I had always wondered and one of the previews on the sin city dvd is a teaser for this movie so maybe it's bigger than I thought it was but since it's one of the most popular shows in Canada. Everyone knows about it I was wondering how well Americans like it.
shareI'm an American and I think it's hysterical. This show and Arrested Development are the funniest things on TV right now. I don't think it's very big here yet but it may catch on if the "winds of s**t" blow the right way.
Kevin
Check it out --> www.philhendrieshow.com
the show is welfare and thats one of the elements that makes it so great... maybe they can take some of the fist fulls of money that we all know they have and start pumping it into advertising all over the states when the US fully discovers this show showcase is gunna get sooo much money its not even funny
shareto whoever said tpb and arrested developpedment are the best, i say.. no, tpb and family guy, in that order
sharei just recently 'discovered' the show & i hope someone in the states (perhaps comedy central?) will pick it up!
BLAH
The problem is that the show has to be un-cencored to be fully effective. What channel in the States would pick it up?
shareHBO or Showtime
shareI'm American and this show was recommended to me. I think it's great; far better than most shows I watch on American TV, and ranked up with The Office (original) as one of the best shows I've ever seen. Had this not been recommended to me, however, I probably wouldn't even know it exists. It's a shame; such an excellent show. I've told people about it; though the only person I know who is familiar with it is from Nova Scotia; my friends from Ontario are clueless.
As far as missed references among American viewers, I think they're minimal. I don't understand the specifics of the grade 9/grade 10, etc., as I always thought a grade was something you were in rather than something you received. Anyway, it's pretty straightforward what it means.
I agree with earlier comments that this show is only funny uncensored. But it seems a better fit for Showtime than HBO, given HBO's tendency to show a bit more high-brow humor and push the original series (Curb, Big Love, etc.) I'm really surprised it hasn't been picked up in the States yet. But if Showtime gives it a pass, who does that leave? Comedy Central would destroy it with editing.
Being a canadian, it doesn't seem to me like there are a lot of inside jokes that americans would likely not understand. I don't think the actual maritime setting plays a huge role in the show (you see canadian flags and money but they could just as easily move the show to the states and just change the names of cities referenced such as Moncton and Halifax to american cities without changing the plot). I guess one could be when Treena was quizzing Ricky on province captitals and he screws one up (claiming Victoriaville is the capital of BC).
As far as all the references to ricky getting his grade 10... I thought it's relatively the same betweeen american or canadian schools. You get a diploma for passing elematary school (grade 8) and another for high school (grade 12). Every province is a little different but you need a certain number of credits to pass high school in general. It's not like you get your grade 9, then your grade 10, then your grade 11. You'd obviously need to pass a course in one grade to be eligible for the next (for instance you'd need your grade 10 math credit to take grade 11 math) but certainly it's common for a lot of students to take courses for 2 or even 3 different grades concurrently (I was in grade 11 and 12 classes in one semester and 12 and 13 classes at once). Though in elementary school, you need to pass the whole grade so it was very possible that Trinity would fail grade 6 if she she failed science.
Most of the grade references are just for humour. Ricky obviously doesn't need to pass grade 10 since there's no qualifications for either of the legal jobs he's held (security at the mall and janitor at college). The fact that he celebrates his grade ten so much is a big joke and very humorous. It's also kind of funny that his grade 10 was such a high priority for ricky yet he never seems to bother upgrading his education when he's in jail!
I'm an American, and I agree with that one person,: The Office and Trailer Park Boys are awesome. I found out about both of them on BBC. Trailer Park boys was editted though, and at some points the *beeps* made the show more humorous, but at other times it made it hard to understand what was going on. Especially at the season finale to the first season, it just sounded like *BEEP BEEP BEEP*, which was annoying. '
About inside jokes: I don't think Americans would have to much trouble with them at all. The only inside joke that I don't understand, and currently still don't understand is the episode with Conky when Conky says to Ricky "He's the man they call Ravine" I don't get why that is so offensive. Anyways I think that is one of the only things we wouldn't get.
CNN perhaps ... theyre a bunch of clowns
shareim from ireland and its pretty big here. not massive but has a strong cult following. its shown on paramount comedy. they ran every episode 2 or 3 times in a row and are on a break from it now. cant wait for the movie.
shareSame deal in Australia: I know two people who love it as much as I do. I only saw it because relatives had the DVDs, which we then got. Australian TV had it on at about 12.30 on Sunday nights. It's at 6 or something on weekends now.
I enjoy the references to Canadian culture. They don't take anything away from the experience except letting you know it's not another American show (our networks are flooded with ridiculous amounts of them) and they're not hard to follow.
I discovered it on BBC America shortly after I'd gotten obsessed with the Office (Brit version). It was the episode with Ellen Paige where Ricky is explaining how he doesn't feel good about himself and she tries to cheer him up. For some reason, that made me fall in love with Ricky and the show in general.
