Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show
Encyclopedia
Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show is an internet
comedy
talk show
parody
starring a Japan
ese character called Kiko. The video series debuted on YouTube
in 2007 and was created by husband-and-wife team Greg Benson
and Kim Evey's production company, Mediocre Films. In spring 2008, a distribution deal with Sony Pictures resulted in 10 new episodes to premiere weekly on the company's C-Spot
YouTube channel and its Crackle
web video site. A second season premiered on C-Spot's channel on September 19, 2008.
venue,, the show's first online episode was uploaded to YouTube
on February 25, 2007. It was featured on the site, and quickly rose to viral video
status. As of May 28, 2007, it had over 1.4 million views on YouTube and had been featured on a wide variety of other sites. The episode was screened at the FanTasia Festival
on July 20, 2007, marking its Canadian premiere on screen.
David Spade
took particular interest in the fledgling series, promoting it on his show, The Showbiz Show with David Spade
. Pairing with Mediocre Films, they created an episode specifically for his show in which one of his co-workers is a guest on Kiko's show.
A second episode was uploaded on YouTube, but shortly taken off the site by the producers. A vlog
by Benson was quickly posted stating that new episodes would be coming, and negotiations were being made about the fate of the show. On May 10, 2007, a Kiko music video
excerpted from the original episode two and titled "JUICY!" was posted.
After considerable delays, a revised second episode was uploaded to YouTube on May 29, 2007. This episode was chosen as "YouTube Star of the Moment" by viewers of the Attack of the Show!
program on G4
for the week ending June 10, 2007; host Kevin Pereira
described the show as "a cross between Letterman
, Pee-Wee Herman
, Steve Irwin
, Emeril, and a Japanese schoolgirl on meth."
Ron Jeremy
, drew increased media attention around its April 4, 2008, debut, with Los Angeles Times
' Web Scout article titled "Sony's C-Spot: New Web comedy lineup surprisingly clean despite Ron Jeremy cameo."
Monsters and Critics
reported that same week that the series would be available on C-Spot via several channels of distributions, including AOL Video, Hulu, YouTube and Crackle, as well as through Verizon
's V Cast
and directly to Sony's Bravia
televisions. The same story indicated that additional episodes would have guest appearances by writer-actor Wil Wheaton
, actor-director Adam Arkin
, and actor-director Michael O'Keefe
; Arkin's episode — in which he played a bewildered mycologist
— was made available April 25, at which time C-Spot announced that Wheaton would appear in the May 16 episode. Wheaton would instead end up on the May 30th episode.
Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine show cannot currently be viewed on the Mediocre Films YouTube channel in the United Kingdom; the website citing "copyright restrictions".
Kiko usually leads the guests through a series of zany activities (which usually make the guest rather uncomfortable), which are usually interrupted by Kiko announcing, "Now it's time to spin the Wheel of Fun!" Kiko spins a wheel of a chicken, and when it lands on a space (containing unspecified Japanese characters) pointed to by the chicken's beak, she indicates yet another zany activity for the characters to participate in.
The show ends with the guest star appearing very uncomfortable/confused and Kiko announcing the end of the show as the credits roll.
, Evey was born in South Korea
and grew up in the United States
.
Additional regular characters include UniCow (Payman Benz) and Cownicorn (Sean Becker), hybrid cow
-unicorn
s; Panda (Michele Gregory), and Go-Go Dancer (Julie Wittner), who do not speak (though Go-Go Dancer can sing). Guest Rick Pope (Ryan Smith
) — which Kiko mispronounces as "Lick Poop," a mispronunciation that is transcribed on-screen — appeared in episodes 1, 4, 5, 13, 16, 18, and 22; several follow-up videos from Mediocre Films and distributed on C-Spot's YouTube channel are part of a series titled "Lick Poop's Video Diary", which purports to be Rick Pope's private vlog
, stolen, edited, and uploaded by UniCow.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
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...
talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
starring a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese character called Kiko. The video series debuted on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
in 2007 and was created by husband-and-wife team Greg Benson
Greg Benson
Greg Benson is an American comedian, actor, and director of short films. His production company, Mediocre Films, promotes its creations via YouTube and MySpace.-History:...
and Kim Evey's production company, Mediocre Films. In spring 2008, a distribution deal with Sony Pictures resulted in 10 new episodes to premiere weekly on the company's C-Spot
Crackle
Crackle is a digital network and studio, featuring commercially supported streaming video content in Flash Video format. It is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and its content consists primarily of Sony's library of films and television shows...
YouTube channel and its Crackle
Crackle
Crackle is a digital network and studio, featuring commercially supported streaming video content in Flash Video format. It is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and its content consists primarily of Sony's library of films and television shows...
web video site. A second season premiered on C-Spot's channel on September 19, 2008.
Independent episodes
Originally developed for a live improvImprovisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
venue,, the show's first online episode was uploaded to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on February 25, 2007. It was featured on the site, and quickly rose to viral video
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
status. As of May 28, 2007, it had over 1.4 million views on YouTube and had been featured on a wide variety of other sites. The episode was screened at the FanTasia Festival
Fantasia Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996...
on July 20, 2007, marking its Canadian premiere on screen.
David Spade
David Spade
David Wayne Spade is an American actor, comedian and television personality who first became famous in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 when he starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C.J...
took particular interest in the fledgling series, promoting it on his show, The Showbiz Show with David Spade
The Showbiz Show with David Spade
The Showbiz Show with David Spade was a weekly television program on Comedy Central that starred comedian David Spade. It is a comedic parody of celebrity news programs such as Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood...
. Pairing with Mediocre Films, they created an episode specifically for his show in which one of his co-workers is a guest on Kiko's show.
