Tag Archives: Viceland

Links: FUBAR: Age of Computer

From Victoria Ahearn of The Canadian Press:

Link: ‘FUBAR’ creators bring the headbangers into the modern age on Viceland
“But it’s not headbangers watching headbangers. It’s normal people who are really interested in the ‘Letterkenny’ way of life, or the ‘FUBAR’ way of life, or whatever, ‘Trailer Park Boys.'” Continue reading. 

From John Semley of The Globe and Mail:
Link: The Fubar boys grapple with the internet in Age of Computer
“These guys are coming out of a time warp. The internet brings the world into your house. It lets those guys react off anyone they want or any situation they can create. It gives this show a scope that it normally wouldn’t have and a level of irreverence.” Continue reading. 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

FUBAR heads to the small screen for stoner fun on Viceland

I once dismissed the mockumentary FUBAR as a ripoff of the Trailer Park Boys. The first FUBAR movie came out in 2002, a year after TPB debuted on Showcase, so the timing seemed apt. And, with buddies Terry (David Lawrence) and Dean (Paul Spence) getting drunk and shouting expletives at one another and folks in their community, I couldn’t help but assume they were the same as Bubbles, Ricky and Julian. There are definitely similarities, but Lawrence, Spence and Michael Dowse created their own brand of Canadian hosers via two feature films.

Now the trio has reunited for FUBAR: Age of Computer, an eight-episode adventure—created by Dowse, Lawrence, Spence, North Darling and Immanuela Lawrence—debuting Friday at 10 p.m. ET on Viceland. When we catch up with Dean and Terry, they’re down on their luck, have no jobs (“Jobs aren’t even jobs anymore,” Terry laments as he mocks millennials. “I’m at home in my man-bun on the computer.”) and off to do the most Canadian of things: blowing off some steam camping in Alberta. Who hasn’t gone into the wilderness, gotten drunk, put WAY too much wood on the fire and shot fireworks at one another? Except that, in the case of Terry and Dean, it’s hinted their antics may have caused the legendary fire in Fort McMurray. (The producers make a point of noting the joke in the disclaimer ahead of Episode 1 lest anyone get upset.)

The pair flees to Calgary to meet up with Terry’s cousin, Shank (Darling), after hearing that those displaced by the fire would receive $1,800 from the federal government. Aiming to get a new start, Terry applies for the credit … and then spends most of it on frivolous items (a lifesized cardboard cutout of AC/DC guitarist Angus Young is just one). Meanwhile, Dean’s King Diamond-esque falsetto could land him a singing career.

The homer genre is hot right now thanks to Letterkenny (creator Jared Keeso was inspired by FUBAR), the Canadianity podcast from Jonathan Torrens and Jeremy Taggart and even Team Give’r from this summer’s exploits on The Amazing Race Canada. As a result, FUBAR: Age of Computer fits right in with its well-timed laughs and memorable characters.

FUBAR: Age of Computer airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Viceland.

Image courtesy of Rogers.

 

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: Why Nirvanna the Band the Show is the best Canadian TV show in the last two decades

From Calum Marsh of the National Post:

Link: Why Nirvanna the Band the Show is the best Canadian TV show in the last two decades
Its ideas are bolder and its means are more radical. Its budgets are bigger, and because the creative team is so resourceful, every dollar does the work of 10. Even the title has expanded: “Nirvanna” gained a letter to curb the threat of being sued. The combined effect of these advances is a marvellous accomplishment. Nirvanna the Band the Show is the best show to air on television in this country in nearly 20 years. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Viceland to explore wrestling and skateboarding subcultures in The Wrestlers and Post Radical

From a media release:

VICE Studio Canada and Rogers Media announced today two new, original, documentary series: The Wrestlers, an examination of the wrestling world’s underground, and Post Radical, an exploration of skate culture and its many sub-cultures. Both series are slated to premiere early next year, with additional broadcast details to be announced at a later date.

The Wrestlers follows long-time VICE host, legendary Toronto punk band F*cked Up front man, and wrestling fanatic, Damian Abraham, as he explores the modern day manifestations of the world’s oldest combat sport. Each episode looks beyond the polished pro wrestling scene to the gritty, often dangerous, world of unscripted wrestling. From the grueling “Death Tour” across First Nations communities in rural Manitoba to Juarez Mexico’s Lucha Libre scene, Abraham travels across North America to examine the religious zeal of wrestling participants and fans.

Hosted by pro-skater and amateur anthropologist Rick McCrank, Post Radical will explore skate culture in all of its various forms in the signature aesthetic style of VICELAND’s break-out success Abandoned. Each episode will focus on the groups and individuals that make up a specific skateboarding sub-culture, ranging from the best female skaters in the world to those at the intersection of skate and religion. Post Radical looks at the differences between each group as well as their connections to the wider skate community.

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Viceland Canada announces new fall shows and returning favourites

From a media release:

November 3rd @ 10pm marks the return of the critically acclaimed and festival favourite series “NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW.” Adapted from the webseries of the same title, the show centers on Matt (Matt Johnson) and Jay (Jay McCarrol), a hapless two-piece Toronto “band” who will do anything to play a show at The Rivoli. Season 2 takes their harebrained schemes to get on stage to new heights as their plans continue to inevitably, yet delightfully, going awry.

November 3rd @ 10:30pm also marks the premiere of “FUBAR: AGE OF COMPUTER.” Taking the beloved film franchise and hurtling it into the modern age, the eight-part, half-hour series, reunites director Michael Dowse and stars David Lawrence and Paul Spence in their original roles as Terry and Dean. The series opens with Terry (Lawrence) and Dean (Spence) fleeing from the wildfires of Fort McMurray, in a desperate retreat to Calgary, with nothing but emergency government debit cards to their names. Terry and Dean retreat to Terry’s cousin Shank’s illegal basement suite in Calgary, where Terry discovers high-speed Internet and Dean embarks on an epic journey to record his concept album, ‘3069.’

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail