Newt

Long suffering father of the royal/mantis kiddos


A Surreal Situation
Write a sitcom-styled comedy.

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Our characters:
The Quints - Shadow, Earth, Wind, Water, Ice
(I haven’t decided on names for them yet, so placeholder names for now!)

Their father, Newt

I wrote this synopsis of a sitcom based on this article’s formula!
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/12/cracking-the-sitcom-code/384068/

The Teaser:
Overhead view of Newt and the kids all sprawled together on the ground, sleeping. Shadow and Earth are hugging each other in their sleep, while Wind, Water and Ice are all loosely holding onto one of Newt’s limbs. Newt wakes and manages to get up without waking the kids. He decides to pull a prank on them and give them plants for breakfast instead of their usual. They have a funny reaction.

The Trouble:
Newt learns about a new playground nearby. It’s got lots of great new equipment and would be perfect for the kids to play. The problem is that only coatls are being allowed in. Newt makes a plan to go to the local council and convince them to open the playground to other dragons as well.

The Muddle:
Newt makes his case before the council but they tell him that because the playground was sponsored by someone that only wanted coatls to use it, they can’t do anything until the equipment is paid off. One of the council members pulls him aside after the meeting and whispers to him that if enough dragons put up a fuss, they can appeal to the sponsor and try to get the rule changed.

The Triumph/Failure:
Newt manages to get many of his neighbors that also have kids to a rally. They have picket signs and punny chants that they use to show the council how unfair this rule is. Newt even convinces Wind to make a little speech about how much she’d like to use the playground but can’t. Ice and Shadow put on a skit with some of the other children. The council comes out and says that they have spoken with the sponsor and other dragons will be allowed to use the playground. Everyone cheers!

The Kicker:
We go back to a similar view as the intro, with Newt and the kids all asleep. This time Earth wakes up first and goes to make breakfast. She plants some seafood in with Newt’s insects before waking him up with breakfast in bed!

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Newt: Tada gan iarracht
Happy St Patrick’s Day! Write about your character going through an unusual amount of luck for the day. What happens, why, and how do they react?

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Newt woke up to… silence? Well that was odd, where were the girls? They always woke him up in some way, whether that was fighting or just playing loudly. He got up and found them all eating breakfast silently. ‘What is going on?’ He thought.

“Morning daddy!” The girls all chorused. They showed him his breakfast and he sat down in wonder. When they had all finished, the kids all went to the play room and were playing… quietly? Did he have some crazy luck today?

The morning passed by and Newt hadn’t had to yell at the girls once for being too loud, or for breaking things, or drawing on things that they shouldn’t, or… were they up to something? He wondered, maybe they were trying to butter him up so they could ask for something later. Newt decided he would have to keep a close eye on them today. He took them out to the playground and let them run around, hoping that if they got tired, they wouldn’t be plotting anymore. As he sat down to watch them, he noticed something shiny on the ground. He looked closer, and saw it was some treasure! ‘Wow, this sure is lucky!’ Newt thought as he picked it up. He looked around, but no one else was at the playground to claim it. He pocketed the treasure and sat, waiting for the girls to get tired. Eventually, they did and they made their way home.

As they walked, they came across a little farm stand. The farmer was closing up for the day, so he offered Newt all the food that hadn’t sold for a hefty discount. The treasure he had found earlier just covered all of it. ‘How fortuitous!’ Newt mused. He and the girls made their way home, and when they got back, the quints all went right to sleep for their nap. Newt was now convinced that they must be up to something, there’s no way that they could be this good and he found just enough treasure for the food all in one day? Was it really his lucky day?