Recap / Corner Gas S 5 E 08 Classical Gas

"When you say Africa's war-torn, how bad would it be compared to this?"

A Plot: Lacey is having trouble getting people to try exotic new things on her menu, with her taglines like "Pleasurable Papaya Salad" and "Fabulous Falafel" repulsing the town folk. That is, until she gets the idea to advertise them as "Classic", which brings everybody around. Davis, however, realizes the ruse and confronts her.

B Plot: The Leroys' sponsored foster son Jonathan has come to town from Kenya and they seem overly proud despite having very little to do with his success. Hank is concerned that Jonathan is overshadowing Oscar and Emma's real son, Brent, who is indifferent at first.

C Plot: Wanda tries to hide the fact that she's bad at Math, utilizing Karen's assistance. When Wanda seems a bit too eager to throw Karen under the bus, Karen tries to make Wanda eat her words.

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Tropes referenced:

• Blackmail: Karen only agrees to help Wanda because Karen broke the gas station cash register and Wanda threatens to make her pay for it. It works for a while, but Wanda takes it too far and gets people to believe Karen is the one bad at Math. Eventually Karen reaches a Rage Breaking Point and spills the beans. Unfortunately for Karen, Wanda is seen so much as the town genius that no one believes the truth.
• Cassandra Truth: Wanda is such a know-it-all that, when Karen's finally fed up and tries to expose her, Davis thinks she's gone mad from too much work.
  Wanda: $46.87?
  Davis: Amazing!
  Karen: Well, not so amazing. This calculator says $32.74.
  Davis: Well, that's embarrassing. Karen screws it up even using the calculator.
  Karen: What?!
  Davis: Well, it's the only logical explanation.
• Comedic Sociopathy: Before Lacey discovers the "Classic" trick, her spirits are constantly crushed by people refusing the dishes she's excited about.
• Comically Missing the Point:
  • Lacey tries to figure out a marketing gimmick for her new menu items and is bombarded with the word "classic". However, the single utterance of the word "dynamite" is what she ends up latching onto and trying to use.
    Lacey: Coke Classic is on sale?! Ooh, I love Coke Classic. Ooh, and Classic Spaghetti Sauce, maybe I should get some of that...
    [Cut to Lacey in the car]
    Radio: You're listening to Classic 107! All classics, all the time! Coming up, another classic hit from a dynamite band on our all-classic weekend!
    Lacey: I've got it!
    [Cut to the Ruby]
    Lacey: Try my new Dynamite Chili!
    Davis: [grimacing] Oooooh, I don't think so.
    Lacey: [disappointed] Aww, I thought that'd be a classic.
    Davis: Ooh, if you had Classic Chili, I'd have that.
    Lacey: Okay, now I get it.
  • There's also this exchange:
    Davis: Hey, Hank. Try the classic goat cheese omelet.
    Hank: Whoa, goat and cheese in the same omelet? I'm in!
• Damned by Faint Praise: A lot of Hank's playing up of Brent comes across this way (especially in comparison to Jonathan the doctor), such as claiming Brent can eat more than anyone and bragging about a ball of string Brent collected.
• Dull Surprise: Brent is disappointed in Lacey's reaction when he introduces Jonathan:
  Brent: That's it? I say I have a brother, you don't even bat an eye?
  Lacey: You say a lot of things. I'm done batting my eyes.
• Flashback Cut: There's one that proves Emma's point about Oscar not understanding the foster program. He thought it meant they were buying a child from a family named Foster.
• Hypocritical Humor: When Davis first learns from Jonathan that Lacey is tricking him with "Classic" food, he tells her off and says he won't buy into her buzzwords again, instead going to the bar to eat Phil's Classic Nachos.
• Ignored Aesop: After Davis realizes that Lacey is tricking him by calling everything "classic" and chews her out, she apologizes and promises it won't happen again. Lacey then immediately asks if he would like an "old-fashioned" roast beef sandwich or some "homestyle" stew, suckering him right back in and showing that the only thing she's learned is to be even sneakier with her marketing.
• Lampshade Hanging: A heavy one is hung when talking about Jonathan:
  Emma: It's not every day we have a special guest from out of town.
  Brent: Nah, seems more like every week.
• Laser-Guided Karma: In The Tag, after driving Karen away by making her look like an idiot, Wanda is bombarded by math questions from Corner Gas customers that she avoids answering. It looks like she'll get out of it when the cash register is repaired and delivered...until she's asked to include GST and shipping costs in the payment.
• Mistaken for Junkie: Lacey notices that Phil has Classic Nachos at the bar. She tries to be secretive about "knowing what he's up to", thinking he's pulling the same "classic" marketing trick she is. However, her subtle hints and winking lead Phil to just think Lacey's drunk and proclaim that someone needs to drive her home.
• My Beloved Smother: Emma acts this way toward Jonathan, apparently trying to make up for lost time.
• One-Shot Character: Jonathan only appears in this episode.
• Parody Commercial: At one point, Oscar pulls out a picture of Jonathan as a child to show Davis, then turns right to the camera holding up the photo and talking like a child-sponsoring commercial. Davis suddenly wonders why Oscar isn't looking at him.
• Shout-Out: The episode title is a reference to the instrumental piece “Classical Gas” by composer and guitarist Mason Williams.
• Swapped Roles: Brent notes that Jonathan really doesn't fit in when, due to Emma acting as My Beloved Smother to him, he claims that she's the crazy one and Oscar's okay in comparison.
• The Un Favourite: Brent becomes this to Jonathan due to the latter's more impressive accomplishments. However, Brent doesn't particularly care or feel inadequate compared to him. Jonathan, meanwhile, is having a miserable time being smothered by Emma, and gets Brent to pretend that he feels inadequate in order to have an excuse to leave.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Wanda, considered by most to be the smartest person in town, can't do simple math. Of course, since she's considered the smartest person in town, they all just assume her math is correct and refuse to accept any evidence to the contrary.