Trigger Happy TV
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| Trigger Happy TV (UK Edition) | |
 Image from the show's title sequence |
|
| Genre | Comedy |
|---|---|
| Format | Hidden Camera |
| Directed by | Dom Joly Sam Cadman |
| Starring | Dom Joly |
| Opening theme | Connection by Elastica |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 plus Christmas specials including Pilot (Comedy Lab) |
| No. of episodes | 15 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Dom Joly Sam Cadman |
| Running time | Approx. 23 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Absolutely Productions |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Picture format | PAL 4:3 |
| Original run | 14 January 2000 – 24 December 2001 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | World Shut Your Mouth |
| External links | |
| Trigger Happy TV at Channel 4 Official website | |
Trigger Happy TV is a hidden camera comedy television programme. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for two series on Channel 4 from 2000–2001. Joly made a name for himself as the sole star of the show, which he produced and directed with cameraman Sam Cadman.
The programme consisted in Joly deliberately entering into ludicrous or embarrassing situations in public places, all of which was filmed surreptitiously by Cadman. Sketches took place in a variety of locations, though most appeared to be filmed on the streets of Central London and Cheltenham.
The humour in the programme is derived mainly through observation of the public’s reactions to Joly’s shenanigans. This signalled a departure from the usual hidden camera format, where members of the public are themselves pranked or "stitched-up" by show producers. The comedy is also known for its contrastingly sombre musical soundtrack, which was released commercially.
Contents |
[edit] Memorable and recurring sketches
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- The definitive sketch of the series sees Joly in a public location, such as an internet cafe or a restaurant. A Nokia ring tone sounds and Joly will stand up holding a comically enormous mobile phone and scream "HELLO?!" into it. He will then proceed to slowly exit as he yells conversational dialogue about what he is doing, which usually ends with the words "yeah it's rubbish... CIAO!".
- A random customer at a grocery store is shopping, a voice on the intercom comes on and starts narrating every thing that person does, in some sketches Joly will show up dressed as store security.
- A random customer about to enter a grocery store is told by Joly (with several women) that he is the millionth customer and gets anything he can get in his cart in one minute for free. The customer proceeds to speed through the store filling up his cart while Joly and the other actors remove the set and quickly leave.
- Outside an incongruous location (such as a pornography shop or public toilet) a crowd has gathered, complete with horn players and a television crew. When a customer leaves the shop fanfare erupts and an interviewer tells the person they are the millionth customer.
- Joly is seen dressed in a stereotypical burglar costume (white jumpsuit with vertical black arrows, black mask, huge sack with "SWAG" written on it) standing outside of a house. He asks passersby suspicious questions like whether they can lend him a ladder, what security is like in the vicinity, or whether occupants of houses are on holiday. On one instance he asks a man to hold a ladder for him while he climbs down, but once on the ground runs away screaming, "We burgled the house! Me and him just burgled the house!", leaving the man holding the ladder.
- Joly, dressed in a porkpie hat and white jumpsuit, walks up to a couple sitting on a bench in a park. He proceeds to do a terrible Morris dance. He then stops and calmly places his hand out as if asking for change.
- Joly is seen in a laundrette with boxer shorts and an undershirt on, and wearing a hockey mask on his face, a la Jason Voorhees. He stuffs a bloody white jumpsuit into the washer. Variations on this include him standing by the side of the road in the jumpsuit and mask attempting to hitch a lift with a sign saying "ANYWHERE", or washing huge red stains off his white car at the side of a busy road, staring down anyone who looks at him.
- Joly stands in front of an enormous picture of himself plastered against a wall that says "Do not trust this man!", but still manages to get passersby to talk to him and do things for him. In one memorable sketch, somebody actually comes up to him and asks him for directions.
