Ron Pollick's Leisure Services

Synopsis: Ron Pollick's Leisure Services is a retro-inspired, modern-day animated adult comedy series. It follows the lives and assignations of middle-aged, interim Leisure Services Director, Ron Pollick, and the various townsfolk and co-workers he encounters.

At 57, Ron has finally reached the pinnacle of his career. After the death of Director, Bernie Benson, he's finally in charge. A pursuit 35 years in the making. And he loves every second of it.

Ron lives like he's still 20; like he's still smack in the middle of 1985. He's hot. He's cool. He's still the 6'7" slender summer recreational god all the little girls adored and all the boys aspired to be.

He doesn't notice his chrome dome where once a full head of dark feathered hair existed. He doesn't notice the belly, protruding, threatening to conceal his large feet.

His clothes are as tired as his jokes and his lines.

It's both a mockery and a celebration of 80's pop culture held up to a modern-day lens as we watch Ron being dragged kicking and screaming into 2023. As the series progresses, he learns a lot, but he also has a few things to teach.

Target Audience: With frequent 80's pop culture and music references, this 22-minute weekly series will appeal largely to late Baby Boomers and Gen X'ers eager to travel back to a time they know, but to also take a humourous look at how it really was and how it's all changed. Nostalgia meets self-deprecation.

Cast:

Ron Pollick: He's the guy we all knew back in the day. Super-cool and once devastatingly handsome. He had the coolest job of all, summer rec director for the Town Of Wolladingdong Leisure Services.

He was the guy who stayed. He peaked in 1985. When he's not working, he can still be found down at the Metro Mall, or what's left of it, sitting on the same bench in front of Burger Buddy, trying to talk to women.

Although he's aware of the passage of time, it's something he's not at all convinced is for the better. He prefers his own little world.

He lives in his own bubble in the same house he grew up in. He's Seymour Skinner meets Al Bundy meets Ralph Furley. He's lame, infuriating, out of touch, and a little drunk on the power he perceives he has with his new position.

But there's more to Ron than meets the eye. For all his cringy, sometimes rude, and crude ways, he really does mean well. He has a heart, a big soft one. This side isn't initially revealed to the viewer, it comes out as the series progresses.

For all his faults, Ron is actually an ally. He sees everyone regardless of race, creed, colour, gender, sexuality, etc. as equal. He organized the town's first Alternative Prom in 1987, almost losing his job at Leisure Services because his sister wasn't allowed to wear a tux to the school graduation dance.

Lydia Lovelace: Lydia is 24. She's a trans woman with flowing blonde hair and a strong personality. She's Ron's rival for the permanent directorship. She's well-educated, extremely intelligent, and driven. She seems to have made it her life's mission to challenge Ron's seemingly archaic worldview. Despite their differences, there's an underlying affection between the pair. She sees good in Ron. That doesn't mean she doesn't want to strangle him.

Peggy Post: Peggy has served as an Associate Director at Leisure Services for decades. She's an efficient African-American woman of 64, waiting on retirement. She's smart, quick-witted, highly professional and doesn't entertain fools gladly.

The cast is rounded out by various townfolk who highlight Ron's maladaptive and hilarious ways.

Pilot Episode:

Title: Office Politics:

The series opens with Ron standing in the Director's office, his office now. He's clad in a tight white t-shirt that reads "Champ," green track shorts, white socks, sneakers, and a green terry-cloth headband.

All of Bernie's stuff is still in the office. The door reads, Leisure Services, Bernie Benson.

Ron is removing the letters of the deceased director's name with haste. Once completed, he looks around frantically. He realizes he has nothing to use to put his name in place of Bernie's. He grabs a Post-It note and writes Ron Pollick in large lettering and sticks it to the exterior of the door.

He stands even taller than his 79 inches as he admires his handiwork.

The episode continues with Ron meeting with his team (Peggy and Lydia) about his new position and the dire state the department is in. The Youth Program budget is set to be scrapped unless they can come up with some programs to bring in the 8-15 year -olds.

