Parker Family Saga Collection

Jean Shepherd's Parker Family Saga franchise (also known simply as the Parker Family Saga, alternatively known as the Ralph Parker franchise, or sometimes colloquially referred to as the A Christmas Story franchise), is a collection of American family-comedies based upon the stories of author Jean Shepherd. All of the productions in the saga/franchise center around Ralphie Parker (most famously portrayed in A Christmas Story), a youth growing up in the 1930s and 1940s in suburban Indiana, and his friends and family (A Christmas Story Christmas takes place roughly 30 years later, centering on a now-adult Ralphie returning to his hometown for Christmas). Ralphie Parker was loosely based upon Shepherd's childhood; Shepherd also served as first-person narrator for all productions involving the character until he died. Shepherd publicly claimed that all of his work was entirely fictional; he is known to have used the names of his own friends and family in his books.