Double the Fist
Encyclopedia
Double the Fist is an Australia
n satirical
television show which airs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
. It follows the misadventures of four men and their pursuit of "fistworthiness": host
Steve Foxx (Craig Anderson
), and his three offsiders; Rod Foxx (Bryan Moses), Mephisto (Doug Bayne
), and The Womp (Tony Walters
).
The series has also been broadcast in the UK
(Ftn
), Canada
(BBCK
), Spain
(Buzz
), New Zealand
(TV2) and Brazil
.
; whereas they perform stunts designed to injure and/or humiliate an individual, the Fist team do things that would obviously kill them. Such as jumping off cliffs, being hit by trucks, getting shot in the head, etc. These dangerous stunts and outlandish actions are usually achieved with the use of computer generated imagery. Indeed one of the most innovative and noteworthy features of Double the Fist is its extensive and imaginative use of CGI
, especially considering that the programme was produced for a very low budget, even by Australian standards ($250,000 for all 8 episodes).
However, the second series featured a indept storyline (possibly added to increase the shows praise), and vastly improved digital effects. Some minor aspects which were made in or changed in Season 2 included Rod's appearance being made more memorable by a mullet adorened with lightning bolts shaved into the sides of his head. Steve is vastly less tolerant to any sign of weakness expressed by his team (possibly due to their failure in Episode 7), often physically abusing them for no reason at all, and losing his apparent ability to appear anywhere to commentate on the team's progress. Kanangra is no longer a factor, but is mentioned in Episode 2 to show Steve's familiarity with councils. The characters were seen talking more, hence we learn that Womp is mostly disliked, Rod and Mephisto have a minor friendship. We also learn that Steve is not the creator of Fistworthiness, having learned it from ancient monks. However, we also learn that Steve was displeased with the peaceful use of Fistworthiness and changed it into his violent version (which is nonetheless proved to be less powerful).
- Anderson and Walters 'performing absurdist theatre' and Moses making amateur films. The three teamed up to make a short film entitled Life in a Datsun which won the best comedy award at the 1999 Tropfest
film festival. It was here they met Bayne, who caught their eye with his computer-generated effects
and his 30-second film called God Saves the Titanic. The four men then made Video Dare, a spoof reality show for SBS
, which received 100 complaints. From 2002 to 2003, the team, minus Anderson who was lecturing at the time, made Saturday Morning Fly, a kids music/comedy program for the ABC. Their work on Video Dare and Saturday Morning Fly
allowed the team to perfect their use of special effects and the pilot for Double the Fist was soon made. It was eventually picked up by the ABC
's head of arts and entertainment, Courtney Gibson, and an eight-part series was approved.
The ABC
was divided over whether or not to produce a second series. In March 2006, after a number of attempts by the creators and support from fans via an online petition, the ABC commissioned a second series. Series 2 began on 14 August 2008.
award in the category of Best Television Comedy
- Sit-com or Sketch
. According to "From Nobodies to Nobodies," a DVD Documentary on Series One, Volume Two, which chronicles the history of the show and its creators up to that point, the main reaction from the general media and public regarding their achievement of the award, ranged from disappointment to down right disgust for some.
One of the main reasons for the outbursts was that amongst the nominees of the 2004 awards was the more prominent Australian comedy Kath & Kim
. Compared to that series, Double the Fist was not as well known and the comedy was deemed by the casual observer as something more akin to the American show Jackass
. During a press conference after the ceremony, the boys from the show were asked only one question which was about how it felt to beat Kath & Kim. The following day, many newspaper columnists printed their disgust that such a purile and juvenile show had been selected by the AFI over the more popular Kath & Kim with one describing it as "the unfunniest joke of the night".
