Fonejacker

Fonejacker
Series 1 DVD or 'Doovdé' Cover
Directed by	Ed Tracy Kayvan Novak
Starring	Kayvan Novak
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Production
Running time	23 min per episode
Original release
Network	Channel 4
Release	May 9 2006 – present

Fonejacker is a BAFTA award-winning British comedy programme broadcast on Channel 4 featuring a series of prank calls, which first appeared in May 2006.

It is currently being broadcast in New Zealand on C4 at 9.30pm Thursday and in Australia on Channel V at 10.00pm also on Thursday and 6:00 pm Sunday. Sweden and America are also due to broadcast the shows in 2008.

A trailer has already been released to confirm that series 2 of fonejacker starting at 10pm on Wednesday Sept 17th 2008 on E4.

Fonejacker won the BAFTA award for the "Best Comedy Programme" in 2008.

Synopsis

The show features a masked prank caller (Kayvan Novak) (Although various celebrities have cameo roles) who speaks to unsuspecting members of the public under various guises, in an attempt to confuse or wind-up the call recipient. The audio is accompanied by on-screen imagery, consisting of pictures of people with their mouths moving in a similar style to Monty Python animations, or by undercover filming in which Novak is in a street calling a company nearby, usually from inside a public phone booth or from a rickshaw. Occasionally actors are used; examples include a sketch where a man is robbing a bank, or one where men in hazmat suits are removing a pigeon from a bank vault. Novak is always seen wearing a red and white balaclava (black in the Pilot) and sunglasses. In a new pilot for series 2, he is seen wearing a woolly hat with the initials G.P.R. and a black Mitre Premier League coat. Although Novak's appearance is not seen as the Fonejacker, he appears during Mr. Doovdé's calls as a model advertising various items.

Each episode begins with the definition of the word "fonejack", being to seize control of a telephone conversation by farce esp. to divert it from reason and logic, usually followed by Novak calling Directory Enquiries as Mr. Doovdé on an American pay phone. The rooftop where the pre-title sequence fonejack takes place is on top of Guy's Hospital, in Central London.

The final episode of the first series revealed that that Novak does not inform all victims that their calls were pranks. Two separate victims had made contact with Novak for the second time both reporting calls. One called Novak back after being fonejacked by George Agdgdwngo, where he guised himself as Terry Tibbs, and the second incident occurred when a detective character rang a man informing him of an African scammer (George), and "coincidentally" the man reported a call from George. This also implies that not all calls are broadcast, as the people had not been seen in previous episodes.

Broadcast

The show began as a pilot for Comedy Lab, a Channel 4 show that showcases new comic talent, in 2006. After much popularity, it was given a six-part series in October 2006 which was initially intended for broadcast on E4 in April in the following year. It was also given a Christmas special that was broadcast on December 25 2006 entitled Fonejacker's Christmas Message which was a five-minute short version of the pilot. The end of the show displayed Fonejacker: Coming April 2007 - Don't Pick Up The Phone.

In March, a teaser trailer started to air on Channel 4 and E4, which consisted of clips of the pilot put together into a thirty second advert, ending with e4.com/fonejacker, which redirected users to the Fonejacker MySpace page. [1]. However, for undisclosed reasons, the show was put on hold, and wasn't aired in April. New trailers aired in June which saw the Fonejacker in his own flat performing various calls, and a television tuned into the news reporting "new sightings of the Fonejacker". The advert ended with the catchphrase "Don't Pick Up The Phone" and finished with the same E4 website. This was followed a couple of days after by a newer alternative advert.

Hours before the show's first broadcast, Novak called into Big Brother's Little Brother as Terry Tibbs, talking to contestant Johnathan about distinctive eyebrows. However, there was no mention of Fonejacker as presenter Dermot O'Leary seemed puzzled. As part of the advertising for the show, "Fonejacker Tonight 10.30" was displayed throughout the night under E4's on-screen graphic.

A 2007 Christmas special was broadcast on 20 December 2007 and a second series for 2008 was commissioned. [2]

Advertisements began on E4 during the week commencing Monday September 1 2008 stating that the new series will begin on September 17 2008 at 10:00 pm (22:00).

