# TV characters whose life is a fantasy camp. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 4, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140 "2010-08-04T13:38:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/1 "2010-08-04T13:38:56Z")
George said it best: Kramer goes to a fantasy camp. His whole life is a fantasy camp. People should plunk down two thousand dollars to live like him for a week. Do nothing, fall ass-backwards into money, mooch food off your neighbours, and have sex without dating. That’s a fantasy camp. Charlie Harper comes to mind. He writes commercial jingles, drinks an amazing amount yet manages to have an amazing amount of sex with hot women (including prostitues) yet somehow manages to live large. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/2 "2010-08-04T14:26:23Z")
The entire main cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Frank somehow has millions of dollars that he lets the rest of them spend. Yeah, he gets angry at them, but he never stops the gravy train for more than one episode at a time. Nothing they do seems to have any long-term consequences…burn down the new neighbor’s warehouse next door because you think he’s a terrorist? No problem, Frank will just buy him off. Completely destroy a poor immigrant family’s home and kidnap them? Eh, the judge will just make you give them the mansion that you technically own because your mom died, but you never use and don’t really seem to care about anyway. All they do is drank all day and have wacky adventures. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/3 "2010-08-04T21:27:09Z")
NORM! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/4 "2010-08-04T21:38:03Z")
I daresay a lot of TV cops live like this - able to brutalize suspects, get into car chases, break rules… and yet suffer no consequences. Classic male fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/5 "2010-08-04T21:42:29Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I daresay a lot of TV cops live like this - able to brutalize suspects, get into car chases, break rules… and yet suffer no consequences. Classic male fantasy. That’s not what I fantasize about. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/6 "2010-08-04T21:44:21Z")
Fine, it’s but one of many classic male fantasies. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/7 "2010-08-04T21:56:41Z")
Karen Walker and Jack from _Will & Grace_; she spends her time in complete hedonism and sybarism from her husband’s never ending fortune and he does what he pleases without ever having to punch a timeclock or worry about paying rent. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/8 "2010-08-05T19:54:46Z")
Homer Simpson. Obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/9 "2010-08-05T20:02:20Z")
Turtle. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/10 "2010-08-05T20:09:32Z")
Spencer and Carly Shay, of “iCarly”. His job: artist/sculpter, which are usually full-size versions of what we all made in kindergarten art class. He somehow gets thousands of dollars for his creations. Her hobby: hosting a web show. Has more electronics that many small TV stations. They live in a 3-floor apartment in a Seattle high-rise. Yeah. This would happen. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/11 "2010-08-05T20:22:18Z")
House? Other than working a few hours a week in the clinic, he lounges around in his office, ordering around his flunkies, says and does whatever he feels like, without any serious repercussions. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/12 "2010-08-05T20:26:40Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > Spencer and Carly Shay, of “iCarly”. > > His job: artist/sculpter, which are usually full-size versions of what we all made in kindergarten art class. He somehow gets thousands of dollars for his creations. Happens in real life too. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/13 "2010-08-05T21:28:10Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Turtle. Who is Turtle? ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/14 "2010-08-05T23:58:48Z")
They all live fantasy lives, and I don’t mean in the boring “it’s all fiction” way. I mean it’s all complete fantasy land because no one wants to watch real life. We have that right here at home; it’s not an escape anymore if we have to watch it on tv. Even “reality” shows structure things so the circumstances no longer resemble real life. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/15 "2010-08-06T00:10:53Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > Spencer and Carly Shay, of “iCarly”. > > His job: artist/sculpter, which are usually full-size versions of what we all made in kindergarten art class. He somehow gets thousands of dollars for his creations. > > Her hobby: hosting a web show. Has more electronics that many small TV stations. > > They live in a 3-floor apartment in a Seattle high-rise. > > Yeah. This would happen. I asked my son who watches the show where they get all their money and he replied that Spencers art work sells really well and their dad sends them money. That being said he did admit he didn’t think it would work in “real life”. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/16 "2010-08-06T01:38:12Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Who is Turtle? One of the guys from “Entourage.” Unlike the rest, he doesn’t act or write, he just lives with them, from what I remember about the three episodes I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/17 "2010-08-06T01:48:01Z")
