Upcoming season will be last for hit series 'Corner Gas'

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Thu Apr 10, 8:25 PM

By Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Brent Butt says the decision to pull the plug on his wildly popular and successful "Corner Gas" has left him feeling like something of a reluctant triggerman.

"I feel like the kid at the end of 'Old Yeller,"' Butt said Thursday after making a surprise announcement that the show, about the hijinks at a small-town Prairie gas station, would end its run at the end of its upcoming sixth season.

For those who have never had the dubious pleasure of taking in "Old Yeller" and watched in misery as the beloved family dog has to be shot dead at the end of the film because of rabies, the point is this: the decision was an excruciating one for Butt.

But in an interview from Vancouver, Butt said he wanted to end "Corner Gas," the most successful Canadian sitcom ever made, on a high note, similar to the way "Seinfeld" ended in 1998 at the top of its game.

"I couldn't stand it if 'Corner Gas' had got to a place where it started getting kicked or mocked or long in the tooth and stuck around too long; I couldn't bear to watch that happen to it," he said.

"Comedy is nothing if not timely. There's that moment around the 45-minute mark, where you know you could go an hour. But if you leave now, it's right, and everybody has a great time ... and around the one-hour mark, people start looking for their coats. And 'Corner Gas' is too special of a thing for people to start looking for their coats."

He acknowledges that some cast members wanted the show to keep going. The Saskatchewan-born Butt not only created but stars in the show, along with Eric Peterson and Gabrielle Miller.

"Some of them made that plain, but everybody seems to understand; it's one of those kind of sad but celebratory things," he said.

The final 19-episode season of "Corner Gas" begins shooting next month in Saskatchewan, with the series finale airing some time in the spring of 2009.

The show has been a ratings juggernaut for CTV for years, snagging numerous Gemini awards along the way. It also airs in syndication in countries around the world, including Finland, Australia and the United States. On CTV, it outperforms shows like "Heroes" and "Prison Break."

CTV's Susanne Boyce lauded the show.

"This is not goodbye, it's see you later," she said in a statement. "Brent and his team have accomplished something that has never been achieved before. They said it couldn't be done, but 'Corner Gas' did it anyway. The series has paved the way for other Canadian productions by proving that if you make great TV, Canadians will watch."

Throughout its run, a number of notable Canadians made appearances in the fictional town of Dog River, Sask., including prime ministers Paul Martin and Stephen Harper.

Butt said having the politicians on set was fascinating.

"I was surprised by Harper's comedic delivery - he had really good timing, he surprised me. I thought he'd be stiff and just go through the motions," Butt recalled. "And the thing that struck me about Paul Martin was how genuinely curious he was about every aspect of the show."

Butt's favourite episode of all, however, was the so-called hockey episode, entitled "Face Off."

"It was one of the first ensemble shows and everyone really shone on that show," he said. "It always jumps out in my mind and it came together really well and it's really fun to watch."

For now, Butt says he wants to continue to make good television - he's already developing a new show for CTV - although he has aspirations of a movie or even a play at some point in the future.

"I was sat in front of a TV when I was an infant and that's where I've been ever since - I love TV," he said.

But he acknowledged "Corner Gas" was one of the most surprising successes of his life.

"I really thought 'Corner Gas' was going to be just a summer job. My goal was really to make a show that I truly felt was good and funny, and you don't really expect anyone to watch ... so it all took me completely by surprise."