Pulp Sport
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| Pulp Sport | |
 The Pulp Sport cast from left to right: Bill, Ben and The Mascot. |
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| Format | Sketch comedy |
|---|---|
| Created by | Shonky Productions |
| Starring | Jamie 'Bill' Linehan Ben 'Ben' Boyce |
| Country of origin |  New Zealand |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes per episode (inc. commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | TV3, (New Zealand) - Fuel TV, (Australia) |
Pulp Sport is a TV show filmed in New Zealand, that mixes sport with various styles of comedy. The hosts Jamie Linehan and Ben Boyce act under their respective pseudonyms Bill and Ben, performing a half hour of various sports based skits. They are usually accompanied by an anthropomorphic canine Mascot.
Contents |
[edit] History
Pulp Sport started as a radio show on Radio Sport in 2001 until the TV series began in 2003 on SKY Sport Syndication and also C4 where it achieved strong ratings. As a result, it was soon snapped up by TV3 where its popularity continued to grow with even better ratings. The show still repeats on SKY Sport. In 2006 and 2007 Pulp Sport was judged "New Zealand's Best Comedy" at the Qantas New Zealand Television Awards. It was also a finalist in 2008. In 2009 TV Guide Best of the Box Awards, Pulp Sport was voted "Funniest TV Show" and Bill and Ben were voted "Funniest Person on TV".
The 2008 series of Pulp Sport (Series 6) started on TV3 on Friday 17 October at 9.30pm on TV3, repeating on SKY Sport Thursday nights from October 30th. In 2008 Fox Sports in Australia bought 32 Episodes of Pulp Sport from Series 3 to Series 6 to play on Fuel TV.
During March 2008, Season 5 (the 2007 season) was released on DVD, as "Pulp Sport - Volume 2", despite the fact no other seasons have previously been released on DVD. In late December 2008, "Pulp Sport - Volume 3" was then released, this features all 8 episodes from the 2008 season, Season 6.
In 2003 actor Jay Laga'aia appeared in Pulp Sport's first ever episode. Unfortunately during the basketball sketch, Laga'aia busted his knee cap in two places ending up in hostpital for two days. This mishap delayed the filming of Star Wars, which Laga'aia was to film later that month.
In 2004 while playing one of their regulars pranks on New Zealand sports commenator Stephen McIvor, Bill and Ben hired a plane to fly a special message for him. Unfortunately the message was not found to be amusing for McIvor or the New Zealand police.
Linehan and Boyce have also set up their own political party, Bill and Ben Party, a joke political party based on their Pulp Sport personas. In the New Zealand general election, 2008 they received 13,006 votes approximately 0.56% of the total party vote, outpolling all minor parties in the election.
[edit] Segments
The show features recurring skit segments in each episode.
[edit] Active
- The Great Tui Sneak - a segment in which the hosts Bill and Ben attempt to sneak Tui beer into a New Zealand sport stadium where there is an enforced alcohol ban, such as Eden Park. Different methods have included - sneaking the beer via an IV drip, a coffin, a remote control car, a wrapped birthday present, dressing up as Schapelle Corby to do it and a fibreglass cow.
- Sporting Hell - This skit starts with the hosts flipping a coin. The winner of the coin toss is rewarded with a pizza from the sponsor, while the loser is forced to do often humiliating sport-themed stunts. An example of a 'Sporting Hell' is of the loser attending a motor-racing meeting cross-dressing as a scantly-dressed promotional woman promoting the amusingly named Golden Gaytime branded ice cream cones to often homophobic male attendees. This section of the show is sponsored by the New Zealand food company Hell Pizza.
- Celebrity Challenge - Each week some of New Zealand's biggest celebrities are paired up with some of New Zealand's biggest sports stars to partake in ridiculous challenges based around the person's chosen sport. This usually develops into a parody of a well-known television show, such as Prison Break or Mythbusters. Celebrities that have appeared on Pulp Sport Celebrity Challenges include actors Temuera Morrison and Rhys Darby, sports stars Dan Carter and Michael Campbell and Australian talk show host Rove.
- Man-Love Moments - A montage of sporting clips set to provocative music such as Barry White or Marvin Gaye, showing sportmen in sexually suggestive positions or committing sexually suggestive actions. In season 6, this tends to be the last segment in each episode, playing while the credits roll.
