Characters / Economy Watch

This is the complete character article for David Johnson's web series Economy Watch, produced by David's production company Circumference Films.

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David Sutherland Johnson

Played by: David Johnson
First Appearance: Bitcoin

The main protagonist. He's an unemployed TV host who enjoys discussing economics and financial topics. In Season 1, he began Economy Watch, and during his financial shenanigans, he converted to communism, before reverting back to capitalism. His work caught the attention of the Lottery Announcement Services, who forced him to partake in a local lottery or else he would be killed. He refused, and died, coming back to life about a week later as a zombie, who wreaked havoc and began the Economic Virus epidemic. After the government dealt with it, David was back to his normal routine, but the government took certain things away from him as a consequence for being Patient Zero. That Christmas, he was caught stealing gifts for himself, and the police discovered that he had been stealing and hoarding for a long time, putting him under house arrest and taking his desk, which was stolen property. One officer, though, decided to lift his sentence early so he could provide gifts to a local community center event. David took this opportunity, however, to continue hoarding, which led the officer known as Bob Roberts to shoot and kill him. His soul was spared in the Afterlife, however, under the condition that he stopped hoarding. After attending the event, he returned home miserable, but realized that Christmas isn't focused on materialistic things, but rather, how the material brings joy to people's lives.

The following year, David was evicted from his apartment and left for Camp Investaway, a campsite for the homeless. There, he met the homeless lawyer Matthew Stratton, and the two of them sued his landlord. Meanwhile, David tried to find a sanctuary in Spain due to lower rent costs, but he found nothing. That Halloween, he joined his brother Isaac in Michigan for an evening of fun, but a werewolf apocalypse led to Isaac getting bitten and becoming a werewolf. The next day, Matthew told David that a former client of his was in Washington D.C., who could help with the trial, but David had to give his friend's cousin an item he owed first. He ended up visiting Washington but forgot to talk to the client. After the successful trial, David was stalked by the Econiangel, a mysterious being that David began to worship, until the encounter with the Econiangel made him realize that his obsession with the economy was preventing him from having friends and being a well-rounded person. He ended up killing the Econiangel, who he named Brandon, and began embracing his obsession.

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• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Even though David has canonically died twice, we've only seen his ascension to the Afterlife once in "A Very Hoarder Christmas", which displays the Afterlife as a festive and winter wonderland. This is because the Afterlife took a form that David's brain and soul could understand, so they went with a Christmas theme.
• Back from the Dead: David turns into a zombie after dying in the 2021 Halloween special. He dies again in the 2021 Christmas special, and is then brought back after being in the Afterlife.
• Catchphrase: "Oh hey, I didn't see you there".
• Curse Cut Short: David goes to Washington and compares the Washington Mounment to a penis in Episode 20, before getting cut off by the next informational section.
• Curse Cut Short: David goes to Washington and compares the Washington Mounment to a penis in Episode 20, before getting cut off by the next informational section.
• Endearingly Dorky: David is very nerdy and socially-inept, but that makes him all the more likable.
• Everyone Owns a Mac: David uses a Mac computer.
• Fugitive Arc: David goes under house arrest in the Season 1 finale.
• The Hero: David is both the Hero and the Smart Guy.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: As the series goes on, it's increasingly obvious that David has little friends. He even mentions directly in Episode 24, "It's An Economic Snowfall", that his obsession with the economy has prevented him from connecting with people or making friends, leading him to rant about it with Frederick.
• Nerd Glasses: David is a very nerdy boy and wears glasses.
• No Social Skills: David is a character with difficulties with social cues. This is due to his namesake, who also had social problems.
• Patient Zero: David was Patient Zero of the Economic Virus in Episode 11, "Night of The Economic Dead".
• The Smart Guy: Since all the members of the Economy Watch are nerds, most of them fall under this trope.
• Socially Awkward Hero: David is this in a nutshell, fused with Dork Knight.

Pepita Jones

Played by: Rocio Millan Johnson
First Appearance: Night of The Economic Dead

Pepita is a newscaster and Frederick's husband, who reported on the zombie apocalypse and David's house arrest.

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• Deadline News: The Meet The Johnsons news headquarters gets attacked by zombies whilst Pepita is reporting the virus outbreak in "Night of The Economic Dead".
• Kent Brockman News: Pepita provided exposition via news in both the 2021 Halloween and Christmas specials.

Dennis Smith

Played by: Nico Davis
First Appearance: Night of the Economic Dead

David and Isaac's friend. He began working as part of the Vaccine Agency delivering vaccinations to people during epidemics such as the Economic Virus, but took time off to hang out with the Economy Watchers. He joined Isaac and David at the Community Center Christmas Event in 2021, and tried to help David during the werewolf apocalypse the following Halloween. The next day, Dennis accidentally got connected on a call between David and Matthew, and asked David to get a home kitchen set for his cousin. Later, he got a job as an elementary school teacher, discussing nuances such as ingrown toenails and tonsil surgery with his students.

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• Endearingly Dorky: Dennis is very nerdy and socially-inept, but that makes him all the more likable.
• Everyone Owns a Mac: Dennis owns a Mac.
• The Smart Guy: Dennis is really smart, albeit a bit behind when it comes to social cues, much like the other Economy Watchers.

Frederick Jones

Played by: Keith Johnson
First Appearance: Pilgrimage Tercentenary Half-Dollar

Frederick is a banker and occasional newscaster who is a friend of David. The creator did film footage in October 2021 that featured Frederick and David meeting for the first time as part of that year's Halloween special, but the footage was scrapped, so it's safe to say that it's unknown when Frederick and David met. Regardless, Frederick seems to be a person David respects, as he invited him to a Thanksgiving dinner and went over to his house for advice after he got haunted by the Econiangel. He is married to Pepita, a full-time newscaster.

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• Kent Brockman News: Being a part-time anchorman, Frederick provided exposition in "Cryptic Cryptos".

Employee

Played by: Delia Millan
First Appearance: A Very Hoarder Christmas

This unnamed character has appeared twice in the series, once in the Season 1 finale and again in the Season 3 episode "The Economics of Healthcare". The first time around, she was a store employee, and the second time around, she worked at a hospital and tended to David whilst his hands healed.

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Isaac Bruce Johnson

Played by: Dayan Hatchwell
First Appearance: A Very Hoarder Christmas

David's brother. Isaac was seen at the Community Center Christmas event in 2021 with David, and continued to hang out with him the following year. During Halloween, he was infected by a werewolf bite and became a werewolf, before David was able to trigger Isaac's human side and domesticate him. By December, Isaac was able to come up with a formula to be able to control his werewolf transformation, and helped David while he was being stalked by the Econiangel.

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• Endearingly Dorky: Isaac is very nerdy and socially-inept, but that makes him all the more likable.
• Everyone Owns a Mac: Isaac doesn't own a Mac, but instead an iPhone.
• Savage Wolves: Isaac becomes a werewolf in the 2022 Halloween special, "Cryptic Cryptos", savagely trying to attack David before he domesticates him. Isaac remains in the wolf form in the following episode, "American Dollars", but reveals he found a cure to his werewolf form in the 2022 Christmas special.
• The Smart Guy: Isaac is really intelligent, and was able to come up with a cure for his werewolf state.

Matthew Stratton

Played by: Nathan Booth
First Appearance: Rent Inflation

Matthew Stratton was David's lawyer who helped with the trial against David's landlord. He first met David at Camp Investaway, a camp for homeless people, where the two of them conspired to take David's landlord to court. Almost 2 months later, Matthew called David and asked him to go to Washington D.C., so he could talk to a former client of his to help with the trial. Unfortunately, while David visited Washington, he forgot to talk to the client. Despite this, Matthew and David won the trial and kept in contact.

