The Edwin J. Hill Social Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Edwin J. Hill Social Club | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Format | comedy |
| Created by | George Bailey Drew Brigner |
| Starring | Drew Brigner George Bailey |
| Opening theme | All I Need Is A Miracle By Mike + The Mechanics |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Nathan Zoebl Ben Bailey |
| Camera setup | single-camera |
| Running time | 24 mins (approx) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original run | July 2005 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
The Edwin J. Hill Social Club is an amateur comedic sitcom intended to air on the now defunct Columbus, Ohio public access station, Community 21. The show is the brainchild of long-standing friends Drew Brigner and George Bailey who had kicked around the idea of a TV show for years. Production began in the summer of 2005 when Nathan Zoebl was invited to contribute creatively. Following this addition, 14 total episodes of The Edwin J. Hill Social Club have been filmed and completed, each lasting from 21 to 29 minutes long. All episodes can currently be seen on Myspace and Youtube.
Contents |
[edit] Origin
After graduating from Capital University, Bailey had written three episodes of material with Brigner. In June of 2005, they asked fellow Capital alum Zoebl about joining forces and contributing to the show. The format involved two roommates, Brigner and Bailey as themselves, and focused on strange incidents they would deal with on a normal basis, like encounters with aliens, serial killers, and mustache-bearing doppelgangers. The name itself refers to a portrait of a man known as Edwin J. Hill that Bailey found sitting in his neighbor's trash. The Edwin J. Hill Social Club became a name for Bailey's home. Nothing is really known about the figure except that he is believed to be unrelated to another Edwin J. Hill (1894-1941) who was killed during the Pearl Harbor attack. Every episode ends with a production company card, consisting of the portrait, and Edwin's words of wisdom as summation for the episode.
The local production has a budget of zero and is primarily filmed at The Edwin J. Hill Social Club or its nearby surroundings in central Ohio. Bailey, Brigner, and Zoebl are the writers, with Zoebl serving as the show's director and Bailey serving as editor. The show's supporting cast consists usually of friends and family of the show's creators. Each episode opens an unrelated segment that generally is tied back into the story by the show's conclusion, though openings have been scraped for episodes that run long. Running themes include George's dating habits and Drew fighting zombies that everyone else fails to notice. Every episode ends with credits containing bloopers, outtakes, or deleted scenes and most episodes contain credits with pictures of the actors, including a fake one.
From July 2005 to May 2006, seven episodes were completed, mostly seen by word of mouth and tape sharing. With no public access channel in the area, alternative means have been sought for the show to be seen. In late May 2006, the independently-owned movie theater Studio 35 hosted a public screening in Columbus of four episodes, including the premier of the episode "Versa Vice."
For the second season, Ben Bailey, George's younger brother, was added as a writer and executive producer.
[edit] The Demise Of Columbus Public Access
Bailey had dabbled with local TV productions before while in high school, being one half of the creative unit behind Too Nutz. This public access show aired on ACTV/Community 21 from 1999-2000. The Columbus station won the "Best Public Access" award from the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers. The station had several long running shows, like Vast Wasteland, a casual talk show that aired from 1989-1999 that usually revolved around pop culture discussions. The station also had several recognizable personalities, including Angsto the Clown (a.k.a. Howard Luken), Squirtman, The Four Fools and Damon Zex, who was notorious for a segment of his TV show where he ate the soiled tampon of his girlfriend, The Black Witch. Their notoriety got Zex, the Black Witch and Howard Luken booked as guests on the Judge Joe Brown show, the Jerry Springer show and the Sally Jesse Raphael show which threw them off the stage when it became apparent Zex had appeared on a previous Geraldo Rivera show. The trio attempted to get on the Howard Stern radio program but were out-freaked by a group of human mutations who arrived at the same time. One of the mutants was the giant who appeared in The Devil's Rejects. Luken had sued the station for half a million dollars in 1995, on the grounds that ACTV 21 practiced prior restraint and violated his First Amendment rights after the station rejected one of his programs on the grounds that is was legally obscene. ACTV-21 had sued Luken first in Federal court but the station was thrown out of court with the judge's statement that they had made a "disorderly rush" to sue and that there was no case. The station management and board still refused to air the program, so Luken sued in local county court in case Luken v. City of Columbus. The station then transferred it back to Federal court where it languished until 1999. Legal obscenity is a criminal count but the case was civil. Nobody in Columbus knew what to do with the judgment. Luken remained producing programs at the station and even re-aired the banned program later. The City Council, embarrassed by the entire situation, cut funding for the station and later canceled a Request for Proposals to award a new contract when it became apparent a non-profit organized by Luken had the winning proposal backed by $250,000 in funding. The original management and board of ACTV-21 had refused the cut in funding and the second bidder was exposed as being a sweetheart deal closely associated with Mayor Michael Coleman. The station went off the air in 2000 when the City canceled public access altogether. Instead of locally produced programming, the channel is now a community bulletin board. This background helped Bailey aspire for another public access TV show.
