How low can you go, well now you know!
Crash Canyon is a Canadian adult animated series produced by Breakthrough Entertainment and Jam Filled Entertainment. It was created by Jam Filled's founders Jamie LeClaire and Phil Lafrance (who later created Numb Chucks), as well as Kyle MacDougall, and developed for television by Canadian-born Simpsons writer Joel H. Cohen.
The show is about the Wendells, a dysfunctional family who, after an uneventful beginning to their vacation, end up plummeting into a two-mile deep canyon in Alberta. After coming out alive and unscathed, they realize they are not alone as the canyon is full of a small community of strange and quirky people who all have suffered the exact same fate. With little hope of escape, the Wendells decide to make the best of their new home... and maybe create the occasional escape plan here and there.
The show debuted on Teletoon at Night in September of 2011 and ended in March of 2013 after 2 seasons and 26 episodes. International broadcasting was handled by MTV, making it their third Teletoon-imported series after early 2000s cult hits Clone High and Undergrads.
Provides Examples Of:
- All Asians Know Martial Arts: Invoked by Jake when Brianna starts bullying the boys. He gets Hoshi to teach him karate. Whether he actually knew any martial arts, or just used Jake for free labour is never really elaborated, especially as Brianna still beats him up.
- Artistic License – Geography: Alberta (where the show is taking place) is mountainous in some parts, but still lacking in absurdly deep canyons, especially ones far larger than the Grand Canyon. It is also completely Played for Laughs.
- Barefoot Poverty: Sid's wife and kids are stereotypical hillbillies who always go barefoot.
- Big Eater: Vernon constantly crams himself with unhealthy food, which has resulted in his morbid obesity. The opening theme even shows him eating a submarine sandwich and still eating it as the family falls into the canyon screaming. He’s also shown in some episodes to even eat literal garbage.
- Black Comedy Rape: Sheila admits in episode 4 that she was touched by a clergyman... although it turns out they were just playing tag.
- Bumbling Dad: Norm. He's by no means stupid like Peter Griffin or Homer Simpson, but he has no idea how to relate to his children and has very little social skills.
- Camp Gay: Stéphanel.Sheila: Is he your boyfriend?Angel: Oh, no. Stefan prefers his women to have a penis.
- Decoy Protagonist: The first season sets Norm up to be the primary focus. Later episodes shift the focus to Jake.
- Failure Is the Only Option: They are never getting out of the canyon.
- Fat and Proud: Vernon, who will chew you out if you suggest that being fat is bad for his health... despite the fact that he had an onscreen heart attack Played for Laughs.
- Genre Blindness: In his cold open trying to build a lemming powered escape mechanism, Norm fails to notice the obvious Wile E. Coyote style dooming him to fail.
- The Immodest Orgasm: Apparently Sheila is rather loud during sex. This becomes a plot point in one episode when they get tired of never having any privacy during their intimate moments, and search all over the canyon for a secluded spot. Then they end up being used to scare away possums from the canyon fruit orchard.
- Limited Wardrobe: Justified, since they're in a canyon. Lampshaded in "Hex Marks the Spot".
- Minimalist Cast: Aside from the 30 (later 33) people trapped in the canyon, the only other people who ever show up are one-time characters who appear during the brief scenes that take place outside the canyon or during flashbacks and/or cutaway gags.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: Sheila views Third Cousin Vernon as a disgusting nuisance, and he isn't exactly popular with anyone else in the canyon although he doesn't seem to care. Then there's Pristine Manderbelt, who is the unfavorite in her family and viewed as "hideous" by them.
- My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: When Sid gulps down the century old brain tonic / axel lubricant, he learns to speak French in this manner. Viewers who speak French will be delighted by Sid's statements of "requiring a hat at the library" and the like.
- Parental Incest: Beverly Manderbelt has a not-so-subtle crush on her eldest son. She
even bathes him. - Reduced to Ratburgers: The restaurant owner will put on the menu any vermin she can catch. It makes sense as this is the only meat they'll get (short of a cattle truck crashing in) and no customer seem to complain, so presumably she can cook them up decently.
- Scary Stinging Swarm: In "Sid Our Hero," Roxy gets attacked and stung by a swarm of bees.
- The Stinger: Every episode has a scene after the closing logos. For example, the pilot has a music video for "I Wanna Punch a Rainbow". However, some of the stingers were removed from Teletoon reruns.
- The Magic Poker Equation: Averted when Norm is convinced that being good at math will guarantee him a big win at a poker game. He gets wiped out because he lacks all the other skills that make a good poker player: he doesn't know how to read other players' tells, bluff or keep a poker face, sweating like crazy anytime he has good cards.
- Vocal Dissonance: The Widow McGurck sounds like (and is voiced by) a man. Also, Carol is gorgeous, but she has a throaty voice that sounds like she's nursing a four pack-a-day habit.
- Weird Currency: Golf tees, because the Manderbelts wished it so, ensuring that he has most of the resources in the canyon.
- Women Are Wiser: Averted, unusually for an animated Dom Com. Shelia isn't stupid but she's very hot-tempered and capable of making bad decisions.