A second episode was uploaded on YouTube, but shortly taken off the site by the producers. A vlog
Vlog
Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging or vidding or vidblogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video, and is a form of Web television. Entries often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one take...
by Benson was quickly posted stating that new episodes would be coming, and negotiations were being made about the fate of the show. On May 10, 2007, a Kiko music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
excerpted from the original episode two and titled "JUICY!" was posted.
After considerable delays, a revised second episode was uploaded to YouTube on May 29, 2007. This episode was chosen as "YouTube Star of the Moment" by viewers of the Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show! is an American live television program shown weeknights on G4, G4 Canada and Fuel TV in Australia. The program is hosted by Kevin Pereira and Candace Bailey...
program on G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
for the week ending June 10, 2007; host Kevin Pereira
Kevin Pereira
Kevin Pereira is co-host of G4's Attack of the Show! .-Biography:While in high school, Pereira hosted Pointless Audio under the pseudonym Captain Immy...
described the show as "a cross between Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
, Pee-Wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his two television series and film series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that quickly led to an HBO special in 1981...
, Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
, Emeril, and a Japanese schoolgirl on meth."
Sony episodes
After a long hiatus, a third episode was finally uploaded to YouTube on March 28, 2008, in conjunction with the show's debut as part of C-Spot and Crackle. It was announced at that time that C-Spot would release 10 episodes, coming out on successive Fridays as part of an original-programming lineup of six programs. The fourth episode, featuring pornographic actorPornographic actor
A pornographic actor/actress or a porn star is a person who appears in pornographic film. Most actors appear nude in films...
Ron Jeremy
Ron Jeremy
Ronald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...
, drew increased media attention around its April 4, 2008, debut, with Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Monsters and Critics
Monsters and Critics
Monsters and Critics is a web-only entertainment/celebrity news and review publication with movie, DVD, video game, and music reviews, along with political commentary as well as coverage of world news, technology, sports, and science.- Background :...
reported that same week that the series would be available on C-Spot via several channels of distributions, including AOL Video, Hulu, YouTube and Crackle, as well as through Verizon
Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc. is a global broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average...
's V Cast
V CAST
V CAST is a 3G EV-DO network created by Verizon Wireless to deliver audio, video, and entertainment content. The typical download speed is between 800 kilobits and 1.4 megabits per second with burst speeds of up to 3.1 megabits per second...
and directly to Sony's Bravia
BRAVIA
BRAVIA is a Sony brand used to market its high-definition LCD televisions, projection TVs and front projectors and for the PlayStation 3 , along with its home cinema range under the sub-brand BRAVIA Theatre. The BRAVIA name is an acronym of "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture"...
televisions. The same story indicated that additional episodes would have guest appearances by writer-actor Wil Wheaton
Wil Wheaton
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...
, actor-director Adam Arkin
Adam Arkin
Adam Arkin is an American television, film and stage actor and director. He played the role of Aaron Shutt on Chicago Hope. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Tony as well as 3 primetime Emmys, 4 SAG Awards , and a DGA Award...
, and actor-director Michael O'Keefe
Michael O'Keefe
Michael Raymond O'Keefe is an American film and television actor.- Early life :O'Keefe was born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York, the oldest of seven children in a devoutly Roman Catholic Irish American family. His father was a law professor at Fordham University, as well as...
; Arkin's episode — in which he played a bewildered mycologist
Mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...
— was made available April 25, at which time C-Spot announced that Wheaton would appear in the May 16 episode. Wheaton would instead end up on the May 30th episode.
Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine show cannot currently be viewed on the Mediocre Films YouTube channel in the United Kingdom; the website citing "copyright restrictions".
Format
Episodes follow a fairly standard format: The episode begins with the theme song followed by Kiko introducing herself as the host and introducing the guest ("please for you to crap hands and cheering for..."), mispronouncing their name in an off-color fashion, and then bringing the guest star out from a side curtain. The guest attempts to correct Kiko's pronunciation, but Kiko continues mispronouncing the guest's name throughout the show (and subtitles reflect the mispronunciation, not the correct name).Kiko usually leads the guests through a series of zany activities (which usually make the guest rather uncomfortable), which are usually interrupted by Kiko announcing, "Now it's time to spin the Wheel of Fun!" Kiko spins a wheel of a chicken, and when it lands on a space (containing unspecified Japanese characters) pointed to by the chicken's beak, she indicates yet another zany activity for the characters to participate in.
The show ends with the guest star appearing very uncomfortable/confused and Kiko announcing the end of the show as the credits roll.
Recurring characters
Kiko is played by Evey, who also writes the series. While the character is JapaneseJapanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
, Evey was born in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and grew up in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Additional regular characters include UniCow (Payman Benz) and Cownicorn (Sean Becker), hybrid cow
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
-unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
s; Panda (Michele Gregory), and Go-Go Dancer (Julie Wittner), who do not speak (though Go-Go Dancer can sing). Guest Rick Pope (Ryan Smith
Ryan Smith (writer)
Ryan Smith is an American screenwriter and actor. He wrote 19 episodes of television's MADtv in the 2006-2007 season. As an actor, he made guest appearances on the program "Yes, Dear" and in the Mediocre Films shorts "Mating Season" and "Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show" . In June 2008, Smith...
) — which Kiko mispronounces as "Lick Poop," a mispronunciation that is transcribed on-screen — appeared in episodes 1, 4, 5, 13, 16, 18, and 22; several follow-up videos from Mediocre Films and distributed on C-Spot's YouTube channel are part of a series titled "Lick Poop's Video Diary", which purports to be Rick Pope's private vlog
Vlog
Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging or vidding or vidblogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video, and is a form of Web television. Entries often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one take...
, stolen, edited, and uploaded by UniCow.