Trailer Park Boys: The Complete Fifth Season

One of Canada's greatest television assets rolls into its fifth season with Ricky, Julian and Bubbles being released from prison only to find out that Corey and Trevor unsurprisingly failed to purchase the trailer park from Barbara Lahey. So, to get back on their feet the boys decide to rob archenemy Cyrus (one of the show's worst characters) of his hash then use the drugs to pave Ray's driveway in order to hide the evidence. This is the only plot of the entire fifth season and though it's just as funny as past chapters, the writers tend to not stray from the path but still produce memorable side note episodes like Conky or weed-addicted mountain lions. This season follows the same formula as past seasons, rather than expanding, with Jim Lahey hitting an all-time low with his alcoholism but an all-time high with his determination to rid the trailer park of "shit puppets" once and for all. Like past sets, the DVD contains slip-ups, alternate takes and deleted interviews, which are worth a look but act as filler when it comes to improvised shows like this one. The good stuff comes in a featurette that shows the dedication put into the show via its crew members, which is surprising, as you assume a show as low-budget as Trailer Park Boys wouldn’t require such a large team to pull off. This is the season the show decided to build their own park rather than rent an existing one, so we're let in on some white trash decorating tips and secrets for making an entire abandoned mental institution disappear with a little paint. The commentary with Sarah Dunsworth and Lucy Decoutere is often sweet and insightful, as the two friends watch a selected episode as if they were watching home movies from their summer vacation. Trailer Park Boys is a family affair, as the cast members have grown up with each other and hail from Dartmouth, which helps make this show so warm and believable, most of the time. This isn't a show that tries to impersonate Nova Scotia life, as the cast and crew act the exact same way on and off screen, and that's one of the key ingredients in making this show such a success. (Alliance Atlantis)