This is a feat however, that the Double the Fist team continues to relish, given that an extra on the Series One, Volume Two contains instructions on how to make a Double the Fist Box Set using the inside cover of Volume Two and a Kath & Kim Box Set, where one of the instructions involved using a block splitter to destroy the contents of the Kath & Kim Box Set (namely the DVD and the DVD slips) and burning them so they could never be seen again.
and Doug Bayne
are currently working on a new interactive "Double The Fist" website, which will feature weekly content, tricks and games, and a Steve Foxx blog. The site is currently up and running, although some of the promised features have yet to be completed.
was released in Australia, which contains episodes 1-4 as well as special features including a documentary called "How to Make Double the Fist", deleted scenes, and a 'photo gallery'. A book was also released that year. On 8 June 2006, the Double The Fist Volume 2 DVD was released, which contains episodes 5-8 and also contains more special features and a never before seen episode.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
television show which airs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. It follows the misadventures of four men and their pursuit of "fistworthiness": host
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
Steve Foxx (Craig Anderson
Craig Anderson (actor)
Craig Anderson is an Australian writer and actor best known for his comedic turns in the Australian Feature film Bootmen, the television series Double the Fist, and award winning short films Life in a Datsun, Demon Datsun, Life in a Volkswagen...
), and his three offsiders; Rod Foxx (Bryan Moses), Mephisto (Doug Bayne
Doug Bayne
Doug Bayne is known for his exploits in animation, acting and writing. He has been made famous through his work on ABC television, namely Fly TV, Double the Fist and recently with The Chaser's War on Everything and triple j tv....
), and The Womp (Tony Walters
Tony Walters
Antony Walters is an Australian actor, film director, and cocreator of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television series Double the Fist....
).
The series has also been broadcast in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(Ftn
Ftn
Ftn was a television channel from Virgin Media Television transmitting free-to-air on Freeview and Virgin Media, and as a subscription channel on Sky Digital. The channel was broadcast between 18:00 and 06:00 daily...
), Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(BBCK
BBC Kids
BBC Kids is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Knowledge Network Corporation and BBC Worldwide. It's a commercial-free channel that airs programming aimed at youth ranging from pre-schoolers to teens.-Overview:...
), Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(Buzz
Buzz
-People:*Buzz Aldrin , American pilot and astronaut, second person to set foot on the Moon*George Beurling , Canadian World War II fighter pilot*Buzz Hargrove , National President of the Canadian Auto Workers trade union...
), New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(TV2) and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Synopsis
The show parodies many things about popular culture, primarily being a spoof of shows such as JackassJackass (TV series)
jackass is an American reality series, originally shown on MTV from 2000 to 2002, featuring people performing various dangerous, crude, ridiculous, self-injuring stunts and pranks...
; whereas they perform stunts designed to injure and/or humiliate an individual, the Fist team do things that would obviously kill them. Such as jumping off cliffs, being hit by trucks, getting shot in the head, etc. These dangerous stunts and outlandish actions are usually achieved with the use of computer generated imagery. Indeed one of the most innovative and noteworthy features of Double the Fist is its extensive and imaginative use of CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
, especially considering that the programme was produced for a very low budget, even by Australian standards ($250,000 for all 8 episodes).
Characters
- Steve Foxx (Craig Anderson (actor)Craig Anderson (actor)Craig Anderson is an Australian writer and actor best known for his comedic turns in the Australian Feature film Bootmen, the television series Double the Fist, and award winning short films Life in a Datsun, Demon Datsun, Life in a Volkswagen...
) is the host of Double the Fist. He invented the concept of "fistworthiness" and "betterment through extremities." An expert at crushing all that is weak, Steve is finally ready to begin his War on Weakness. However, lately Steve has had trouble controlling his team: Rod feels underappreciated, Mephisto has become rebellious, Womp has been fired for incompetence and Panda has fallen for a mimeMimeThe word mime is used to refer to a mime artist who uses a theatrical medium or performance art involving the acting out of a story through body motions without use of speech.Mime may also refer to:* Mime, an alternative word for lip sync...
