Fonejacker - Funny Prank Calls
If you have not had a chance to look at
the latest Channel 4 series fonejacker,
but seem to come across it where ever you go, here is a quick overview of the
super hit series. Fonejacker is a television series that follows the exploits of
the multi-talented actor Kayvan Novak, as he makes prank calls to people all
over the UK. Each fonejacker episode begins with definition of fonejack which is
defined as “seize control of a telephone conversation by farce esp. to divert it
from reason and logic”. Of course, since fonejacking is all about making prank
telephone calls, the telephone conversation is usually accompanied by on screen
animations that look similar to a Monty Python cartoon.
All conversations are real and are
carried out by the same person the fonejacker (Kavyan Novak). To add to the
persona of the fonejacker, Kavyan Novak is shown wearing a monkey cap (with a
pom-pom on top), a pair of sunglasses (which he wears at all times, day or
night) and an archaic mobile phone. In essence, the fonejacker looks like a
hijacker with a phone instead of a gun. Apart from the hilarious animations that
accompany a phone conversation, the fonejacker also goes on location in his
signature rickshaw and plays pranks on people, such calls show the entire
conversation and video recording.
The most impressive fonejack and also
the vanguard call of the series, was the fonejacker posing as an Arabic man
calling up an electronics store and asking to buy a Doovde player (DVD player)
and then inquiring about a ‘lucd’ (LCD) television. The call is perhaps the most
popular of the series and the first season is now called the Doovde series. The
show’s success is attributed Novak’s fantastic voice over skills, Novak has
posed as a mouse, a Ugandan banking official, an Arab (now known as Mr. Doovde),
an Indian ISP salesman and many other personalities that include a compulsive
rapper, a distraught husband who thinks his wife is cheating on him. The show
has also shown a few calls by a cockney speaking gentleman called Terry Tibbs.
Terry Tibbs is a vulgar buyer who tries to negotiate (unsuccessfully) the price
of various things from a wooden ladder to a Maserati.
Fonejacker’s phenomenal success is
attributed to the fact that, it takes a crack at almost every stereotype in the
book. From an Indian salesman that has a tendency of ending every word in ‘s’,
to the cockney Terry Tibbs who cannot keep a conversation rated ‘U’. In
addition, each character has a specific task assigned to it, the Ugandan (George
Agdgdgwngo) tries to get people to give him their bank details. The series is
currently viewable by children above the age of 15, and does have the occasional
vulgar animation or picture thrown in. Fonejacker’s success has been validated
by the overwhelming response it has received from international audiences, and
not just the British audience. The first series had 6 episodes of approximately
30 minutes each; the DVD was released on October 8, 2007.
The fonejacker
The fonejacker usually calls up art
shops, restaurants and hotels. The fonejacker has a characteristic rickshaw
which takes him to various locations all over the UK. During the calls a video
camera captures the response of the person without their knowledge. A popular
call involved the fonejacker asking an Italian restaurant owner if his wife (a
lady in a straw hat) is actually cheating on him. Novak masterfully captures the
restraint owner’s dilemma, as the lady with the straw hat is sitting right in
front of him with another man. The call ended with the fonejacker breaking out
in hysterical cries that his wife was cheating on him (the restaurant manager
lied to the fonejacker telling him the lady in the straw hat was there with a
woman).
About the Author: For more information on the
fonejacker
visit www.fonejacker.eu, www.fonejacker.eu is one of the few sites on the
internet that has clips, forums and news about the fonejacker.
More articles by robertpalmer
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