DVD

The DVD of the first series of Fonejacker was released on October 8, 2007, and includes features such as behind the scenes, outtakes and character interviews. It also includes the pilot episode and the E4 Christmas Message.

Other appearances

Kayvan Novak had two interviews under the cover of his characters on the night show of Kerrang Radio, and then for what was believed to be a UK first, spoke out of character about various things.

On Saturday 6th September he also appeared on Sky Sports football show Soccer AM. On Monday 15th september he appeared on kiss 100 radio station.

Characters

File:Geoge Lollys.jpg

George Agdgdgwngo dressed as an African woman.

File:Mrdoovde.jpg

Mr. Doovdé, the first character seen on Fonejacker.

The show features various characters including:

• George Agdgdgwngo (pronounced Ag-dug-a-dug-gwengo) is a very polite African scammer from the Republic of Agdgdgwngo. He seems to believe that all electronically stored bank account money in fact physically exists in personal vaults. He tries to obtain people's bank account details in a variety of ways, such as needing the details to obtain access to a bank vault due to it being steam cleaned or decorated for Christmas, a man suffering cardiac arrest inside or to remove a Ugandan pigeon. He claims to be a representative of several companies including Money Removal Plc, Bank Festive Redistribution Plc., Eastern Union (a word play on Western Union, often used by scammers) Money Transfer and British Gas. He is usually unsuccessful in obtaining people's details, believing one man's sort code was "fuck off". One man did give a number, although it appeared to be him reading the lottery numbers out of a newspaper and the answer to his security question was "Jimmy Savile", who he claimed was his uncle. Another method George uses is to tell people they have won a cash prize or CPM aka "Cash Prize Monies!" that needs to be transferred to their bank account, but it is always a very small sum of money. George gives the amount in Ugandan Dollars before converting to sterling using his 70s computer, which is next to a photo of Chris Eubank, although this was later replaced with Robert Mugabe along with George being pictured inside a security hut wearing a suit as opposed to an African hair salon wearing traditional African dress. The fictional 'Ugandan Dollar' supposedly trades at about 4900 per British pound. (In reality, the currency of Uganda, the Ugandan Shilling, trades at about 3400 per British pound.) George works for Terry Tibbs Motor Group as a security guard and still conducts scams during work, to Tibbs' annoyance. He often opens with the line "Good morning/afternoon/evening sir/madam!" regardless of who answers the phone or time of day. He is wanted by the Zimbabwe telephone fraud prevention unit. When asked by a victim how the money they have won will be delivered to them, he explains that it is transferred electronically ("wired") to them directly by his Cousin Benson. Cousin Benson is portrayed by a real actor when he appears on-screen, whereas George himself is an animated illustration.

• Mr. Doovdé is a camel riding aficionado of electrical goods who believes that Acronyms and initialisms are how the goods are spelt and not pronounced and, as a result, he mistakes them for pronounceable words, e.g. 'Hoomv' (HMV), 'Doovdé' (DVD), 'Joovc' (JVC), 'Poospé' (PSP), 'Lukeda Tuv' (LCD TV), 'Puss 2/3' (PS2 and PS3), 'Dhuss' (DS) Hühp (HP), Ibim (IBM), Üsb, which is pronounced as "Oosb"(USB), Voocré (VCR) & Vhurs (VHS) . At the beginning of most episodes, he phones Directory Enquiries and asks for places in the same way as he does for the electrical goods. Examples that have been shown so far are: 'Duhfs' (DFS), 'Pük World' (PC World), 'Doovlah' (DVLA) , 'Duhul' (DHL) & 'Bup' (BP) . In the E4 Christmas Message, he asks about putting the 'hututupuh' (http) and woo.hoomv.co.uhk (www.hmv.co.uk). He also asked an electrical salesman if the TV he was enquiring about was "ready for de hood?" (HD Ready). As he tells the salepeople what he wants, Japanese, Indian or Bollywood-style adverts appear on screen that features Kayvan Novak himself. He appears to be riding his camel in front of inner-city Jerusalem.

