| "I have 20/20 vision," actor Mike Smith confesses. But what about those godawful coke-bottle lenses he wears on TV? "The glasses are very real," says Smith. "So when I am wearing them, I can’t see a thing."
The glasses do more than just impede Smith’s vision – they also instantly transform him into Bubbles, one of the three white-trash musketeers that make up the hilarious heart of the Trailer Park Boys TV series.
The other two thirds of the equation are the pepperoni-loving perennial screw-up, Ricky, played by Robb Wells and Julian, the rum-and-Coke swilling group mastermind, brought to life by John Paul Tremblay. Through three seasons and a soon-to-debut fourth, the Trailer Park Boys have grown and sold dope, bootlegged vodka and dabbled in many other criminal scams that constantly have them at odds with now-former trailer park supervisor Mr. Lahey (John Dunsworth). Lahey is Wile E. Coyote to the boys’ Roadrunner, his numerous attempts to nab the trio in commission of a serious crime continually blowing up in his face.
The morally vacant, intellectually challenged characters, the profanity-laced dialogue and the amateurish mockumentary style of the series have combined to make it a unique must-see choice for its ever-growing legion of fans.
Trailer Park Boys was originally a 1998 black and white film starring Wells and Tremblay and directed by behind the scenes franchise visionary Mike Clattenburg. Smith, an accomplished musician and composer, was working as a sound mixer on the set of the film when Clattenburg saw him clowning around with a character he had been doing for years. That character was Bubbles, who became a permanent part of Trailer Park Boys when it debuted as a TV series on Showcase in 2001.
On a recent promotional stop in Calgary, Smith, Wells and Tremblay explained that they never imagined the show would steamroll into the cult phenomenon it has become. "We were pretty confident a lot of people would watch it and get a kick out of it – but not to this extent," says Wells.
The show’s principal stars do many in-character promotional appearances for the series. "Usually, for the most part, everyone is great," says Wells of their fans. But, he adds, "Once in a while you run into the odd person that thinks the show is real and that’s scary."
On the road, the boys have discovered that their program is reaching an unexpected audience segment. "A lot of teenagers watch the show with their parents," says Tremblay. "It’s really cool that a family will sit down and watch the show. I mean, I used to do that when I was younger, watching The Waltons or Little House on the Prairie. Now that people are watching Trailer Park Boys as a family it seems pretty crazy."
Viewers who have come to expect wild comedic rides on the series have much to look forward to with the upcoming season. On the way are episodes involving a wrestling persona named Green Bastard, a stoned mountain lion and a personality-altering ventriloquist’s dummy, as well as a guest appearance by songstress Rita MacNeil, of all people.
Tremblay also promises "lots of dope this season. I think more than ever seen in Canadian television history."
More dope than ever? My, how family viewing tastes have changed over the years.
The fourth season of Trailer Park Boys airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on Showcase.
LITTLE-KNOWN TRAILER PARK FACTS
· Each of the four seasons has been shot in a different trailer park in the Halifax area.
· Mr. Lahey (John Dunsworth) has been known to catch on-set naps inside his character’s trademark Chrysler New Yorker.
· Except for the occasional car chase/crash, the boys do all their own stunts.
· Much of Ricky’s distinctive mixed-up speech is patterned after the drink-induced ramblings of one of Rob Wells’s former roommates.
· Actor Patrick Roach, who plays Mr. Lahey’s shirtless lackey Randy, maintains his ample made-for-TV gut by ingesting countless donairs. |
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