Fonejacker: Series 2

Introduction

fonejack / v.1. to seize control of a telephone conversation by farce esp. to divert it from reason and logic.

The Fonejacker is Kayvan Novak who, under various guises, phones up random members of the public, whether it be directory inquiries, shops, classified ads or people from the phonebook. His various characters torment, bewilder and occasionally annoy the person on the other end whilst talking as much nonsense as possible. For example, Mr Doovdé, an Iraqi, can't grasp the concept of abbreviations so asks the switchboard operator for the number of Buzm (BSM) and says he wants to fly to Oosa (USA), George Agdgdgwngo, a Ugandan conman tries his luck and sees how gullible people are whilst Terry Tibbs, an east end wide boy, replies to classifieds and negotiates to buy various items whilst asking an inordinate amount of random questions.

The winner of the Best Comedy Programme Award at the 2008 BAFTAS, Fonejacker began in June 2007 and has just finished its second series. 4DVD are releasing Series 2 and a Series 1 & 2 boxset.

Video

Presented in anamorphic 16:9 and as good as broadcast TV gets. The show uses a mix of filming the Fonejacker and Fonejacked, animation and pictures to represent words (African man + letters = blackmail) so that visually an episode doesn't get boring and is really quite innovative for what is basically phone conversations.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo soundtrack is clear and presents Kayvan Novak's vocal talent very well; he employs some interesting sound effects to further bemuse the person on the other end of the line.

English HoH subtitles are available.

Extra Features

There are commentaries on the first two episodes which are, quite frankly, a waste of time. Kayvan Novak and co-writer/director Ed Tracy seem to marvel at the fact that they are doing a commentary, say they've learnt their lessons from the one they did on series one and then just joke around, with Novak doing impressions and phoning his grandmother.

The Christmas Special aired on December 20th 2007 and is a loosely seasonal based episode which is as good as the others.

There are ' making of's of nine of the live action sequences, from the title sequence to Bingo Orgy - these are short but quite interesting. The interview with Kayvan is similarly brief but you do get an insight into how he makes and records the calls.

There is footage of the Fonejacker (in costume) at a DVD signing session in a Virgin Megastore (dating it as they have now changed to the stupid name of Zavvi), a test shoot containing Dufrais and unseen material, which is three unused scenes.

There is also the option to choose a character and just watch the scenes involving them so, for example, if Terry Tibbs is your favourite, there's no need to skip through the disc to find his segments.

Conclusion

I'd never heard of, let alone seen, Fonejacker before it was offered for review and I was told it was funny and that I'd like it so, here we are. Kayvan Novak has been involved in numerous projects, including TV shows, video games and even feature films (including Syriana!) most playing Arabs or appearing as voice talent. It's the latter that he exploits in Fonejacker, playing an amazing array of characters from a schoolboy to an African conman and an Indian telemarketer.

Unlike some shows, this got a bit much after several episodes and I was unable to watch the whole DVD in one go. This was probably because some of the characters are intentionally annoying and after a while began to irritate me, partly because I dislike unsolicited calls intensely and sympathised with some 'victims'. Despite this, I really enjoyed and liked the show, marvelling at how Novak keeps his composure and focus when all hell breaks loose on the other end of the line.

This is a fine DVD set of an inventive and funny sketch show, that's almost like a telephone version of Trigger Happy TV, that you can dip in and out of at random, whether it is first thing in the morning or last thing at night. If you've seen it, you'll know whether you like it or not, but if, like me, you're new to Fonejacker, it's well worth checking out.