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• Catchphrase: "We do a little trial and error in the courtroom".
• Crusading Lawyer: Matthew Stratton has no problem with helping David with his case.
• Everyone Owns a Mac: Matthew owns a Mac.

Bed And Breakfast Lady

Played by: Delia Almonte Hidalgo
First Appearance: Spanish Pesetas

The Bed and Breakfast Lady was the owner of a Spanish Bed and Breakfast that David visited whilst in Spain.

Jimmy Garcia

Played by: Jaime Abarca
First Appearance: Spanish Pesetas

Jimmy Garcia is a Spanish newscaster who really enjoys the Spanish Peseta, football and right-wing politics. He first debuted on a Spanish news network discussing the Peseta, a second time discussing the economics of football, and a third time discussing Spanish dictator Francisco Franco and right-wing politics.

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• Bilingual Bonus: No subtitles are given during Jimmy's Spanish rant over Franco, so the entire thing is in uncensored Spanish.
• Foreign-Language Tirade: He and Ronaldo give a long rant about Franco in Spanish, without subtitles.
• Gratuitous Spanish: He and Ronaldo give a detailed rant about Franco in Spanish.
• Kent Brockman News: Jimmy helped add extra context to the Spanish Peseta and the economics of football in select episodes in Season 2. He came back in Season 3 to discuss Francisco Franco's dictatorship in Spain.

Tom Smith

Played by: Will Davis
First Appearance: American Dollars

Tom Smith is the cousin of Dennis Smith, who resides in New Jersey. Dennis first mentioned Tom on a phone call with David, asking the economist to go to his residence to pick up a home kitchen set that he owed. After taking a flight there, Tom told David that he already mailed the set to Dennis, causing David to get upset.

The Econiangel

Played by: Automated Voice
First Appearance: It's An Economic Snowfall

The Econiangel is a mysterious otherworldly being who had been stalking David for the past 2 years, with David only realizing it by Christmas 2022. The Econiangel made David delusional, which led to him realizing how much his obsession with the economy ruined his life. He ended up being killed by David, causing an "economic snowfall".

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• Angelic Abomination: The overarching antagonist of Season 2 is revealed in the finale, "It's An Economic Snowfall" - the Econiangel. The Econiangel takes inspiration from biblically accurate angels.
• Electromagnetic Pulse: The Econiangel has the ability to shut down electronics in its vicinity.
• Fallen Angel: Used literally in "It's An Economic Snowfall". The antagonist is a massive fallen angel from "the Economist's Afterlife". Not much is known about the Econiangel's origins, and it is suggested that it is a fallen angel.
• Kill the Lights: In "It's An Economic Snowfall", the lights dramatically go out when the Econiangel hovers above David's apartment.

Ronaldo Garcia

Played by: Alvaro Ibañez
First Appearance: The Economics of Healthcare

Ronaldo Garcia is a Spanish newscaster and a cousin of Jimmy Garcia.

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• Bilingual Bonus: No subtitles are given during Ronaldo and Jimmy's Spanish rant over Franco, so the entire thing is in uncensored Spanish.
• Foreign-Language Tirade: He and Jimmy give a long rant about Franco in Spanish, without subtitles.
• Gratuitous Spanish: He and Jimmy give a detailed rant about Franco in Spanish.
• Kent Brockman News: Ronaldo served as a newscaster in "The Economics of Healthcare" to discuss Spanish right-wing politics, as that network was the only thing David has on in the hospital he was.

Ethan Carvey

Played by: Dayan Hatchwell
First Appearance: Stock Stabber

Ethan Carvey is the former CEO of Carvey Markets, a now-defunct stock exchange that was indirectly closed down by David. He and his partner Ritchie ended up turning to a life of crime and murder, targeting those responsible for closing down various stock exchanges. He has killed at least 3 people prior to meeting David.

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