Lowering Standards
Background
P'Ache Prime Media Outlets (also known as PPMO) is a fundamental part of the Peacekeeper Alliance, with the mission to spread the truth far and wide, and to be transparent in doing so. They are seen as reporting real stories with humour and empathy but without bias.
While they started as a news outlet, PPMO quickly branched out into fictionalised stories which were designed to entertain, again with humour, empathy, and without bias.
Synopsis
‘Lowering Standards’ tells the story of two families who live next door to each other on P'Ache Prime.
The first are the P’Ty family, Primians native to P’Ache Prime, who can trace their family tree back as far as the beginning of the Space Age.
Their neighbours are the Grooooaar family, Terrors from Triumph who have migrated from The Victalis System as part of an exchange program1.
The humour and storylines of the show centred around the two families interacting; the Grooooaars trying and failing to fit in to Peacekeeper and particularly Primian society, and the P’Ty family despairing at the state of them.
Most Popular Recurring Jokes
- Peacekeeper Grooooaar acting as Peacekeeper P’Ty’s assistant while his assistant is off sick
- Peacekeeper Branton P’Ty teaching Grnagnag Grooooaar how to prepare various Pachian dishes
- Student Klikli trying to date Student Clanta’s best friend
Characters
Main Characters
Peacekeeper Cly P’Ty
Ethnicity
Primian
Position
Father of the P’Ty family
Catchphrase
“You wouldn’t catch me doing that!”
Peacekeeper Branton P’Ty
Ethnicity
Primian
Position
Mother of the P’Ty family
Job
Administrator for Logistics, Peacekeeper Diplomacy
Catchphrase
“Well, I never would believe it!”
Student Clanta N’Ty
Ethnicity
Primian
Position
Daughter of the P’Ty family
Job
Student at Peacekeeper Academy2
Catchphrase
“That’s not fair.”/“It’s not fair.”3
Peacekeeper Knnagnnn Grooooaar
Ethnicity
Terror
Position
Father of the Grooooaar family
Job
Administrator for Culture, Peacekeeper Integrity
Catchphrase
[A loud farting honking noise]
Grnagnag Grooooaar
Ethnicity
Terror
Position
Mother of the Grooooaar family
Job
Full time parent4
Catchphrase
“But how?”
Student Klikli Grooooaar
Ethnicity
Terror
Position
Son of the P’Ty family
Job
Student at Peacekeeper Academy5
Catchphrase
“I can do it!”
Reception
When it was first aired, the media story was a huge success. Initially, it was only shown within P'Ache Star System, but after the success of the first season, it branched out to other star systems. It is still wildly popular in various parts of the Peacekeeper Territories, particularly P'Ache Prime.6 It is still available to watch on some PPMO services today.
Spin Offs
Due to its enormous success, PPMO were keen to keep the momentum and branched out into various spin offs. Several were for the main characters. There was a short-lived series which focused on Klikli and Clanta at the Academy, for example, and another spin-off which ran after the main series ended showed the Grooooaar family travelling back to Triumph and encountering other Peacekeepers along the way (with hilarious consequences).
One of the most popular aspects of the show was the variety of recurring characters, representing species from across the Territories, who were there to visit the Grooooaar family7. Many of these recurring characters had their own spin-offs, including Shvebi the Clebveth, who was one of the Hugless and wouldn’t greet people properly, Uuuuuthuuu the Suuu, who kept getting his tongue caught in things, and Nrrna the Lcha, whose drum kept the P’Ty family awake and kept threatening to fight everyone.
Controversies
Change of Actors
During the first two seasons, the actors playing the Grooooaar family were changed several times. According to PPMO, this was due to a combination of contractual issues and an unexpected and ingrateful stubbornness on behalf of the actors. The actor playing Peacekeeper Grooooaar, for example, changed 5 times throughout those two years, sometimes, depending on how filming had fallen, with two different actors playing the role within the same episode. Most audience members didn’t notice.
I Can Do It!
During the airing of the first season in Triumph, some young Terror saw Student Klikli Grooooaar as something of an idol. They took up his catchphrase, using it as a matra meaning that they were as good as any Pachian, not understanding that he was in fact a foolish character, there to be mocked. The writers were informed, and by the third season, Klikli Grooooaar was far more lazy, clearly stupid, and less likely to be interpreted as an icon.8 The phrase was also banned in Triumph, just to be on the safe side.
Footnotes
- It should be noted that details of the nature of this exchange are never made clear, and no such exchange has ever existed between P'Ache Prime and any planet. It is understood that this is a narrative device designed to facilitate the show's humour.
- She is a student at the Academy for approximately nine of the >30 years that the media story ran for. The maximum number of years a student is allowed to stay at the Academy is six. This is never really explained.
- By the end of the second decade, this had become simply "Not fair!"
- A running joke is her attempts to get and hold down jobs, with varying levels of failure.
- Unlike Student Clanta N'Ty, he was only a student for six years. He starts three years after she does, and they graduate in the same ceremony. This is also never explained.
- It was not nearly so popular in Triumph, although the Pachians living out there were among some of its most vocal fans.
- Most were there to visit Peacekeeper Grooooaar, although how he knew them all was not clear.
- Which makes his ability to get into the Peacekeeper Academy even more inexplicable.
Peacekeeper Cly P’Ty
Peacekeeper Branton P’Ty
Student Clanta N’Ty
Peacekeeper Knnagnnn Grooooaar
Grnagnag Grooooaar
Student Klikli Grooooaar
I Can Do It!
During the airing of the first season in Triumph, some young Terror saw Student Klikli Grooooaar as something of an idol. They took up his catchphrase, using it as a matra meaning that they were as good as any Pachian, not understanding that he was in fact a foolish character, there to be mocked. The writers were informed, and by the third season, Klikli Grooooaar was far more lazy, clearly stupid, and less likely to be interpreted as an icon.8 The phrase was also banned in Triumph, just to be on the safe side.Footnotes
- It should be noted that details of the nature of this exchange are never made clear, and no such exchange has ever existed between P'Ache Prime and any planet. It is understood that this is a narrative device designed to facilitate the show's humour.
- She is a student at the Academy for approximately nine of the >30 years that the media story ran for. The maximum number of years a student is allowed to stay at the Academy is six. This is never really explained.
- By the end of the second decade, this had become simply "Not fair!"
- A running joke is her attempts to get and hold down jobs, with varying levels of failure.
- Unlike Student Clanta N'Ty, he was only a student for six years. He starts three years after she does, and they graduate in the same ceremony. This is also never explained.
- It was not nearly so popular in Triumph, although the Pachians living out there were among some of its most vocal fans.
- Most were there to visit Peacekeeper Grooooaar, although how he knew them all was not clear.
- Which makes his ability to get into the Peacekeeper Academy even more inexplicable.
Related Species
Related Locations
Related Organizations
Oh my god, most people not noticing the change of actors within one episode is diabolical. This is a fun article because it is both funny and horrifying at the same time. P'Ache Prime usually manages to strike that balance.
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