my family used to have this sort of abstract watercolour painting up in our dining room, it was there as early as i can remember, and i always hated it. one day when i was like ten my mom came up to me, and i guess handed me something but i dont remember what, and she was like “can you put this on the shelf, by the bird painting?”
and i was like “..the what?”
and she was like “the painting of the bird on the branch. can you put it there” and she pointed to the abstract painting
and i was like “how is that a bird”
and she said “well what do you think it is?”
and was like “it’s a beached whale with a giant eye, blowing blood out of its blow hole onto the legs of a guy who’s running away”
..and i guess my mom thought that was like funny or weird or something so she told my dad about it, and he immediately said “oh, you mean the reindeer painting?”
the reason things like zack and cody and waverly place worked is because they were simple concepts that you could do a lot with. two twins live in a hotel. the same twins live on a cruise ship. wizards and other fantasy creatures exist in an urban setting. Nowadays Disney and Nickelodean sitcoms are all like ‘this family has a dog that can eat metal’ and they expect five seasons out of that.