[edit] Characters
Main Cast
George Bailey - George
Drew Brigner - Drew
Guest Stars and Recurring Characters
Darrin Alexander - Voice Of KITT [13]
Aris - News Reporter Sandie Conrad [13]
Ben Bailey - Nervous Roommate [5]/Commie Spy [8]/Barry Tarberry [10]/Zombie [13]
John Bailey - God [2, 4, 14]/Old Coot [5]
Jamie Barrow - Neighbor Ned [7]
Brad Brigner - Man On A Stoop [1]
Derek Brigner - Hot Karl [12]
Margaret Brigner - Mary Jane Honeypot [5]/"Old" Lady [10]
Josh Browning - Voice Of The Baio [6]
Kristina Butke - Natalia [14]
Bryan K. Davis - Landlady [11, 12]
Sarah Edwards - Susan Jane Smith [2]
George's Mom - George's Mom [3]
Dan Hille - Rapping Roommate [5]/Himself (archival footage) [10]
Amy Little Howell - Drunk Girl 2 [4]/Melanie [7]/Apple Tree [10]
Kiel Howell - Gus [11, 12]
Alex Johnson - Random Man [10]
Betsy Johnson - Garage Sale Lady [10]
Liz Langenhop - Drunk Girl 1 [4]
Leann - Zombie [2]/Drunk Girl 3 [4]/Dream Girl [6]
Karen Liddy - Heather [2]
Sean P. Mette - Captain Black Jack Savage [10]
Eric Muller - Cameraman [4]/Harvey Mailman [9]
Schmoo Schmigner - Himself [5, 14]
Kelly Strand - Erica [13]
Bennett Whitaker - Nick Russo [12]
MacKenzie Wright - Hot Girl Oral Sex Professor [5]/Bree [7]
Nate Zoebl - Tech Support [1]/Robber [2]/Jerry [2]/Nate [5]/Doctor Future [9]/Hobo [11] /Dead Triplets [13]
[edit] Episode Descriptions
Season 1
Episode 1 - "Fade Into Kitchen"
Original completion: July 2005
Running time: 24 minutes
Written by George Bailey & Drew Brigner
Drew moves into the house with George. The duo plan on making the greatest public access show ever but get sidetracked during the writing process by encounters with God, tech support, drug dealers, and garbage men that will not take George's trash can as trash.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Writing is for little fairy boys."
Episode 2 - "Unrequited Love"
Original completion: July 2005
Running time: 25 minutes
Written by George Bailey & Drew Brigner
George must deal with a smitten co-worker who becomes a stalker, convinced George and her are a couple. She becomes unhinged, jealous, and violent. Meanwhile, Drew deals with the demands of being chosen to kill zombies and protect the innocent.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Why is it always the crazy bitches wanna hang off your nuts?"
