MANIC MUNTY
Zapped’s back, and its creators reveal that the fantasy sitcom is expanding its horizons
“It’s the Rosencrantz And Guildenstern of Game Of Thrones, really,” says Dan Gaster, one of the trio of writers behind Dave’s fantasy sitcom Zapped.
“Yeah, while these epic battles are happening, back in the pub our lot are sitting there grouching about their shoes,” adds co-creator Paul Powell.
Zapped’s return is nigh, with a six-part series two after three episodes last year on Dave.
“That was effectively a pilot,” says Powell. “It’s a thing they’re doing on Dave,” continues Gaster. “They’re doing it with a sitcom called Porters, too. If they make a pilot and they don’t show it, it’s wasted money. But it’s hard for them to get viewers for a one-off.”
Zapped is the ultimate fish-out-of-water comedy, with photocopier-wrangling desk jockey Brian Weaver (former Inbetweener James Buckley) transported to the fantasy world of Munty. He’s no “chosen one”, though. He spends most of his time there in the pub moping about getting home to the barman, a giant dwarf, a shyster wizard (played brilliantly by former Westeros dweller Paul Kaye) and a lovesick fraudulent fortune teller. It’s not a parody show, though. You don’t need to know franchises like The Lord Of The Rings or Harry Potter to get the gags. Rather, it’s fantasy’s answer to Red Dwarf. “It’s not a pisstake,” says Gaster. “It’s actually the very opposite – affectionate and loving.” After the success of series one, Dave encouraged the creators “to be more ambitious”, according to the show’s third writer, Will Ing. This includes a load of new sets – including a blacksmith’s forge, a playhouse, a courthouse, sewers, restaurants, docks and tea rooms – and “a really nice city view of the whole of Munty,” says Powell. “In the first series we had no establishing shots between scenes because there wasn’t anything to show. We couldn’t pan to the exterior of the pub, because there wasn’t one.” There’s also more of an arc plot this time. “If you watch all six in the right order then you get a nice pay-off,” says Gaster. “They’re still standalone episodes,” expands Powell. “But with series two we’re trying not to make it, ‘This week, Brian’s plan to get home is by…’, you know? This time he’s developing a plan to get home that falls together at the end of episode five.” Ing adds, “At the same time we’ve got two assassins travelling across to Munty after Brian, and they all come together at the end of episode six.” There’s an impressive roster of guest stars too: “Yeah, we’ve got the commander of the Night’s Watch from Game Of Thrones – Ben “Dolorous Edd” Compton – playing a sort of pervy blacksmith. He’s brilliant,” says Powell. Others include Tim Key, Phil Daniels, Rufus Hound, Simon Day, and Sylvester McCoy as the boss of the Fairies – who in this show are like the SS. The trio also promise a baby giant lizard (created by Doctor Who monster makers Millennium FX) in a tender story about parenthood, some glowing pears, a trial and a play written by Brian that may have some familiar elements. “All we’ll say is, look out for the non-copyright-infringing light sticks,” teases Gaster.
Zapped returns to Dave from 12 October.