Culture Thursday: A Word from Victor the Crab - WELCOME TO BARCLAY DAVIS

Mornin' all, and welcome to Barclay Davis, the name of my proposed animation series.

Barclay Davis is the name of the neighbourhood district of an unnamed American city, where Max lives. It's based on the Toronto neighborhood district, Broadview Danforth - seen in the photo above, which is an eclectic place of differing shops and restaurants. I lived around that area for a couple of years and fell in love with it. I wanted it named something that had the initials B and D in them, and thought Barclay Davis sounded about right.

The names Broadview and Danforth would be incorporated into the series. Broadview would be named for a big spacious park smack dab in the middle of the district, called Broadview Park, and Danforth would be named for the high school Max works at as a teacher, Danforth High School. Barclay Avenue runs east-west, and most of the businesses are along there. Davis Road runs north-south where it's mostly residential, and where Max lives in an bland, boring two story apartment building, not that far from Barclay Ave. Around the corner and across the street, there's a bar Max and his friends hang out at, which is like a second home to them, named the Crow's Bar.

Max, along with Victor, form a circle of friends who live on the same floor of the apartment building they're in. I like to call this circle, The Gang. The other four in it are:

Mitchell "Mitch" Peterson works as a travel agent. Mitch is very good at his job, because he goes out of his way to accommodate those looking to have a fun time on their vacations. He's also like that in real life, as Mitch is a positive, upbeat person who always trying to make things better for his friends. But when things don't go accordingly, and everything falls apart, Mitch become a snapping turtle with a very foul attitude. Mitch is openly gay. He's also celibate, wanting to save himself for when the right guy comes along. Later in the series, he meets Paul, who becomes his boyfriend and later his fiancé whom they both wed near the end of the series, with Max, who often turns to Mitch for advice, as their best man. Mitch would be voiced by Kids In The Hall's Scott Thompson, who has most of Mitch's appearance.

Robert "Bob" Rose is a black Jamaican immigrant and legalized American citizen who works as a insurance executive. He the tallest of the Gang at 6'5", who lives in the apartment with the others because he's paying alimony and child support to his wife and young son for having a one night affair she discovers. Bob considers that to be a huge mistake on his part, and accepts the consequences for his act. He's a high strung individual who looks as if he's going to have a seizure. Bob is a conservative who votes Republican. While fiscally conservative, he's socially moderate, as he knows full well his skin color makes him suspect to other Republicans, and is definitely a Never Drumpfer. Near the end of the series, Bob begins dating his ex-wife again, and they remarry in Vegas, and moves back in with her and their now teenaged son. Bob would be voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson with a thick Jamaican accent.

Samir "Sam" Rizkalla is a artist who dreams of being world renowned. When he's not painting, Sam pays the rent and bills by being a freelance graphic designer. Sam is the shortest of the Gang, at 5'5" tall, with dark rimmed glasses and stubble on his hair and face that gives him a Ringo Starr appearance. He's a laid back, chill kinda guy wanting to live a bohemian life. Whenever he's at the bar with the Gang, he sits in his chair with the back turned and his arms resting on the back of the chair, like Raj from What's Happening!! Sam is Muslim, and his family is concerned that he's not taking life seriously, and hopes he gets a real job soon. His older brother wants him to get in on his restaurant business, which he reluctantly does since he was getting nowhere with his art. In a deal with his brother, he agrees to hang his pictures in his restaurant, which leads to his work being discovered, making Sam's dreams come true. Sam would be voiced by Fajer Al-Kaisi.

Peter "Pete" Peplinski works at a crisis help center, listening to other peoples problems and troubles. Pete went into his job brimming with optimism, but years of listening to others in his role turned him into a depressed, misanthropic cynic who believes mankind is doomed because people are just fucked up. Pete is an obese man at 6'3", with a balding, unkempt, slovenly appearance and who loves beer. Pete often says whatever is on his mind, which, at times, can be offensive, but can also be truthful and honest. He's not interested romantically with anyone, thinking why get involved in a relationship if it'll just end up bad. Pete would be voiced by the great H Jon Benjamin.

Those outside the circle include:

Gloria Feinberg is Mitch's boss who runs the travel agency he works at. Gloria has a frumpy appearance, where she's rather heavy set with long hair that's braided in the back, has a huge overbite, ears and nose that sticks out, and she wears glasses because she's nearsighted. But Gloria has a positive, upbeat, no fucks given attitude where she lives her life the way she wants, and doesn't care what people think of her. She's funny, witty, and loves life to the fullest. That attitude of hers gets her attention from some very attractive men who love her crazy, loveable self. Near the end of the series, we discover she got married to a tall dark handsome man who completes her. Gloria would be voiced by Sarah Silverman.

