Smith also played the title role of Red Green, a middle-aged handyman who runs a men's club in the fictional Ontario town of Possum Lake.

Recurring themes of the comedy include Smith's love of vintage cars and handyman projects, most of which involve duct tape.

The main story mostly occurs in the lodge in front of the audience, with the primary characters relating most of the episode's events directly.

The segments and interstitial cut-scenes provide lessons and demonstrations in repair work, outdoor activities, and advice for men.

Recurring characters within the live portions of the show include Red's nephew, Harold (Patrick McKenna); store owner Dalton Humphrey (Bob Bainborough); sewage worker Winston Rothschild III (Jeff Lumby); and criminal Mike Hamar (Wayne Robson).

He is seldom seen wearing anything other than his distinctive outfit of a flannel shirt, khaki pants, suspenders (colored red and green as of Season 3), and a Canadian military field manoeuvres cap.

[2][3] According to his DVD biography, Red became the leader of Possum Lodge after gradually becoming more involved with it over time and becoming "the only guy nobody hated."

The show's structure evolved over time and included several regular segments that appeared in almost every episode, interspersed with the main plot.

A black-and-white segment in the form of a silent home movie, accompanied by Red's narration, background music, and sound effects.

Bill Smith (Rick Green) attempts to accomplish a relatively straightforward task, try out a sport, or go on some adventure, frequently assisted by Red or Harold.

However, the effort invariably degenerates into slapstick comedy as the characters fall victim to a series of outlandish mishaps.

Red gives out sage advice from behind his fly tying workbench, usually talking to older men about married life or coping with changing society.

In the ninth and tenth seasons, Red would present a brief biographical sketch of a "famous" Possum Lake resident, with additional comments by other characters.

"The Experts" had a similar format and debuted in the third season, running until the end of the series; here, Red and one or more of his friends gave ridiculous advice in response to alleged viewer letters.

Episodes typically end with Red giving a message to his wife Bernice, usually a double entendre, followed by his signature piece of life advice in the form of a hockey metaphor: "Keep your stick on the ice."

Beginning with the second season, the end of each episode also incorporates a meeting of the Possum Lodge members in the basement, opened by a sound effect of a squealing possum and a recitation of the Lodge motto: "Quando omni flunkus moritati", mock Latin for "When all else fails, play dead".

In one episode, women hold a retreat at Possum Lodge and sit in on the meeting, changing the prayer to "I am woman, hear me roar.

"[5] He wanted to avoid going "one season too many"[6] otherwise "It will at best be repetitive..."[5] The series finale was filmed on November 5, 2005, at the Showline Studios Harbourside location.

[8] The show staged several live mini-telethons (sometimes called "Red Green-a-thons") for public television stations in the United States.

On December 14, 2008, a retrospective special titled "The Red Green Story-We're All in This Together" aired on select PBS stations.

On November 29, 2012, Steve Smith announced a new "How to Do Everything" Tour, which began in Canada in late 2013 before going to the United States in spring 2014.

[17] On 20 September 2011, Acorn released The Red Green Show: The Geezer Years,[18] which contains episodes from the final three seasons (13–15).

Its only win was in 1998, for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series, awarded jointly to Steve Smith and Patrick McKenna for the episode "The Movie."