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Funky Squad

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Composer(s)
  
Craig Harnath

Original language(s)
  
English

7.8/10
IMDb

Country of origin
  
Australia

Final episode date
  
5 June 1995

Funky Squad Funky Squad Episode 2 The Art Of Murder

Written by
  
Santo CilauroTom GleisnerJane Kennedy

Directed by
  
Santo CilauroTom GleisnerJane Kennedy

Starring
  
Tim FergusonJane KennedySanto CilauroTom Gleisner

Networks
  
American Broadcasting Company, ABC

Program creators
  
Rob Sitch, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy

Cast
  
Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy

Funky squad intro


Funky Squad was a short-lived 1995 Australian comedy television series which satirised 1970s-era U.S. police television dramas, such as The Mod Squad. Only 7 half-hour episodes were produced, which were broadcast on the ABC. Real television commercials from the 1970s were shown during the program's "commercial breaks".

Contents

Funky Squad httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaen119Fun

The show featured four "funky" undercover detectives: undetectable as police, given their "hipness". The conclusion of each episode was deliberately designed to be incredibly predictable: usually the perpetrator of the crime under investigation could be identified within the first few minutes of the episode.

Funky Squad Funky Squad April 2007

Before the television series, Funky Squad originally aired as a series of episodes on radio station Triple M. Rob Sitch, who played Grant, was replaced by Tim Ferguson when the series went to television.

Funky Squad Santo Cilauro Interview Funky Squad DVD Entertainment Web Wombat

Funky squad stay fast


Characters

Funky Squad Flashback to Funky Squad TelevisionAU

In a metafictional setting, the characters were played by "actors" whose "names" were displayed in the opening credits of the program. These "real names" were also satirical, poking fun at the names of actors who appeared American 1970s cop shows.

"Stix": Joey Alvarez

  • Played by Santo Cilauro
  • Had a large afro.

    • "Grant": Blair Steele

  • Played by Tim Ferguson
  • The leader of the group; the cool guy.

    • "Poncho": Harvey Zdalka Jr

    Funky Squad abc dvd patordenescom

  • Played by Tom Gleisner
  • Mute, as a bullet had hit his tongue. The joke was that this was a ridiculous plot device to get around having accidentally hired an actor with poor English.

    • "Cassie": Verity Svensön-Hart

  • Played by Jane Kennedy
  • The token female; a stereotypical 1970s feminist.

    • The Chief: Baldwin Scott

  • Played by Barry Friedlander
  • The tough cop whom the Funky Squad reported to.

    • Production

    Funky Squad Flashback to Funky Squad TelevisionAU

    The program was created and written by Australian comedians Santo Cilauro, Jane Kennedy, Tom Gleisner, and Rob Sitch of Frontline and The Late Show fame. Cilauro, Kennedy and Gleisner also co-directed the series. Sitch was originally to star but was replaced by Ferguson due to study commitments overseas.

    Funky Squad Funky Squad May 2007

    The show was given a meagre production budget of A$1,000 per episode, so many of the costumes were acquired by wardrobe director Kitty Stuckey (best known for her work on Kath & Kim) at local Melburnian Salvation Army stores.

    Video and DVD release

    A VHS video containing three episodes of the series ("A Degree in Death", "Wrong Side of the Tracks" and "The Carnival is Over") was released in 1996. A DVD set of all seven episodes of the series was released in Australia on 7 November 2007. The DVDs were marked as Region 4, but appear to be region-free.

    References

    Funky Squad Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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