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 Ask Wanda and Darryl McPherson about discovering the joy and pain of raising a child and you would probably wish you hadn’t…in fact, it’s a certainty unless you want a dirty nappy thrown in your face.
After 11 years of marriage Wanda and Darryl have taken the big step and become a family – baby Zoe has joined the McPherson clan and in doing so – has exposed a whole new dark flipside to parenting. Both in their mid-thirties, mid-career and now having a mid-life crisis of the baby kind, everyday life has been changed indefinitely. Goodbye social life hello breast-pumps.
Trying to juggle work and modern parenting has taken its toll, often with hilarious results, and although Wanda and Darryl wouldn’t change adorable newborn Zoe for the world, neither would say no to a few hours uninterrupted sleep…and a chance to get amorous…but then again, that’s how they got into this situation in the first place!
Baby Blues is one of the only animated shows in which the kids grow throughout the series. Witness a remarkable number of situations through all Zoe’s growing stages that Darryl and Wanda encounter and their attempts to resolve them…with a little unwanted help from in-laws and the neighbours from hell.
These neighbours in question, the Bittermans, are a family composed of a militant father named Carl who's always teaching his loud, obnoxious children, Rodney, Megan and Shelby, survival skills while his wife, Melinda, who seems to have an existential outlook on life. Throw into the mix Darryl’s best friend and workmate Kenny whose advice he needs like a hole in the head, teenage babysitter Bizzy who needs a turnstile for the amount of boys she dates and you have your perfect scenario for complete meltdown. There is however, a silver lining…they just need to find it.
When long-time friends Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott first discussed doing a comic strip about parenthood, Rick, at least, knew what he was talking about. He and his wife had their first daughter in 1984, and in 1987 their second daughter was born. Jerry, who had no children, thought what Rick was going through as a parent was very funny. So he decided to write about what he saw at the Kirkmans' home — temper tantrums. Dirty diapers. Teething pains. When Rick added his superb artwork, Baby Blues was born.
The strip has enchanted new parents, grandparents and kids alike since it first appeared on the comics pages in 1990. As the years passed, the list of newspapers carrying the feature has grown — almost as fast as the MacPhersons' kids! Baby Blues now appears in more than 700 newspapers in 25 countries and 14 languages, and the adventures of America's favourite first-time parents have also been chronicled in 16 anthologies. In 1995, the National Cartoonists Society recognized Baby Blues as "Best Comic Strip of the Year."
By the way, these days, Jerry isn't laughing so hard about Rick's parental trials and tribulations. He became a first-time father himself in 1994. No wonder his writing's only gotten better.
Despite all of the work and confusion, Wanda loves Darryl and their kids and wouldn't want to live her life any other way. Really. No kidding. Unless maybe there were great sums of money involved. And a yacht. And an extended stay at a ritzy spa. Perhaps a little time alone in the bathroom...
He is thrilled with his new baby but is as equally thrilled that he can get away to his office during the day. Darryl’s life is near perfect if only he too could get some more sleep, something he would happily sacrifice for more romance with his near catatonic wife.
With a beer can permanently attached to his hand and a tool belt hanging just below his builder’s crack, Carl Bitterman represents everyman who has seen his life pass him by through a series of high volume battles with his three children, DIY, a nagging wife and sitting in front of the TV. His reckless approach to life and what seems to be a lack of involvement in his kids’ welfare baffle the MacPhersons on a day-to-day basis. Despite being a man with no particular mission life he is nevertheless adored by his wife and kids.
Long suffering wife and mother to 3 errant kids, Melinda drifts through the day on a tide of cocktails, cigarettes and anti-depressants. She is what Wanda feels that all mothers become when they’ve had three. Melinda has mastered the art of tuning out her kids, which gives her plenty of opportunity to dispense childcare advice that often surprises her new neighbours. She is a real trooper who remains touchingly devoted to her husband Carl.
Kenny is the co-worker who makes everyone’s day at work that little bit less bearable. Although it pains Darryl to admit it, Kenny is also his best friend. Between organising betting pools and wise-cracking, Kenny usually pops by Darryl’s armed with unwelcome advice about family and marriage. As Kenny’s familial duties are way down his list of priorities, it is a wonder Darryl listens to him.
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