CHALKY, DUFUS AND SHIRT
- THE SITCOM -
The Setting
Chalky, Dufus & Shirt – The Sitcom is set in a pocket universe almost identical to our own. However, in this universe, the three friends have moved into a flat together, and have managed to survive for several weeks without killing each other. In the “sitcom universe”, all three are initially unattached, but as the series progresses, a regular love interest is introduced, first for Dufus, but soon she changes her allegiance to Chalky. Tigger (initially known as Flipper), the aforementioned love interest, is in fact an amalgam of a number of people who at one time or another have passed through the adventures of the three friends.
In the pocket universe, almost everything that has happened to
the friends in this universe has either happened to them or will happen during
the course of the series. Incidents
that may have occurred months or even years apart in our universe, may happen
consecutively in the “sitcom universe”. There are also incidents that only
occur in the “sitcom universe”, but these will be not out of character for
those involved, or will not be impossible.
All characters remain the same in the “sitcom universe”, with identical
character traits to their real-life counterparts (see Characters section). However, there is no
cross-universal link, ie. a change in the real life character will not
necessarily be represented by a similar change to the sitcom character, eg. Mr.
Whisky will remain in Australia indefinitely.
Much of the action is based around the friends’ flat. This is on the
top-floor of a block and comprises a large front room, a kitchen, a bathroom
and three bedrooms. The front room contains two armchairs and a double-sofa, a
small computer desk to one side with a fold-up chair, a large fireplace, and a
large wooden three-drawer TV cabinet, with a large TV and video on it. The
mantelpiece has a “Talking Dalek” at each end, a bust of Sherlock Holmes, three
sets of keys, and a voodoo doll of Adric on it. Above the fireplace are several
posters – one of Tom Baker, Shirt’s signed poster of Nicola Bryant in black bra
and jeans, and one for the 1993 New Malden Operatic Society’s production of
“Anything Goes”.
The three friends’ rooms could not be more different. Chalky’s is tidy
with everything carefully filed in plastic crates, and the walls are covered in
plain cream wallpaper. Shirt’s room is slightly disarranged, with neat piles of
stuff all over the floor, and every inch of wallspace is covered in posters and
photos, mainly of Nicola Bryant. Finally, Dufus’ room is in a real state, with
posters hanging off the wall, and not an inch of carpet visible beneath the
discarded dirty clothes, dirty plates, and dirty magazines.
The final episode of the
first series was filmed almost entirely on location at Longleat House and Gardens.