Some other things that drew me in were Julian's always having that rum and coke in his hand and sipping it so macho-ly, Bubbles of course, Randy with his big shirtless stomach, and the scene where Ricky says to Leahy and Randy, "Number one: you can *beep* off. Number two: YOU can *beep* off!" Just so damn funny.
family guy is getting so... stupid... and im a 15 year old boy, trailer park boys then southpark are the best... arrested developement has its moments but i would rather watch...*sigh* everybody loves raymond over it
shareIt isn't known that well here, but everyone i've shown it too loves it and many ended up purchasing their own copies of the DVD online. Maybe it will catch on if I keep showing people, because you can't help but to make other people watch it. This show is like crack! Most of the "inside jokes" for canadians aren't that hard to understand, althoug a few I had to look up. I know Rush is HUGE in canada, so when they were on, I thought it was hilarious. People eating pepperoni sticks is another canadian thing that was funny. Other than that, most of the humor is pretty much universal, just zany lovable characters.
shareRush is not huge everywhere in canada. trust me.
shareI never heard of Rush before I saw the episode. The big music in Canada is just the lame top 40 music that is horrible just like every where else. So they aren't that big.
shareHow have you never heard of Rush, I mean alot of the music here is lame top 40 but most cities at least the ones I been to have a classic rock station, and they play Rush
shareTrust me, RUSH is better than 99.9% of the crap that you hear on the radio nowadays.
share[deleted]
Now that's *beep* and you know it. Rush sucks balls.
shareMan, if you never heard of Rush, your missing out. seriously, look into it. Neil Peart is the best drummer ever!
Alex is also underrrated.
[deleted]
Well, maybe you're too young. Rush and the Tragically Hip are to Canada as the Grateful Dead and Phish are(were) to the USA. By Huge, I mean HUGE cult following that is really only in Canada.
You're way off. RUSH has a huge cult following around the world, not just in Canada. Watch "RUSH: Live in Rio" sometime. The Brazilian crowd goes absolutely insane for RUSH, bigger than any reception I've ever seen RUSH get. RUSH has a huge cult following, and still sells out concert stadiums in any country they go to.
I'm an american.. i've known about this show since it was on the second season and have watched faithfully ever since. I found out about it from a friend of mine who lives in New Brunswick. I have yet to meet a single other person who's heard of it around where i live(the midwest). I have, however gotten many people hooked on it myself, and hopefully that will snowball. I always tell my NB friend that she started a small cult uprising in the lonely midwest.
<3 TPB!
I'm the only person I know who watches it (because it isn't broadcast here; you have to download it... er, buy the DVD's...). But I think it's THE FUNNIEST SHOW EVER MADE, period. Hands down. Nothing in this fat bloated country even comes close... All we have in the U.S. are idiotic, unwatchable reality shows... All these contests that pit idiots against one another for some prize or another... Just attention-seeking media whores trying to get their "acting career" started by being on a game show... Horrible... Just awful; all of it. The only good pop culture shows are on HBO and Showtime (and maybe 1 or 2 good shows on the major networks). It's really pitiful and sad. Why we don't get TPB here (uncensored) is beyond me; they'd make a billion damn dollars... GREATEST SHOW EVER!!!
shareThe reason it'll likely never air in America is simple, really: guns and dope. This is a show that has the main characters constantly getting into gunfights and generally treating guns the way a five-year-old playing war would. Not to mention the fact that there are quite a few instances of Trinity firing her dad's guns. No American network would dare to air a show that has such a seemingly laidback view of gun control. Of course, if you're an adult and/or not a complete idiot, you can see the over-the-top nature of the whole thing, but American television isn't exactly known for catering to the smart crowd.
The other thing is the pot content. This country is very, very uptight about pot, still, even though I think in the younger generations, it's becoming less and less of an issue. However, you would never be able to air a show in which the main characters' entire arch is the attempt to grow and sell pot. TPB has a refreshingly open-minded take on marijuana (I'm not sure if it's just that show, or if that's a Canadian thing) that I couldn't see flying in the States.
dwlutz...no offense dude...but you don't know too much about American tv do you?
Have you ever seen comedy central? Reno 911, south park, etc...There is nothing on this show that is any "worse" than that. I guess they would have to censor the F word on comedy central but that's what HBO is for.
When I first saw the show I got like 3 episodes into it before I realized it wasn't an American show...I mean trailer parks...all over the US...the type of people in the show...all over the US...the accent...Just look at the Northwestern region of the US.
Ha! I know this post is old but I just read it and I couldn`t agree more about reality TV and the media whores it spawns. Although sad to say Trailer Park Boys is one of very few T.V shows that was made in canada, We have just as much parasidic reality TV as you.
I for one will miss the series even if it did decline after the 5th season as it was one of the funnyest shows ever. Too bad it wasn`t more popular.
Im from texas and ive been watching this show for awhile, but none of my friends have heard about it. I forced one to watch it and he loves it now, but not many people I know, know about it. Either way it was awesome. Jim lahey is the best character of all time I think.
shareits popular in the UK with people who like their comedy. I think it's great!!
sharelove it, seen every episode.
share