Recap / Corner Gas S 4 E 05 Demolition

"There are plenty of gloves in the truck. Like, a ridiculous amount of gloves."

A Plot: A farmer enlists Hank to demolish his barn, and Hank's bright idea is to blow it up. Fearing the consequences of leaving Hank alone with dynamite, Brent offers his help. Oscar also steps in, but only so he can have the big story to win the Howler's Newsmaker of the Year contest.

B Plot: Davis also wants to compete for Newsmaker of the Year, so he asks Wanda to photograph himself in police action. However, Wanda believes Karen is the more photogenic cop and keeps kicking Davis out of his own shots. Meanwhile, Karen gets too into the pictures and beautifies herself more than usual.

C Plot: Emma admires Lacey's nails, so Lacey agrees to give Emma a manicure. Emma's attempts to thank Lacey repeatedly ruin her nails, and Lacey starts to get tired of doing them over and over.

Tropes Referenced:

• Ambiguous Syntax: Hank falls victim to this twice about Cecil's barn. In the Cold Open, he assumes Cecil wants him to kill the cow standing in front of the barn. Later, he assumes Cecil wants his tractor blown up and not the barn.
• Backstory of the Day: Wanda is depicted as being an avid amateur photographer, who especially enjoys taking pictures of grain elevators. The other characters don't act like this is something new, and it never comes up in any other episode.
• Comically Missing the Point:
  • Lacey regarding the flower planters outside the Ruby:
    Oscar: Your flowers are dead.
    Lacey: Oh yeah. I should water those.
    Emma: Oh, this is technical, but they're dead, so no you shouldn't.
  • Oscar when arguing with Wanda over the Newsmaker of the Year contest:
    Wanda: An exploding barn is a good story. But a picture of a cop in front of an exploding barn is probably better.
    [...]
    Oscar: Where'd you get a picture of cops in front of an exploding barn?!
    Wanda: [gestures towards Davis and Karen] They're cops... [gestures towards the barn] ...in front of an exploding barn.
    Oscar: Where'd you find another exploding barn?!
• Engineered Heroics: Oscar's first attempt to get into the paper is saving some children from a rabid dog...but a Description Cut reveals he just played a tape recording of a dog barking before chasing away some kids.
• Epic Fail: In a Cutaway Gag montage, Oscar demonstrates that he has a history of destroying things, including making a salad which spontaneously explodes in his face for no reason.
  Hank: How do you blow up a salad?
  Oscar: Happens more than you think!
• Girliness Upgrade: Karen does this to herself to look better for Wanda's pictures.
• Hypocritical Humor:
  Oscar: You never let me take responsibility for my own actions. I've always blamed you for that.
  • There's also Emma thinking aloud, after Lacey leaves flowers Emma gave her to wilt while she watches Brent and Hank's stunt, about how frustrating it is for a kind gesture to be blatantly besmirched...before catching a glimpse of her nails, which she's repeatedly ruined while repaying Lacey for repeatedly painting them.
• Mistaken for Gay: Emma seems to be worried this might happen:
  Lacey: Hey girlfriend!
  Emma: Lacey, that's how rumours get started.
• Person as Verb:
  Brent: All right, listen up everybody! Due to unforeseen... Hank... we're not gonna be blowin' up a barn.
• Planning with Props: Brent and Hank plan out pulling down the barn with the tractor by using farm toys.
  Brent: This is a scale replica of our plan... except for the giant goat. That would be terrifying.
• Poke the Poodle:
  Wanda: So she ruined her manicure potting these flowers to thank you for giving her a manicure?
  Lacey: Don't get me wrong. It was a nice thing to do, but a real slap in the face, don't you think?
  Wanda: So what did you do?
  Lacey: I redid her nails, but I wasn't happy doing them.
  Wanda: Wow. Remind me never to get on your bad side.
• Rouge Angles of Satin: With how often the Howler makes typos, it was only a matter of time before one of them ended up being the correct spelling of a different word.
  Davis: You remember that guy who stole that grain truck?
  Karen: That guy? Pfft. He was barely a thief.
  [A Spinning Paper shows the headline "COP NABS BARELY THIEF"]
  Davis: He was a barley thief. That was a typo.
  Karen: He stole some grain; I don't think it was a typo.
• Shout-Out:
  • When Brent accidentally names Anson Williams instead of Ansel Adams, he tries to save face by claiming he really did mean the guy who played Potsie.
    Wanda: At least I know who Potsie is.
    Brent: That's a good thing?
    Wanda: Sit on it.
  • When Hank misunderstands Cecil's request to "blow it up" as referring to his tractor and not his barn, Brent snidely refers to Hank as "Gilligan".
• Strange Minds Think Alike: Apparently any red-blooded Canadian would want to tear down a barn, including everyone in town and even former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.
  Clarkson: [ineffectively whacking the side of a barn with an axe] Take that, you stupid barn!