8 TV Shows That Inspired Space Grind

(Date of Original Post: January 31st, 2021)

I would say that there are a lot of things that inspired Space Grind. Many of those things come from TV shows that I enjoy. I thought it would be fun to write a blog post about what inspired various aspects of Space Grind. I also hope it gives you a clearer idea of what you can expect from following along with the story. I’m ordering this list from the smallest to biggest source of inspiration. This actually may not be the perfect list, but I’m writing it anyway 😛

TV Shows That Inspired Space Grind

8. The PowerPuff Girls (Art Style)

A GIF from the website GIPHY. I loved this show!

Ok, I know this show doesn’t seem that similar to Space Grind (which is why it’s #8). The reason I chose this one is because the art style is very big source of inspiration. In fact, it is this cartoon that made me want to do cartoons in the first place. I remember where I was, too. I believe I was 11 years old at the time. My awe became a vivid memory of mine. Ever since then, I still want to make cartoons! It all started here 🙂

The PowerPuff Girls also influenced another cartoon that is made for young adults. It’s an animated music band called Gorillaz. Yep! There is even a character that the band borrowed from PPG for their album “The Now Now.” The same band that made the songs “Clint Eastwood” and “Feel Good Inc” had Ace temporarily replace Murdoc — 13 years later! 😀 Gorillaz also inspired Space Grind in little ways.

*Gorillaz* version of the character Ace vs. the original version.

I don’t say all this just to kinda show how my own art style was birthed. A lot of it was inspired by this show. Of course, the artwork for SG has evolved over the past 11 years, but this is where it all started. This show also showed me what kind of jokes make me laugh. I will always appreciate the funny name choices this show makes (example: The City of Townsville is where the characters live). Holy Heck! That’s probably why I gave all my SG characters ridiculous names XD

In “Corona is a Cabrona,” RSL wears a mask that references PPG. Do you know what cartoon Dimwit’s mask is referencing?

One last fun fact (I swear): my friend Maddie and I joked about the three PowerPuff Girls being just like the SG trio – Neuro, Dimwit, and Onion. Neuro reminded us of Blossom; Dimwit reminded us of Bubbles; Onion reminded us of Buttercup. We laughed a lot after making that connection. For Trax and RSL, we compared them to Mojo Jojo and Ms. Bellum.

7. Danny Phantom (Art Style)

This is another show I like very much. The art in this show really added to my own art style. I started watching this show two years after watching The PowerPuff Girls.

I think Danny Phantom has really inspired a good chunk of things that you see in Space Grind. Actually, I think all of Butch Hartman’s shows have influenced the way I draw (particularly female eyes and Kitty Katswell’s mouth). I distinctly remember adopting those small details into how I draw some of my characters. I don’t know why, but I remember that for some reason. I just name Danny Phantom because its aesthetic is most comparable to Space Grind‘s.

The way I did Selena’s eyes is inspired by Kitty Katswell’s eyes. I know Kitty isn’t from *Danny Phantom*, but it’s from the same artist. The girl on the left is a young teen named Selena, who is the protagonist of a different story of mine. It’s called *Gate City*.

6. Persona 5 (Various Alien Design Ideas)

This is the video game cover for *Persona 5 Royal,* which is an enhanced version of the original game. I got this image from Amazon.com.

This is actually a video game. It is my FAVORITE video game so far 😀 One of the things I really like about this game is all the personas you can fuse. All the designs are so AWESOME! Sure, there are some weird-looking personas (*cough* Belphegor *cough*). But for the most part, I am in love with how the Persona 5 makers designed them 😀 I actually came up with a lot of ideas for Space Grind when I listen to the soundtrack. There is one persona in particular that inspired a significant character that will be in SG.

This is a persona you can capture or fuse in Persona 5.

This character is Amenite. She is an evil queen on a planet called Planet Sparkk (short for “sparkle”). She rules the planet along with her two sisters: Emerdot and Jasperine. The sisters were born as triplets. They killed their parents and brother. The brother was supposed to inherit the throne as the first-born son (formerly Planet Spark’s tradition). Amenite’s name is a combination of the words “amethyst” and “tanzanite,” which are two purple gems. Emerdot (emerald and peridot) is basically a green version of Amenite. Jasperine (jasper and citrine) is the yellow sister. I might change my mind on their names later. I will do a blog post later about the three ruling sisters.