. Steve's brutal double-fisted rule seems to be slipping. - Rod Foxx (Bryan Moses) (or "the Hot Rod" as he sometimes calls himself) is the younger brother of Steve Foxx. It is said he attends a sporting institute, and lists his job as 'all-round athlete'. His main interests include physical activity and singingSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
. Although he does have a reasonable amount of sporting talent and can be successful on the dating scene, his ego knows no limits and he seems to be delusional. He has 'released' a single, entitled "I C U (Picture Perfect)", which details a man's (Rod's) obsession with a (presumably) under-age school girl as he stalksStalkingStalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
her and takes pictures of her changing and at the pool without her knowledge. Has a severe addiction to sexual harassment, resulting in him being shot, slashed and stabbed in that order. - Mephisto (Doug BayneDoug BayneDoug Bayne is known for his exploits in animation, acting and writing. He has been made famous through his work on ABC television, namely Fly TV, Double the Fist and recently with The Chaser's War on Everything and triple j tv....
) (aka James Wenham) may or may not have been a security guardSecurity guardA security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
at one time or another, but it is certain that he did take a three week training course in security guarding, and has retained some of the knowledge from that course. According to the Double the Fist website, he is on the run from multiple taxTaxTo tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
ation agencies. He was at one time temporarily possessed by an AztecAztecThe Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
demigod, and at another time the leader of the an army of medieval re-enactors. It would be safe to say that Mephisto is of questionable sanity. (By safe, it is meant "probably true"; questioning Mephisto's sanity would likely land you in a position of danger if Mephisto found out). - The Womp (Tony WaltersTony WaltersAntony Walters is an Australian actor, film director, and cocreator of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television series Double the Fist....
) (aka Womp aka Christopher Bradley aka Olaf) used to have a day job performing backbreaking labour, and was also an amateur wrestler. However, a groin injury on the job forced him to give up his wrestling career. He was then offered, and accepted, a position on Double the Fist. The Womp is also mentally disabled, due to a brain injury when he was a child. Briefly grew antlers to indicate new found responsibility, but lost them next episode. - Tara (Hollie AndrewHollie AndrewHollie Andrew is an Australian actress.- Career :Andrew starred with Abbie Cornish and Sam Worthington in the AFI Award winning Somersault where Andrew herself was nominated for an AFI as best supporting actress in her role as Bianca in [2004]...
) is a vending machine assassin introduced in episode 10. She joined the Fist team after Steve destroyed the local council and captured the jar of tokens that control her, but she was effectively killed when the tokens were destroyed in Episode 13. Rod revived her by hotwiring her in Episode 16, and she met her end in the Great Battle. - Blue Womp is a cloneCloningCloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of Womp, with exactly identical physical features, although he is more self-centered and mean. He is so called because he wears blue in order to avoid confusion with the other Womp (who always wears orange). Savagely beaten by Steve for stepping too far out of line in episode 5, he returns in episode 8, now a whimpering wreck, where Steve makes him shoot himself with a cannon to prove he is sorry. - Tina T (Neridah Waters) is introduced in episode five, as a replacement for the missing-in-action Mephisto. She appears to be smarter than the rest of the team, but truthfully this is not saying much. She and Rod had a brief romance, which ended when Rod tried to grope her while he thought she was dead. After slicing Rod's spine open in the next episode, Tina seems to satisfied with her revenge and has not been seen or heard from since.
- Panda (Lawrence Carmichael) is just that - a person in a panda suit. The character is almost always referred to as female. She will often show up to provide opposition (such as in episodes three and five), but will sometimes help Steve out by moderating races or chasing down enemies. In series two, Panda falls in love with a mime, of which Steve disapproves. Panda is then accidentally killed in a trap set up by Steve in a botched attempt to force the mime (who was actually mute) to speak. It is revealed on the DVD's "How to Make Double the Fist" featurette that Craig Anderson usually plays Panda.
- Phillip Nugent First introduced in episode 2; Extreme Makeover. He is the mayor of Kanangra council and stops the fist team recording the show in Kanangra. Although this is the only episode he appears in, he is frequently mentioned and criticised in other episodes and also sends a letter complaining to the ABC about the Double the Fist show. On the Double the Fist website it is revealed that he is the cousin of the host of Town and Country.
