Fonejacker

Did You Know?

• A "Fonejacker Series 1 and 2" box set was released on the same date as the Series 2 DVD.
• Novak plans to create a film based on the show's characters and is in talks with Film4 and Hat Trick Productions.

Synopsis

The comedy series centers on a masked prank caller, Kayvan Novak, who contacts unsuspecting members of the public in different characters to confuse or irritate them. The audio is paired with on-screen visuals, such as still images of people with roughly animated moving mouths, or hidden camera footage of Novak calling a nearby business from a street location, often a public phone booth or a rickshaw. Occasionally, short filmed sketches with actors appear, for instance a bank robbery scene or one where men in hazmat suits remove a pigeon from a bank vault. Novak is consistently shown wearing a red and white balaclava (black in the pilot) and sunglasses; in a second series pilot, he wears a woolly hat marked with the initials G.P.R. and a black Mitre Premier League coat. While Novak’s own face is not seen as the Fonejacker, he appears as a model promoting items during Mr Doovdé’s calls. Every episode opens with a definition of “fonejack”—taking control of a phone conversation through farce—then Novak, as Mr Doovdé, calls Directory Enquiries from an American pay phone. The rooftop for the pre-title sequence is atop Guy’s Hospital in Central London. The first series’ final episode shows that Novak does not tell every victim the call was a prank; two separate victims later contacted him again, reporting calls. This suggests not all pranks are aired, since those people had not appeared in earlier episodes.

Broadcast

The show began as a pilot for Comedy Lab in 2006. After popularity, it was given a six-part series in October 2006, initially intended for broadcast on E4 in April 2007. A Christmas special aired on 25 December 2006 titled Fonejacker's Christmas Message, a five-minute short version of the pilot. The end of the show displayed "Fonejacker: Coming April 2007 – Don't Pick Up The Phone." In March, a teaser trailer aired on Channel 4 and E4, but the show was put on hold and not aired in April. New trailers aired in June, and hours before the first broadcast, Novak called into Big Brother's Little Brother as Terry Tibbs. The first standalone series started on 5 July 2007, repeated on Channel 4 from 7 September 2007. A Christmas special aired on 20 December 2007, and a second series aired from 18 September to 22 October 2008.

Other appearances

Kayvan Novak had two interviews under the cover of his characters on Kerrang Radio, then spoke out of character. On 6 September 2008, he appeared on Sky Sports' Soccer AM. On 15 September 2008, he appeared on Kiss 100 radio. On 13 November 2008, he appeared on Channel 4's 8 out of 10 Cats. On 28 December 2008, as the Fonejacker wearing his balaclava, he provided a video answer on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. He rang into Big Brother's Little Brother in 2007 as Terry Tibbs. In 2010, Fonejacker took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala at the O2 Arena. On 6 May 2010, during Channel 4's Alternative Election Night, clips featuring his Sajnu character were made. As of June 17, 2021, Fonejacker returned as a podcast with new prank calls, featuring classic characters, with 8 episodes each running 10–14 minutes.

Characters

The show features many characters, some making multiple appearances. Mr Doovdé is a camel-riding aficionado of electrical goods who misinterprets initialisms as acronyms, pronouncing them as if they were words, such as 'Doovdé' for DVD, 'Poospé' for PSP, and 'USBÉ' for USB. He is oblivious to the confusion he causes. At the beginning of most episodes, he phones Directory Enquiries asking for places like 'Duhfs' (DFS) or 'Pük World' (PC World). As he speaks, Japanese, Indian or Bollywood-style adverts featuring Kayvan Novak appear on screen. He appears riding his camel in front of inner-city Jerusalem. On some occasions, he phones places to ask the name of a tune, singing it in an Arabian-sounding style. These segments use live action and hidden camera, unlike the animation used for directory enquiries calls.