Branch Family/Transcript

Submission Reel
[Footage of Jo in her taxi]

[Jo opens her laptop]

???: Hi, we’re the Branch family.

Shaun: I’m Shaun

Dustin: And I’m Dustin

Dustin: And we have seven kids.

[Shows footage of all the Branch children]

[Jo looks at the camera with a surprised look]

Dustin: As Shaun and I were married, He brought in his son, Elias, who’s 17.

[Shows a clip of Elias wearing a blue knitted sweater with a black baseball cap on as he smiles bashfully]

Dustin: Meanwhile, I brought in Andrew, who’s 16

[Shows Andrew waving at the camera]

Dustin: Willie, who’s 11

[Willie grins]

Dustin: and Leon who’s 6.

[Leon makes a funny face]

Shaun: Together, we’ve adopted Alfie, who’s 5...

[Shows a clip of Alfie wearing a green t-shirt while sitting on the couch]

Shaun: Blake, who’s 2...

[Shows Blake running towards the camera while wearing Ben 10 pajamas]

Shaun: And Kara who’s 10 months.

[Shows Kara sitting in her highchair]

Shaun: I work full-time as a bank accountant, my hours are between 7 am to 9 pm. And I work Monday through Friday.

[Shows footage of Leon tackling Alfie, making him scream]

Dustin: What on earth are you guys doing?!

[Blake shouts for a brief moment]

Dustin: People don’t really understand how hectic it can be with 7 kids.

[Kara cries in protest as she is being placed in her crib]

Leon: We’re stepbrothers, and we hate each other.

[Jo gasps in surprise]

Shaun: You aren’t going outside.

Blake: Yes I am

Shaun:(In a singsong voice) No you’re not!

Blake:(Calmly) I am, too

Jo: Husband gone all week and 7 kids, now that’s a handful...

[Shows Dustin picking up Kara haphazardly]

Leon:(Lying on the floor) Or else I’ll kill you, A**hole!

Jo:(Shocked) What did he just say!?

Dustin: All 6 of our boys swear.

[Kara wailing in the distance]

Willie: Shut you f***ing mouth!

Jo:(Shakes her head) Oh my word...

Dustin: Go, in the other room and play!

Dustin: I yell a lot, it’s something I don’t like doing much...

Dustin:(To Leon) Hang it up where it belongs!

[Leon rolls his eyes]

Willie: I think this will be the worst that Supernanny has ever gone to!

[Blake screams in sheer rage while Leon puts him in a chokehold]

Andrew: Stupid!

Alfie: Shut up, you dillweed!

[Dustin rubs his head and groans in frustration]

Shaun: Supernanny, please come and help our family!

Jo: Since you guys are in a crisis, I’m on my way...

[Shows Jo being driven to the Branch household]

Jo visits the Household
Jo:(Interview) Well, this will be very interesting visiting a same-sex couple. Let alone seeing how one dad will deal with the other while he’s gone all week.

[Jo knocks the door, and is greeted by Dustin, who carries Blake in his arms]

Jo: Hello!

Dustin: Come on in!

Blake:(Raises his hand) Hi...

Jo:(Shakes Dustin’s hand) Hiya, pleased to meet you!

Dustin: Pleased to meet you, too!

Jo: Who’s this little one?

Dustin: This is Blake...

Jo: How old is Blake?

Dustin: He just turned 2 a few weeks ago...

Jo: Hi Blake! How are you~?

[Blake leans into his father’s chest bashfully]

Dustin:(Interview) When I first saw Jo, I was so ecstatic! But I was also like: Oh kids please behave! Don’t get me started on yelling at you guys!

Jo:And who are these children over here?

[shows Alfie, Willie and Leon watching Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s on the televison]

Dustin: That’s Alfie, Willie, and Leon

[Jo approaches Willie with a smile on her face]

Jo: What’s your name?

Willie:(Quietly) Willie...

Jo: And how old are you?

Willie: 11...

Willie:(Interview) When I saw Jo, she was like a guardian angel! Like; Holy crap, she’s finally here!

Jo:(To Leon) What’s your name?

Leon: Leon...

Jo:(towers over to Leon to shake his hand) and how old are you?

Leon: 6

Jo: Pleased to meet you, I’m Jojo!

Alfie:(wearing a santa hat while raising his hand) What about me?

Jo: Hi Alfie! Pleased to meet you! How old are you?

Alfie: I’m 5!

Shaun:(Points to Kara sitting in her swing) This is baby sister...

Jo:(Delightful) A baby sister!

Alfie: Kara is the best baby sister ever! And the tiniest...

Alfie:(Shows his handspan to determine Kara’s length) But she’s only about this big...