Vince Chase on _Entourage_ was the first thing I thought of. Nothing bad ever happens for him. He’s rich, famous, bangs a never ending stream of hot chicks (including movie stars and porn stars), is hero-worshipped by his parasitic friends and every tiny bit of tension always gets resolved without any real discomfort. It’s always a happy ending for Vince, in more ways than one. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/18 "2010-08-06T02:19:57Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I asked my son who watches the show where they get all their money and he replied that Spencers art work sells really well and their dad sends them money. That being said he did admit he didn’t think it would work in “real life”. I asked my daughter where their parents were and she had no idea. Even in an episode where their Grandad considers taking Carly away to live in some backwater, the parents are never mentioned. Perhaps they’re dead and both kids got a big inheritance. Of course, not having parents is a fantasy world in itself. Not that most kids would actually want their own parents dead, but there’s a lot of mileage in the fantasy of being parent-free. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/19 "2010-08-06T02:38:50Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > Spencer and Carly Shay, of “iCarly”. > > His job: artist/sculpter, which are usually full-size versions of what we all made in kindergarten art class. He somehow gets thousands of dollars for his creations. > > Her hobby: hosting a web show. Has more electronics that many small TV stations. > > They live in a 3-floor apartment in a Seattle high-rise. > > Yeah. This would happen. Spencer is a dork though and doesn’t appreciate anything he has. Even the girl scouts pick on him and his idol made-fun of his sculptures and then faked it to make him feel better. Carly’s life does sound like a fantasy. Things only go slightly wrong for her and it is only for part of an episode when it does. There is something sinister about that show however. One parent is completely MIA in the proud tradition of other fucked up shows like the Brady Bunch and Andy Griffith. However, it is more disturbing that the father is supposedly still alive but leaves his kids to go do something..something in the military like a naval submarine officer who can can never come back home. Good cover story Spencer (he really kidnapped Carly as a baby and then robbed a bank to get the money raise her as his own). You will notice that best friends Freddie and Sam also have missing parents although Sam has an identical twin sister named Melanie who she was separated from when they were young and hardly ever sees or even mentions at all. Like I said…that is some screwed up stuff. Carly will figure it out sooner or later and then everything will come crashing down once and for all. SpongeBob Squarepants may be a better choice. Things go wrong all the time but he doesn’t have parents either and he is a stoner and everything makes him happy. I think the only real answer to this question [are these guys.](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3298204160/tt0077008) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140/20 "2010-08-06T16:40:18Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > > [@AWB](#): > > > > Spencer and Carly Shay, of “iCarly”. > > > > His job: artist/sculpter, which are usually full-size versions of what we all made in kindergarten art class. He somehow gets thousands of dollars for his creations. > > > > Her hobby: hosting a web show. Has more electronics that many small TV stations. > > > > They live in a 3-floor apartment in a Seattle high-rise. > > > > Yeah. This would happen. > > Spencer is a dork though and doesn’t appreciate anything he has. Even the girl scouts pick on him and his idol made-fun of his sculptures and then faked it to make him feel better. Carly’s life does sound like a fantasy. Things only go slightly wrong for her and it is only for part of an episode when it does. There is something sinister about that show however. One parent is completely MIA in the proud tradition of other fucked up shows like the Brady Bunch and Andy Griffith. Despite my boundless contempt for the Brady Bunch, I don’t think that’s quite fair. Certainly it’s not fair for Andy Griffith; it’s explicit that Andy is a widower. Mike Brady is too, and of course Carol’s first husband would surely have come home had he not been trapped on that island with the two hot chicks and their friends. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-life-is-a-fantasy-camp/549140.md?page=2)