People are Strange when you're a Stranger...

Hello pilgrim.

Wow! I just realised I haven't got my character ideas up! What's wrong with me? Wha' happen'? WTF? And various other strange exclamations...

I must precede these descriptions with the statement that these are all some form of extension of myself. (I know, right? What a self obsessed wanker. A twat. A right cock. And various other expletives...).

Also, they must all be flawed in some way. I hate perfect characters. Hence my love for Tony Soprano, the Bluths and Wes Anderson's characters.
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Daniel March

What's in a name?

At this early stage, all these names are working titles. And are likely to change. As the male protagonist, I wanted this character to have a strong and memorable name like so many great literary characters (eg Holden Caulfield, Raoul Duke, Nick Carraway [whom I have on pretty good authority looks exactly like Scott Baio]). I may end up coming up with something better, but it has a certain poetry about it.

Character:

OK. As I mentioned, Daniel is my male protagonist. He follows in the tradition of the Holden Caulfield character, or Anthony from Bottle Rocket - that being, a tragic rebel. He is lost. He realises that his whole identity is based on other peoples opinions and expectations of him. He doesn't know who he is. So he throws everything about himself out the window and starts again.

Daniel was 6 months from completing a teaching degree. He was going to be a High School Science teacher. Why did he choose this? Probably because someone told him he'd be good at it. He's never really thought for himself.

One day at University, whilst lining up at the cafe he suffers some sort of existential crisis: the girl at the counter asks him "What do you want?". Daniel takes this as a philosophical question and breaks down then and there. The same day, he drops out of Uni, and tells his family he's moving out.

Once in the share-house (a place for him to shed his past and discover who he really is), Daniel is open to any new experience that will push him from his comfort zone. In many ways, his "blank slate" persona serves as a surrogate for audience members to live through him.

As a final note, I'm a tad obsessed with the idea of a character who is possibly somewhat mentally unstable (once again, like Anthony in Bottle Rocket). He always has the potential to explode again. I have an idea for a running joke in which people constantly refer to his breakdown, and he appears in denial:

Character #1: Hey Dan, I heard you had some kind of breakdown?
Daniel: It's fatigue.

Variations on this exchange could appear throughout the show. Possibly concluding with one like this:

Character #1: How's your fatigue?
Daniel: It was a breakdown. OK? I had a breakdown.
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Francis

This character is less well-formed, however I'm coming up with a few ideas for him.

I see Francis as a local musician. He's part of a band who have achieved minor success on radio. They were off to a good start. However, the past year has been slow, and he feels that his bandmates have lost interest. They seem more interested in making money than being creative.

Aside from this, he feels like the butt of the joke to many people. It seems as though everyone feels he is wasting his time. Anytime he is asked how his music career is going, it is laced with condescension. They imply that he should be looking for a "real job". He is always compared to other successful Australian bands. Eg:

Character #1: How's your band going?
Francis: Good man, good. We're getting there.
Character #1: Not famous yet?
Francis: I suppose not.
Character #1: How about Powderfingers last record? It kicked ass. You hear it?

That sort of thing. He is starting to think that maybe he should give it all up and start to grow up. He's understanding that maybe just having good songs isn't enough.

I also like the idea of him being tied to the arty/cool scene, which his housemates are infatuated with, however he hates the whole thing and dreads going to each Gallery opening/Play/Gig.
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Joel

This guy could be fun. He is Francis's best friend. He is a business student. He is incredibly dry, and has a surreal sense of humour. He is blokey. He has no fashion sense to speak of, however, his quirky style along with his looks and personality makes his extremely attractive to women.

He is also homosexual. He is more masculine than the other two guys. I like the idea of a gay character who doesn't conform to the "camp queen" that we're so used to seeing on TV. It could even be fun if we didn't reveal that he was homosexual till a few episodes in - however, there would be no "coming out", as all the main characters already know he's gay, however, the audience was unaware.

He has a few other homosexual friends who call him "faux-mo" due to his masculine behaviour. He's not closeted, he's just comfortable with who he is.

This guy is based on several people I know, and respect. He'll also be styled somewhat on Simon Amstell as he is further developed.
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Anyway, that's enough for now. I have more brainstorming to do.

Be good to yourselves and each other.

-C