Observation
Jo: Can you show me around the house? I want to know what it’s like.

Dustin: Sure!

[Shows footage of a very messy bedroom]

Jo: One of the dads was giving me a tour around the house, but all I could see was all this clutter!

[Jo covers her mouth and coughs]

Jo: There was clothes anywhere and everywhere! Their was massive piles on the floors and in the beds. In fact, I had to shift from one room to the next!

Jo:(kicking a pile of clothes) Look, Jojo needs a shovel!

Jo: Whilst Shaun left for work, I went to check on the boys...

[Jo peeps into Alfie and Blake’s room]

Blake:(Smirking) Jojo is a b***ch!(Laughing)

Leon: Hey Jo, Blake thinks you are a b***ch...

Jo:(Surprised) He thinks that I’m a b***ch?

Leon: yes...

Jo:(Interview) This was one thing to add to the list, When Leon came to me and said that Blake thought I was a b***ch...

Jo:(To Leon) What does’t that mean?

Leon: That means he doesn’t like you...

Jo: I was totally stunned, these children must hear this language all the time...

Jo:(Interview) I think Dustin must have panicked for a bit, after telling me how unorganized the house was, he went on this frantic cleaning spree in the kitchen.

Jo: He was scraping dirt from the floor, spraying on the counters, pulling out the dining table.

Dustin: Normally I would be spending time cleaning the house. (He grabs a mop and starts mopping the kitchen floor)

Jo: Dustin was busy mopping the floor, and scraping dirt that has been their for months.

[Dustin grabs a butterknife and scrapes the kitchen tiles]

Jo: While Dustin was doing his best impersonation of a butler, I was like, someone better check on the kids...

[Shows Andrew and Willie batting each other, only for Willie to fall over]

[Leon crawls into his bottom bunk]

Blake: Leon, I hate you!

Jo: The kids were just beating up on one another.

[Andrew tackles Elias over the couch]

Jo:...And the foul language...

Blake: Biiitch!

Leon: You stupid c*nt!

Alfie: I know you are, but what am I?

[Elias punches Andrew in the face while Willie walks away]

Jo: All while Dad was cleaning! He doesn’t care at all!

Willie: SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!!!

[Footage of cows lifting their heads up in shock]

[Footage of Dustin sighing while he drops the broom]

[Willie then smacks Elias on the back of his head]

[Jo looks outside the window to find Blake driving a toy Tractor with Kara in it]

Jo: I couldn’t believe my eyes! Blake, who’s 2 years old, was driving a tractor with his little sister in it, without helmets!

Jo: Next thing was, Blake walked through the door alone,

[Blake takes off his coat while he has a purple pacifier]

Jo: And I thought, someone’s missing!

Jo: Where’s Kara?

[Dustin sighed as he dropped the broom]

The Mad Dash
Announcer: Coming up, on Supernanny

[Dustin dashes out into the backyard]

Announcer: It’s a mad dash to find baby Kara...

Jo: Kara’s stuck!

Announcer: When Supernanny returns!

[Bumper plays]

Jo: Where’s Kara?

[Dustin sighed as he dropped the broom]

Jo: She’s been left somewhere, so Dustin and I have been running frantically to try and find Kara.

[Jo and Dusting dash frantically outside the backyard]

Dustin:(To Kara) Did you get left here?

Jo: Blake just left Kara on the BACK of the tractor. She’s only 10 months old. I was very shocked that dad had to go look for the baby. I mean, how can he manage the kids when he’s all by himself?!

Blake puts up a fight
[Suspenseful piano music plays]

Dustin: STOP! Don’t unfold those!

[Blake squeals in protest]

Jo: The chaos continued inside, when little Blake started to play up...

Dustin: Blake, get out of the kitchen right now!

Blake:(through his pacifier) NOOOOOOOOO!

Jo: No matter what the dads said, Blake did the opposite

Dustin:(Crouching down on Blake’s level) Stop that, go play.

[Blake runs off screaming]

Dustin:(While buttoning Kara’s shirt) Do not jump off that couch

[Blake jumps off the couch anyway]

Dustin: I can’t just go and sit down for a minute because it’s always Papa this, Papa that

Dustin:(Pointing to Blake) Straighten up.

[Blake giggles and grabs Shaun’s finger]

Dustin: Get back here, Blake!!

[Dustin picks the mischievous toddler up and brings him back inside]

Observation continues
Dustin: Shaun and I are always running around, picking up somebody’s mess

Dustin:(Throws a shirt at Alfie) Hang it up

[Footage of a lamp falling over in Willie’s room while the preteen runs for cover by launching himself on his bed]

Dustin: Stopping somebody’s fights

[Elias jumps on Andrew and tackles him]

Dustin: If you can’t play nicely, then go somewhere else!