• Terry Tibbs is a car salesman who calls various sellers about items on offer, and drives a hard bargain. He is a caricature of Cockney Geezers, and an ageing Spiv. He begins his phone calls with a description of the item in question, and then uses his catchphrase "talk to me" e.g. "Italian Fireplace, talk to me". He never actually makes a deal, as he often ends his phone calls with a low offer and "Thank you and goodnight - much love", although sometimes he makes an extremely high offer, confusing the person he is talking to. He can often be heard between and during sketches saying other catchphrases such as: "She's a feisty one isn't she", "That's why they call me Terry Tibbs", "Beautiful Car, Beautiful", "Do something for fuck's sake!!" and "Hang about love". Items he has tried to buy include wooden ladders for Russian gentlemen and Maserati 3200s.

• The Mouse is a smart rodent who requires the regular help from local services, such as a vet because he's been poisoned after eating some cheese with green powder on it, or an exterminator to take care of a cat that ate his mother, father, brother and his cousin from the country. He is also an Oasis tribute artist playing on northbound platform 4 of Oxford Circus tube station. At the end of every one of his sketches, he dies or it is implied that he will die.

• Brian Bedonde is a man who has a speech impediment where everything he says ends up starting with the letter 'B'. His accent is like art critic Brian Sewell. The impediment is prevented if Brian takes medication. Brian has made a call before without his speech affecting the call, when he rang a restaurant to ask about his blind date. It was also revealed that Brian is in fact homosexual in the same call.

• Mr. Miggins is a confused OAP who made his début asking about a Genie who popped out of a brass lamp, whose appearance has now changed, and is now as confused as the person on the other end of the phone line. In episode 6, it is revealed Mr. Miggins' first name is Michael.

• Detective Horace Von Khute is a telephone fraud prevention officer from Zimbabwe, and is known to ask victims questions pertaining to a previous prank call. He speaks in a hushed, gravelly, South African tone. Also, Detective Horace has an unusually long telephone number, making it hard to give and confirm that it is correct. His office uses an assortment of old, outdated equipment to track fraudsters (possibly a reference to Zimbabwe's current economic crisis) His most wanted criminal is George Agdgdgwngo.

• Mike is a Northern Irish tele-salesman who calls on the behalf of rudely named companies asking the victim questions about things such as their personal life or the tragic plight of the wrinkled ball sack.

• The Chinese DVD Gang is a group of illegal, obese Chinese students who attempt to film films in cinemas and sell as DVDs. One member also claims to be a Chinese Samuel L. Jackson lookalike.

• The Flat Line is an "automated" service for people wanting to buy or rent properties around the country. Callers are usually unsuccessful in their efforts as the service selects the incorrect properties. At the start of the conversation, the 'automated' service will usually make a "beep" to allow the caller to speak, but towards the end of conversations, delays the beep until the person actually speaks, forcing them into repeating the same word. One person did manage to select the correct property, only to have the service malfunction totally, saying it has been rented. This is the only time people have phoned the Fonejacker, rather than the other way around, aside from Episode Six of Series 1 where Terry Tibbs was seen to receive a phone call. The photo of the Flat Line representative is hollywood film actor James Mason, the voice also bears a striking similarity.

• Criminal Dave is a bank robber who usually has quite large serious flaws in his plans. For example he attempts to schedule a get-away in a minicab and to arrange for a locksmith to open the bank's safe.

• Jafooley alias, The Beatboxer is a man who phones a company or shop and beatboxes to give details confusing the 'victim' . These pranks are done using a hidden camera instead of animation.

• Mr. Broadbandings is an Indian man who works in a call centre in India for Internet Service Providings, a highly-priced ISP that promises "42 megabytings" data speed and "a better dealings than your current dealings". He also works for Mobile Network Providings.

• The Manager is the head of the Indian telesales companies Internet Service Providings and Mobile Network Providings. He only appears if the victims Mr. Broadbandings calls, request to be put through to him if they are not happy with Mr. Broadbandings' actions. He is always seen in his office, in which the Taj Mahal can be seen though the window behind him. While talking to the customer, a series of adverts appear based on the company in the same way with Mr. Broadbandings.

• Donald Donaldson is a posh sounding bisexual gentleman who phones hotel receptions and security guards asking for sexual favours from males. He does have a wife and believes she is cheating on him. He is believed to enjoy champagne, nibbles, and 'fucking like rabbits'.

• Vishka Vishkovski is a Russian circus act whose act involves an 'amazing dancing bear on the hot coals'. He phones up a circus agency to ask for a job, often repeating his name and act several times.

• Roger Barker is a posh English man who seems to always have telephone problems. He only appears in one episode, attempting to buy a Bentley.

Episode guide

The first standalone series started on July 5 2007. Due to its popularity, it was shown again on Channel 4 as from September 7 2007.

#	Calls featured
1.1	Mr. Doovdé asking for a phone number for "Duhfs" and phoning a shop about repairing Voocrés. George Agdgdgwngo calling three victims, asking for account details, one involving a money ironer having a cardiac arrest inside the bank vault. Donald calling a restaurant only to be told that his wife is having an affair with another woman, making the restaurant manager feel guilty. Terry Tibbs enquiring about a Maserati 3200. A man claiming to have lost both of his thumbs in a freak baking accident calling a mobile phone shop to enquire about the best mobile phone for him. The Fonejacker calls a man holding up a sign in the street, and manages to persuade him to turn it to point in the opposite direction. The Mouse calling a pet shop to catch a cat who ate his family. The Beatboxer asking for a job at BigArt, giving his details by beatboxing. Mr. Broadbandings persuading a man to join Internet Service Providings, his overly priced ISP service which is 42 "megabytings" fast. At the end he feels "upsettings". Mike calling from "Lube Up Your Butthole and Dance The Fandango Entertainment Services Ltd". A man trying to buy a flat using the Flat Line, a worthless "automated" telephone service.
1.2	Mr. Doovdé asking for a number for "Pük World" and calling an electronic store asking for a "Joovcé Lucde Tiv" and a "Joovcé Doovdé Player". George Agdgdgwngo asking for account details after problems with a card reader at a cash point who is a small man. Mr. Miggins calling Odeon Cinema assuming the woman is an automated phone service and is shouting film names and locations at her. Terry Tibbs calling about buying wooden ladders. The Beatboxer phoning a clothes shop about buying a shirt, describing the shirts by beatboxing. The Mouse phoning an entertainment service to get representation for his Oasis tribute act. A man attempting to buy a property using the "automated" Flat Line. Brian calling an art shop, trying to give his details, only to start talking incomprehensibly which confuses the shop assistant. Mike calling a man from "Feed Spaghetti Through Your Japseye till your Balls turn Bluetooth Solutions Inc.". The Chinese DVD Gang calling a cinema asking if it has room for a film crew to film a movie in the back of the cinema for a "student project". Donald calling a hotel worker asking him to spank and whip him. Mike asking a man about his toaster claiming to be from "Roll Your Cock in Filo & Serve It As a Main IT Solutions Inc.". He then passes the phone onto his wife and Mike says he's from "Dip Your Balls in Soy & Fry Them In a Wok IT Solutions Incorporated" and wants to know about her oven gloves, claiming she's on their oven glove database, yet she says she doesn't even have oven gloves.
1.3	Mr. Doovdé asking for the number for Doovlah. Terry Tibbs calling an old woman about an Italian fireplace. Mike calling from "Dip Your Cock in Treacle and Wave It At A Tramp Network Analysis Incorporated" asking a man about the excessive use of condiments in American themed restaurants. George Agdgdgwngo calling a man after discovering a pigeon in a bank vault. The man gives George his account number which are supposedly lottery numbers, and gives George the answer to his security question being "Jimmy Savile". It is revealed that George was a fan of Jim'll Fix It and wrote to him many times asking to have "lots of monies". Roger Barker trying to put a deposit down for a car he hasn't even seen, only to have the phone connection break up, making it impossible for the salesman to write down the man's details. The Mouse calling an exterminator about humans crawling on top of the floorboards, only to end up arguing with the woman on the other end of the phone, threatening to "shit in [her] tea". Mike calling from "You've Got Huge Bosoms and I'd Like To Put My Head Between Them Network Solutions Incorporated" asking a woman about her lifestyle. Mr. Broadbandings calling a woman about upgrading her mobile phone contract which is, as usual, overly-priced. After arguing with the man, the woman is put through to his "manager" only to confuse her more and offer her a 'free ring ding'. A man calling "Andy's" asking for their telephone number. Criminal Dave calling a locksmith asking about unlocking