Lydia suggests doing a focus group, complete with online surveys, gift card incentives, and a full-scale social media campaign. She volunteers to head up the project.

Ron, making his first executive decision, decides that instead, they'll create a drop-in centre, complete with arcade games, a jukebox, and great tunes!:

Lydia: Okay, well, we should start out with a focus group, maybe a survey, we can do it online. Ask the kids what they want, offer them an incentive, a small gift card, ITunes, PlayStation, whatever. We'll do a social media blast with a link to the survey. I can literally get right on it....

Peggy (nods)

Ron (waves his arm dismissively): All that fancy stuff...we don't need that. We're talking cutbacks here! No bells and whistles. Do more with less, pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, man. We always did programming before, nobody ever ASKED kids what they wanted. Everybody knows what kids like I mean, duh! (he points his finger to his temple).

Lydia: That's literally ridiculous.

Ron: No, what we need, is to get these kids off the street. Hanging around on the corner...leads to no good...I know, we'll do a drop-in centre!

Lydia: There are literally no kids on the street. Kids don't hang around on the street. They're at home, on their computers and phones, and doing stuff.

Ron (keeps talking): Set it up, guys. I have it all worked out. We'll get some video games, we'll do like an arcade thing. It'll be bitchin', totally bitchin'!

I got a buddy, Ricky, he's in the arcade biz. Well, he was. He's taking some time for himself lately, as you kids say. He's got tons of games, 20, 30 maybe. They're all in his garage. I'm sure he'd do us a solid...

Lydia looks to Peggy and mouths "Solid?"

Peggy mouths back, "Favour."

Peggy (lifts her pen in front of her face): Ron, a slight logistical question, where would we put 20 or 30 arcade games? We don't have space for anything like that.

Ron: Sure we do. Anyway, not all of them, maybe 10. We'll use the old community room. It's plenty big enough and it's just sitting there.

Lydia (deadpan): You know, a drop-in centre isn't a bad idea, per se. But arcade games? Who even knows what an arcade is anymore? Every kid, literally every single kid literally has video games at home and on their computers and on their phones. It's literally redundant.

With the decision made, Ron continues to plan what he sees as the best idea he's ever had! He decides on the music, which he's determined to personally choose:

Ron: That settles it. Drop-in centre opens a week from Friday, I'll get the arcade games from Ricky, test 'em out, and all that. Oh, and a jukebox! Oh man, I love those! I've got a deadly collection of 45s. It's gonna be gnarly, I promise! I've got all the best ones, Duran Duran, Darryl and John, Ann and Nancy, Wham, Ratt, Poison...

Lydia: What about Drake or Taylor Swift? What about The Weekend?

Ron: The Weekend? I already told you, not this Friday, next. Next weekend. (he laughs way too hard at his joke).

Lydia: That's literally the lamest thing I've ever heard.

The episode continues with Ron taking Lydia to task on her incessant use of the word, "Literally." He tries to ban it from the office and is hilariously challenged by Lydia who is not one to be told.

Ron: That's it! No more "literally," Lydia! I'm banning that word from this office.

Lydia: You literally can't do that.

Ron: I just did. No more. It's making me mental, insane in the membrane!

Lydia: (Stands up, magazine in one hand, phone in the other.) You literally cannot do that. It's censorship! You can't tell people what words they can use! Jesus, Ron, this is America, we have freedom of speech, maybe you heard of this little thing called The Constitution? It's not literally 1984 you know, you don't get to make up newspeak!

The camera pans in on the magazine Lydia's holding. The front cover reads, "101 Words You Better Not Use Anymore If You Want People To Like You."

The show closes with plans being made and Ron decorating his new office in ways that may just not please the other members of the staff.

Stay tuned for Episode 2: Drop In and Party Like It's 1985: After a few hilarious hiccups, the Youth Drop-In Centre somehow becomes THE place to be in Walladingdong.