Tiki Bar TV

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Tiki Bar TV
Tiki Bar TV.png
Presentation
Hosted by Jeff Macpherson (Dr. Tiki)
Kevin Gamble (Johnny Johnny)
Lara Doucette (Lala)
Genre Comedy
LanguageEnglish
UpdatesMonthly
Length6 minutes
Production
Picture format NTSC (480i)
HDTV (720p) (via membership)
Video format .m4v
Publication
Original releaseMarch 15, 2005 (2005 -03-15) 
December 12, 2009 (2009 -12-12)

Tiki Bar TV is a video web series, or "vodcast". Each episode features a problem that is rectified by the episode's namesake cocktail, which is scribbled on a prescription pad by Dr. Tiki and "filled" by bartender Johnny Johnny who explains how to make the cocktail. Examples include the Suffering Bastard (episode 2), Fog Cutter (episode 8), Volcano Bowl (episode 11), Boomerang (episode 14), and Blue Hawaiian (episode 25). [1] The drinks did not always follow conventional recipes. Lala is the Tiki Bar's primary denizen who opens each episode with a dance. Most episodes also include a segment called "Tiki Mail," where mail from viewers or disgruntled neighbours is answered, and then ends with outtakes or the cast dancing. Originally shot in an apartment's tiki bar on a low budget, the humorous and heavily ad-libbed show was a creative outlet for its creators Jeff Macpherson and Kevin Gamble. [2]

Contents

The show garnered additional attention after being mentioned at Apple's iPod Video launch. [3] Tiki Bar TV was shown in Apple stores worldwide as part of a 6-month promotion in 2006. [4] The first episode was released on iTunes on March 13, 2005, with each episode being approximately 5 minutes in length. The show originated from Vancouver, British Columbia and has not been updated since Episode 45 (December 12, 2009). It was produced by Tosca Musk and is considered by many to be one of the pioneering video podcasts credited with launching the genre.

Characters

The performers go un-credited and unabashed stage names are given. Jeff Macpherson, who plays "Dr. Tiki," introduces himself as actor "Reginald Hornstein," and when "Lala" breaks character, she speaks as actress "Beatrice Fastwater."

Dr. Tiki, Johnny Johnny and Lala in an outtake from episode 9 Tiki Bar TV characters.jpg
Dr. Tiki, Johnny Johnny and Lala in an outtake from episode 9

Minor characters

Merchandise

In May 2009, Secret Lab, an independent video game developer based in Hobart, Australia announced the development of a Tiki Bar TV-themed computer game, entitled Day of the Tiki, to be released in Summer 2009. [8] It was then delayed to sometime in 2010. [9]

Awards

In 2009 Tiki Bar TV was nominated for three Streamy Awards: an audience choice award and two craft awards for editing and production design. On March 26, 2009 at the 1st Annual Streamy Craft Awards the show's production designer, Kim Bailey, received the first ever Streamy award for Production Design / Art Direction from the International Academy of Web Television.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian cultures. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, the Caribbean Islands, and Hawaii. The name comes from Tiki, the Māori name for the first human, often represented in the form of hei-tiki, a pendant and important taonga. The hei-tiki was often appropriated by Europeans as a commercialised good luck charm, hence the name of Tiki culture. Despite spanning over 10,000 miles and including many different unrelated cultures, religions, and languages, Tiki aesthetic is considered by some to be amalgamated into one "fantasia of trans-Pacific cultures" and "colonial nostalgia". Because of this, and the simplistic view of the Pacific taken by the aesthetic, Tiki culture has often proved controversial.

Donn Beach was an American adventurer, businessman, and World War II veteran who was the "founding father" of tiki culture. He is known for opening the first prototypical tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber, during the 1930s in Hollywood, California, which was expanded to a chain of dozens of restaurants throughout the United States. He later built the International Market Place and additional establishments in what was then the Territory of Hawaii. He married three times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trader Vic's</span> Polynesian-themed American restaurant chain

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocktail umbrella</span> Small paper umbrella used as decoration

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiki bar</span> Bar with a "Tiki" or Polynesian theme

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Kevin Gamble is a filmmaker, animation producer, and co-creator/co-star of the internet podcast Tiki Bar TV, in which he plays the role of Johnny Johnny the bartender.

iJustine American YouTube personality (born 1984)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Macpherson</span>

Jeff Macpherson is a Canadian filmmaker and video game developer. He is the creator of the web series Tiki Bar TV, co-founder of the gaming company RocketChicken Interactive, Inc. and co-founder of the startup Motive.io.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraternal Order of Moai</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tosca Musk</span> South African filmmaker (born 1974)

Tosca Musk is a South African filmmaker. She is an executive producer and director of feature films, television programs, and web content. Her work includes K. Bromberg's Driven, Rachel van Dyken's Matchmaker's Playbook, and her web series, Tiki Bar TV. Tosca is the younger sister of Elon Musk and Kimbal Musk, and daughter of Errol Musk and Maye Musk. She co-founded the streaming service Passionflix.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suffering bastard</span> Type of cocktail

The suffering bastard is the name for two different mixed drinks, one being more of a standard cocktail associated with World War II and the other being more of an exotic drink associated with Tiki bars. As is the case with many cocktails, there are multiple recipe variations and historical origins have been argued and changed over time. Two of the earliest recipe versions have very different ingredients. One from bartender Joe Scialom (1942) calls for brandy and gin, while another from Tiki pioneer Victor J. Bergeron primarily uses rum along with "secret ingredients" and is known for being garnished with a cucumber.

The Q.B. Cooler is a vintage tiki cocktail invented by Donn Beach that calls for a mixture of several rums, two syrups, fruit juices, and honey, mixed with club soda and dashes of Pernod, bitters, and grenadine. Another version purported to be from 1937 is slightly different and calls for varying rum proportions and ginger syrup in place of the fassionola and Pernod.

References

  1. "Episodes". www.tikibartv.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2005. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  2. "Who Needs a Network". forbes.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  3. Heather Green (January 23, 2006). "Is the Web the new Hollywood?". Business Week. Archived from the original on November 13, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2006.
  4. "Macworld Expo Speaker Bio". Archived from the original on October 16, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2006.
  5. Kevin's day job website Archived April 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Megan, McCarthy (November 19, 2007). "Oh, Lala: Kevin Rose explains haircut, doesn't explain date". Valleywag. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
  7. "Lara Doucette, host of CBC's exposure". CBC News. May 21, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008.
  8. Day of the Tiki announcement Archived March 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Secret Lab Product Page". May 9, 2010. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010.