Tiki Bar

One of the pioneers in the video podcasting arena, Tiki Bar TV was a hit because it followed a simple formula: The Doctor Tiki (Jeff McPherson), mixologist Johnny Johnny (Kevin Gamble), and the beautiful Lala, (Lara Doucette) encounter a situation at the Tiki Bar that is only remedied by a specific Tiki drink prescribed by Doctor Tiki. Each episode usually ended with the cast DWI (Dancing while Intoxicated) and episode outtakes.

Taped in Vancouver, the hysterical and mostly ad-libbed comedy is served up brilliantly by McPeherson's dry sense of humor, Gamble's animated mugging and enthusiasm, and Lala's unabashed enjoyment of it all. Aside from demonstrating how to make the drink each week, the cast actually drank them, getting more and more looped as the show progresses, resulting in most of the show's funniest outtakes. (In addition to showing the bloopers and alternate lines at the end of an episode, many of them, along with multiple retakes, were left right in the episode.)

The show was also responsible for the creation of Drinkbot (a robot bartender invented by Lala and who had to combat the evil Robot Box in a spoof of Japanese monster movies), The Ambassador (a Russian communist who tried to steal and copy the success of Tiki bar TV), and an assortment of other characters and threats.

Perhaps TBT's greatest legacy will be "Bunnies", a semi-coherent drinking game in which the nominal rules become harder and harder to follow the more you drink. (Wait, isn't that true of ANY drinking game?)The game still has its devoted fans.

Even though the show took place in an apartment, the cast often staged elaborate low-budget sets to allow them to visit other places, such as the city, the amazon jungle, Russia, and eventually, a pirate ship, as the Tiki Bar left the apartment and took to the waves in what turned into its final season, literally demonstrating the phrase "jumping the shark".

The show also spawned a fan club with membership cards, numerous articles of merchandise (such as Drinkbot decanters and Bunnies glasses) and a DVD. There are many loyal fans who had hoped for one more return visit to the Tiki Bar, but the cast has apparently moved on to more "respectable" careers, and have even sold off pieces of the set.

The Season 2 and 3 episodes, each about 5 minutes long, are classics and should be mandatory watching for anyone who wants to know the right way to do a video podcast.

Hmm. Maybe that's Altoids. Tiki Bar TV is very refreshing and it tastes great. I downloaded the series to my iPod in late 2010 having completely missed out on their introduction to the rest of the world via some company called "Apple" (I know, weird, right?).

The 40+ episodes are all little works of art served up by the three regulars and the ever-changing special guests who wander in and out. I ended up watching the entire run three times in a row and then I started to creep myself out a little and I had to delete it from my play list.

Imagine Gilligan's Island with booze (and if it had actually been good) and if Ginger and MaryAnn had been combined into one woman. (and without those annoying Howells).

It's clear that the cast and crew had a great time -- and I hope with all my heart -- that they actually were as hammered as they appeared to be in nearly every episode.

One of the all time greatest podcasts ever! I hope we see more from the gang at Tiki Bar TV. Just great original material from a group that seemed to have a really good time with what they were doing. They even got a mention from Steve Jobs during at Apple keynote address. They showed us what the "New Media" could be about. You did not need big budgets or big studios to create entertainment on a professional scale. My personal favorite episodes featured Mr. Ambassador, the Russian spy. The real break out character on the show was Lala. Her performance in "The Play" was outstanding. Tip, tip, hooray! Tiki Bar! You will always have a spot in my iTunes where you'll live forever, unless my hard drive crashes again and it too much bother to download it all for the third time.

Steve Jobs used this series in his keynote and the Space Cadets were rocketed into Margaritaville! After all of the initial Hullabulloo cleared, with the help of the London Fogcutter, the Play about the......

Okay, I can't keep that up, but in all seriousness. Tiki Bar TV was and is a landmark in the Web TV world. Without it, I honestly think that web series' wouldn't be as advanced as they were.

Also, it's damn funny.

Thanks to the improv styling of the cast, jokes come from nowhere and land in an even more random place. Congratulations to Tiki Bar TV for it's long Maiden Voyage. May regular cruises begin again shortly.