- Super-Streaker - A weekly clip of an unknown man, wearing only gloves, a cape and a Wolverine mask, streaking at inappropriate events such as a lawn bowls game or a round of golf. The skit is set to the theme song of the Superman films.
- Halfass - A parody of the television series Jackass. This skit involves the hosts, Bill and Ben, accompanied by friends, attempting extremely tame stunts, under the premise that New Zealand television companies insist on making 'half-arsed ripoffs' of other television shows, with a small skit at the beginning of the segment showing a ripoff such as 'So You Think You Can Lance/Dance?', 'Allan Border Patrol' etc. Examples of these tame stunts include, walking with untied laces, standing on an office chair and running with scissors.
- Mc Kay-ver - This skit replaced 'McIvor' when Pulp Sport moved to TV3 from SKY Television. This skit, a spoof of the television show MacGyver, involve the hosts playing pranks on TV3 sports reporter Hamish McKay. The pranks often revolve around the victim's car, such as covering the car with 'Post-It' notes or decorating it in a manner similar to that of the General Lee, and / or around the victim's office area, such as wrapping the victim's office equipment with fishing line. Although it was suggested that this segment would be replaced in season 5 of the show by "the Real Campbell Live", in which the skit would target television broadcaster John Campbell, presenter of the New Zealand current affairs programme Campbell Live, they instead continue Mc Kay-ver into the new season.
- The Grynch Who Stole Sport! - This skit, introduced in season 5 of the show, draws it's inspiration from the Dr. Seuss children's book 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'. Every week an unknown person dressed as 'The Grinch' steals a sports item in the middle of a sport game played by the unsuspecting public, such as a rugby ball.
- PSPN World Series of Drinking - A parody of ESPN's World Series of Poker, where the competitors play drinking games, which often results in a fight breaking out.
- Pulp Sport is also now sponsored by the energy beverage Lift Plus and contains skits that pay homage to Lift Plus advertisements.
[edit] Retired
- Yours Please - A playful jab at New Zealand sports talk back host Murray Deaker and his catch phrase.
- McIvor - A segment where Bill and Ben would play pranks on New Zealand SKY Sport broadcaster Steven McIvor. Unlike his successor, McIvor reacted very aggressively to the pranks.
- 6.0 Minutes - A parody of the New Zealand current events show "60 Minutes". The skit was originally aired when the show was airing on New Zealand radio station Radio Sport.
- Urban Creatures - A parody of the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. Steve Urban explores the "amazing creatures" of the sporting world usually killing someone in the process. However, this segment was omitted season 5 of the show as it offended Australians due to the death of the former.
- 101 Uses for (insert name here) - skits that see Bill and Ben finding mundane uses for a sportsperson's talents. Some participants thus far have included basketball player Ben Pepper, All Black Byron Kelleher and rowing twins Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell
- Father v Son - These skits, a reference to old advertisements for the Instant Kiwi scratch card and filmed usually in black and white, involves a young boy playing different sports against his highly competitive father. The young boy often beats his father in the chosen sport, who in turn, out of frustration, resorts to drastic measures (for comedic effect) to defeat his son, including violence and cheating. Retired after season 5.
- Can a Mascot? - This skit involves the Pulp Sport Mascot (a person in a big brown furry fox suit) attempting to complete often comical or socially unaccepted challenges such as sneaking into an establishment without paying or sneaking on to another TV show. Retired after season 5.
- The Mad Mad Butcher - Series of stunts based around New Zealand Celebrity business man The Mad Butcher. The Pulp Sport Mad Mad Butcher attempts each week to prove to 'dickless bastards' that he is mad by doing crazy, sometimes bizarre stunts. This segment often starts with the line "Some of you dickless bastards still don't think I'm mad...". Retired after season 5.
[edit] Future
Both series 5 and 6 of Pulp Sport are available on DVD called "Pulp Sport Volume 2" and "Pulp Sport Volume 3" respectively. Bill and Ben have mentioned that they hope to one day release "Pulp Sport Volume 1" as well, which will be a "Best Of" the first four series.
A brand new series of Pulp Sport, series 7 will be hitting screens on TV3 in New Zealand in October 2009.
