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"Ah fuck it - the cunt bit me" - a Steve Irwin tribute
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Fonejacker
E4
If you've being watching Big Brother then you'll feel like you've watched three series of Fonejacker already, the adverts elbowing their way into every BB commercial break. Putting a new twist on the prank phone call requires ingenuity, a deep knowledge of the pitfalls of the practice and a good instinct for when the joke stops being funny. Fonejacker has none of these but it does have some pretty good two-dimensional Captain Pugwash cardboard cut out animation. The main problem for the show is that Victor Lewis-Smith was doing this years ago and was a lot funnier.
"The victims are ordinary members of the public being cold called, reception and counter staff. The majority quickly realise it's a prank which is surely a failure on the part of Fonejacker?"
The brainchild of actor Kayvan Novak , Fonejacker first came about as a pilot for Channel Four's Comedy Lab in 2005. Fonejacker adopts a series of recurring characters for his phone calls. There's George Adgdgdwngo the African scam artist who attempts to get your bank details using increasingly unlikely hard luck stories. Then there's Mr. Doovdé , a foreigner who has difficulty with acronyms, pronouncing them as complete words like Doovdé (DVD), and Ibrahiem Puck (IBM PC).
Terry Tibbs is an Arthur Daley type second-hand car dealer who drives a hard and increasingly stupid bargain. The victims are ordinary members of the public being cold called, reception and counter staff. The majority quickly realise it's a prank which is surely a failure on the part of Fonejacker?
"There's nothing wrong with laughing at foreigners mispronouncing things but when it takes up half your show you know you're struggling."
It's one of those programmes that flirts with being funny but seems at a loss how to go all the way. The animations are cool and the ideas are passable but the public's reactions are wholly predictable. Trigger Happy TV had a greater visual impact and also had a better developed sense of the surreal. There's nothing wrong with laughing at foreigners mispronouncing things but when it takes up half your show you know you're struggling. I also have a problem with bothering and being rude to people who don't deserve it. Annoying some harassed waitress with your year-old Comedy Lab scribblings is pushing your luck a touch. For all I know this could have a cult internet following - it wouldn't surprise me. But I do have better things to do with my time than watch this.
The best thing about it: The animation
The worst thing about it: The laziness
The verdict on Fonejacker : It's exactly what you expect.
Marks out of 10: 5
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REVIEWS (cont'd)
J-M
Jericho
John From Cincinnati
Jordan and Peter: Marriage And Mayhem
Joss Whedon's Dollhouse will be the greatest television show in history
Journeyman
jPod
Keys To The Vip
The Kill Point
Kings
King Of Shaves advert
Life
The Life and Times of Tim
Life on Mars
Lip Service
Live From Studio Five
Louie
Louis Theroux - The City Addicted to Crystal Meth
Loose Women
Lost
Lost Season 2
Lost Season 3 Finale
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Lost Season 6x09 - Ab Aeterno
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Luther Series One finale
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Mad Men Season 2
Mad Men Season 2 Finale
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Mad Men Season 4
The Madness of Boy George
Mars Believe World Cup Campaign
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Martina Cole's The Take
Mary Archer
The Mentalist
Mercy Series Premiere
Michael Carroll: King Of Chavs
Misfits
The Mitchell Brothers' Return
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Monkey Dust
Morales v Barrera III
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
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My Name Is Earl
My Penis And I
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N-R
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Oscars 2005
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Peaches Geldof: Teen America
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PhoneShop
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Pulling
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Pushing Daisies series premiere...
Richard and Judy
Rev
Rome Season One
S-T
Saxondale
The Secret Life of A Manic Depressive
The Secret Policemen's Ball
Seduction School: Size Doesn't Matter
Sex Addict
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Shameless Season 4
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Sherlock
Sherlock series 1 finale: The Great Game
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Six Feet Under
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Space Cadets
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The Spy Who Stole My Life
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Stepkids In Love
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Studs of Suburbia
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Take That... for the Record
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Ted Bundy - Natural Porn Killer
Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles
The Thick Of It
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This Life +10
This World: Kidnap Cops
Top 30 TV Shows of 2010
Tower Block of Commons
Treme
True Stories - The Trials Of Amanda Knox
Too Ugly For Love
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TV's Naughtiest Blunders
U-Z
Unanimous
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The World Cup has been kidnapped and molested
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MISC REVIEWS
40 Pupils Suspended For Bullying
606 with Danny Baker
Amazon Review Scum
Blowjob monologues and the like
Everything is retro, funky and kitsch on eBay nowadays
Floyd Mayweather v Carlos Manuel Baldomir
An Illustrated History of Dis
Fooled By Randomness
Hip-hop
Indie kids - munching on cock all day, every day, from now until forever
Listen up, douchebags: Larry Merchant KO1 murdering rapist hype merchant scum that constitute boxing's deal-making fight-avoiding turd elite
Love skunk Vernon Kay sprays his rat jism
Morales v Barrera III
Music Sounds Better With You(tube)
NME cool list
Playlouder Reviews
Roid Jones jnr? You must be joking, Joke
Stan Collymore
The Streets
Vertigolf
War Winehouse!
We Expose Palace Security As A Bag Of Shite
