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Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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Cast
This is Phil Estabrooks, the main character. He and his family live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He just graduated from University and is starting to make his own way in life. Phil's a nice guy. He tries his best to be helpful whenever he can and truely wants to make the world around him a better place. He doesn't look for trouble, but sometimes trouble finds him. His future looks bright but there is one small problem. He is struggling with questions of sexual orientation. First appearance

This is Phil's little brother. Arnie is a typical little brother, put on earth to irritate his big brother. At least that's what Phil thinks. Arnie's just beginning high school, so many new things are happening in his life. Arnie's the typical teenager. He thinks he knows so much about the world, but actually has a lot to learn. But he'd never admit that!! First appearance

This is Phil's Mom, Ester Estabrooks. She is a medical doctor and educator. Ester gave up general practice when the kids came along. Now that the kids are older, she's working part time in family health and other related medical fields. Ester is a strong willed person. With small town prairie common sense, combined with a medical education and bags of energy, she is an extraordinary force to be reckoned with. Don't let her easygoing demeanor and small size fool you! First appearance

This is the Guilt Dyke. She is Phil's guilty conscience. She appears off and on whenever Phil feels guilty about hiding his true sexuality. She constantly confronts and harasses Phil about coming out of the closet. She is an 'in your face' activist. To her, everything is either black or white, which is good considering this is a black and white cartoon. First appearance

This is the Phil's Dad. He's also a doctor. Ester and Al first met in Medical school over the dissecting table of a Dogfish Shark (How romatic!!). Ever since, they have been very much a pair. Al's the handyman around the house. He'll never call a repairman until he's had a try at fixing whatever it is that is broken. Al's one of the few men who knows how to use a map, asks for directions if he's lost, and will read the instruction manual front to back before using something. Amazing as this is, this can have the drawback of sometimes turning a simple activity into brain surgery. First appearance

This is Fang the cat. He's the family pet. Fang was a stray that showed up in the Estabrooks' backyard one day and never left. The Estabrooks were happy to take in the poor little cat. As far as Fang is concerned, he took in the Estabrooks'. Fang doesn't speak (that would be ridiculous!! Cats can't talk!!). But when he wants to say something, he holds up signs. I know, cats can't write either, but you can carry the reality thing too far. Fang earns his keep by being the Estabrooks' "professionally trained" attack cat. Look out for that long tail, it's a weapon! First appearance

This is the "Don't Be A Drag" queen. The acronym spells D'Bad Queen. "She" represents Phil's Desire. She appears off and on to try to get Phil to give in to his real true desire. She's a foot loose and fancy free character. To her, if it feels good, it must be good. Why question it, or worry about consequences. And yes, that's a goatee and chest hair. First appearance

This is Phil's Grandfather, Harold. He is Phil's mentor and, over the years, has become Phil's best friend. They enjoy getting together and watching old movies, especially old comedies. Harold has seen alot of life. He was a child of the Great Depression, a veteran of the Second World War, and a teacher in a small Saskatchewan town for 38 years before retiring. Although Harold has experienced hardship during his life, he is a gentle, soft spoken, optimistic man. Even after retiring from the profession that he loved, Harold still takes a keen interest in the community that was so central to being a teacher in a small town. Still sharp as a tack, Harold's attitude is: there's always something new to learn, something new to see. Harold's calming effect on people has made him the "bedrock" of the Estabrooks family. First appearance

Supporting Cast
This is Dave Solsberg. He is one of Arnie's high school friends. Dave is a brainy kid. He skipped a couple of grades and is starting high school at the age of 12, or 12.416 years according to Dave. A PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) is never far away so that if Dave comes across some interesting information, he can save it for careful study later. Pity the Math or Science teacher that has Dave in his or her class. First appearance

This is Joe. He's also one of Arnie's high school friends. Joe is the cool kid. Or at least that what he thinks. Perhaps he tries too hard. He's a bit of a girl chaser too, but then that's because the girls keep running away from him. Oh well, he's not afraid of a little exercise. First appearance

This is Mr Brown. His first name is Peter or Pete. He's Arnie's high school English teacher. Mr Brown was also Phil's English teacher when he started his first permanent teaching position. He's energentic and a bit of a rebel. He doesn't always see eye to eye with school administrators and how they run the school system. First appearance

This is Mr Nickel. He's the high school Principal. He is the quintessential administrator with ambitions of climbing the ranks of the school system. However, he can sometimes forget that the school more than statistics, numbers and processes. There are days he thinks being principal would be great if it weren't for the teachers, students and parents. First appearance

This is the Outing Annoucer. He lives in Phil's closet. If you think he looks like a loud speaker for a PA system, you'd be right! He's waiting for the day he can annouce to the world that Phil is coming out of the closet. First appearance

This is Ester's rebellious inner child. This is the little girl in Ester that wants to rebel against authority and its sometimes arbitrary, inflexible way of dictating things. From this character, we get a glimpse into what Ester is really thinking and feeling. From her curly hair, you can see this character is based on Shirley Temple. First appearance

This is Ester's voice of moderation. This is the counter-force to Ester's rebellious inner child. This is the sobering voice you hear when you're thinking of doing something wild, or risky. Usually, it's one of your parent's voices. In this case, it's Ester's mother's voice. That's why you see a 50's style dress and shoes. And since it's a voice, you never see the character's face. First appearance

This is Phil's Dreamboat. He appears in Phil's deepest, secret dreams. He is Phil's ideal man. First appearance

Phil-enstein was originally a minor character that appeared in a Halloween special with the intention of never being used again. But Phil-enstein developed into a character that has come to represent how Phil views his sexuality. Phil-enstein keeps reminding Phil of his dislike for his orientation. First appearance

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