Alex "Al" Antonidas is a police officer who patrols the neighborhood and gets along well with people and with Max and the Gang. Al has the face of an angel, the body of a Greek god, and the personality of SpongeBob SquarePants! Al may look like GQ material, but he's an unapologetic nerdy geek at heart. He enjoys comic books, D&D, WoW, and other geeky stuff. He bonds well with Victor, but the ladies, after being taken in by his looks, quickly decide they want nothing to do with him. Al doesn't let the rejections bother him, as he really didn't think they were right for him. Al takes his job as a policeman seriously. He's one of those who believes that the police are there to serve and protect the people. Later on in the series, everyone, with the exception of Mitch, finds out he got promoted to detective and secretly married Gloria, whom he calls the woman of his life. Al would be voiced by Tom Kenny.

Herschel "Hirsh" Goldstein is the proprietor of the Crow's Bar, where the Gang hangs out. Hersh is a grizzled old biker who has experienced life as a member of a motorcycle gang. Hirsh got into the bar by becoming the bouncer of the place. When the owner passed away, he willed the ownership of the bar to him. Hirsh has an easy going temperament that gets tested all the time by whatever Victor is up to. He'll throw you out on your ear, like he's done with the Gang, but he never keeps them out permanently. Hirsh came from a very religious family, where his father was a respected rabbi. Hirsh chaffed under his father's strict rule, so he ran away at 16, and never looked back. Sometimes, Hirsh keeps in touch with his roots by playing the violin when he's alone at his place. Hirsh would be voiced by Billy West using his Larry Fine voice, because Hirsh looks like Larry as an old biker.

The following would join the Gang later on in the series:

Paul Legare is Mitch's boyfriend who becomes his fiancé, and then his husband after they marry. Paul met Mitch at an LGBTO event, and they hit it off immediately. Despite being in love, Mitch has made it clear he's not ready for sex until after they're married, even if his hormones are screaming otherwise at him. Paul is a French Canadian from Montreal, who came to America looking to broaden his horizons. He was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces who served as an infantryman and paratrooper with the Royal Canadian Regiment, and did tours of duty as a member of the UN Peacekeeping forces. Sometimes, his military background gets the better of him in situations, like when the Gang try their hand at paintball. He's also certified as a martial arts instructor who opened a dojo to train others in Tai Kwan Do, which Max takes up after a rough incident involving Frida's last boyfriend. Paul looks like a young Bruce Wayne, which has women swooning over him, only to be disappointed when they find out he's gay. Paul would be voiced by Murdoch Mysteries star, Yannick Bisson.

Mohammed "Mo" Rizkalla is Sam's big brother. Mo starts up a shawarma restaurant in hopes of making the dish as relevant as hamburgers and pizza. Mo tries to get Sam into the business, which he does reluctantly after he hits a rut with his art. While Sam is a laid back chill type of guy, big bro Mo is a ball of energy. He has a can do spirit where he tries to spread positivity around whenever he can. He'd probably have a calling as a motivational speaker if he so chooses to try. His restaurant becomes so successful, he opened chains around the city and region, which allowed for Sam to put his artwork up as a deal to join his brother's business. Mo would be voiced by Hasan Minhaj, who would also look like him as well.

Jasmine Rizkalla is Mo's wife and partner in the restaurant business. She's takes care of the food side of things. Jasmine is known for wearing a hijab wherever she goes. But don't let that fool you into thinking she's some meek Muslim wife. Jasmine is very much an outspoken individual that says whatever's on her mind, and makes sure you never forget. She takes shit from no one. Not even her husband, whom she loves and adores. And woe be anyone who ever gets on her wrong side, because she'll make you regret ever doing so! But despite her thorny side, Jasmine is a very pleasant person to get to know. Jasmine would be voiced by Zehra Fazal.

Carol Cortez is a new employee of the crisis help center where Pete works. She also moved into the unoccupied apartment across from Pete. Carol's a Puerto Rican heavy set woman with a misanthropic outlook on life like Pete. At first, Pete and Carol didn't get along because they thought the other was too miserable to be around. But they soon got over themselves and became a couple where there's no sex involved, which is just fine by them. Carol would be voiced by Stephanie Beatriz using her Rosa Diaz voice.

Shontel Rose is Bob's ex wife. She's a tall, statuesque woman with big, flowing hair. During most of the series, Shontel was talked about, but never seen. It was only near the end where she was shown going back out with her ex Bob, as none of the men she went out with were as interesting as Bob, as he's shown to be sincerely remorseful for his one night of infidelity. Shontel has been know to give her gal pals sexual advice, whether they want it or not. By the end, Shontel remarried Bob and moved back in with her and their now teenaged son. Shontel would be voiced by SNL's Ego Nwodim. (and if she's not available, we'll give it to NBL!)