Series one
Steve will set the Fist team a task. Completing this task will result in the presentation of the "Full Fist", which earns an individual respect amongst the 'extreme community'. The team may have to compete with each other, or may have to work together. Steve Foxx is the only person who can present a Full Fist. Characters die frequently, sometimes several times an episode. Footage of the team attempting the task is interspersed with various recurring segments.| Segment | Structure |
|---|---|
| Letter of the Weak | Steve reads out a letter he received during the week, and answers. All the letters in this segment are false. Steve is usually quite mean - most responses end with Steve yelling "You make me sick!" or "Don't ever watch this show again!" |
| Mephisto Knows | Mephisto gives an editorial on whatever takes his fancy. Athletes, vegetarians and anti-marketers all come in for a serving. Mephisto is perhaps at his most unhinged during these segments. In the final episode, it is revealed that Mephisto is possibly gay due to his preparing to do an angry Mephisto Knows rave about heterosexualism Heterosexuality Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";... , but this is never brought up again. |
| Fistory | The Womp presents what he considers to be fistworthy figures in world history. He often nominates bizarre choices, such as the iceberg that sunk the Titanic. Although there is only one Fistory during the show, the DVD contains numerous other ones that were cut for reasons of time, and because all except the one aired, few were actually humorous (The Chinese get Full Fist for making long trips deliverying rice). |
| Rod sporting clips | Although they have no collective name, there are numerous demonstrations of Rod's sporting prowess, including Fist Pong (ping pong with an insane amount of balls). |
| What Was Weak? | Reversed footage of Panda smashing something with a cricket bat. The viewer has five seconds to guess from the rubble what it was that Panda destroyed. Items include a garden gnome and an ostrich egg. |
| How Low Will You Go? | Steve hits the streets of Australia to find how little money people need to be offered to do something disgusting. He will set out the challenge (such as drinking water drained from rubbish bins or eating five jars of mayonnaise in under an hour) and take bids. The person with the lowest bid can attempt the challenge, and if they succeed they get the money. Note that these segments feature genuine passers-by, unlike the scripted pieces which make up the rest of the show. |
Series two
Series 2 differs from Series 1 in that it follows a single storyline, which is usually affected by continuity. Each episode contains a separate part of Steve's plan, and a new award, the 'Man of Fist', is presented to the most fistworthy team member each week. In the eye of the public it is often seen as disliked when compared to season one.However, the second series featured a indept storyline (possibly added to increase the shows praise), and vastly improved digital effects. Some minor aspects which were made in or changed in Season 2 included Rod's appearance being made more memorable by a mullet adorened with lightning bolts shaved into the sides of his head. Steve is vastly less tolerant to any sign of weakness expressed by his team (possibly due to their failure in Episode 7), often physically abusing them for no reason at all, and losing his apparent ability to appear anywhere to commentate on the team's progress. Kanangra is no longer a factor, but is mentioned in Episode 2 to show Steve's familiarity with councils. The characters were seen talking more, hence we learn that Womp is mostly disliked, Rod and Mephisto have a minor friendship. We also learn that Steve is not the creator of Fistworthiness, having learned it from ancient monks. However, we also learn that Steve was displeased with the peaceful use of Fistworthiness and changed it into his violent version (which is nonetheless proved to be less powerful).
