Gotta love the 90s

When it comes to writing stories, I look for ideas and references in family events or shows I have watched. I grew up in the 1980s so, watching a lot of cartoons like looney toons and sitcoms like Married with Children and Titus. Watching tv was my favorite thing to do as a kid. As I got older, I came across "Downtown" an animation tv series on MTV. I purchased Married with Children and Titus on DVD just in case my digital videos get deleted are damaged (which they did a year ago, and yes, I cried) I purchased "Downtown" later, I occasionally watch the DVD sitcoms because they help give me ideas for my stories. Maybe I should explain why I choose Married with Children, Titus, and Mtv Downtown. Let's start with Married with Children.

Married with Children

If you're like me growing up we all saw the same thing on TV every night: One big happy family, everyone learns a lesson, the home looks warm and cozy, and it is the type of family everyone wants to be apart of because in real life none of that is real. Married with Children changed all that by making a sitcom about a dysfunctional family that is: One big screwed-up yet ok family, everyone somewhat learns a lesson or doesn't give a damn, the home looks like random stuff found in your home such as a couch, a small box tv with a broken rabbit ear antenna with aluminum foil around the tips. It is the type of family everyone sees in every neighborhood. The show follows Al Bundy, who was a once-glorious high school football player turned hard-luck (when he got his girlfriend then and now wife pregnant) women's shoe salesman at a store called Gary's shoe store that happens to be a highly popular place for women of all sizes to buy shoes. His lazy wife, Peggy, who not only is horny 24/7 but takes every opportunity to insult Al's pride, his ego, and his manhood; their attractive, dumb and popular daughter, Kelly; and their smart, horny and unpopular son, Bud. The family is a suburban crazy dysfunctional family who lives in Chicago. But wait, there's more, their neighbors are just as mad as the Bundys'. Their neighbors are Steve Rhoades and his wife Marcy, who later gets remarried to Jefferson D'Arcy, a "trophy husband" and Al's sidekick (Steve leaves Marcy so he can become his life long dream of becoming a forest ranger). Most storylines involve Al's schemes being foiled by his cartoonish dim wit and bad luck. There are times the family may be the cause of the chaos. The insults and the comebacks are the best. If you need to find something to laugh at because you feel your life sucks, just watch an episode you'll feel better.

Titus

Titus is an American dark comedy sitcom. The sitcom is based on Christopher Titus's stand-up comedy act, which was based loosely upon his real-life family. Titus plays an outwardly childish adult (based on himself), who owns a custom car shop. The show follows him and his dimwitted half-brother Dave, Who happens to be a stoner and has flashes of genius. Dave is a savant when it comes to detailing cars; Dave works with Titus at his shop. Erin is Christopher's girlfriend with the "heart of gold" and who happens to get Christopher out of trouble when it involves the police, his goody-goody friend Tommy who claims he is not gay even tho he tends to act or say things in a way that gives off that he is gay. Finally, there is his arrogantly heavy smoking & drinking, womanizing, divorced multiple times (five times to be exact), father Ken "Papa" Titus. Ken is always triggering Christopher with sarcasm, insulting, and calling him a "wussy" (a great family insult I don't know why) I love this show I can't think of anything else to watch to give me ideas for a comedy.

Mtv Downtown.

When it comes to cartoons, you think of cute, colorful animals or people in a happy little world. Well, Mtv Downtown isn't one of those. It's the opposite. Downtown is an animated series that was on MTV, based on interviews with real people on urban life, crazy stuff that they did, or just downright insane stuff. The show follows a diverse and multiracial cast who lives in New York City, and presents their everyday lives. Thirteen episodes are so unique and tell great stories. The detail in the animation is fantastic because you can see the trash, graffiti, and detail items on building, cabs, even on the clothing of the characters in every episode. In this animated series, I loved that there was a different culture; not all the characters were one ethnicity. I was annoyed there wasn't going to be a second season.

So, there you have it. These shows have helped me not only in my writing as a reference, but also to get me through the pandemic.