Pittsburgh Dad
Pittsburgh Dad is an online series of short films featuring the observations of a "blue-collar" father from Pittsburgh who speaks with a thick Pittsburghese dialect. The series was created by Chris Preksta and Curt Wootton in 2011. Wootton plays the namesake character of Pittsburgh Dad in the series. Background. Preksta, a native of Munhall, Pennsylvania and a graduate of Point Park University and Pittsburgh Filmmakers, serves as director. Wootton, a native of Greensburg, Pennsylvania who graduated from West Virginia University, plays the "Pittsburgh Dad". Wootton and Preksta met on the set of the 2005 web series "Captain  Blasto". They later collaborated on "The Mercury Men" for the Syfy network, where Wootton entertained the crew with a character based on his own father, Keith, emulating the thick Western Pennsylvania accent of his youth. The "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" describes the character as "Archie Bunker from Dahntahn or S'Liberty or Little Warshington," referencing Pittsburgh locales. Each episode lasts about two to nine minutes and opens with a piano theme song reminiscent of the intro to another Pittsburgh-based program, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood". Each show features the Pittsburgh Dad delivering soliloquies on topics including "grass clippings," "freeze pops," and "jagoffs in  Baltimore/Philadelphia," all punctuated by an exaggerated laugh track, which would eventually be removed. The idiosyncrasies of the Pittsburgh dialect plays a large role in the show, including such regional words as "yinz," which means "you (plural)"; "nebby", which describes a nosy person; and "redd up", an idiomatic phrase (imported from Scots into regional American English) which means to clean up and/or to make a space orderly. On February 9, 2019, Keith Wootton, the father of Curt Wootton and one of the major inspirations for the series, died. Premise. Characters. Though the "Pittsburgh Dad" is the only character visible for  the duration of the episodes, a number of developed unseen characters play an integral role in the series. The release of Street Light Stories was the first time that Pittsburgh Dad's family was revealed, albeit set in 1987 non-canonical to the main series. Dad's catchphrases. "3-2-1 Win" said at the end of any game in which Dad's team wins. Dad often posts this on his official Twitter account after the Steelers win, and even has his own beer named "3-2-1 Win Beer." "You know what's next, right?" said when Dad complains  about something, followed by a one-word description of what Dad thinks will happen as a result. "I'd hate to be you when Mom finds out." "Ah, what-a-you mean?" "Hey Tom..." "Geh-outta-there!" spoken as one word. "I don't know how yinz did it, but you done it" "3-2-1, Ring!" said at the end of the Steelers' loss to the Ravens. Notable episodes. Many episodes feature Dad and his family visiting many local places of interest, including Giant Eagle, Eat'n Park, Kennywood, Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, and Hoss's Steak and Sea House . On July 14, 2015, Pittsburgh Dad aired a special "Back to the Future"-themed episode in tribute to the first film's 30th anniversary, complete with a DeLorean time machine. The episode showed Dad (all in a "what-if" cutaway) going back to 1989 just to shop at Hills, 1988 where he "appeared" in the WQED production "Kennywood Memories" to visit attractions "before they tear them out", to 1972 to watch the Immaculate Reception in person and buy beer for $0.75/bottle while at the game (as well as telling the fans "not to hold their breath" on construction on  upgrading Pennsylvania Route 28 to a freeway that didn't eventually end until late 2014), and to change Tom Brady's future from being a star with the New England Patriots to owning an automotive detailing business. Starting with the 2016 NFL season, Pittsburgh Dad now airs a weekly recap of the most recent Pittsburgh Steelers game in addition to regular episodes. The August 15, 2017, episode has Dad drive his family "six hours round-trip" to the nearest Rax Roast Beef location in Lancaster, Ohio, not telling his family what their trip is until they arrive. Rax had been  previously mentioned by Dad in a previous episode of him watching the Week 15 game between the Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals during the 2016 season when he said that "The only reason you drive to Cincinnati, because I heard there's a Rax somewheres [sic] around there, in the general vicinity. Well I'll find it." The same episode has Dad mock Cincinnati chili (presumably Skyline Chili) in an ongoing mocking of Ohio in general. Pittsburgh Dad aired an episode bidding