History
The four men who play the central characters have a long history. Anderson, Moses and Walters met at the University of Western SydneyUniversity of Western Sydney
The University of Western Sydney, also known as UWS, is a multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
- Anderson and Walters 'performing absurdist theatre' and Moses making amateur films. The three teamed up to make a short film entitled Life in a Datsun which won the best comedy award at the 1999 Tropfest
Tropfest
Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival.Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people in a cafe in Sydney but has since become the largest platform for short films in the world. Tropfest Australia takes place in February each year in front of a live audience of approximately...
film festival. It was here they met Bayne, who caught their eye with his computer-generated effects
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
and his 30-second film called God Saves the Titanic. The four men then made Video Dare, a spoof reality show for SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
, which received 100 complaints. From 2002 to 2003, the team, minus Anderson who was lecturing at the time, made Saturday Morning Fly, a kids music/comedy program for the ABC. Their work on Video Dare and Saturday Morning Fly
Fly TV
Fly TV was an ABC Television channel available to viewers of digital terrestrial television in Australia. The channel featured programming aimed towards teenagers and young adults. It was launched nationally on 1 November 2001, and aired alongside the children's-oriented ABC Kids Channel, which...
allowed the team to perfect their use of special effects and the pilot for Double the Fist was soon made. It was eventually picked up by the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's head of arts and entertainment, Courtney Gibson, and an eight-part series was approved.
The ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
was divided over whether or not to produce a second series. In March 2006, after a number of attempts by the creators and support from fans via an online petition, the ABC commissioned a second series. Series 2 began on 14 August 2008.
Awards
In 2004, Double the Fist caused some controversy when it won an AFIAustralian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
award in the category of Best Television Comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
- Sit-com or Sketch
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
. According to "From Nobodies to Nobodies," a DVD Documentary on Series One, Volume Two, which chronicles the history of the show and its creators up to that point, the main reaction from the general media and public regarding their achievement of the award, ranged from disappointment to down right disgust for some.
One of the main reasons for the outbursts was that amongst the nominees of the 2004 awards was the more prominent Australian comedy Kath & Kim
Kath & Kim
Kath & Kim is a Logie Award-winning character-driven Australian television situation comedy series. The series was created by, and is written by Jane Turner and Gina Riley who play the title characters: a suburban mother and daughter with a dysfunctional relationship...
. Compared to that series, Double the Fist was not as well known and the comedy was deemed by the casual observer as something more akin to the American show Jackass
Jackass (TV series)
jackass is an American reality series, originally shown on MTV from 2000 to 2002, featuring people performing various dangerous, crude, ridiculous, self-injuring stunts and pranks...
. During a press conference after the ceremony, the boys from the show were asked only one question which was about how it felt to beat Kath & Kim. The following day, many newspaper columnists printed their disgust that such a purile and juvenile show had been selected by the AFI over the more popular Kath & Kim with one describing it as "the unfunniest joke of the night".
This is a feat however, that the Double the Fist team continues to relish, given that an extra on the Series One, Volume Two contains instructions on how to make a Double the Fist Box Set using the inside cover of Volume Two and a Kath & Kim Box Set, where one of the instructions involved using a block splitter to destroy the contents of the Kath & Kim Box Set (namely the DVD and the DVD slips) and burning them so they could never be seen again.
Website
Craig AndersonCraig Anderson (actor)
Craig Anderson is an Australian writer and actor best known for his comedic turns in the Australian Feature film Bootmen, the television series Double the Fist, and award winning short films Life in a Datsun, Demon Datsun, Life in a Volkswagen...
and Doug Bayne
Doug Bayne
Doug Bayne is known for his exploits in animation, acting and writing. He has been made famous through his work on ABC television, namely Fly TV, Double the Fist and recently with The Chaser's War on Everything and triple j tv....
are currently working on a new interactive "Double The Fist" website, which will feature weekly content, tricks and games, and a Steve Foxx blog. The site is currently up and running, although some of the promised features have yet to be completed.
Merchandise
On 14 July 2004, the Double The Fist Volume 1' DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released in Australia, which contains episodes 1-4 as well as special features including a documentary called "How to Make Double the Fist", deleted scenes, and a 'photo gallery'. A book was also released that year. On 8 June 2006, the Double The Fist Volume 2 DVD was released, which contains episodes 5-8 and also contains more special features and a never before seen episode.
External links
- Official website
- Series 1 ABC website
- IMDB entry
- Double the Fist entry at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- Article about the series
- DVD cheat
- Double the Fist wiki
- Double The Fist View Online full