''Tiki Bar TV'' was a

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

distributed in the pioneering field of video

podcasting 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 ...

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 A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

(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 A tiki bar is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails. Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their tiki culture décor which is based upon a rom ...

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 Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

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 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 Nicki Clyne is a Canadian actress, known for her role as Cally Henderson on the SyFy television series ''Battlestar Galactica''. Clyne is a member of NXIVM, a multi-level marketing company founded by Keith Raniere. Former members, the media, an ...

) 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 Alexander Jennings Albrecht (born August 14, 1976) is an American television personality, actor and podcaster. He is known for co-hosting the former G4techTV television program ''The Screen Savers'', an hour-long computer and technology variety ...

) 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. In May 2009,

Secret Lab Secret Lab is an independent computer game developer based in Hobart, Australia. They are best known for their work on Night in the Woods, the Qantas Joey Playbox games, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Play School (Australian TV series ...

, an independent

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developer based in

Hobart, Australia Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...

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 The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ...

: an audience choice award and two craft awards for

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

and production design. 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 The International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) was founded in 2008 and is devoted to the advancement of the arts and sciences of streaming television and web series production. Since 2011, the academy has hosted an annual awards ceremony cal ...

. More than just breaking new ground, the show was recognized by the

, 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