"Титус" американдық комедиялық телесериалы

American television sitcom

Titus is an American dark comedy sitcom that debuted on Fox in 2000. The series was created by its star, Christopher Titus, Jack Kenny, and Brian Hargrove. The sitcom is based on Titus's stand up comedy act, more specifically his one man show Norman Rockwell is Bleeding (which itself would be broadcast on television in 2004), which was based loosely upon his real life family; lines from Norman Rockwell is Bleeding were spoken by Titus as commentary. Titus plays an outwardly childish adult based on himself, who owns a custom car shop. The show follows him and his dimwitted half brother Dave, his girlfriend Erin with the "heart of gold", his goody goody friend Tommy, and his arrogantly lewd, bigoted, heavy smoking and drinking, womanizing, divorced multiple times, father Ken "Papa" Titus.

Titus began doing comedy when he was 18. After two years of relatively normal comedy bits, his act soon began to evolve to focus around his family, particularly his father's heart attacks and his mother's mental illness. One night while performing, an assistant to a Fox executive was in the audience, and he brought his bosses to the show. and is based on his relationship with an abusive ex girlfriend. As a running gag, in most of the episodes there is a reference to guns and/or fire, usually the threat of someone or something being set on fire, as well as Titus's story of how he drunkenly fell into a bonfire and nearly died when he was a teenager.

Cynthia Watros was the first person to audition for the role of Erin, and Zack Ward both auditioned for Tommy; Carell lost out to David Shatraw, while Ward was soon cast as Titus's brother, Dave. After a number of auditions for Titus's father Ken, Stacy Keach was cast after Titus admitted Keach intimidated him. Titus also admitted that, even with the driest line the writers could invent, Keach would find a way to make the line funny. Hargrove's favorite moment is the look Ken gives Tommy in "Insanity Genetic (1)" after Tommy comments "I have no nuts."

On a Sirius Radio interview on Raw Dog 104, Titus said the show got canceled due to an argument with executives. They wanted to split up Titus and Erin because the show Dharma & Greg had done similar and their ratings went up. Titus refused, because not only was he still married to his then real wife, Erin Carden, but the entire focus of the show as "two screwed up people living a normal life" would be compromised. Upon Titus's refusal, on air promotion ceased and the show was soon canceled. In another radio interview, he claimed the show was also taken down for its content and being "too edgy".

As of May 2010, Christopher Titus was reportedly in negotiations with the Fox network to start up a new series again, billed as a sequel of sorts to his first sitcom (and based on his comedy specials The 5th Annual End of the World Tour and Love Is Evol). The series was confirmed to eventually be revived and pick up eight years later with Titus divorced from Erin, Titus's father dead, and Titus dealing with his new normal girlfriend and her perfect family. In March 2014, Titus posted on his Facebook page that the revival project was shut down due to legal issues with 20th Century Fox and limited funding.

Part of the show's success was its unique format; a few exceptions aside, the show stuck to what worked. The "neutral space" was where Titus opened and ended the show. This lead in and lead out allowed for one liners and a monologue, before heading to what the producers called the Main Narrative, or "Live Story". The live story was the bulk of the action, and was the basis for the theme of the episode and the other gags. The live story was unique in that it was extensively rehearsed throughout a production week, and shot in one day, in as few takes as possible. The result allowed the actors to keep their comedic timing, and kept the studio audience engaged to the point that the show did not have to employ a laugh track. Also of note was that the Live Story was (for an overwhelming majority of shows) shot on just one set. Most episodes also took place over a short course of time, usually only a few hours; very rarely would a plot carry over to "the next day". The main narrative was frequently intercut with the neutral space, sometimes just a quick one liner from Titus, or for either informative exposition, a quick flashback, or a sparingly used fantasy scene. The Live Story would also usually take place in one place, either a recurring location like Ken's house, the garage of Titus's car shop, or a one time location like a bus station or a houseboat.

