Phoo Action
Pilot
BBC Three
London, 2012. The city’s under siege from a gang of mutants, lead by an evil dude with a basketball for a head, who are plotting to convert Prince Harry and Wills to their cause after offing the Queen. Terry Phoo (Eddie Shin) zips in from Hong Kong to help out Police Chief Benjamin Benson (Carl “Apollo Creed” Weathers) with the case, and accidentally hooks up with Benson’s adopted daughter Whitey Action (played by Jaime “Ray’s daughter” Winstone). There's even room for a cameo from Hong Kong cult star Richard Ng as Phoo's TV-loving zen monk master.
It’s based on Jamie “Tank Girl/Gorillaz” Hewlett’s strip Get The Freebies which ran in The Face during the 1990s, with a script by Jess “Spaced” Hynes, Matthew Enriquez Wakeham and Peter Martin.
This is the goofiest thing that’s been on TV for years. It’s infused with the spirit of everything from Batman to Monkey, the Banana Splits (three of my favourite all-time shows), even a bit of Young Ones anarchy. Unlike so many grey British shows, it feels like it’s in total Technicolor, packed with little details like daft news blips running across the screen too fast for you to read and Freebies cereal packets. And even though it’s done with a lot of care and attention to detail, it doesn’t take itself too seriously at all, with car chases obviously filmed against a greenscreen, comedy kung-fu punch-ups, and the odd scene where everyone spontaneously springs into a choreographed dance.
Having caught up on some of the Batman repeats on BBC4 recently, I've been struck by how much fun they are - both to watch, and also to make. It's all so much freer than stuff is now, formulaic and not exactly demanding, sure, but also totally entertaining and good-natured.
It’s running as the first of six pilots from BBC3’s February relaunch – apparently only one is going to get picked up, which is a shame as they all look like they’ve got potential. This is getting the Chimp vote so far – great to see a BBC3 show that doesn’t involve potato products or beer-related humour.
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29th Jan 2008 - Tumblr
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