(Apologies for the long post)
Since people keep referring to tracking Phil's exploits like watching a TV show, I whipped up a quick episode synopsis for all four seasons (season finale coming next week)
Phil
A Case Study & Cautionary Tale
Season One
1. The Dark Syde (Pilot)
A gamer from Connecticut has a dubious 4th place win in a Street Fighter tournament and decides to parlay his “success” into a new website: YouTube.
2. Pushing Buttons
Phil is fired from his job at the helicopter factory, and decides to make YouTube videos as a career, capitalizing on YouTube’s lucrative ad system.
3. Accidental Racist
After losing his adsense account, a short term switch to Blip.TV ends poorly for Phil when his racial humor gets him banned. Meanwhile, Phil starts a cooking show.
4. Partnership Program
Phil signs a contract with Machinima, an MCN program with a shady reputation. Meanwhile, another partnership is brewing- a romantic one.
5. The Panda
A very young Leanna begins traveling to visit Phil, who shows her off in a special Valentine’s Day video. Many of his fans don't take too kindly to her, and meanwhile, he begins reviewing fast food items.
6. Project 7
Phil tries branching out from his usual content and produces a miniseries intended to be comedic- but his friends don't take too well to his attitude.
7. Bugged Friendship Mechanics
Project 7 hits some turbulence as tensions begin to flare when Phil tries to weasel out of paying Respect the Pact and his best friend, John Rambo.
8. Project Deleted
Phil pulls the plug on Project 7, and stops communicating with his friends, turning instead to Leanna and his games. Meanwhile, a well-intentioned fan donates a gaming PC to Phil.
9. This Is How You Don’t Play
A former fan of Phil’s releases the first in a series of videos mocking his gameplay- which doesn't please Phil, as he soon becomes the internet’s example of a bad gamer.
10. The Sons of Kojima
Coming on the heels of Phil’s newfound anti-hero notoriety, a “mentally ill” group of ex-Phil fans begin a trolling campaign for the ages.
Season Two
1. The Healing Seattle Air
Phil decides to move cross-country, citing health concerns and dragging Leanna with him. His newfound homeowner status bolsters his ego at first, but financial difficulties may be looming on the horizon.
2. Twitchy Temper
The hot new streaming website “Twitch” draws Phil’s attention, but it doesn't take too long before he rage-quits the whole thing, vowing never to return. Also, Phil reads the mail of the house’s previous owner and suspects illegal conduct.
3. PayMeTons
Phil opens a Patreon account, promising fans a reboot of Project 7… but promises are awful hard to keep when there’s video games to be played. Addressing his former friends and reading their texts to the public doesn't help things.
4. The Swatting
Police are called out to the Burnell palace, and although no harm is done, Phil has a hunch that it's the work of the sociopathic SOK. Subsequent DDOS attacks lead him to believe the detractors are getting worse.
5. Cahpyright Strikes
In between cooking up pots of homemade Italian sauce, Phil finds that he's been hit with copyright strikes on his channel, and proceeds to take some very bad advice.
6. The Wedding
Leanna’s brother is getting married, but Phil fears meeting her family and invents a litany of excuses to avoid attending the event. Meanwhile, with financial difficulty evident, Leanna gets a 9-5 job.
7. The Incident
While setting up a livestream, Phil gets caught on camera… ahem, scratching his leg. With his reputation and online career at stake, how will he save face?
8. Ma and Pa Burnell
Phil’s parents fly in to visit their son and his girlfriend, and find that they aren't exactly functioning like normal well-adjusted adults. Mr. Burnell tries to teach his son basic life skills, but Phil remains obstinate.
9. Staycation
Phil and Leanna’s relationship has hit a rough patch, so they decide to just kick back and take it easy… by spending a ridiculous amount of money “vacationing” 20 minutes from their house.
10. I Want Answers
After Phil has a video go viral and starts a new channel for edited reviews, it seems he’s completely recovered from the infamous webcam mistake- but his YouTube income suddenly tanks, and he can’t get an explanation.
Season Three
1. The Little Guy
Framing his situation as a fight against big corporations, Phil is relentless in harassing Machinima to fix his revenue problem- but his annoying pestering might be pushing it too far.
2. It Was Mutual, Honest
Fed up with his antics, Machinima severs ties with Phil and terminates his contract. However, Phil spins his own special version of the story.
3. Twitch? Totally Cool Now!
His YouTube career on a precipice, Phil has decided to go back to streaming on twitch, all the while searching for a new MCN to partner with. Meanwhile, Leanna’s fake engagement ring raises eyebrows.
4. Laveria: Detractors in Disguise
Even though Curse agrees to sign him, a new MCN agrees to partner with Phil, but he soon falls into a rabbit hole of shell companies and false fronts.
5. The Proposal
In a last ditch effort to save his relationship, Phil goes through the world’s most unromantic marriage proposal, which could end up being an unfortunate portend of things to come.
6. The Goutmobile
Phil gets a new car, but refuses to tell anyone the make and model out of fear of ridicule for his irresponsible spending habits. Meanwhile, the spark in the brand new engagement just isn't there.
7. He Ate The Sandwich
Leanna has a panic attack at work, causing a very annoyed Phil to have to (gasp!) leave his video games for a few hours. He then makes matters worse by broadcasting the whole thing to the internet.
8. Where’s Leanna?
Leanna suddenly disappears from Phil’s internet presence, and he refuses to address the issue, causing mass speculation until he finally admits what happened.
9. The Owner of a Lonely Heart
The breakup sends Phil into a depressing spiral as he tries to convince himself that it was actually a positive event in his life- but his constant drinking and lack of basic functionality undermine the facade.
10. SOK Leaks
Soon after a doxing incident reveals Phil’s purchasing habits and old internet accounts, details come out about the Sons of Kojima that permanently fracture the group and partially vindicate Phil.
Season Four
1. Life is Hard For A Manchild
Basic housekeeping like doing laundry and grocery shopping become Herculean tasks to Phil as he no longer has a live-in servant to take care of them.
2. It’s Thanksgiving, Pity Me
Phil uses his lonely Thanksgiving to solicit money from his fans as he bemoans his hungry-man TV dinners… and gives an inside scoop on how his relationship with Leanna REALLY went.
3. True and Honest Girlfriend
Surprising everyone, Phil announces that he's been dating a girl since he broke up with Leanna, and this time it's really love. He gets a gleeful delight, however, out of withholding all information about her.
4. The Taxman Cometh
Phil spins a tale of conspiracy involving the SOK, magazine subscriptions, dishonest accountants and why his business technically isn't a business (but technically sorta is) to solicit viewer donations.
5. Home for the Holidays
The mystery girlfriend does some traveling to visit Phil for an early Christmas celebration, complete with trips to iKea, awkward back-of-the-head photos, and talk of moving in together… because they are soulmates, after all.
6. Kimberlie Brink
An escort claiming to be Phil’s mystery girlfriend pops up out of the woodwork, setting off an avalanche of ridiculous speculation, brownie recipes, vague threats and a looming deadline to pay up.
7. January Harvest
The “escort” pushes things too far and ends up being exposed, but not before a supporter of Phil’s sets off a doxing campaign that lights a cleansing fire in the community.
8. Rub-A-Dub-Dub
Desperate to maintain relevance, Phil films himself in the shower… for a second time. Meanwhile, he makes plans for his new soulmate to move into the Renton Mansion.
9. The Fastest Way to Lose A Sponsor
A sponsorship opportunity backfires on Phil when a gaming chair company pulls their support. Not to be deterred, he seeks out a similar sponsor- only to destroy the entire company.
10. Soulmaid 2.0
(season finale coming soon)
