Teletoon hasn't produced a lot of programming in the last decade. The titles it has, haven't all be stellar hits either, in fact I would even say that most haven't. Lately however (and with the advent of inexpensive Flash-based animation techniques no doubt) they've had a string of well written, well executed programs. "Sons of Butcher" is among this new breed of Teletoon fare. Production-wise it combines live action with animation in a unique way that takes advantage of both the flexibility of animation and the natural comedic talents of Jay Ziebarth, Dave Dunham & Trevor Ziebarth. Of course, In my opinion, the show actually made "The Detour" (Teletoon's late night animated fare for us bigger kids) something more than just 5 year old Fox/Cartoon Network reruns that I've actually meant to tune into intentionally and not accidentally. Granted, I'll be quick to admit that the show is definitely not for everyone, but it's at the top of its game. Witty, edgy, entertaining, intensely funny and above all else quintessentially Canadian.
The story revolves around the mishaps of a pair of brothers and their friend who inherit a butcher shop from their deceased father, apparently the trio also inherited the "spirit of rock" and have formed a band (aptly named "Sons of Butcher"). They go about their absurd daily business in the strange world of Steeltown, trying to make it big as a band or just dealing with the problems in their daily lives (which again, for them tends to be off the wall).
The show lives somewhere between "Trailer Park Boys", "Kids in the Hall" and "This Is Spinal Tap" and manage to deliver some the best dialogue since the first season of "Family Guy". If you can grep absurdest humour, you have no fear of ass and tittie jokes and you wanna hear some hilariously rockin' music then you might want to check out the S.O.Bs.
The first season of the show is available on DVD and the second season is currently airing on Teletoon. Sadly, like many other programs that could have been more, the series has been cancelled by Teletoon in a move that confuses both the Sons of Butcher and their fans.