Episode 3 - "All In The Family"
Original completion: August 2005
Running time: 21 minutes
Written by George Bailey & Drew Brigner
George takes offense with whom Drew is dating. This is because Drew is dating George's own mother. George devises an uncommon way of getting even.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Getting funk nasty with your mommy, that's bad ju-ju."
Episode 4 - "Spring Break Invasion"
Original completion: October 2005
Running time: 25 minutes
Written by Nate Zoebl, George Bailey & Drew Brigner
Drew seeks vengeance on George after an April Fool's day prank. He robs George of his mojo and makes him desensitized to nudity. A bus load of Girls Gone Wild spring breakers stops by looking for a place to party, but the girls are not what they seem.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Bitches will give you stitches"
Episode 5 - "Room For Let"
Original completion: January 2006
Running time: 26 minutes
Written by George Bailey, Nate Zoebl & Drew Brigner
George and Drew find a third roommate, Nate, who may or may not be the Meat Cleaver serial killer who butchers his victims to the tune of David Bowie's "Space Oddity".
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Roommates are good for only three things, and giving you syphilis is two of them."
Episode 6 - "How Georgie Got His Groove Back"
Original completion: February 2006
Running time: 27 minutes
Written by George Bailey & Drew Brigner
George looks to Internet dating to rebound in love and finds a woman he feels is his dream come true. Drew gains telekinetic powers after eating an old taco. Scott Baio enters as a "Deus-Sexy-Machina".
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Don't stick your dick in a fan."
Episode 7 - "Versa Vice"
Original completion: May 2006
Running time: 29 minutes
Written by George Bailey, Nate Zoebl & Drew Brigner
After watching several 1980s body swap movies, George and Drew awaken to find that they have switched bodies. Drew must now go on a date as George, and George must now fight zombies as Drew, and they both need to find time to return the movies by midnight.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "The only thing this daddy likes to swap is hot Asian mommies."
Season 2
Episode 8 - "Peas In A Pod"
Original completion: February 2007
Running time: 23 minutes
Written by George Bailey
Drew is replaced by a pod person version of himself bent on world domination. George fails to notice a change.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Vomit and fart jokes? This is what you waited nine months for? Edwin approves."
Episode 9 - "The Drew Zone"
Original completion: October 2007
Running time: 28 minutes
Written by Ben Bailey, George Bailey, Nate Zoebl & Drew Brigner
George runs over Drew with his car and is confined to house arrest with no alcohol. He gets a case of cabin fever while Drew wakes up to discover he has the ability to see the future and learns that someone intends to kill them both.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Put your pants back on!"
Episode 10 - "Time Banditos"
Original completion: October 2007
Running time: 28 minutes
Written by Nate Zoebl & George Bailey
Drew meets Captain Black Jack Savage, a ghost pirate from a cancelled 90's TV show. In the show the ghost had to save a life each episode and a total of 100 before he could get to heaven. Because the show was canceled after 8 episodes, he still has 92 to go. Drew decides to help his new ghost pal as they also discover they can travel through time with a unique cell phone.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Don’t take money, don’t take fame, don’t need no credit card to ride this train."
Episode 11 - "A Bindle Of Love"
Original completion: January 2008
Running time: 20 minutes
Written by George Bailey & Drew Brigner
George and Drew adopt a hobo named Gus and learn the ways of the hobo, which gets them kicked out of their home.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Here's a cliff-hanger for you, come back for part two and I'll tell you where to stick it."
Episode 12 - "The One With The Hobo Date"
Original completion: January 2008
Running time: 17 minutes
Written by George Bailey, Drew Brigner & Nate Zoebl
Part two of the epic hobo arc. The boys try and get Gus to go on a date with their landlady in order to get their home back.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "No matter how much you wiggle, no matter how much you shake, the last drop always ends up in your pants."
Episode 13 - "Welcome To Zombie Town; Population: Drew"
Original completion: April 2008
Running time: 26 minutes
Written by Drew Brigner, Ben Bailey, George Bailey & Nate Zoebl
George is bitten by a zombie and becomes one himself. