Uncle Morty's Dub Shack
Encyclopedia
Uncle Morty's Dub Shack was a television series produced by the cable network ImaginAsian TV from 2004 through 2006. Written, directed by and starring Trevor Moore
and James Matison ("Jimbo") and also starring John Chou, Aladdin Ullah and Patrick T. McGowan, the show ran for two seasons, though there is conflicting information about how many total episodes were produced. Moore left his role as writer/director for the majority of the second season, but returned for on-camera roles.
The show centered around a ramshackle audio studio run by Matison's fictitious Uncle Morty (McGowan), a grouchy old man suffering from hearing loss. When Morty is assigned to create English dubbed versions of poorly made Asian B-movies without scripts or translations, he enlists Matison and his out-of-work friends (Moore, Chou and Ullah, all using their real first names) as voice actors. Each episode features approximately 12 minutes of original sitcom footage, intercut with 10 minutes of an Asian film with new and unrelated replacement dialogue of a humorous nature. The sitcom section frequently featured animated sequences.
After the show initially wrapped, several episodes were recut with different pairings between original segments and the movies featured. Films featured included Chinese kung-fu movies from the 1970s such as Fist of Fury
and Taoism Drunkard, as well as Bollywood films from the 90s such as Kyon
and Dand Nayak, plus a single Japanese film, Blowback 2: Love and Death.
and Mike Dobbins, actress Elaine Kwon, and punk band Peelander-Z
.
. Most compared the show to a faster-paced Mystery Science Theater 3000
.
Trevor Moore
Trevor Paul Moore is an American actor, comedian, writer, and director best known as a founding member of the New York City-based comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U' Know, who had their own sketch comedy series on IFC which ran for five seasons...
and James Matison ("Jimbo") and also starring John Chou, Aladdin Ullah and Patrick T. McGowan, the show ran for two seasons, though there is conflicting information about how many total episodes were produced. Moore left his role as writer/director for the majority of the second season, but returned for on-camera roles.
The show centered around a ramshackle audio studio run by Matison's fictitious Uncle Morty (McGowan), a grouchy old man suffering from hearing loss. When Morty is assigned to create English dubbed versions of poorly made Asian B-movies without scripts or translations, he enlists Matison and his out-of-work friends (Moore, Chou and Ullah, all using their real first names) as voice actors. Each episode features approximately 12 minutes of original sitcom footage, intercut with 10 minutes of an Asian film with new and unrelated replacement dialogue of a humorous nature. The sitcom section frequently featured animated sequences.
After the show initially wrapped, several episodes were recut with different pairings between original segments and the movies featured. Films featured included Chinese kung-fu movies from the 1970s such as Fist of Fury
Fist of Fury
Fist of Fury, formerly known as The Chinese Connection and The Iron Hand in the United States, is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Lo Wei. It starred Bruce Lee in his second major film after The Big Boss...
and Taoism Drunkard, as well as Bollywood films from the 90s such as Kyon
Kyon
is a fictional character, protagonist and narrator of the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series and the anime series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, voiced by Tomokazu Sugita in the original version of the anime, and Crispin Freeman in the English dubbed edition. The name Kyon is actually a...
and Dand Nayak, plus a single Japanese film, Blowback 2: Love and Death.
Guests
The show featured frequent guest stars, including comedians Master Lee, Aziz AnsariAziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
and Mike Dobbins, actress Elaine Kwon, and punk band Peelander-Z
Peelander-Z
Peelander-Z is a Japanese punk band based in New York City. They bill themselves as a "Japanese Action Comic Punk band hailing from the Z area of Planet Peelander"...
.
Reaction
ImaginAsian TV had limited coverage (restricted to a few major metropolitan areas), so the show remained largely unknown throughout its run. However, several major press outlets ran favorable reviews of the show, including the San Francisico Examiner and Salon.comSalon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
. Most compared the show to a faster-paced Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
.