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The Poodle Dog Lounge
by Bonnie Orr
POODLE DOG LOUNGE is a one-hour weekly drama series that takes place in Austin, Texas, the “live music capital of the world”. Poodle Dog Lounge follows the lives of TINA (MOM) SCHWAB, the owner and chief bartender for the run-down bar on the boulevard of broken dreams, Burnet Road and those who work with her and her customers who are her extended family. Her upbeat staff and quirky customers go through roller coaster lives at the only bar in town that draws people from all walks of life. Tina inherited this bar from her late husband. According to Tina, it’s the only thing he ever gave her, except for a case of the clap a few years back. Tina is tough as nails when she needs to be, but has a heart as big as Texas. She begins each day preparing breakfast for a group of her “family” who discuss the day’s news as they watch that cute Katie Couric. POODLE DOG LOUNGE is a mix of CHEERS and SOPRANOS with a little Northern Exposure thrown in, a winning combination sure to have people making a weekly date to be at the Poodle Dog Lounge. Tina attended the University of Texas during her hippie days and hires U.T. students to help her run the bar. AMANDA “MANDI” PEREZ (24) brings lessons from her graduate Social Work classes to the bar to try out on the patrons. She’s a liberated woman with a very specific goal. She wants to change the world. She clashes from day one with J. R. PETERSON (28) who bills himself as “personal trainer to the stars” when he’s not bouncing people out of the Poodle Dog. Tina attended the University of Texas during her hippie days and hires U.T. students to help her run the bar. AMANDA “MANDI” PEREZ (24) brings lessons from her graduate Social Work classes to the bar to try out on the patrons. She’s a liberated woman with a very specific goal. She wants to change the world. She clashes from day one with J. R. PETERSON (28) who bills himself as “personal trainer to the stars” when he’s not bouncing people out of the Poodle Dog. TINA’s best friend is FLORAMAY SANDERS (48) a large black woman who dispenses advice like Dr. Phil to patrons and staff alike and is known city-wide for her catfish cooking. In one conversation, K. C. tells Tina she ought to have some bands play at the Poodle Dog. Tina likes the idea better than when J. R. suggested topless dancers to improve the club’s bottom line, but says she can’t afford it. FloraMay gets her nephew Junior’s blues band Texecution to play for free and it’s a huge success. From then on, the Poodle Dog rocks every Friday night with guest sets by some of the best unknown bands in the country. The POODLE DOG LOUNGE is a real place where many crimes have been hatched including the kidnapping and murder of Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the atheist who got prayer taken out of public schools. It’s a place where you’re just as likely to meet a judge as a robber. Recurring characters will be a U.T. football star who we learn is gay, a true-crime reporter determined to find that big story that will boost her career, and an FBI guy who is working undercover. There will be fun and suspense each week as you take a seat at the Poodle Dog. Here are a few of the stories that will be told: An outsider tries to rob the Poodle Dog. Tina responds with her special baseball bat and several of Austin’s legally-challenged help (Mom) attack the robber. Local cops at the place have to “rescue” the guy from Tina and her supporters. Poor man’s pool tournament. Winner gets a stuffed armadilloand drinks on the house for a month. Will a U.T. student, cop, or a local loser win? Flora May and Tina give marital advice to Thomas P. Tell him to go home and find the love he once had…before he can leave his wife shows up and she’s not in a loving mood. We will watch as Tina falls in love with a new customer. We will see Mandi learn that appearances can be deceiving and that life is more complicated than any college textbook theories. We will see Mandi and J. R. grow closer and closer. Once Flora May invites her nephew Junior’s Blues Band to play at The Poodle Dog Lounge, a new band will play each week one Song (this will be a band without a recording contract). The audience will vote at the end of the season on the hottest band who will get their cd heard by recording companies. In the last episode of the season, the winning band will be signed by a recording company. This is a show about an ordinary place where extraordinary things happen. A place to come that will cheer you up and fill your soul.