Observers

Observers is a Martonian sitcom created by Dominic MacGregor which aired on NBN from September 20, 2002 to May 18, 2012. The series depicts the everyday lives of Stuart Eastman (Simon Pearson) and Spencer Stanton (Dorian Emerson), two disfunctional and extremely dissimilar best friends who share an apartment in the Bancroft. It consists almost entirely of, and characters' thoughts provide insight for episodes.

MacGregor pitched the show in late 2000 under the I Sight. Later during the development phase, the title was changed to Eyeballing and finally Observers. He describes the show as exploring, , and by "unconventional means". Other recurring topics include, , and. The series was produced by MacGregor Company in association with NBN Studios.

Since its premiere, Observers has widely been regarded as one of the greatest television shows of the 21st century and one of the best Martonian shows of all time, though its strong language and sexual content garnered much controvery. The series' pilot episode peaked at 34.3 million viewers, making it the highest-rated series premiere in NBN's history. The show's most watched episode over all is the final episode, "Finale", which peaked at 50.8 million. The show has won ten MFTA Awards, the most wins for any single series, as well as five Scorpio Awards. In 2015, it was ranked no. 1 on Studiosity's annual list of the Top 25 Greatest Scripted Shows of All Time, and maintained that position until 2022. In 2020, it was ranked no. 3 on Newsvision's Martie TV Top 10 list.

Premise
Observers follows Stuart Eastman (Simon Pearson) and Spencer Stanton (Dorian Emerson), two extremely dissimilar best friends who share an apartment in the neighborhood of Scotsboro, Bancroft. Stuart is a law firm receptionist who is socially awkward but likeable and responsible, though he struggles with anger issues. Spencer, on the other hand, is an aspiring musician and refuses to get any other job, though he later works an overpaying bartending job at a bar and is offered a deal with an independent record label in the final season. Supporting characters include Stuart's coworker Jenna Muir (Francine Fontaine), Spencer's "second best" friend Lenny Chase (Steven Crisper), Stuart's boss George Langston (Kenneth Marsden), Jenna's best friend Marina Harrison (Louise Jackson), Spencer's childhood friend Gloria Chen (Marcie Braden), and Jenna's (ex-)boyfriend Miguel Mendoza (Luciano Fabiano).

Episodes usually focus on how different the protagonists' personalities and lifestyles are from one another's. Their dissimilar qualities and characteristics are often a source of the series' comedy. One prominent and solidifying example is the characters' romantic pursuits. Stuart often focuses on trying to woo one girl at a time—first Jenna and then Maria, and he eventually enters a committed relationship with the latter. Spencer, on the other hand, has with random women he finds in places such as bars and clubs and in some cases even indulges in polygamy.

Main cast

 * Simon Pearson as Stuart Eastman
 * Dorian Emerson as Spencer Stanton

Supporting cast

 * Francine Fontaine as Jenna Muir (seasons 1–2)
 * Steven Crisper as Lenny Chase (seasons 1–7; guest season 8)
 * Kenneth Marsden as George Langston (seasons 2–8; recurring season 1)
 * Louise Jackson as Marina Harrison (seasons 4–6; recurring seasons 2–3)
 * Marcie Braden as Gloria Chen (season 7–8; recurring seasons 5–6)
 * Luciano Mendoza as Miguel Mendoza (season 8; guest seasons 1–7)

Season 1
Spencer moves into Stuart's apartment after being kicked out of his parents' house. They start out with the common goal of finding a girlfriend: Stuart loves his coworker Jenna (Francine Fontaine) and wants her to ask her out on a date, while Spencer is willing to date any girl he meets. After a few awkward conversations with his coworker Jenna, Stuart finally asks her to come to dinner with him, and Jenna declines the invitation because she wants to go out with her boyfriend, Miguel (Luciano Fabiano) In the meantime, Spencer focuses on advancing his music career, selling CDs of his tunes by the staircase in their apartment building. Spencer later has a rough one-night stand with fellow would-be musician Felicia (Marissa Xavier) but remains attached after it ends and begins searching around town for her with the assistance of his best friend Lenny (Steven Crisper), who betrays him and dated Felicia. Spencer gets revenge by disguising himself as a pizza delivery driver, "delivering a pizza" to his house, and whacking him unconscious with a softball bat.

Outside the Langston & Associates building one day, Stuart brutally assaults Miguel and threatens to kill Miguel if he ever tells anyone that Stuart was the one who attacked him, which makes Miguel contemplate dumping Jenna. After going back and forth, Miguel decides to break up with Jenna and lies that he is dumping her because he "decided to move on", though it was actually to avoid being killed by Stuart. Stuart continues to flirt with Jenna until she finally agrees to go to dinner with him. Stuart's boss, George Langston (Kenneth Marsden, threatens to fire him if he does not stop flirting with coworkers in the workplace and later tells him that coworker