farewell to Kennywood's Log Jammer ride on its last day of operation, September 17, 2017. A 2019 Father 's Day-themed episode has Dad telling Deb what a "perfect day" would be. It then cuts to a scene-for-scene remake of the "Perfect Strangers" open (set in Pittsburgh instead of Chicago) titled "Perfect Yinzers", complete with the "Perfect Strangers" theme song. The video featured Dad as Balki and longtime WTAE-TV news anchor Sally Wiggin as Larry. (Coincidentally, being the market's ABC affiliate, WTAE-TV aired "Perfect Strangers" during its original run.) The opening credits features Bill Cowher & "" as "guest stars" and even references "Cousin Balki" alongside "Whoever done the Transformers movies" as "supervising producers". The  episode was part of an ongoing "crush" that Dad has for Wiggin. In 2022, Pittsburgh Dad aired an episode dedicating it to the official retirement of 22 year NFL veteran, 44 year old quarterback Tom Brady. Reception. The first several episodes were recorded "just for fun" on an iPhone, with the intended audience only the two men's families and friends. It quickly became an Internet hit, generating 3 million YouTube views within 6 months. The series appeals to both current and ex-Pittsburghers, many of whom relate to the character's speech patterns and temperament. In 2011, the "Pittsburgh  Post-Gazette" named it the 3rd best internet video of the year. In November 2012, both Preksta and Wootton were hosts and guests of the annual Three Rivers Film Festival in Pittsburgh. In October 2013, Pittsburgh restaurant chain Eat'n Park issued a special edition "Smiley Cookie" bearing Pittsburgh Dad's face; the cookie, which was to raise funds for UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, was the first ever Smiley Cookie to feature the likeness of a living person. Based on the mention of Hills in the "Back to the Future"-themed episode as well as several episodes of Dad wearing  Hills-themed attire, a Pittsburgh-based candle company released a "Pittsburgh Dad's Hills Snack Bar" scented candle that is supposed to replicate the smell of the popular snack bar from the now-defunct chain. Controversy. On January 4, 2015, a video quickly surfaced of Wootton being out of character at a bar watching both the Steelers against the Baltimore Ravens as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins game against the Montreal Canadiens that were playing concurrently. In the video, a drunken Wootton criticized the Penguins game and ice hockey in general in a profanity-laced rant caused by the Steelers  losing the game to their archrival; both games resulted in lopsided defeats for the Pittsburgh teams. The next day, Wootton acknowledged the incident happening and apologized on his official Facebook page. The following episode of "Pittsburgh Dad" posted January 7, 2015, poked fun at the incident, with Dad (all covered in Penguins gear in his kitchen) poking fun at Wootton and at the end of the episode breaking the fourth wall by acknowledging that "Pittsburgh Dad" is a series. The incident would later be briefly referenced in the episode "Dad Goes Back to the Future." In other media. The "Pittsburgh  Post-Gazette" has published guest columns written by "Pittsburgh Dad," including one for Father's Day 2013. On December 19, 2014, WPXI aired a Pittsburgh Dad-themed Christmas special, "Pittsburgh Dad's Guide to Christmas". Hosted by WQED personality Rick Sebak, the special showed Pittsburgh Dad's previous Christmas specials, as well as debuting a new one at the end. The 1960s-era NBC "Laramie Peacock" made a cameo appearance at the beginning of the special. On July 19, 2017, Pittsburgh Dad aired his first short film, "Street Light Stories". The special detailed what family life was like in Pittsburgh  circa summer 1987. The film, while having the characters from "Pittsburgh Dad", is considered by Wootton to be non-canon to the main "Pittsburgh Dad" series. Due to the popularity of the film, Wootton and Preskta launched a Kickstarter campaign to create a sequel; the Kickstarter campaign proved so successful it allowed Wootton and Preskta to produce two sequels. Wootton (in character as Dad) and Preskta appeared on the January 31, 2020, episode of "The Price is Right", sitting in the audience. After the taping, host Drew Carey allowed Wootton to spin The Big Wheel, during which he nags at  Deb & the kids to not use as much utilities and "also hi to Coach Cowher". Wootton and Preskta were at the December 2019 taping of the episode in order to tape a special episode of "Pittsburgh Dad" after becoming "Twitter friends" with native Clevelander Carey, as well as a follow-up to a 2014 episode of "Pittsburgh Dad" watching "The Price is Right" at home.