Competition: Father Ted Definitive Boxset

A simple comedy recipe for you: Take one long-suffering individual, place him in a location he does not want to be. Make him deal with a situation he shouldn’t have to deal with and give him a support cast who are the complete opposite of him. Simmer for half an hour, stir regularly and serve with a side salad of surrealism and a glass of vintage mirth. It is from this rather delicious recipe that has helped make Father Ted one of the funniest programmes of the nineties.

Set on the social backwash island of Craggy Island, Father Ted became a national treasure in the nineties, thanks to its quick-paced surreal humour and unusual scenarios. The show follows the lives of three priests: Father Ted (the ’sensible’ one), Father Dougal (the stupid one) and Father Jack (the rather alcoholic one), who live together on an island where nothing much ever happens. Together, they fight the ongoing boredom by rehabilitating sheep, dressing up as Elvis and organising football tournaments for the over-75s. While it’s highly likely that you remember the classic episodes, like the Eurovision Song Contest and the mickey-take of the Speed franchise, it’s often overlooked that there were 25 episodes made, each one with at least one classic line or scene which makes the experience worthwhile.

To celebrate the release of this new boxset, we have three shiny new copies to give away to three lucky people. Each one contains all three series of the show, the Christmas Special and are also crammed full of extra features like commentaries, a documentary about the history of the show, clips from the Comic Relief hour hosted by Father Ted and Dougal, plus much more.

To win one, just tell us the funniest thing you have seen happen in a church.

The best three will win a boxset each.

 Send your answers to competitions@the-void.co.uk by November 23. Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on…

INTERVIEW: Shaun Micallef

By Jingo! Imagine the surprise we got in the office when an email popped up on the computer offering a chance to interview Shaun Micallef, the host of Newstopia. “We would love to” we replied. “We’ll sort something out then” they responded. “That would be nice” we said. “No problem” they said.

This carried on for several minutes.

Eventually, we got round to asking some questions to Shaun Micallef. These you will find below:

What is Newstopia?
Shaun Micallef: Newstopia is a ’squint-and-you’ll-think-it’s-real’ world news regurg with oblique editorial, funny voices and music hall characterisations.

What made you want to do this type of comedy show?
SBS wanted a show of this type and couldn’t afford to buy a proper one from overseas. They asked us to pilfer one or two of the more successful international shows and disguise it so no-one noticed.

How much influence have other comedy news shows, like the Daily Show or the Colbert Report, or even The Day Today in Britain, had on the show?
I haven’t seen much of either the Daily Show and the Colbert Report but what I have seen I have enjoyed very much. By the time I caught up with Jon Stewart his show had more-or-less turned into a ‘Tonight Show’. Colbert I also like. Chris Morris I like very much. I have seen The Day Today and also Brass Eye and heard his brilliant two-handers with Peter Cook on Why Bother. Morris is a comic visionary and one can’t help but be influenced by what he’s done.

What sort of reaction are you expecting from the public on the show?
I’m expecting indifference but hoping for inertia.

What is more important, the belief that the programme could be real or the humour contained in the programme?
I think the humour derives in the most part from the perception that it is real (or the suspension of disbelief in the reality of it not being) so I can’t really separate the two. I don’t think you can get one without the other. But, of course, ultimately it’s all about getting the laugh – so I might bend the rules sometimes.

If you could report on one news story from history, what news article would it be?
I’d like to warp back in time to Lakehurst, New Jersey and cover the Hindenburg disaster. I don’t think the reporter there did a good job. All that ‘Oh the humanity” and blubbering. I would have been a rod of steel.

If Newstopia was a place, what would it be like?
Pluto. Cold and dead, like the heart of any seasoned newsman. They used to call Edward R. Murrow ‘Pluto’ behind his back.

So what got you first interested in doing comedy?
I’ve always been interested in the mechanics of it probably because I’ve always been drawn to watching it. I grew up on the Saturday matinee movies of Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello and The Marx Brothers. And also listening to British comedy like The Goons, Much Binding in the Marsh, Round the Horne, Take it from Here, My Word. So I got a well rounded education; literary stuff from the BBC and visual stuff off the telly.

Do you think your comedy is appreciated by a wide audience?
I seem to be more popular when I’m in other people’s things. When I do my own stuff it’s a bit more boutique. But there’s no changing that.

You have a fairly large British fan base for someone who has mainly remained in Australia. Does this surprise you?
I wasn’t aware of this. Yes, I am surprised.

Have you considered touring the show as a stage production?
God no – it’s barely a television production at the moment. If I was going to do something on stage I’d make it something that was tailored for theatre. Or maybe a revival of Run for Your Wife.

You put a lot of effort into your DVDs (for example: reading passages from ‘War of the Worlds’ as part of your DVD commentary) compared to other comedians and TV shows. Do you like extra features on DVDs?
I do. I always feel a little short-changed when I get a DVD and all that’s on it is the program/movie I’ve already seen. I believe in value adding and I figure people are buying the DVD because they want a keep-sake and I should load it up as a thank you and to show I appreciate the fact they went out and bought it.

You’ve got three boys – do they think you’re funny?
They laugh – but I suspect they’re humouring me.

Newstopia is on Wednesdays at 10pm on SBS. In Australia. (Damn it…..) Find out more here

DVD: Family Guy – Series Six

Ah, if ever you were looking for a reliable 22 minutes of laughs, puns and visual gags to entertain you on a cold Autumn night, your first port of call will probably be an episode of Family Guy. As reliable as a rain shower on a day off work or a D-List celebrity releasing a workout video after Christmas, the sixth series of the hit American cartoon carries on much like its predecessors which came before series six (namely: series one to series five) with Peter, Lois, Chris, Meg, Stewie and Brian getting into all kinds of often surreal high jinks and crazy situations across 13 episodes .

