I came upon this new show (new to me), called “Under the Vines“. It’s a drama-comedy from New Zealand. It just started showing on one of our PBS channels here in Miami, but I think it’s a few years old.
I had seen the commercial and it looked good, almost a Green Acres sort of thing – a fish out of water plot line.
Two people, a step daughter and a nephew inherit a vineyard. They don’t know each other and are told they are “sole heirs” of the vineyard.
To make a long story short, they meet each other and find out the quandry, of both being owners, but they end up both wanting to sell the place and get out asap. But it’s such a charming place, that by the end of episode one, they stay and attempt to work it out, and therein lies the show. I’ve only seen the one episode, but I love it.
I guess there are not many actors in New Zealand because the actors seem to move from show to show. One guy, Pana Hema-Taylor, I’ve seen on “Under the Vines”, “800 Words” and “Brokenwood Mysteries.” He has small parts on every show, and I laugh whenever I see him pop up. It’s almost a requisite to have him on a show based in New Zealand.
Anyway, I got the idea for this cartoon from the show. When the barrister told the characters they were the “sole heir” of the vineyard, the cartoon is what popped into my head.
In my head, my cartoon had a different scene – they were in a lawyers office and were being read the will, but it ended up being this.
I like to put little Easter eggs in my cartoons – things that regular fans would notice.
I’ve used scenery from other cartoons over, sort of like they do in tv and movies – just redressing the scene and using the same sets. And I’ve used the same people at times – just giving them different dialogue.
In this case, you can see the storefront, redressed, and used in two cartoons.
Sure, I can easily redraw the scene, but I think it’s fun to do this, just to give the audience something to enjoy if they find the “Easter egg.”
Here’s a quick little video of the single panel cartoon. There’s no sound.
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