Letterkenny (Canadian TV show)

Allegedly

I’ve just started watching this show. It’s been a while since I lived in a small town, but I really like the characters and the quirky dialogue. It’s hilarious.

I tried this show a few years back and didn’t get very far. It may as well be named The Town Where Everyone Talks In Funny Voices. It might be funny for a sketch or two but every episode is way too much for me. If I had to hang out with the Letterkenny men, I would likely shoot myself, or them, in short order.

You’re 10-ply, bud.

I’m not enjoying the current season all that much, but it’s fun to go back to those pre-TV-show youtube shorts now that I know about them.

I don’t mind that stuff, and I’m definitely 1-ply, it’s the silly voices every male on the show has. After watching this I’m more convinced than ever that Katy and I are made to be together. Except for the Peter Pan answer, but I’ll forgive her for that. ( 3 minute youtube Q&A with Letterkenny actors)

Listen, shirttucker! You’re just a cup of baby carrots. I see your muscle shirt came today. Did ya get a tracking number?

The characters talk with slight accents but not different from many Canadians. I’m not sure they are acting too much when they speak.

Wait, there’s a new season on?

You’re kidding, right? Aren’t you Canadian? No group of people who were all born and lived in the same place have that many different voices. Almost every male on the show has a distinct speech pattern. The clench your teeth guy, the sound like an auctioneer guy, the mumble guy… Only the women sound like actual people talking.

I grant that they don’t all sound like the same small town, but rather a few regional accents (from Outouais Valley to East Coast). They all do sound Canadian to me without much exaggeration - and I could name people who talk like any character on the show. Asking them to all have the same accent is asking a lot of verisimilitude. Canada is a nation of immigrants and this is widely reflected.

You are not alone.

And I’m from a small town in Minnesota.

You know someone that talks like an auctioneer when they are not working? I’m not talking about accents, I’m talking about how they all have distinct vocal tics and all talk faster than people talk in real life. Heck, just look at the Q&A video above. Except for the one guy that stays in character, they all talk like real people.

Monty Python called it quits after one Ministry of Silly walks sketch. This is a Ministry of Silly Talking sketch over and over.

I don’t see it that way, but I can understand how one might. There was a Friends episode with Chandler dating Fran Drescher, deliberately talking with a pronounced accent which overshadowed her character, though that was one dimensional in the first place. You don’t have to like a show. I think the dialogue is hilarious. I agree they can speak too quickly, though, not always easy to hear what they are saying.

No it was something like "I see the muscle shirt came today. When are the muscles arriving? Did ya get a tracking number…"etc.

You are right and I stand corrected.

““I see the muscle shirt came today. Muscles coming tomorrow? Did ya get a tracking number? Oh I hope he got a tracking number. That package is going to be smaller than the one you’re sportin’ now.”

I think the episodes wiith the spelling bee and the Shamrockettes were both pretty frickin’ funny. Having seen more episodes, I’ll grant that “the other day” and certain phrases are forced and the cadence is fast.

I was a few seasons in before so noticed the bonus holiday episodes. I could live without the “degens from up country” or from Laval.

I’ve only seen youtube clips. The odd thing is I don’t enjoy them over much, don’t find them particularly funny, but somehow can’t stop watching. It’s just weirdly compelling.

Season 10 just dropped. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t break much new ground. It also didn’t do much with the old ground.

The whole episode with Dyck got tedious in a hurry.

We finally get to see something of Shoresy’s face, probably because there is a spin-off called Shoresy that should be airing soon. I’ve long hated the character, so I’ll be giving that a miss.

I loved the way the women demonstrated how ridiculous the guys were being about getting their prostate exams.

All in all, they added a few new catchphrases and character quirks with the occasional cursory mention of the old ones. It wasn’t the old Letterkenny and it wasn’t some new version, either. There is supposed to be an 11th season, and I hope they wrap it up with that. The show has run its course.

The show ran its course the moment Hulu bought it and promptly fucked up every SINGLE element that was a source of fresh laughter, sharp wit, clever framing and (profound lack of) camera movement.

They brought in writers from Van Nuys to show those fuckin’ stoopid Canucks how REAL comedy works.

And in doing so, just completely ruined it. We loved it early on so hard that we made ourselves watch clear through to the end and so, of course, will watch the new drop.

But god, it was tasty before it got diluted. By shit.

They kept flogging those jokes even though they were spent and out of juice early in the episode.

I felt the same way for season 9. We had some good times but the show has run its course.