View Full Version : You are placed in a sitcom universe; which one, what do you do?


DTF955
08-27-2007, 07:38 PM
This place is too much fun - I have more time than I thought because of the course I took being mostly projects done that week, but I must stop coming here so much. However, before I leave for good again, one question.

If you were placed in a sitcom universe, where would it be, what would you do? How would you improve things (or make them sillier)?

Rules:
1. You can only appear from the start onward, including past the conclusion, so no appearing and stopping the event of the sitcom's premise from starting. (i.e.: No preventing the mom's death on "Full House," or on Gilligan's Island...well, I guess that's a special case, I guess you could prevent them from taking the tour, that's up to you whether that's cheating.)

2. You can change history once you're there. Want to marry your crush? Okay, but let's try to keep it K-rated, for the younger readers; you can't go back just to do you know what (though i think most people here are more mature than that.) But, if you want to go back and start a relationship, fine.

3. You must be the age you were when the show aired at that time, unless you were less than 18 (random age) when the point in time was on the show, in which case you may go back to that time at your present age. (Example - you're born in 1970. You could go to Cheers in 1989, but you'd have to be 19. 1982-1987 you'd have the choice - be your age then or your age now. For Happy Days, Hogan's Heroes, etc. lovers, if you go to an airdate, you do go to the time the series took place. Which means some people could meet their younger selves :-)

4. The series is made realistic, except in extreme cases. So, weird architecture is fixed to be normal, like how the house on Full House is not one of those row houses becasue you can easily get around the side of the house. (And the door is a different color - the Chronology says it's a suburb, but that's neither here nor there.) But, really freaky stuff, well...if you went on Gilligan's Island, let's say, you might come across some weird physics involving how coconuts can be used to build radios (I don't think that's normal), and months of clothes can fit in one little boat. (Did the Howells pack a Tardis? :-)

4.5: If there's a character who ages suddenly, like Chrissy on Growing Pains, you get your pick of universes: One where the person will age normally as if there was no change, or one where they wer eborn earlier and the whole show changes because of it. (So, with Growing pains, she can go from 2 to 3 in 1990, or she can be born in...would it be 1983?)

5. The universe you're in, not our own, rules. If X was in the Super Bowl in that universe one year, but it was Y in ours, that universe rules. if you consider the Flintstones, though they were animated, well, man lived with and had tamed dinosaurs, and if you're a believer, maybe you can just figure it's early in a Christian pre-Flood world. Or, come up with some reason of your own.

6. You can be any character, in any place. You have a job of your choosing, or the school of your choosing (just becasue you'd be under 18 doesn't mean you *can't* go back at that age), but otherwise, whatever money you have now.

7. You retain vague knowledge of what happened in the rest of the show, but of course each change you make alters things and causes memory to fade; like that picture of Marty and his siblings in "Back to the Future." But, if you write down what you want to do and what you want to avoid, that won't fade. Nor will the peoples' memories fade if you tell them who you are - but who would believe you.

8. Any handicaps are either lessened or, if need be, eliminated.

What do you do, where do you go?

Me? I'm 18 when "Full House starts, and entering college, so I enroll at San Francisco State, which because of its journalism is likely Danny & Joey's school and it's similar to mine, though I prefer smaller campuses. I befriend the Tanners, and join the church they go to occasionally. I try to encourage the oldest girl toward the book universe version of her as a likely mother figure (rather than Uncle jesse as one) so I can help steer her sisters in that direction, too. I become a Sunday school teacher, too, in that department, and talk with D.J. about being proactive with Michelle and move forgiving toward Stephanie, being the mother they need. (She'd have to react behind the scenes putting Michelle in timeout and such long before anyone else in the TV Universe to keep things from being a lot worse, but that's another story.)

I try to convince Danny to go to grief counseling, knowing he won't discipline Michelle till almost age 4, and that while he doesn't say it, that and his cleaning obsession are likely because of missing Pam. However, I don't go overboard because I don't want to scare them off. Being from his and Joey's college will help. Hopefully, D.J.'s extra work will inspire him, anyway.

Eventually, I'd probably wind up getting an internship at Danny's station, and I'd be able to befriend them all that way. I think - since I'm doing that now - I'd feel myself moving toward the ministry back then, and maybe even leave school after a few years and start at a seminary nearby. Meanwhile, I'd be really involved in a church, and have the girls more well behaved and such, anyway. The oldest sister would be more of a leader, hopefully the middle sister wouldn't rebel near as much, etc.; I think that would be a fun one to live in. (If not for that show, I'd have been watching Sesame Street and reading Godonight Moon during the most stressful times as a lawyer before leaving the practice :-) Everyone's generally nice, though of course they're human, too - I grew to really hate meanness and such.)

What would you do and how? What would the results be? How long would you stay? You can choose more than one.

ekkostar
08-27-2007, 08:27 PM
Hmmm... that's hard because I was either a baby or being concieved when most of the shows I like began to air.

So... I guess that means I can't be in an odd Perfect Strangers and Night Court crossover.

BuddyHinton
08-28-2007, 03:17 PM
It's March 1974.

I go up and knock on the trailer door of Jim Rockford. It's 6:37pm, dusk, Rocky (Jim's dad) is adjusting his tie in a mirror and complaining about having to get all gussied up. Jimbo invites me in and asks if I've seen Angel, I say, no.. why? He says he owes him $50, I say "that sounds about right." We laugh and all exit the trailer, get in Jim's car and go out to dinner.

It's still season one right now and I thank Jesus I am longer in 2007.