IDEA - 9-29-2020
by
Patrick Ryan
1,569 Words
Alfred's relationship with the world was impacted by his time in front of the television as a child. That time was significant, considering that his parents were always looking to keep him quiet or entertained. Alfred's understanding of complicated subjects grew throughout the years as he spent most of his time watching sitcoms, not that something was wrong with how those subjects were covered. Unfortunately, the half-hour format led Alfred to assume that it was possible to solve most of life's problems in 30 minutes. Later in his life, Alfred was full of one-liners and canned laughter in his head day after day. I can imagine worse ways to go through life, to laugh, and to tell jokes. It's as if there is a movie on a loop, and he can access any scene at any moment, having committed these childhood comedies to memory. The real tragedy comes when he runs out of material. Heather, his girlfriend of two years, someone Alfred would say was a recurring character in his movie, was assaulted a few years ago. Accessing dialogue from The Facts of Life episode where Natalie was assaulted, he knew just what to say, and he was the hero for one night. Nonetheless, Alfred woke up the next morning and expected everything to be fine, on to the next storyline, but it wasn't, and it ruined his relationship. On and on, Alfred's internal movie offers a glimpse of what is exactly required, but then, eventually, the letdown. Alfred meets Jennifer, and this season's plot is written in his head. Jennifer is a fan of past sitcoms, but she appears to be a little more grounded than Alfred. For the first couple of months, with skilled screenwriters writing the dialogue, love is in the air and their eyes. However, the superficiality comes faster than it usually does, since Jennifer recognizes Alfred's shows. Jennifer calls him to task on the superficial way he lives his life. In a meta moment, asking if she'll ever meet the true Alfred! He becomes fractured with no plot or dialogue to add to the scenario. He's been reciting and acting so long he doesn't know who he is inside. Will Alfred be good enough for Jennifer? He knows he needs to risk everything to find true happiness, but in a true twist worthy of the best sitcoms, Jennifer's ex comes back into the picture. A charismatic, good-looking, charming guy with the intention of sweeping Jennifer off her feet. Accessing his childhood movie is the only way to compete; it always knows precisely what to say and do. But the story is familiar to Jennifer; it will require Alfred to create original material for the first time in his life, a challenge greater than anything he has ever seen on TV.
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