Funky Squad
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Funky Squad (1995) was a short-lived Australian comedy television series which satirised '70s-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".
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.
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.
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[edit] Characters
The characters went by their aliases, with their "real names" displayed in the opening credits of the program. The "real names" were also satirical, poking fun at the names of actors who appeared US 70's cop shows.
[edit] "Stix": Joey Alvarez
- Played by Santo Cilauro
- Had a large afro; the comic relief guy.
[edit] "Grant": Blair Steele
- Played by Tim Ferguson
- The leader of the group; the cool guy.
[edit] "Poncho": Harvey Zdalka Jr
- 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.
[edit] "Cassie": Verity Svenson-Hart
- Played by Jane Kennedy (with blonde wig to look Scandinavian)
- The token female; the typical '70s feminist.
[edit] The Chief: Baldwin Scott
- Played by Barry Friedlander
- The tough cop who the Funky Squad reported to.
[edit] Production
The program was created and written by Australian comedians Santo Cilauro, Jane Kennedy, Tom Gleisner, and Rob Sitch of Frontline and The Late Show. Sitch was originally to star in the show but was replaced by Ferguson due to study commitments overseas.
The show was given a meagre production budget of $1,000 AUD 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 .
[edit] Quotes
From the radio series:
- Grant: "You've got to stop blaming yourself." Cassie: "I don't. I blame you."
[edit] External links
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Tim Ferguson: Case File (Fan site) "...$1000 budget for each episode... Stuckey would scavenge around in all of Melbourne's second hand stores. The Salvation Army was a big help to her..."