There is little point trying to explain the premise behind the series, as if you have got no idea what Family Guy is, then my only suggestion would be to go and find an episode and watch it. Only then you can come back and read the rest of this review.

The boxset itself ticks many consumer boxes, with a whole extra disc of bonus features for those particularly interested in the art of the creative process. However, with now over one hundred episodes made, you find yourself in a bit of a situation. You know it’s funny, you laugh at it, but it’s also… rather predictable. Don’t get me wrong, there are still enough ‘laugh out loud and wake the neighbours’ moments in each episode to whet even the driest of appetites, but a lot more of the gags are becoming incredibly obvious before they happen. Admittedly, the cast and writers have obviously made this observation as well, and as the series goes on, the show starts to break down the fourth wall and begin to mock itself occasionally. Despite this reassurance, it could be too little too late. If the show is not careful, it could find itself having to explain itself to the Head of Fox TV again; a situation that we, and its legions of fans around the world, hope never happens.

Family Guy – Series Six is avaliable to buy from here right now. For more Family Guy related laughs, visit here.

REVIEW: Newstopia

News parodies have been around for many years. From the majestic efforts of Morris and Iannucci in the 90s with The Day Today in Britain, to the internationally iconic The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in America, there have been many shows which have thrown their hat into the proverbial ring of “taking the mickey out of news”. Now, a new Australian show has joined the flock.

Why do we care? Three main reasons: it’s new; unlike most news spoofs it comments on stories from all around the world, including Britain; and it’s hosted by one of most brilliant but underrated comedians in Australia. Did we mention that it’s very funny as well? No? Well, it’s also very funny.

Newstopia is a mixed bag of a show. Loosely based on half hour news bulletins, the show is advertised as “putting a satirical skew on the news and examining how Australia sees itself on the world stage”, and this certainly is true. However, while on one hand it informs and ridicules and openly mocks the whole world, on the other it’s seriously deadpan, with no audience or laughter track to guide you through the set-pieces which litter the show. Shaun Micallef (who some people might remember from Paramount Comedy’s The Micallef Programme a few years ago) hosts the show as lead anchor, and is our guide on this 30 minute rollercoaster of quips, puns and sketches, all the while looking at the stories in the news.

In a way, this show is the freaky crossbreed of the Daily Show and The Day Today. If the Daily Show was deadpan and made to look more believable as a news programme, or if the Day Today had covered actual news stories, this would be the result.

Newstopia is a show that, as time goes by, will develop and become stronger.

The few little problems in the first episode will hopefully be ironed out during the next few weeks, and with the show being filmed the day before transmission, its topical nature should allow it to be one of the sharpest shows on TV. Pity it’s only available in Australia really…

Newstopia is on every Wednesday night at 10pm on SBS in Australia until . You can visit the Newstopia website here, and read about what you are missing out on.

DVD: Fonejacker – Series 1

After its recent run on E4, series 1 of Fonejacker has come to Doovde.

Just in case you’ve never seen it before, Fonejacker is a show based entirely on recordings of genuine prank calls, all performed by the same actor, Kayvan Novak – surely one of the most talented comedians working in TV today. If you have ever prank called a friend, you’ll know that it’s often difficult to hoodwink them for long, as they invariably pick your voice out from the fake one you’re trying to do. However, the Fonejacker is unlikely ever to have had that problem as he’s capable of a wide variety of convincing voices for his array of characters.

Fonejacker features such characters as a mouse, who calls a pet shop to ask about ways of disposing of the family cat, George Agdgdgwngo, an African scamster hell-bent on getting your bank details, and Terry Tibbs, a diamond geezer with the gift of the gab. Terry wants your motor, and he wants it on the cheap.

Each prank call is accompanied visually by a mix of cartoons, a hilarious way of flashing images up to give different meaning to random words, and video recordings taken through the window of wherever the Fonejacker is calling. It is these ways of jazzing up the conversations between the Fonejacker and the infuriated/bemused victim that will probably give the show a bit of longevity. It’s bloody hilarious, so let’s hope that happens.

Buy Fonejacker Series 1 here.

FEATURE: www.bbcaudiozone.com

Comedy and iPods have been living in close harmony for many years. Podcasts by well known comedians and radio shows often score highly on top ten lists of downloads from iTunes or get large bleating reviews in broadsheet weekend supplements. Never one to miss a trick, the BBC have decided to invest in this market by placing chunks of its audio back catalogue online, available to download from www.bbcaudiozone.com

Boasting over 1400 titles and with prices ranging from 79p for a Monty Python clip to £10.79 for the Flight of the Conchords radio series (which was selected for download within seconds of the site loading on my laptop) the site uses iTunes or its own download manager. Plus, as a bonus, all the titles you download can later be burnt onto disc, so if you like to laugh to yourself while driving to and from the inevitably depressing dinner with the family, you can do so with relatively little hassle.

Those who are not interested in comedy will also be pleased to see delights such as Michael Palin travelogues, plays by Alan Bennett and dramatisations of classic books like the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe available for
download as well. The one downside with the website is that there is no new or exclusive content to entice customers with, as all the downloads that are available can be bought on CD from most well-stocked bookshops. However, as popularity in this format increases, this website could become a financially viable way for the BBC to release its ever-increasing audio library to the masses.

Another sign of the BBC moving with the technological times, it still might be some time before groups of youths huddle at the back of late buses to listen to Shakespeare from their phones.

Download your own cornucopia of mirth from here. But as luck would have it, those kind people at BBC Audiozone have given us some clips of what you can find to download for free! Click here for some Mighty Boosh or click here for some Mitchell and Webb. Aren’t they nice!