Web show Two Guys Drinking at a Bar might be short, but it’s anything but sweet. Or simple.
Episodes rarely pass the two-minute mark, include lengthy credits and are punctuated by one or two punch lines. The idea was to create an accessible format — a straight shot of two guys, boozing in a bar — as a running parody of conventional television shows.
There’s a method to the madness, and to understand it, show creator Mike J. Nichols says it’s best to start at the beginning.
"If you [only] watch the first episode, you won’t understand the direction it’s going," said Nichols, a professional film editor based in Los Angeles, in a phone interview Thursday. "There’s more to it than just the obvious."
Two Guys riffs on over-the-top, melodramatic television shows. Episodes three and four, dubbed "The Joke Initiative," exaggerate the style of climatic cliffhangers popular on J.J. Abrams’ show Lost. Episode 14 (embedded) spoofs Battlestar Galactica, from the dramatic score and fast-paced opening credits to the closing credits’ goofy gore.
Nichols also plants Easter eggs within the show for eagle-eyed viewers to catch — like phone numbers and e-mail addresses so fans can reach the characters.
It’s not the first time Nichols has tried his hand at clever editing: In 2001, he famously re-spliced Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, removing clumsy dialogue, CGI characters and backdrops to create his own "director’s cut" called The Phantom Edit.
Nichols says he first came up with the idea for Two Guys after writing a script for a television series. Rather than exhaust his own resources to create a pilot, he developed and self-funded the mini spinoff to showcase his talent and writing ability. Nichols roped in comedy veterans Kevin Farley and Paul Preston to star in his ultra-short shorts, bought some equipment and shot more than 20 episodes in two hours.
New episodes of Two Guys Drinking at a Bar come out every three or four weeks; the next installment is slated to drop this week. The web show is available on YouTube and iTunes.
[via Darth Mojo]
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