Jo: these fathers had their hands full from raising seven wild kids.

[Dustin drags Andrew off the couch]

[Dustin rubs his head from all the stress]

Jo: But by the way they are acting, it’s really taking a toll on them now

[Shows footage of the Branch family’s backyard]

Jo:(To Dustin) Here, can I talk to you for a moment?

Jo: I pulled Dustin aside because I was really curious. Just to see how he was feeling while Shaun worked his long hours.

Dustin:(In tears) It’s hard for me...

Jo:(Places an arm over Dustin) It’s alright, I understand.

Jo: It’s very difficult for Dustin since he’s a ball of emotions. He has his partner leaving him alone with seven kids.

Dustin:(To Jo) And I mean, I love having a big family. I’m part of one. I just don’t think I’ll raise them all alone. I mean, it’s not fair for the little ones, they miss spending time with their other dad, too.

Jo: Dustin is feeling very overwhelmed right now. He has this fear how he’s going to be left to raise the children while Shaun works long hours. I can’t really blame him for feeling scared and anxious.

Shaun comes home
Jo: Finally, Shaun came home from work.

[Shaun enters the room with a smile]

Dustin: Blakey, look!

[Blake, Alfie and Leon run towards their father and hug him]

Shaun: Hi boys!

Jo: Since I’ve spent the whole day with Dustin observing. And for the first time, just before we sat down to have a talk, I met Shaun.

Jo:[Shakes Shaun’s hand] Pleased to meet you, I’m Jo frost!

Shaun: Nice to meet you too.

Jo: I would love to just grab the pair of you, and discuss the issues that I feel that need to be addressed.

Shaun: Sounds good!

Jo: So, I hope that we can do this now. So we can have a talk.

Parents’ meeting
[Dustin and Shaun sit at the table with Jo]

Jo: I’ve observed PLENTY. So why don’t the three of us discuss the issues that need to be addressed.

Dustin: Of course, why not?

Shaun: I have this fear, of Jo telling me that I’m doing everything wrong. I wish I could spend more time with the kids.

Jo: Let me tell you how WONDERFUL your seven kids are.

[Dustin smiles briefly]

Jo: But...

Shaun: I hate the buts...(Giggles)

Jo: These kids are growing out of control. Where are the boundaries?

Dustin: I don’t think there are any...

Jo: Shaun, I see you working long hours as a bank accountant,

Shaun: Yeah.

Jo: And Dustin is left alone by himself to raise seven kids.

Dustin: That is true...

Jo: And I will not pull and punches with you guys. I walked through the door, Dustin, and I was shocked.

[Shaun and Dustin both nod]

Jo: Absolutely shocked. Their was food all over the place, their were toys, clothes, and all sorts of clutter in every nook and cranny. I mean, you’ve got seven kids! It’s not a choice, It’s mandatory. You guys have to be on top of things.

Dustin: I agree.

Shaun: I mean, It is what it is...

Jo: But it’s not happening. Why isn’t it happening?

Dustin: It’s just so overwhelming... I mean, it really is. Plus, the kids don’t cooperate. Other than yelling or swearing at them. It just doesn’t seem to work.

Jo: What part of you, as parents, think that it’s perfectly acceptable to swear at your children?

Shaun: I just don’t think it’s acceptable, but that’s kind of how they cooperate. But we don’t want to use that language on our children.

Jo: while I was observing, Leon came up to me. He then said that “Blake thinks you’re a b****.”

Shaun: That would be Blake...

Dustin: Well, Blake thinks everybody’s a b**ch.

Jo: I’ll tell you what, It’s totally unacceptable in my book. Everything you are teaching these children, that if you swear at them, It is how you should communicate with others. It’s wrong, isn’t it?

Shaun: No, it’s not...

Jo: You guys really need to raise the bar! You don’t see the potential that these children have. You only see the bad things that they have all the time!

Dustin: I want to, I really want to fix this. And I go to bed crying, because I don’t know how to fix it.

Jo: So are you guys willing to put that strength, that courage, that determination?

Shaun and Dustin: Yes.

Jo: So let’s do this, tomorrow morning!

Teaching
Announcer: Coming up, on supernanny!

Jo: Any trash talk, and you will lose one of these!

[Jo takes a mouth of the trash talk board and puts it in a jar]

Jo:... And they will end up in here.

Announcer: Jo puts the lid on the family’s trash talk...

Dustin: I don’t know, it’s just not fun to sit here.

Announcer: And Dad’s not in the mood to play.

[Andrew and Willie play rugby together]

Jo: Your kids want you! They want your time!

Announcer: When supernanny returns...