The show always opened and closed in the black and white neutral space, usually with the same sentence, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Titus was the neutral space's only occupant except in two episodes, when he was replaced by Ken and Erin, respectively, and would appear always wearing similar clothes, with a wooden chair, a lightbulb, and the bland walls. Frequently, props appeared for one shot gags in the neutral space. Very rarely would anything from the Live Story appear there (one notable exception was Dave's suicide note in "Private Dave"), nor would anything from the neutral space appear in the Live Story. There are many allusions to the neutral space being Titus's mind, though it is never said outright. On a few occasions, the neutral space is used to demonstrate the passing of time, or Christopher will do something "in" the neutral space when he is really just thinking about it while doing it; we only see his thought process. Also, as in "The Trial", sometimes he will say something in the neutral space and not realize he is also saying it in reality, like when he calls the prosecutor an idiot, thinking he only thought it. Following the credits in the final episode of the series ("The Protector", not "Insanity Genetic" or "Homecoming"), Titus drags the bare wooden chair into the middle of a real life street, sets it on fire, and walks away, whistling part of the theme song.

Flashbacks—always introduced from the Neutral Space–were frequently used for character development and background. Flashbacks generally went back to one of three time periods: when Titus was five, ten, or seventeen. Three different child actors played the five and ten year old versions of Titus, the latter sometimes joined by five year old and ten year old versions of Dave and Tommy. Flashbacks to high school with the seventeen year old Titus had all of the current actors playing the younger versions of themselves. To compensate for being too old to believably play the roles, the actors have humorously exaggerated costumes and mannerisms. Except for a few flashbacks in "Grandma Titus" that featured Ken as a child, Stacy Keach is the only one to appear in all of his character's flashbacks; only his hair and clothes change with the times. The flashbacks themselves had no specific format other than being quick, one laugh gags. They frequently showcased Ken Titus's unique approach to parenting, relationships, and drinking. The women that Ken is shown dating (or even married to) in these flashbacks are frequently not given a name, and their faces are rarely shown. Episodes with guest characters who had any connection with the main characters, like Tommy or Erin's families, frequently appeared in flashbacks as well. Occasionally, instead of a flashback, a far fetched "What if ?" scenario (showing an alternate reality, what Titus's life will be like when he is older, or a one off gag similar to those found on The Simpsons and Family Guy) will be presented, such as Titus and Erin as a bickering married couple in their old age, Titus and his father as rich men who use their butlers to beat each other up while Christopher and Ken read the newspaper, Titus trying to deal with Ken being married to a man, and Titus, Dave, and Ken as heads on a couch.

