User reviews

I don't know this for a fact, but I think it was always intended as a limited series. But I could be wrong.

Overall, it was a show about the tenants in the building (Robson Arms) and the lives they lived. Each episode had good quality actors and comedians. All the tenants got an episode or two and a chance to shine. The acting was good and each episode had a few very funny moments. I was hoping for more of the Megan Follows and Mark McKinney storyline to show up though.

I hope CTV saw what they had and tries this format again. I'd watch it again.

There's a good idea here: every episode goes behind a different door in the same apartment building - lending itself easily to guest roles and featured bits, without requiring all the cast to be in every episode. Except ...

Well, first up is the first episode, which fails to give us any sense of the overall residents. The second episode dispenses with Ep1's main characters in a cameo, then occupies itself entirely with the residents of another room. Sure, why not? Except it means all the personal suffering we put up with in one has no dramatic meaning to the next; the only real continuity is the building itself. So we're basically getting a different show, just taking place in the same building.

Well, that can be good, right? Except it isn't very; 22 minutes feels a lot longer, and it's not long enough to do anything more than be (of course!) episodic. Which could work for a comedy, but this isn't one: it's a series of vignettes that aren't generally humorous (with the notable exception of the Cantonese-speaking mother-in-law in the convenience store). Of course, some may find it humorous when children speak lines that should be for adults, or when adults speak lines which are childish -- and these can indeed be very funny, and have been in other productions. But they aren't funny here, because the overall tone is one of sadness and disconnection. Yes, the acting is good, but the result tends toward pathetic or depressing (again, excepting the Cantonese-speaking mother-in-law). If that's your idea of comedy, this is your show.

This is a great comedy-drama that we both loved. Gabrielle Miller is awesome. There are some weak links in the rest of the cast (it is mostly an ensemble type show with a lot of characters getting a lot of story time each), but mostly the acting is average to better than average. Decent writing. I would say it is actually more of a drama with comedy elements than vice versa, but definitely worth watching, just don't expect it to be hilarious because it is more about the characters with just some comedy sprinkled in.

I'd like to see this show get a lot more respect from the CTV network. It would change my opinion on how they manage to skew shows into oblivion. It took a long time for it to finally get aired. Don't kid yourselves by thinking we the public don't pay-no-never-mind on how to read them-there newspapers. (also see below links)

The episodes were scattered all over to begin with. Who knew when to watch or find it? Please find a regular night for Robson Arms, give it a prime time slot, and keep it there. It's worth it, we like it, please don't compromise anything anymore with the show.

The episodes are great to watch. There are enough identifiably Canadian characters to find a niche with more viewers.The actors are top notch, the scripts are unique, and the opening songs with an acoustic guitar and voice, etc are quirky attention grabbers.

September 8, 2004 "...Robson Arms: Already promised several times by CTV (it was originally entitled Keys Cut Here), this anthology series about the denizens of a Vancouver apartment building is finally in production and ready to go...(Mid-season)" CREDIT SOURCE: Friends Of Canadian Broadcasting website archives http://www.friends.ca/News/Friends_News/archives/articles09080401.asp

"March 12, 2004 And here's a press release about Robson Arms, the CTV drama that Mark's currently filming in Vancouver, which will air in the fall." CREDIT SOURCE: The kithblog website archives http://kithblog.tripod.com/archive/2004_03_07_archive.html

This show was boring.

For the first thing I do not know at all why this show is on the comedy network.

It clearly is not a comedy show! Second off the show is just boring, I don't like any of the characters and hate all the whining that takes place in the show.

Hank and Lucy from Corner Gas are the exact same two characters they play in that show, one of the reasons they are so boring.

I don't care about the characters or stories, it's just a bad, boring show.

From what I saw of this show, 3 episodes scattered in total, I thought it was an instant Canadian classic. Not too many shows are based in vancouver, and it serves it perfect. Lot's of familiar Canadian actors..some of the same work on Corner Gas. This show is edgy at times, free use of language, and hella funny, because it tells the truth! 3rd season is listed, name titles and all, but where are they? I've asked many people of they've seen this show, and they have no clue it ever aired. I have a feeling it will be a sleeper classic, popping up in a few years as a rediscovery. I give it 8 stars so far, as I have not seen very many shows.

If this isn't a 10 out of 10, then I'm not sure what could be.

The authenticity is undeniable. The characters feel real, their stories feel real.

You see glimpses of these characters in yourself, your family, your surroundings-at work, the grocery store, everywhere.

This is what television should be.

It's a journey of discovery into the lives of real people struggling around us, people whose hardships we may not see or understand.

This show opened my eyes to so many life experiences I hadn't encountered or understood.

The direction is beautifully refined, introducing these lives to us in a gentle, seamless way.

Each episode left me thinking: this is real, and it's why people respond the way they do.