Hatching, Matching & Dispatching

As someone who has actually watched this show (I've seen most of the episodes) I can report perhaps more honestly than others on this unusual Canadian comedy series.

The setting is an outport village close to St. John's, the capital city of Newfoundland (that large island off the East coast of Canada, in case you weren't sure), where the Furey family business includes ambulance, wedding and funeral services. The characters and the situations they get into are hilarious, and some episodes can cause serious pain in the laugh-muscles. Others, however, are cringe-inducing.

Mary Walsh stars as the matriarch of the family, a no-nonsense, opinionated and sometimes mean woman of a certain age who manages the business and her family with varying degrees of success and failure. She puts up with her husband Phonse's attraction to spirits, her daughter Darlene's edge of madness, son Troy's hopeless lack of musical talent (his band performs at the weddings they mount), Myrna's inept management of weddings, the list goes on.

Cyril, the gravedigger, is afraid of ghosts and freaks out when a coffin erupts to the surface in a swampy section of the graveyard. Nick, a serious doper, can only get it on with girlfriend/fiancee Darlene when she's in a coffin wearing a wedding dress. Son-in-law Todd, from away, thinks his superior education has prepared him for the real world (this is not the real world). When he tries to confront two lesbian ambulance drivers both responding to the same call, he gets beaten some bad. Myrna, substituting for Troy's off-key and rhythmically-challenged rock-band at a wedding reception, sings a pathetic solo version of "Can I have this dance"... The only way to really appreciate this show is to watch it, and it's unlikely to be aired in the US because of the language -- not just swearing, but local expressions and dialect/accents that a lot of Americans just wouldn't understand. At times it gets very rude. It's not for everyone. But Canadians such as myself, who 'get' this kind of humour (and like it), enjoy every moment. It conveys the flavour of Newfoundland in a complex yet vastly entertaining manner. It won't be renewed, but it's had a good run and will be missed. Thank goodness for re-runs!moreless

Worse movie ever. Well actually that's being very harsh. After all, I'm sure the production company had put a lot of effort in producing this and trashing it like I am doing right now seems downright unfair. However, I can't forgive those who waste my time with something like this. Why did I pick up something called Hatching, Matching & Dispatching in the first place?

Hatching, Matching & Dispatching is a teenager that helps her detective father solve cases, while attending highschool. For the past two years this show has had 2 big mysteries per season - each being solved by the end of the season. This is not like most shows that will string you along for years. On top of this we normally also get a "Mystery of the Week" (MOTW), that gets sloved in that same episode. Each of these MOTW are compelling in their own right.moreless

When it is revealed that the writers of "Family Guy" are going to use the Muslim prophet Character in a joking matter, the nation decides to "Bury it's head in the sand" and maybe the terrorists won't attack. he leaves on a quest to get the episode pulled with him in tow they leave. But when he learns that he wishes to get the series cancelled he tries to stop him. And fails to be continued next week.moreless