+Overview of characters on Titus Role Performer Character Summary Christopher Titus Christopher Titus The protagonist and center of the dysfunctional chaos of the show. Christopher tries to mediate things in his dysfunctional life (his hard nosed, alcoholic father, his gifted, yet mentally deranged mother, and his stoner brother) and situations, although he finds himself at loss for words in some situations. Christopher owns his own car shop called Titus High Performance, and employs his brother Dave and his friend Tommy there. Titus sometimes feels that Erin is in denial or disillusion when it comes to dealing with "crazy people" and has his own way of going about things, sometimes behind her back. Christopher is always striving to seek his father's approval but rarely gets far, though it is clear that he loves both his parents despite their faults. Erin Fitzpatrick Cynthia Watros Christopher's girlfriend and later fiancé, with a dysfunctional family of her own. Both her parents – Nora (Susan Barnes) and Merritt (Hamilton Camp) — are alcoholics; her sister, Kim, is a sexually promiscuous drug addict with a wild teenage daughter [Amy] whom she hardly cares for; and her brother, Michael, is a criminal who is constantly beaten by his father. Erin put herself in denial when it comes to dysfunctionality, often convincing herself that everything is fine. She often puts herself in over her head and Christopher usually comes to her rescue. She often tries to mend the relationship between Christopher and Ken, but rarely gets far. She is the only girl that Ken likes and often is willing to do things for her. She is loving and caring but often is taken advantage of, causing her to sometimes do the exact opposite of what she really feels. She is based on Christopher Titus's then wife Erin Carden. Dave Scoville aka Dave Titus Zack Ward /Adam Hicks (child) Christopher's half brother. Dave was abandoned by his mother (Ken's third wife, who left Ken because she couldn't handle having her self esteem crushed by him) when he was young. He is a stoner who, despite his marijuana habit, is a savant when it comes to detailing cars and has flashes of genius (on "Houseboat", there was a flashback of Dave reviving his dead father, Ken, by opening a beer just as the paramedics were ready to pronounce Ken dead from a heart attack). Ken Titus Stacy Keach Christopher and Dave's father, a hard drinking, chain smoking, skirt chasing, politically incorrect man who often pulls cruel pranks on Christopher and Dave (but not Shannon or the other stepkids who temporarily lived with him) to keep them from being "wussies". He was married and divorced five times, with all of his ex wives cleaning him out every time. Despite being an addict, Ken has, to quote Titus, "never missed a car payment, never missed a house payment, never missed a day of work," and would make sure his kids were provided for before himself, often going without for the sake of his kids if money was ever tight. Ken also has a daughter named Shannon (Elizabeth Berkley) from the episode "Shannon's Song", whom he treats better than his own son. According to the episodes "Houseboat", "Grandma Titus", and "The Session", it's implied that Ken's behavior is the result of being raised by a drunken father who always partied and a cruel mother (played by Phyllis Diller) who often took out the emotional abuse she got from Ken's father on her own son. Tommy Shafter David Shatraw /Sean Marquette (child) Christopher's buddy since childhood. The supposed "normal" one, Tommy is often mistaken for being a homosexual – the result of emulating his father, Perry (who actually was gay, but kept it a secret while married to Tommy's mother). When Perry came out of the closet, Tommy severed ties with his father, not because of his homosexuality, but because Perry lied to his mother and abandoned her without any consideration for her feelings. In "After Mrs. Shafter", Perry realizes he was wrong to break up with Tommy's mother and tries to reconcile with her, only to find that Ken wants to date her. In the end, Perry, Mrs. Shafter, and Ken enter a sort of three way relationship, which Titus, Dave, and Erin find morally abhorrent, but Tommy likes, as it means he can bond with his father again. Perry can do the affectionate things she likes, while she can have sex with Ken. Amy Fitzpatrick Rachel Roth Erin's rebellious teenage niece who lives with Erin and Christopher during the third season after getting in trouble for beating her uncle (Erin's brother, Michael) over the head with a skateboard. Lived with her drug addict mom (Erin's sister, Kim) and her abusive alcoholic stepfather (Kim's boyfriend, Bob), both of which were either too stoned or in jail too often to care for Amy. In "The Protector", it was revealed that Amy was sexually molested by a man who offered to care for Amy while Amy's parents were in jail (and the man is the father of a boy who harasses Amy at school and sells pornographic magazines out of his locker to the other kids). In "Errr", it is revealed that Amy is a lesbian and has a girlfriend named Charlie. "Dave Titus" appears on the DVD material, but Dave's last name was given as Scoville in the show. The only clue to this discrepancy in the show proper is when Dave says he was never legally adopted by his father in the first season episode "Red Asphalt".

On August 21, 2020, Titus aired "The Titus Family Reunion" show on YouTube through Eventbrite which brought back the primary actors and added Titus's real life wife Rachel Bradley as Rachel. The reunion episode (titled Titus Family due to legal reasons) was set eight years after the finale with Titus getting released from the mental institution and coming home to find that Erin is leaving him for Tommy and ending with Titus going to Mexico to get Papa Titus out of a Mexican jail. The special was written, directed and produced by Titus under his brand Combustion Films and was shot in a few days during the COVID 19 pandemic. The two part episode is available as a downloadable purchase on Christopher Titus's Combustion Films website.