Mortified – Taylor’s DNA: 'The public humiliation of Taylor Fry'

The juxtaposition of perspectives is cleverly done in this series. On one hand Taylor (Marny Kennedy) focuses on all the embarrassing things her parents do – such as dancing together, her mother belly dancing, and then, yuck oh yuck, parents kissing. It’s enough to send a girl to her room. On the other hand, while Don (Andrew Blackman) and Glenda (Rachel Blakely) Fry are certainly sometimes inadvertently embarrassing in their exuberance, they also come across to the audience as fun and loving parents. But Taylor cannot see this.

Reflected in a mirror while plastering her face with pimple cream, she is the picture of pre-teen angst, talking to the audience as she ponders her dilemma. (Note the spotty cow underneath mirroring the pimple cream spots – a delightful touch.) Grasping for an idea, Taylor decides that she must be adopted and she can justify it because in her eyes, she is different to everyone else in her family. In a comic aside, Skinny Vinnie the greyhound (voiced by Todd Levi) puts this crazy idea into perspective when he tells Taylor that he’s really a schnauzer, swapped at birth. Given that the dog’s words come from Taylor’s imagination, it probably shows that she really doesn’t believe it herself – but in her enthusiasm for an answer she ignores her common sense. Loyal, clever Hector (Nicolas Dunn) has all the scientific ideas to help her get the proof she needs.

Taylor’s sister Layla (Dajana Cahill) adds the nasty older sibling dimension to the family dynamics and her boyfriend Anthony’s greyhound Skinny Vinnie is important in the final outcome of this episode.

Mortified – Taylor’s DNA synopsis

This is the first episode of the series. Self conscious eleven-year-old Taylor Fry (Marny Kennedy) finds her crazy parents Don (Andrew Blackman) and Glenda (Rachel Blakely) so embarrassing that she becomes convinced that they can’t possibly be her real mother and father. With the parent talent night coming up, she knows they will humiliate her in front of all her classmates, and she needs to publicly distance herself from them NOW. With her friend Hector’s (Nicolas Dunn) help, she decides to do a DNA test – the results are a real surprise.

Mortified – Taylor’s DNA curator's notes

This opening episode introduces the up-front Taylor (Marny Kennedy), her rather crazy but loving family, her friends, the coastal town where she lives (filmed on Queensland’s Gold Coast), and gives plenty of signs of the fun to come. There are some hilarious over the top kid–parent embarrassment scenes to prove Taylor’s point in this story, establishing a rich ground for the ongoing series.

Mortified first went to air on the ABC at 4.00 pm on Friday 30 June 2006 with this episode, Taylor’s DNA. Mortified screened weekly in this timeslot.

Notes by Annemaree O'Brien