- Joly sets up a wendy house at the corner of a street replete with signs saying "59C", then orders various items to be delivered to that address, usually specifying during the phone call that "it's the little blue house on the corner". When the delivery man turns up he speaks in a falsetto voice, insists that he didn't order the item in question and that it must have been his mother trying to force him to do something against his will (e.g. "she's trying to force me to eat again" to a pizza delivery man). He generally proffers a plate of french fancies out of the window, which are invariably declined.
- People sit down to have Joly, dressed as a stereotypical French artist (complete with beret), paint their portrait. Rather than actually painting the portrait, Joly paints a comical phrase or picture on the canvas and walks away, leaving the customer sitting in the pose with a funny message in front of them.
- Persons are stopped at random on the street and asked to take a blindfolded taste test of a new cola. Once the person is blindfolded and given a cola in each hand, the interviewer and crew silently walk away leaving the person standing there. Sometimes a noticeably different crew replaces the original one.
- Joly lands an interview with a British celebrity, but while talking to them is gradually distracted by an enemy before chasing them off and beating them up, chases after an ardent fan who has just kissed him, is kidnapped by a van of hoodlums, or has some other kind of mishap.
- Joly pretends to be a punk (complete with piercings and Mohawk) and asks people in the park directions to classical music concerts or upmarket restaurants. He tends to quote poetry, speak with a Received Pronunciation accent, and usually near the end of the sketch will turn around, revealing the back of his jacket, which says "FUCK OFF".
- Joly, disguised in trench coat, dark glasses and hat plays the role of a KGB spy. In some situations he approaches someone on a park bench and attempts to hand them his suitcase using code words such as "grey squirrel" and "red fox" to the bewilderment of the member of the public. The most elaborate set up involved an unsuspecting phone-box user becoming the centrepiece of a bizarre money exchange laced with secret codes involving a "nun" and a "doctor".
- Joly, dressed as a Swiss tourist, holding a Phrasebook, asks a person a distorted request, such as "Where may I go to empty my bottom?" (go to the toilet). Some people laugh; others genuinely try and help him.
- Various sketches involving actors in animal costumes copulating, urinating, or violently assaulting others, in the presence of ordinary people. The actors in animal costumes are some of the more famous of the sketches.
- Joly, dressed as a delivery man, delivers an "orang-utan-a-gram" (someone in a rather sad-looking orang-utan costume) to a glass-fronted shop, saying as he leaves that "He feeds himself, he's here for two days, then he leaves". The orang-utan-a-gram moves to stand in full view of the high street behind the front window, then remains totally stationary. Variations include the "vain gorilla", a gorilla with a top hat who constantly checks his appearance in a handheld mirror.
- Assuming the role of a park-keeper, Joly attempts to vilify elderly park goers, accusing them of behaving like young hooligans. Each sketch starts with the park-keeper saying that he had been "tipped off" and that someone "matching your description" was acting improperly (setting off fireworks, doing graffiti, joyriding, etc). When the elderly victim pleads their innocence, the park-keeper relentlessly continues his interrogation.
- Joly, dressed as a traffic warden, accuses motorists stopped in traffic or at traffic lights of being illegally parked. This over-zealous jobsworth repeats his mantra, "not on my patch, never" even to a street cleaner and forces him to move his wheelbarrow of equipment away from the double-yellow lines. Joly also stops buses at bus stops, and presents them with parking tickets.
- Joly or other actors wearing "fat suits" and trying to fit into tight places, such as a telephone booth or narrow alleyway. One memorable example included Joly and another actor in fat suits holding up an entire escalator full of people.
- Someone dresses up as the grim reaper, and stands a few feet away from a group of smokers, and checks his watch when they look over at him; another sketch has the person dressed as the reaper sit enter train car and sits across someone who is sitting alone in a booth.
[edit] Merchandise
A DVD which contains the best of series 1, 2 and Christmas Special Compilations of Trigger Happy TV are available on single DVDs and also as a 3 disc DVD boxset which also includes an extended version of "Being Dom Joly" and "Unseen Footage". Three soundtrack CDs of Trigger Happy TV have also been released over the years featuring some of the best music featured in the show but are out of stock.