And then there's the faculty of Danforth High.

James "Jim" Brown is the principal of Danforth High. A very academic looking type with the tweed suit, V-neck sweater, and reading glasses draped around his neck, he gives off the appearance of Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Jim is serious as a principal, but he's a friendly and sometimes jovial type who sometimes slips up and say something rather inuendo like. Jim was born and raised in the projects. He worked really hard to get to where he is, although he doesn't like to talk about the past too much, rather insisting on moving forward. Jim can be difficult to reach out to because he's a private person who keeps things to himself rather than open up to others. Jim would be voiced by Phil LaMarr.

Michael "Mike" McGilligan sounds like a silly name. But there's absolutely nothing silly about Mike McGilligan, Danforth's vice-principal and bad cop to Principal Brown's good cop. McGilligan, serving his country with honor as a U.S. Marine - and still looking every bit the Marine in appearance, is a take no shit type of individual who's by the book, through and through. He sees to it order is maintained throughout the school, and woe be any student (or teacher) who finds themselves having to explain themselves to Mr. McGilligan in his office, where just the thought of having to deal with him sends even the toughest acting student trembling and sweating in fear, screaming "AAAUGH!!! MCGILLIGAN!!!" Despite the leathery outside, Mike can be a reasonable and sympathetic person when need be. At the beginning, he was quite hard on Max as he was struggling early as a teacher. But he slowly came to respect him as Max grew into his job more. By the end of the series, Mike had taken a position as principal of a middle school and he wished Max the best of luck filling his shoes as the new vice-principal of Danforth. Mike would have been voiced by Kevin Conroy. But since his death, it would be Bruce Greenwood.

Jeffrey "Jeff" Robinson is another history teacher who has the longest tenure of any faculty member of Danforth. Jeff, looking like the spitting image of Larry Linville, is a rather gregarious type who goes out of his way to help students when they need it and other teachers like Max, who considers Jeff something of a mentor to him. Jeff helped Max out early in his teaching career, and helped stand up for him whenever McGilligan questioned his methods. Jeff enjoys the odd drink from time to time. But later in the series, he got too much into it, which caused his wife to leave him and be questioned by Brown and McGilligan. Jeff hit rock bottom when, blitzed out on booze, he nearly did something hideous and unforgivable, which Max prevented him from doing. No charges would be filed on him, if he quit drinking. Jeff went into rehab, joined AA, returned to his job, and most importantly, got back together with his beloved wife. When not at his job, Jeffrey does work at an AA chapter to help other alcoholics like him. Jeff would be voiced by Frank Welker.

Gail Smith, a black math teacher from Nashville, and Abigail Jones, a white geography teacher from rural North Carolina, are best buds who hang out together when they're not teaching their classes, nor at each other's throats at rib competitions. They're both known for talking as a pair, where Gail says a sentence or two and Abigail follows up with a sentence or two herself, and they go back and forth with Gail saying something and Abigail saying something, etc. Both are in interracial marriages to men both named Elvis, who are both in a band that plays blues and honkey tonk. Abigail grew up in a very racist family where her grandfather was a grand wizard with the KKK. Abigail grew up with racist tendencies herself, but that started changing once she entered college. At a frosh night Abigail was confronted by two white men who wanted to rape her. But before they could do any damage, they were both pulled off and tossed by a big black man. When Abigail saw who saved her, she got scared of him. But the black man just walked away in disgust from her, which began her change to seeing African Americans in a different light. Which also ended up getting her disowned by her racist family. Gail would be voiced by Roz Ryan. Abigail would have been voiced by Conchata Ferrell, but she died in 2020.

Martha Wong teaches biology at Danforth High. A beautiful woman with a great personality, Martha came in late in the series. She's something of a tease to Max, trying to build up his spirits and confidence because she thinks that a handsome man, like him, shouldn't be going through life alone, with nobody to love. Max gets kind of annoyed with Martha's somewhat flirting of him, because she's a married woman who'd never leave her husband (he's a coroner who works with the police and is good friends with Al). But deep down, he loves the attention he gets from her flirting. And if she was single and unattached, he'd probably be with her. One time, after Max and Frida became a couple, Martha gave Frida a short red qipao dress of hers to wear for when Max came back from martial arts class, in order to add a little spice to their love life. When Max returned and saw Frida wearing Martha's dress (and nothing else), he stood there frozen in surprise. Next thing, at Danforth, Frida grabs Martha from behind and plants a big wet kiss on her lips. Martha says "He really liked it, huh?" Frida responds by laughing like Pete Puma. Martha would be voiced by Lauren Tom.

There are other characters in the series that I haven't mentioned. But you get the jist of where this series is at.

And finally, as a theme song for the series, I would go with this:

Next: Meet Max Edwards and Victor.