Tag: Paul Verhoeven

23/04/2013

Four/Comedy

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott discuss Tom Baker and comedy in Doctor Who in the fourth live Splendid Chaps episode, recorded in two parts at Trades Hall in Melbourne as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival on April 6 and 13, 2013. With special guests Dave Callan (Triple J), Paul Verhoeven (Steam Punks, Lords of Luxury), Adam Richard (The Shelf, Outland) and Josie Long (Lost Treasures of the Black Heart), plus the stand-up Dalek and a cover of Doctor Poo and the Psychic Koalas’ “The Universe is Big” performed by our very own Petra and the Time Lads – Caleb Garfinkel and Bryce Clark!

The warm-up Dalek! Photo by Alanta Colley.

Hosts Ben McKenzie and John Richards and guest Dave Callan listen to guest Paul Verhoeven. Photo by Chris Butler.

Guests Dave Callan and Paul Verhoeven create a cheap Doctor Who monster. Photo by Chris Butler.

Hosts Ben McKenzie and John Richards and guest Adam Richard listen to guest Josie Long. Photo by Alanta Colley.

Guests Adam Richard and Josie Long. Photo by Chris Butler.

Petra and the Time Lads: Bryce Clark on keys and Caleb Garfinkel on guitar. Photo by Chris Butler.

Petra Elliott and Time Lads guitarist Caleb Garfinkel. Photo by Chris Butler.

Petra Elliott sings while Ben McKenzie and John Richards do the comedy speaking parts. Photo by Alanta Colley.

Hosts Ben and John create bubble magic, just the way the Psychic Koalas would have wanted it. Photo by Chris Butler.

To make sure you don’t miss an episode, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or via this Feedburner feed.

Don’t forget you can go into the draw to win a (Region 4) DVD copy of The Legacy Collection box set (containing Shada and More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS) by commenting on this episode below! Tell us what you think of the Baker era, share your favourite gags from Doctor Who, or just tell us what you thought of our Comedy Festival episode. Comment by May 18 to be in the running, and we’ll announce the winner at the recording of Five/Fear on May 19.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11:23 — 32.8MB)

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05/04/2013

John and Ben explain Splendid Chaps: Four/Comedy

We posted this on our Comedy Festival page, but we thought web site visitors might like to see it too! So here it is: John and Ben’s explanatory promo video for Splendid Chaps: Four/Comedy:

26/02/2013

Four/Comedy (live show)

Dashing action hero the Doctor realises he has brought disaster to Earth and faces his fears to defeat the Great One, an immense and powerfully psychic spider. He returns to Earth only to collapse from radiation poisoning in front of his friends, but with the help of a fellow Time Lord manages to stave off death and regenerate. Somewhat traumatised by his regeneration, this new Doctor is by turns manic, brooding and boisterous. His only constant is eccentricity, in dress, speech and habit. Uninterested in the creature comforts and life on Earth of his predecessor, he leaves almost immediately to travel the cosmos, seeking adventure and righting injustice when he finds it.

Splendid Chaps is a year-long celebration of Doctor Who‘s fiftieth anniversary: eleven live performances recorded as podcasts in which your brains will be fed, your funny bones tickled, and your hearts opened (yes, both of them!). Our fourth instalment is part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and fittingly for the Fourth Doctor, is a two-part story! In part one we discuss the Fourth Doctor (“Four”), played by eccentric actor Tom Baker. The Doctor best known to audiences (serving for the longest time, and seeing the classic era through much of it’s most successful period), he’s known for his ridiculously long scarf, bohemian manner, generosity with jelly babies, cavalier attitude to danger and (in the words of Bullamakanka) his “trusty mate K-9”.

The Fourth Doctor is also known for his wit, and so in part two we turn our discussion to “Comedy” in Doctor Who. How many jokes are too many for what is ostensibly a family science fiction adventure show? Does the Doctor always know he’s being funny? When does the humour work best – and when does it fail to work altogether? And what is the funniest moment in Doctor Who?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined for part one by JJJ’s nerd correspondent and host of ABC3’s Steam Punks, Paul Verhoeven, and late night JJJ host and comedian Dave Callan. In part two, our late show, they’re joined by comedian, radio host and co-creator and star of Outland, Adam Richard, plus comedian/actor/lovely UK person Josie Long – she’s been in Skins AND the actual TARDIS! All this plus music, prizes and surprises!

Space: Trades Hall – The New Ballroom, corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets, Melbourne
Time: Part One: Four – April 6, 5:45 PM; Part Two: Comedy – April 13, 10:45 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $22 full price, $18 concession (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via comedyfestival.com.au, TicketMaster outlets, the Comedy Festival box office, or at the venue (subject to availability)
Please note if you book in person at a TicketMaster outlet, you may need to ask for “Ben McKenzie & John Richards”, as “Splendid Chaps” does not appear in the search terms of their system.
Podcast: not yet available; released 23rd of April, 2013.