who has the bigger penis.
  • Oscar's addiction to the claw game is treated like a drug or alcohol problem.
    Emma: These days he's always down at the bar. At first I thought he was in there drinking, but now I'm getting worried.
• Exact Words:
  Lacey: Excuse me, did I just hear you say they're tearing down the grain elevator?
  Old Man: No. I said they're knockin' it down.
• Humble Pie: Lacey finds out that, in hindsight, her actions were very detrimental to the town. Her bid to keep the grain elevator around causes the town to lose out on a much-anticipated cell phone tower, as well as keep the rats around that Lacey hates. To top it off, Hank makes her tell her "good news", which she sheepishly has to pretend is an announcement that The Ruby will continue to change the soup of the day.
• Phoney Call: Davis has Karen call him just so he can bring out his new smaller cell phone in front of Brent.
• Reverse Psychology: Emma uses it to try to get Oscar to quit the claw machine. Even though he immediately figures out what she's trying to do, he still falls for it.
• Shout-Out: Wanda mentions that she likes the sound effect guy from the Police Academy movies.
• Terrible Artist: Paul, apparently. No one can tell what he drew on the "I Love Dog River" button.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: invokedTwo old men lamenting the scheduled demolition of the grain elevator is "just another way this town's changin'" certainly seem like they have this viewpoint, causing Lacey to get it declared a historic site. Inverted when everyone actually hated the grain elevator for being the source of the town's rat problem, and the old men clarify that they meant the town was changing for the better.
• Title Drop