One of the true pioneers of the web-TV phenomenon, Tiki Bar TV first popped up on computer screens in March of 2005, just as the increases in bandwidth and decreases in the price of home-recording and editing technology were making such home-brewed shows possible. And when I say home-brewed, I mean exactly that. The Tiki Bar set utilized on the show is actually located in creator Jeff Macpherson (who portrays Dr. Tiki)'s apartment, and the cast and crew consist of friends and neighbors who get to create their own characters while enjoying some drinks and some laughs.Here's some further info on the show from a 2006 Forbes article on Macpherson and the show:
Macpherson's twisted path to Web stardom began five years ago, when he embarked on a Hollywood dream. He had put in a year at film school but detested it and worked as a production manager for car commercials. In 2000 he directed his first feature film, a well-received independent drama. Come Together was about a Scotch-guzzling, pot-smoking greeting-card writer who vows to break up his ex-girlfriend's wedding and win her back. It never got distributed; only 5,000 people saw it.
He commuted from Vancouver to Los Angeles in 2001, landed an agent at International Creative Management and signed a movie deal with MTV. Quickly it all fell apart. MTV had wanted a film on ecstasy, the euphoria drug; then it switched to methamphetamine--newsier, but far uglier. "A meth addict and an ecstasy addict are very different beasts," he says. Then it wanted a miniseries. Then MTV bailed, Macpherson's agent quit ICM, and when no one else picked him up, he packed up and slunk home to Vancouver.
Back at his small apartment, he decided, on a lark, to install a 1950s-style tiki bar, complete with palm fronds and lots of rum. Soon he invited friends over and started filming short, goofy segments.
The feel was assiduously absurd and schlocky. Props drove plot: Macpherson became Dr. Tiki after finding an old doctor's coat he had worn to a Halloween party. Soon he added a bartender, Johnny Johnny (played by a grade school pal), and a vivacious vixen named LaLa (an ex-girlfriend). Guest stars joined in (they got to make up their own characters and plotlines), and the cast would get visibly tipsier as a skit unfolded.
The real star of each episode is its special drink. "Love in the South Pacific" is laced with six liquors; it was invented by the Tiki Bar folks, though they are amateur mixologists. "People think we are the Martha Stewart of cocktails. We're not. Inauthenticity is our hallmark," Macpherson says...
[Macpherson] relishes the creative latitude of podcasting and his ability to reach legions of viewers without having to kowtow to the meddlesome, unhip Hollywood suits who once nagged him. Some TV sitcoms air flubbed outtakes as the credits roll at the end, but he blithely runs them smack in the middle of an episode. And he revels in his freedom to offend: TV needs the widest possible audience, while Macpherson need lure only the few who "get it."
...For now [Macpherson] plans to stick to his more subversive pursuits, as he has since his pithy sign-off on the very first episode of Tiki Bar TV: "Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast pilot of The Tiki Bar. If you'd like to see more of this, or even if you don't, I couldn't give a rat's ass. It's the Internet. Just try and [expletive] stop us."
Which is an attitude that also pretty well sums up why I love this whole Net TV phenomenon and decided to do this little series of posts, and a good place to close them out. I hope you've enjoyed this little look at some of the variety of shows created for the internet. And again, if there's one that's your own personal favorite or one that you think I've missed, please hit the comments and share it with everyone! After all, there's lot's more to explore and find out there, and lots of creativity just waiting to be discovered.
Now let's all sidle up to the Tiki Bar for a drink. And be sure to check out the rest of the episodes here.
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