Immediately upon watching TPB, most people fall in love with Bubbles. His thick, goofy glasses. His obsession with kitties. His ability to make sense of the insanity that is Sunnyvale Trailer Park. Bubbles is the most loveable of all TPB characters.
Bubbles was never supposed to be part of the show. Mike Smith, the actor who plays Bubbles, was just a sound editor for the original TPB movie/ pilot. He had known Mike Clattenburg (Director/ Creator/ Writer) for awhile through "The Cart Boy" film short. Clattenburg saw potential in the character and Bubbles found his way into the series after walking around set as "Cart Boy."
With this stroke of creative genius, one of Canada's favourite television personalities was born. Bubbles is not just a role on some TV show. Bubbles has become part of the Canadian lexicon and a national icon. There is really no area in the country you can go to without everyone knowing Bubbles. He is on par with Stompin' Tom Connors, Don Cherry and Wayne Gretzky.
For me personally, Bubbles has had a major impact on my life. From fashion to musical tastes to life lessons about family and friend loyalty, Bubbles has influenced many aspects of my personal life. He is far and away the most ethical and righteous of all TPB characters. That is why I decided to start with Bubbles... He is simply the easiest character in which to find morality and truth.
1. Cowboy Shirts...
Even from a young age, I had loved cowboy shirts. I think its my second grade school photo where I sport a bright yellow number. Embroidered shoulders, mother of pearl-esque snap buttons, big collar. Yeah... I was the best dressed kid in C.O. Somes Elementary. I think this might stem from my mom's love of Hank Williams, Charley Pride and Loretta Lynn.
Throughout the series, Bubbles rocks some beauty shirts. My favourite is the brown gem he wore in Season Seven Episode Four- "Friends of the Road." This is the episode where Bubbles and Ray try to haul a bunch of shopping carts to Maine to sell as scrap metal. Ray ends up getting pinched for soliciting prostitutes in a truck stop parking lot while Bubbles goes half insane in a phone booth waiting for Ricky and Julian to save him. The shirt iteself if a wonderfully embroidered piece. The white floral pattern would make Conway Twitty proud. The piping that runs along the buttons screams quality. They just don't make cowboy shirts like this anymore. The only way you will ever score a monster like this is to get incredibly lucky at a charity shop or to break into the Porter Wagoner exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
This is far from the only amazing cowboy shirt. Even the simple ones with standard plaid patterns are great. Bubbles wore a sweet one in the Season Four episode, "Conky." This episode, which is in my opinion one of the top five episodes in TPB history, features a hand puppet called Conky that Bubbles uses as a coping mechanism for all the crazy bullshit that goes on in his life. Ricky and Julian use Conky to convince Bubbles to go to the hospital to get a "dirty fucking tooth" removed. I don't want to do a full synopsis of the Conky madness but Ricky gets a rag glued to his nose, a truck glued to his hand, Mr. Lahey and Randy get shot with traquillizer darts and end up in the drunk tank while Julian shoots Conky in the head in Sam Losco's vet office. But yeah... way off track here... The shirt... The shirt is a simple example of how fucking cool cowboy shirts can be.
In the past ten years I have accumulated about a dozen vintage cowboy shirts. I don't think I would have ever bothered if Bubbles hadn't made it cool again. Most people look at Bubbles as a goofy looking, four eyed weirdo but I see him as a Canadian fashion icon. Fuck Justin Beiber. Fuck Avril Lavigne. Fuck Sebastian Bach. Bubbles can be my fashion advisor any day.
2. RUSH...
There is really only one episode that shows Bubbles' love of Canadian rock legends, Rush. Season Three, Episode Five- "Closer To The Heart" focuses on Bubbles and his attempt to get into a Rush concert at the Halifax Metro Center. He gives Ricky some cash to get him a ticket while he brings his cat to the vet. It "drank garbage juice and got the shits." The boys don't get tickets because Lahey and Randy fuck it up. So after numerous attempts to get Bubbles into the show which features the kidnapping (or 'borrowing' as Ricky put it) of Alex Lifeson, walking through the sewers and trying to win a radio contest, Bubbles finally gets to be Alex Lifeson's guitar tech for the show.
I was never a huge Rush fan. There were a couple of songs that I knew and that I didn't hate but I was not what you would call a fan of the band. After seeing the dedication Bubbles had for Rush, I decided to give them another shot. I was only a casual listener so maybe I was missing something. Bubbles did steer me down the right path when it came to fashion. Maybe his love of Rush was something else he could transfer to me.
I decided to go out and grab a few Rush records. 2112 and Hemispheres were my first two purchases. It had been years since I had actually tried to listen to a Rush album so I was able to keep an open mind. That open mind??? Blown!!! Hemispheres is one of the great psychedelic/ progressive albums of all time. 2112, although not my favourite Rush album, is probably their high point as a band. Every track is killer. The purchase of these two albums has led me down the path of Rush love. I might not be a huge fan of any stuff post-"Moving Pictures" but everything leading up to that album and even a few tracks following that album are sheer magic.
Bubbles taught me another lesson in this episode. Not only was he just a fan of Rush, he worshipped them. He was a dedicated fan who was loyal to the end. Its ok to love a band. Its even ok to love a band that has never been hugely popular. Bubbles, even though his friends weren't big fans of the band, still spent his last pennies supporting the artists that he grew up loving. He didn't care if it was cool or not. He loved their music and that is all that mattered. Over the years I have been questioned about my love of certain bands and genres. Whenever anyone mocks my musical choices, I simply remember the speech Bubbles delivers when he has finally had enough of the madness... "This fucking thing shouldn't be about dope and swearing and idiots with no fucking shirts on going camping drunk. You guys don't even give a fuck about Rush. I do!!!"
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