Trigger Happy TV
| Trigger Happy TV | |
|---|---|
Image from the show's title sequence
|
|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Directed by |
Dom Joly Sam Cadman |
| Starring | Dom Joly |
| Opening theme | "Connection" by Elastica |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 plus Christmas specials including Pilot (Comedy Lab) and 'Greatest Hits' Specials |
| No. of episodes | 17 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Dom Joly Sam Cadman |
| Running time | approx. 23 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Absolutely Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 4 |
| Picture format | PAL (4:3/16:9) |
| Original release | 14 January 2000 – 24 December 2016 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
World Shut Your Mouth Fool Britannia |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Trigger Happy TV is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for two series on the British television channel Channel 4 from 2000 to 2003. Joly made a name for himself as the sole star of the show, which he produced and directed with cameraman Sam Cadman. Trigger Happy TV and World Shut Your Mouth, Dom's other major show, would both be categorised as deadpan or "dry humour". The show returned for a one-off Christmas special on Channel 4 after 13 years, airing Christmas Eve 2016.
The show consists of Joly deliberately entering into ludicrous or embarrassing situations in public places, which were filmed surreptitiously by Cadman. Sketches took place in a variety of locations, though most appeared to be filmed on the streets of Central London and Cheltenham.
Unlike most hidden camera shows, many of the scenes in Trigger Happy TV do not revolve around trapping normal people into embarrassing and impossible situations. Instead, he often makes fun of himself rather than others, and many scenes made people stop and either laugh or simply wonder what was going on; the passers-by are never made aware of the fact that they are on television, presumably until they sign a release form allowing the use of the footage shot. Such scenes include Joly answering a gigantic novelty mobile phone and shouting at the top of his voice into it (normally in quiet locations like golf courses, cinemas, libraries and parks), a chef chasing an actor in a large rat costume out of a restaurant, and two actors dressed as masked Mexican wrestlers getting into spontaneous fights in grocery stores. Other scenes included people dressed as animals breaking into a fight and the progress of various costumed pedestrians (such as a snail and an old man) across a zebra crossing in London. Joly also often dressed as a Cub Scout, a foreign person with bad English, or a park attendant.
The show does not include a laugh track, instead playing instrumental and sometimes sad music during sketches. Bands such as Eels and The Crocketts have been used multiple times in the series.
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Wikipedia