''Tiki Bar TV'' was a web series distributed in the pioneering field of video podcasting or "

vodcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. ...

." 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 A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...

. Examples include the Suffering Bastard (episode 2),

Fog Cutter The Fog Cutter is a vintage tiki cocktail frequently attributed to being invented by Victor Bergeron that calls for a mixture of several liquors (rum, brandy, gin), the juice of lemon and oranges, orgeat syrup, and cream sherry. It is high in ...

(episode 8),

Volcano Bowl Volcano bowls are ceramic drinkware originally associated with mid-20th century American tiki bars and tropical-themed restaurants. Drinks served in volcano bowls are typically rum-based, mixed with tropical fruit juices and other liquors such as ...

(episode 11), Boomerang (episode 14), and

Blue Hawaiian The Blue Hawaiian or Swimming Pool is a Piña Colada with an added splash of blue curaçao to give it an orange flavor. It is made with light rum (e.g. Pineapple Malibu rum or white rum), blue curaçao, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and le ...

(episode 25). 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 Jeff Macpherson (born 3 October 1973) 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. (which produces the game ''CodeRunner'') ...

and

Kevin Gamble Kevin Douglas Gamble (born November 13, 1965) is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association and currently a scout with the Toronto Raptors. At 6'5" (1.96 m) he played as both a shooting guard and smal ...

. The show garnered additional attention after being mentioned at Apple's iPod Video launch. Tiki Bar TV was shown in Apple stores worldwide as part of a 6-month promotion in 2006. The first episode was released on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

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 Tosca Musk (born July 20, 1974) 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 is considered by many to be one of the pioneering video podcasts credited with launching the genre.

Characters

*Doctor Tiki, PhD, MD, USB a.k.a. Reginald Hornstein (

) writes the cocktail prescriptions in each episode. His doctorate is in "Tiki," and he is usually wearing a lab coat and stethoscope. *Johnny Johnny, Mixologist a.k.a. Jonathan J. Jonathan (

) is the leopard-print

fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

wearing bartender who makes the cocktails that the Doctor prescribes. *Lala a.k.a. Beatrice Fastwater (Lara Doucette). She usually wears a provocative dress and broad grin. In episode 10, we learn that she is not as ditzy as she appears; she has an engineering degree and in short time built a self-aware robot capable of nearly fulfilling all of Johnny Johnny’s roles. The performers go un-credited and unabashed

stage names A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

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."

Minor characters

*Limey -
Lee Tockar
A lounge lizard in a reptile leather jacket. Introduced in Episode 2 and commonly known as "The Limey Bastard," he is the most frequently appearing minor character. *Mr. Ambassador -
Gio Corsi
A

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

era ambassador from the USSR in a red

who plants a spy camera in the Tiki Bar, unfreezes LaLa, and steals LaLa's original plans for Drinkbot to build "Robot Box." *Kip -
Matthew McInnis
A "Guy with Woes" who frequents the bar. *The Duke of Url -
Francis Rock
A British man on a tour of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

. *Drinkbot -
Colin Beadle
Robot that Lala creates to replace Johnny Johnny, which goes on a rampage after failing to understand the concept of "love." *Rocket Billy -
Tygh Runyan
A 50s era greaser who delivers the Tiki Mail. *Space Cadet - ( Nicki Clyne) Girl from "The OuterSpace" who comes to the Tiki Bar to learn Earth dance moves. *The Bastard Illegitimate Son of the Father of the Internet (BISOTFOTI) ( Alex Albrecht) The illegitimate son of the father of the internet from episode 20. *Poindexter (

Kevin Rose Kevin Rose is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Revision3, Digg, Pownce, and Milk. He also served as production assistant and co-host at TechTV's ''The Screen Savers''. From 2012 to 2015, he was a venture partner at GV. Earl ...

) Tech Support guy for Tiki Bar TV.

Merchandise

The popularity of the show led to the selling of T-Shirts, calendars, DVDs, and Tiki Bar TV themed

Tiki mugs Tiki mugs are large ceramic cocktail drinking vessels that originated in tiki bars and tropical-themed restaurants. The term "tiki mug" is a blanket term for the sculptural drinkware even though they vary in size and most do not contain handles. T ...

. 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. It was then delayed to sometime in 2010.

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 In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wor ...

. On March 26, 2009 at the 1st Annual Streamy Craft Awards the shows production designer
Kim Bailey
received the first ever Streamy award for Production Design / Art Direction from the International Academy of Web Television. More than just breaking new ground, the show was recognized by the International Academy of Web Television, the Streamys and the web community for the extremely high standards in production value and design.

References

"Doctor! I need a triple"
by Laura Lind, ''National Post'', January 30, 2006, retrieved February 2, 2006

by Scott Woolley, ''Forbes Magazine'', July 3, 2006
"Interview on Podcast 411"
Item #176, November 22, 2006
"CBC Television hires videoblog celebrity as late-night host"

External links

Official Tiki Bar TV websiteLive chat with TikiBar performers
(free)

{{Podcasting 2005 web series debuts Video podcasts Tiki culture