I would say that the biggest way Persona 5 contributed ideas for Space Grind is whenever I’d listen to the soundtrack. For certain P5 songs, I think of certain SG scenes. For example, when I listen to “Life Will Change (Instrumental),” I think of a rescue mission the SG protagonists must do. They have to save a certain character that’s important to the story. I won’t tell you who the character is, but I will tell you who they must save the character from. They have to rescue this person from the three Sparkk sisters, who kidnapped them. “Life Will Change (Instrumental)” has the exact energy, intensity, and sick beat that I imagine for the rescue scene. Will they be able to save the victim? Stay tuned!

5. Key & Peele (humor)

I watch mostly animated stuff, but Key & Peele is a live-action comedy show that I enjoy so much, I would say it’s one of my top favorite shows! The show is a sketch comedy television series. Have you seen that hilarious video of the substitute teacher mispronouncing students’ names in class? That skit is from the show Key & Peele. As of January 30th, 2021, that video has over 195 million views. If you somehow haven’t seen it, go check it out!

A TV show poster for the amazing comedy series.

The jokes, punchlines, and hilarious situations are fantastic! When I brainstorm ideas for Space Grind, I sometimes find myself thinking of this show. I often find myself trying to imitate the humor that makes me laugh so hard. I wouldn’t say Space Grind‘s humor is a ton like Key & Peele‘s. However, I gotta give them credit for giving me some big ideas.

Key & Peele has several skits about stereotypical gangs. One of them is called “Don’t Ask This Guy to Sit Down.” I absolutely love the absurdity of it! This show led me to making one of the very first Space Grind episodes. I remember wanting to make a story super badly about gangsters. Then one day, I thought it’d be funny if Dimwit (of all people) joined a gang by accident. I still get excited about this idea!

A slide from a Keynote presentation I made for Space Grind. Butch Hartman made the suggestion to me. It was so worth making!

Key & Peele also did one other thing that you don’t see often in media. It’s actually something Space Grind does a lot. Key & Peele have made jokes about slavery. Yep. They turned that uncomfortable topic into a source of comedic inspiration. An example of them doing this is in their skit “Auction Block.” Space Grind was created before I watched that skit, but it did remind me of SG’s sense of humor. The only difference is that Space Grind isn’t about slavery in America. It’s about slavery in a fictional setting, where the aliens are in control and every human is in thrall. However, I think “Auction Block” is a good, specific example of how Key & Peele has been a source of inspiration. In my series, there’s a scene where a group of characters go shopping and find some alien slaves on “clearance.” That was a joke that I just thought was goofy and quirky.

Key & Peele also inspired an entire episode for my other TV show idea Gate City. However, because this is a blog about Space Grind (and not that idea), I won’t write details about that episode. Just thought I’d mention it to emphasize K&P’s influence.

One of Key & Peele‘s most popular skits. I didn’t include the links to the other skits I mentioned because I don’t wanna take up too much space for this blog post.

4. Invader Zim (humor)

There are a ton of hilarious TV shows that I enjoy. Some of them are: The Fairly OddParents, Jimmy Neutron, and SpongeBob Squarepants. I love these shows! Obviously, since Space Grind is a comedy series, I need to love other comedy shows. There’s one funny show in particular that I would say had a really big impact on Space Grind. It’s a Nickelodeon show called Invader Zim. It’s a cartoon about an alien named Zim, who attempts to invade Earth and rule it. However, he’s pretty stupid… His plans keep failing, and it’s all for such dumb reasons (like accidentally being turned into bologna)!

Although it’s a show on a kids channel, the humor is pretty dark. The jokes are hilarious, though! I remember (at age 14) wanting to make an alien show with the same kind of twisted humor! However, I didn’t have an idea at the time (not until 4 years later). And I obviously didn’t want it to remind people too much of IZ. I wanted it to be unique and mine.

Space Grind‘s conception started out as a desire to make a funny show about something that usually isn’t considered funny. I looked at a list of taboos online, and slavery was on the list. I tried to think up of ways that topic could potentially be funny. At first, I couldn’t think of anything. Then I remembered wanting to make a show about aliens. I thought, ‘What if the aliens were the slave owners and all the humans were their slaves? I could make jokes about aliens not understanding the humans, and vice versa. That could work.’ Then I remembered Invader Zim. The idea for Space Grind is basically the same as the idea for Invader Zim, except it’s in reverse. SG is about the alien invaders winning. IZ is about the alien invaders losing. After that, I could easily envision the comedy potential! That’s the moment Space Grind became an idea that I was really excited about!

