Doug

INDULGENT MUSINGS:
I think back on Doug like he was a friend of mine in school. The world that creator Jim Jinkins brought to life is so relatable despite featuring bizarre skin tones, even more bizarre surnames, and the most unique theme song and soundtrack of any TV show ever.

While Doug Funnie was a standard surrogate character for the audience, he also felt specific and fleshed out. Each episode was framed by a journal entry, allowing the viewers to get a peek inside that nine-haired head of his. This device paired with a healthy dose of fantasies and dream sequences to add up to a major reason we all connect with Doug:

Point of View

When you enter a story with the same amount of information as the protagonist, you're immediately invested. In the first episode of Doug, he's literally the new kid in town. This is actually a rarity in animated sitcoms which usually start and end their run with the same status quo (he said, irresponsibly, without doing any research).

We don't experience a wide angle view of Bluffington, we experience Bluffington through Doug. This isn't necessarily better than how we explore Springfield on the Simpsons or Riverdale on... well, Riverdale. It's just a different approach. We learn that Patti Mayonnaise is more than just an object of affection as Doug befriends her. We learn that Roger Klotz is kind of nice guy when Doug does in Doug Vs. The Klotzoid Zombies. In my opinion, this is what makes Doug an old friend of mine.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
You guys! Thanksgiving is behind us which means it's officially the holiday season. I decorated weeks ago but that's only because I was tired of being sad all the time. Anyway! I wanted to do something special so I decided my next several specs leading up to Christmas will be HOLIDAY EPISODES! This is the first one! I hope you dig it!

EPISODE SUMMARY:
Doug joins the cast of the annual Bluffington Community Theater Christmas play in an attempt to get close to the female lead, Patty Mayonnaise. But when his sister, Judy, gets the role of director, the town is up in arms over her surreal take on the local tradition. Will the play still open? Will Doug finally win Patty's affection? Will Quailman be in this one? (no, sorry... I couldn't find an organic way to bring in Quailman so... no)

HONESTY CORNER:
This spec, like The Adventures of Pete and Pete, is for a show that is so specific to the time it existed in that I couldn't really get a firm grasp of the tone. As a result, his episode was a challenge. As I continue this little experiment I'm learning that the older a show is, the easier time I have finding the feel of it. Batman '66 is so engrained in our culture through parody and nostalgia that the language was already defined for me. That's not true of these 90's programs. We haven't had time to lampoon them and fully process them yet. I was constantly asking "is this the type of joke that would be on Doug?" and "Is this part too serious?"

This was also a tough show to research. I knew I wanted to write a 22-minute episode but most Doug episodes were comprised of two separate 11-minute stories. I opted to stick to one longer story which only gave me three episodes of the original Nickelodeon run to compare it to. I ignored the Disney installments because I'm elitist like that.

Fun sidenote: I'm incapable of typing "Doug" without first typing "Dough" and then deleting the h. Every. Single. Time.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Again my wife, Katie, who reads most of these specs and always comes at me with super helpful feedback. Also my friend and frequent collaborator, Taylor Lynskey, who is incredibly talented in every way. Please listen to his collection of solo albums here. Lastly, Andrew Williams is a returning note-giver whose music can be found here.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this script or thoughts on TV shows I should consider in future posts. Sound off below!