Double the Fist is an Australian satirical television show which airs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It follows the misadventures of four men and their pursuit of "fist-worthiness": host Steve Foxx (Craig Anderson), and his three offsiders; Rod Foxx (Bryan Moses), Mephisto (Doug Bayne), and The Womp (Tony Walters). The series has also been broadcast in the United Kingdom (Ftn), Canada (BBCK),[1] Spain (Buzz),[2] New Zealand (TV2)[3] and Brazil.
The show parodies many things about popular culture, primarily being a spoof of shows such as Jackass; whereas they perform stunts designed to injure and/or humiliate an individual, the Fist team do things that would kill them. Such as jumping off cliffs, being hit by trucks, getting shot in the head, etc. These dangerous stunts and outlandish actions are usually achieved with the use of computer-generated imagery. One of the most innovative and noteworthy features of Double the Fist is its extensive and imaginative use of CGI, especially considering that the programme was produced for a very low budget, even by Australian standards ($250,000 for all 8 episodes).
Steve will set the Fist team a task. Completing this task will result in the presentation of the "Full Fist", which earns an individual respect amongst the 'extreme community'. The team may have to compete with each other or may have to work together. Steve Foxx is the only person who can present a Full Fist. Characters die frequently, sometimes several times in an episode. Footage of the team attempting the task is interspersed with various recurring segments.
Series 2 differs from Series 1 in that it follows a single storyline, which is usually affected by continuity. Each episode contains a separate part of Steve's plan, and a new award, the 'Man of Fist', is presented to the most fistworthy team member each week. In the eye of the public, it is often seen as disliked when compared to season one.
However, the second series featured an in-depth storyline (possibly added to increase the show's praise), and vastly improved digital effects. Some minor aspects that were made in or changed in Season 2 included Rod's appearance being made more memorable by a mullet adorned with lightning bolts shaved into the sides of his head. Steve is vastly less tolerant of any sign of weakness expressed by his team (possibly due to their failure in Episode 7), often physically abusing them for no reason at all, and losing his apparent ability to appear anywhere to commentate on the team's progress. Kanangra is no longer a factor but is mentioned in Episode 2 to show Steve's familiarity with councils. The characters were seen talking more, hence we learn that Womp is mostly disliked, and Rod and Mephisto have a minor friendship. We also learn that Steve is not the creator of Fistworthiness, having learned it from ancient monks. However, we also learn that Steve was displeased with the peaceful use of Fistworthiness and changed it into his violent version (which nonetheless proved to be less powerful).
The four men who play the central characters have a long history. Anderson, Moses, and Walters met at the University of Western Sydney - Anderson and Walters 'performing absurdist theatre' and Moses making amateur films. The three teamed up to make a short film entitled Life in a Datsun which won the best comedy award at the 1999 Tropfest film festival. It was here they met Bayne, who caught their eye with his computer-generated effects and his 30-second film called God Saves the Titanic. The four men then made Video Dare, a spoof reality show for SBS, which received 100 complaints. From 2002 to 2003, the team, minus Anderson who was lecturing at the time, made Saturday Morning Fly, a kid's music/comedy program for ABC. Their work on Video Dare and Saturday Morning Fly allowed the team to perfect their use of special effects and the pilot for Double the Fist was soon made. It was eventually picked up by the ABC's head of arts and entertainment, Courtney Gibson, and an eight-part series was approved.
The ABC was divided over whether or not to produce a second series. In March 2006, after several attempts by the creators and support from fans via an online petition, the ABC commissioned a second series. Series 2 began on 14 August 2008.
In 2004, Double the Fist caused some controversy when it won an AFI award in the category of Best Television Comedy- Sit-com or Sketch. According to "From Nobodies to Nobodies," a DVD documentary on Series One, Volume Two, which chronicles the history of the show and its creators up to that point, the main reaction from the general media and public regarding their achievement of the award, ranged from disappointment to downright disgust for some.
One of the main reasons for the outbursts was that amongst the nominees of the 2004 awards was the more prominent Australian comedy Kath & Kim. Compared to that series, Double the Fist was not as well known, and the comedy was deemed by the casual observer as something more akin to the American show Jackass. During a press conference after the ceremony, the boys from the show were asked only one question which was about how it felt to beat Kath & Kim. The following day, many newspaper columnists printed their disgust that such a puerile and juvenile show had been selected by the AFI over the more popular Kath & Kim with one describing it as "the unfunniest joke of the night".
This is, however, a feat the Double the Fist team continues to relish - an extra on the Series One, Volume Two DVD contains instructions on how to make a Double the Fist Box Set using the inside cover of Volume Two and a Kath & Kim Box Set, where one of the instructions involved using a block splitter to destroy the contents of the Kath & Kim Box Set (namely the DVD and the DVD slips) and burning them so they could never be seen again.
Special guest, James Paley appeared in several specials for the series in late 2009 which won him several Logie Award nominations.
Craig Anderson and Doug Bayne are currently working on a new interactive "Double The Fist" website,[8] which will feature weekly content, tricks and games, and a Steve Foxx blog.[9] The site is currently up and running, although some of the promised features have yet to be completed.[10] The site is no longer available.[8]
On 14 July 2004, the Double The Fist Volume 1 DVD was released in Australia, which contains episodes 1-4 as well as special features including a documentary called "How to Make Double the Fist", deleted scenes, and a 'photo gallery'. A book was also released that year. On 8 June 2006, the Double The Fist Volume 2 DVD was released, which contains episodes 5-8 and also contains more special features and a never-before-seen episode.