Corner Gas: Tax Man

The following is the 2nd episode of Corner Gas, with background info HERE!

Episode beings at The Ruby, where Brent finds out that Lacey is changing the coffee refill policy. Previously, Aunt Ruby had allowed free refills all day long. Lacey, finding that to be a bit excessive, changes the policy, making it $1.50 a cup. Depending on the character, the reaction to the new policy elicits a different response.

In Brent's case, he doesn't appear to be too thrilled with the new policy. Not truly upset by it, but isn't thrilled with it, either. Tries to claim that Tommy Douglas fought for free refills....or something to that extent. Lacey mentions it was Universal Health Care he fought for, but...as Brent put it....with all the coffee people were drinking, there was a lot of kidney disorders going around.

Brent has to take off when he hears the "dinging" from Corner Gas (indicating new customer at the pumps), making the comment he'll have to owe Lacey a buck-fifty if the customer doesn't spend enough on gas.

The customer ends up being Marvin Dray.....A tax man. Gets upset quickly when called THE Tax Man. Marvin's only real concern is a high tax exemption claimed by Corner Gas from the prior year, when Oscar was still running the place, prior to Brent taking over as the new owner. What should be a simple case of Oscar simply showing documentation on why he claimed high exemptions ends up being anything other then "simple", involving Oscar flipping out on the Marvin.

Recaps of Oscar on the phone with Marvin, presumably, screaming out stuff like "if you want to talk to me, come down here. A car is a handy invention. I'll show you how to use one sometimes"......or something to that extent, is mentioned.

Early in the episode, it's made clear that Oscar doesn't understand that simply showing the paperwork would resolve the issue quickly. Brent tries to act as a intermediary, only for Oscar to continue flipping out. Stories of Oscar calling a butterfly a son of a bitch are mentioned, to demonstrate how unstable Oscar is.

For one reason or another, Brent keeps insisting on calling Marvin "Muffin Tray".

Meanwhile, Davis becomes upset when he finds out that he, and Karen, are expected to pay for their coffee consumption at The Ruby. Davis' argument is that when Ruby ran the place, coffee was free.

Lacey manages to make matters worse when making comments something along the lines of "when Marlon Brando and the Wild Bunch ride into town, throwing ketchup packets around, i'll give out free coffee" and "this seems like a pretty peaceful town. I think I'll take my chances".

Karen tries to smooth things over by offering to pay for the coffee, only for Davis to think Karen's going to be shunned by the force. Karen tries to remind Davis that they are the force, only for it to fall on deaf ears.

Davis' attitude is so bad, he issues tickets to people for the most insane reasons possible. Tickets were issued over parking tickets....while people were in a parking lot. Hank, I believe, got a ticket for being stopped at a 4-way stop.

Oscar becomes so annoyed over Davis' mishandling of the tickets that he threatens to put diesel in his gas tank.

Davis continues his childish ways, refusing to acknowledge Karen anymore then necessary. Karen gets weirded out by Davis' behavior, partially to the Serpico references the other characters begin referencing.....as well as a couple references to Scent of a Woman. I don't feel like being shot in the face....or sniffing women's hair. LOL!

Meanwhile, Oscar recruits Hank to help him trick Marvin Drey. Oscar is somehow convinced the Government is out to screw him out of more tax money. Hank tried coming up with a few ideas to get Marvin off Oscar's case, all of which involve recycling old ideas from M*A*S*H. The ideas basically boil down to getting Marvin drunk, only to have him do something humiliating....which involves being drunk & naked, messing up the "paperwork" or something else that could be embarrassment to himself.

Wanda sarcastically suggests Hank should just "take one for the team" at one point, mostly to creep Hank out. Wanda brings up the obvious point by asking why Oscar just doesn't look for the paperwork. The point is generally ignored by Hank & Oscar, who seem to find it easier to trick Marvin.

Karen, on the other hand, is busy trying to find ways of convincing Karen to just let Davis have his free coffee. Lacey, understandably, feels she shouldn't have to take the hit just to stop Davis from having fits.

Marvin comes up with the solution, using tax law (of course). Marvin briefly explains that Lacey could let them have the free coffee as a promotional expense and could get away with giving away X-amount of coffee during a year and reasonably be able to write-it off.

This, in turn, demonstrates to Brent that Marvin isn't such a scary person. Lacey's able to use this new info to refund Davis' money, while allowing Davis to think Karen "applied pressure" to Lacey. This puts Davis back in a great mood, while giving Karen more cred with Davis.

At the town bar, Hank is drunk as a skunk. He's getting ready to help Oscar to frame Marvin in an embarrassing situation (running down Main Street drunk & naked). Emma brings in the tax papers to verify the exemptions. Hank tries to mess the papers up, only for Oscar to blow up on him instead.

While I'm pretty sure I'm missing or forgetting details (reviews aren't my strong point, yet), I've got to state that this was a pretty good episode. It demonstrates the stupidity and impatience that Oscar & Hank. While I failed to go into detail about this, Emma shows quite a bit of frustration with Oscar & Brent, as she had told them numerous times where the tax papers where....only for both of them to ignore her repeatedly.

Davis' ability to be easily upset/offended is displayed rather effectively, as well. If I haven't mentioned this yet, it's worth mentioning now. Corner Gas is great for showing certain aspects of small town living. I have the benefit, or misfortune, of living in a community that sees a mix of small & larger town living.....where all the subtleties tend to show up eventually. Little things that wouldn't bother most people eventually show up in small towns quite a bit and it's played up well on the show.

The episode shows how easily a no-big-deal situation can easily become a big deal in certain towns. When I have more time, I'll work on the next episode.