a safe whilst robbing a bank. Whilst talking to the locksmiths, she can hear an alarm bell, and a panicking bank manager who is being threatened by Dave. A man calling about renting a property whilst doing his job which is announcing train times (Kayvan uses a megaphone), only to confuse and frustrate the woman on the other end of the line, ending in her putting the phone down, followed by the sound of Kayvan laughing. Mr Miggins calling a computer helpline about opening a file sent by a friend, which is a pornographic video. After being bedazzled by the video, Mr Miggins becomes frustrated as he doesn't know how to close the video, not to mention his wife trying to enter the room, all of which is heard by the man on the other end of the phone. George Agdgdgwngo phoning a man who is in bed about missing credit card details, only to be told to "fuck off".
1.4	Mr. Doovdé asking for a phone number for "Duhul". Terry Tibbs calling a man about buying a Rolls Royce and offering a much higher price as most export scammers do. George Agdgdgwngo calling a woman telling her she has won a "serious amount of monies", which turns out to be £6.82. Mike calling a woman from "Lurpak Your A-hole and Sell the Story to The Sun IT Recruitment Services Ltd". Mr. Doovdé calling a record store selling classical music, explaining he wanted to buy a "classic" song, but only knows the tune of it. He sings "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys but with nonsense lyrics. The man in the store laughs hard, and says he has no idea what it is. The Mouse calling Pest Control after finding a mousetrap on the floor, and asking how to disable it, but ending up trapped and impaled in the mousetrap. A man calling a wedding video company asking for a film to be made of his honeymoon, directing it as a pornographic movie. George Agdgdgwngo calling a woman from her Building Society asking her security questions, including her name ("my name" was the answer), favourite colour ("I don't know who I'm talking to" was the answer), and sort code, only to have the woman hang up. A BT engineer calling a book shop checking to see if their phone line is "crackly", whilst he is scrunching a newspaper next to the mouthpiece. A member of the Chinese DVD Gang calling a look-a-like agency asking to be a Samuel L. Jackson look-a-like. A woman calling the "automated" Flat Line asking for a flat, but accidentally selecting other properties. After saying she wants a "one bedroom garden flat" she selected it correctly on her first attempt. When asked where she wants the flat, being Swansea, she is told she has selected a "two bedroom garden house in Shropshire", followed by a "three bedroom house in Shropshire" whilst the "automated" service supposedly malfunctions. A man called Steve calling a man running a hat stall in a market, asking him confusing questions about the fruit & veg stall, only to have the man completely lost. A man called Bijan calling a paparazzi service whilst chasing David Beckham offering pictures and videos of him, only to crash into him. Donald calling a massage parlour saying he's found the number in his fourteen year old son's telephone. He gives the woman his son's description, being 6'2", having dark curly hair, is missing three fingers on his left hand, has a pineapple-shaped mole on his forehead, doesn't like to wear socks or shoes and is believed to have stolen one of his father's bowler hats. He also asks the woman to let his son know that his father he is "onto him".
1.5	Mike calling from "Tweak Your Mum By Her Nipples and Tell Her That You Love Her Wildlife Awareness Ltd" asking a woman about the tragic plight of the wrinkled ball sack, which she claims to know about. He asks if she is a bird lover. Terry Tibbs calling a man who's selling a fridge freezer, initially offering £900, then £1000. He turns down Terry's offers saying he wants £1500. Terry thinks this is too much so offers £1250. The man says he will sell it for £1250 if Terry asks using a woman's voice. Terry then becomes angry and tells the man to fuck off. George Agdgdgwngo calling a woman informing her she was selected to receive a "CPM" (cash prize monies), but declines the prize when required to give her bank account details. Mr. Doovdé calling a shop asking if they sell the "Puss 3" or the "Puss 2". They also talk about the Dhuss. Mr. Doovdé says he will just go and buy a pük. Brian calling a café asking if his blind date has arrived, only to regret it after being told the man Brian is meeting is short and fat. Criminal Dave calling for a minicab to pick him up at a bank, whilst an alarm bell is ringing in the background and Dave is shouting at hostages. George Agdgdgwngo informing a man he was won £8.27, later £8.23, but declines as he does not want anything at all, as he claims to have everything he wants. Everytime he reminds the man of the prize money, he plays a tape playing a jingle in which the soundsystem blows up on the third attempt. The man is seen to the audience, as someone who has been living on an island for many years due to a plane crash. Mr. Broadbandings offering a man internet "providings". The man asks Mr. Broadbandings to repeat his script twice because he likes it, but then the man complains about his Indian accent and poor usage of English. He is later put through to the manager to complain in which he argues with him about the script used to sell the "providings". The man tells the manager that the customer is always right, but the manager says the customer is talking "bloody bollocks", and later sarcastically suggests that if he thinks he's now a script writer, he should come to Bollywood to write their scripts. The man says he doesn't want to switch his providings, he wants to switch his provider, but the manager says he can only switch his providings. Brian calling a restaurant to book a table at a restaurant, only to have his unusual speech impediment pop up when he is trying to book it. A circus act called Vishka Vishkovsky calling a circus agency about his dancing bear act. A man calling a fishmonger because his wife complained that the fish he bought was a goldfish. Mike calling from "Wet Look Gel Your Crotch and Make a Quiff With Your Pubes I.T. Recruitment Services Limited" asking a man about his love life to which the man says, "This is a Sunday night! Do you you think I'm silly?" Mike replies, "Abso-fucking-lutely!" Detective Horace Von Khute from the Telephone Fraud Prevention Unit in Zimbabwe calling a woman asking her to call him if she receives a call from a man claiming to be Detective Horace Von Khute from the Telephone Fraud Prevention Unit in Zimbabwe, who has stolen his identity.
1.6	Mr. Doovdé calling a computer store asking for a Hüp Pük with three üsb for word processing, surfing the Woo and burning Doovd. George Agdgdgwngo calling from British Gas saying he overcharged a man by 36,000,000 Ugandan Dollars. George offers to pay the man back as long as he gives his bank details before the man declines. A hospitalised man on a breathing machine calling a company for life insurance, only to die during the call. Mike calling from "Walk into Your Library and Fart as Loud As You Can I.T Communications PLC" asking about a woman's love life. Donald calling the front desk of his company to invite the man up to his office to have champagne and "fuck like rabbits". The Mouse calling a cheese shop asking about what cheese they sell whilst hiding on a pot of Vaseline, only to be turned on and have orgasms from the names of cheese. The Mouse then sets himself on fire after attempting to light a cigarette. A man who has redialled the Fonejacker after being fonejacked by George. He is put through to Terry Tibbs who accuses him of trying to ring George back to give his bank details. Terry then offers the man a car. Mr. Broadbandings calling from "Digital Multichannel Receivings" offering a free set-top box that costs a one-off payment of £182 with a continuing cost of £18.70. The man declines despite the fact that Mr. Broadbandings claims it is better than Sky Digital as the channels are not good, compared to the four channels that Mr. Broadbandings is offering, them being two sports channelsings, the free movie a month, and BBC Four. Mr. Miggins calling a tabloid newspaper claiming to have had a balloon ride with Cary Grant in the 1940s. Brian calling a property developer asking to buy a bungalow, only to completely confuse the salesman with his strange speech impediment. George Agdgdgwngo calling a woman from her bank. He asks her to answer a security question, which is "What is the day?". Her answer was Monday, after almost saying Thursday and Tuesday. George is forced to terminate the call as he takes her first answer, being Thursday, which is incorrect. Detective Horace Von Khute calling from the Telephone Fraud Prevention Unit asking a man about a suspicious call. Surprising, it is revealed that the man received a call from George Agdgdgwngo the previous day being told he won 1,800,000 Ugandan Dollars. Horace then plays a collection of tapes of various Fonejacker characters, including George, Donald, Terry Tibbs and Mr. Doovdé, saying "So if I could just take your bank account details and sort code, and we can wire you the monies as soon as possible". The man recognises the voice of George Agdgdgwngo and is informed that Horace will be in touch.

External links

• Fonejacker official site on e4.com
• The Fonejacker - featuring prank call clips