I think Invader Zim really helped with the brainstorming process during its conception (more than any other show). Of course, as Space Grind evolved, more TV shows influenced it and molded its tone. Which brings me to our next show on this list:

3. Avatar: the Last Airbender (Plot Structure)

Okay, I know this show is wayyyyyy different from the ones I’ve listed so far. I did not put it here just because it’s one of my favorite shows. However, I think the show’s plot structure is something I’ve used quite a bit for reference. Although Space Grind is a comedy, it is also a comedy-drama. I wanted my story to have an over-arching plot of some kind. Since Avatar is a show I’ve watched that has the type of structure I was going for, I often use it as my source of inspiration.

The title logo for the TV show.

All my stories tend to be comedy-dramas for some reason. Whenever I make a story that’s meant to be just a comedy, I always give it serious elements somehow. Likewise, when I try to create a serious story, I end up making it too goofy to be considered “just serious.” Because that’s the genre I generally lean towards, I just decided to make Space Grind a mix of the two. My comic books will focus more on the comedy aspects. I don’t really want to reveal the over-arching plot aspects just yet.

I think Avatar: the Last Airbender is the perfect example of a comedy-drama for me to mimic. It’s cute, endearing, thoughtful, interesting, and funny. All of those things are things I want Space Grind to have. I’ve had people come up to me and describe my idea as these things, so I think I’m doing something right at least.

I guess you could compare Aang to Dimwit, Sokka to Neuro, and RSL being a mix between Katara and Toph (she’s got Katara’s kindness and Toph’s sassiness). Avatar: the Last Airbender is also a show about freedom. The main characters have to fight against the Fire Nation to save the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe. In my story, the humans have to fight against Zeyrion to liberate themselves.

One time, I was asked to compare SG to three TV shows that already exist. The ones I chose were Avatar, and the next two shows on this list. I decided to include Avatar because I wanted an example of how Space Grind is dramatically structured in terms of story.

Although most of I’ve shown you for SG is the comedy side, please also anticipate seeing a more serious side to it in the future.

The main characters of Avatar: the Last Airbender in season 1.

2. Regular Show (Various Ideas)

Regular Show isn’t one of my favorite comedies (even though I do like it). I think it just so happened to be a good comparison between it and Space Grind. Both of the shows are about protagonists who aren’t good at their jobs, get into absurd situations, and have to work for an angry boss.

Regular Show is about two characters, Mordecai and Rigby, who work at a park. They always do the bare minimum. They also work for a guy named Benson, who is always yelling at them and threatening to fire them. There are also a few other people who work at the park: Pops, Skips, Muscle Man, and High-Five Ghost. All of them are weird and fun to watch. Most episodes are about ridiculous situations.

The premise of Space Grind just feels like a sci-fi version of Regular Show‘s premise (to me).

1. Futurama (Humor, Aesthetic, and Ideas)

Futurama has inspired Space Grind in all sorts of ways. I would say that out of all these shows, you can compare SG the most to this show (I think). One notable example of this show influencing my idea is the retro alien saucer home of Trax. I actually plan on Trax’s planet having a mostly post-cyberpunk feel. His alien saucer (or “mobile home”) has a very retro sci-fi feel. Much of the aesthetic of the home was inspired by the way Planet Express looks.

A Futurama TV poster. I got this image from the IMDb website.

This is a table from *Futurama* that helped me make the meeting table in Trax’s living room. His home used to belong to a different alien species. The aliens would do typical, classic sci-fi tropes like abductions and anal probings.

This is the meeting table in Trax’s living room. See the similarities?

A lot of the humor of Space Grind is similar to the humor in Futurama. I love how the show used all sorts of comedy. They used a lot of wordplay, dark humor, parody, satire, sitcom styles, and others. SG does all of these, too.

Various ideas have been influenced by this show, too. For example, I remember wanting to make a character like Philip J. Fry. I didn’t have a character like him before SG. That’s what led me to creating Dimwit.

That’s it, y’all!

I hope you enjoyed reading this list. It was fun to write. I like looking back at the creative process of my stories 🙂

I hope you guys have a good day. Bye!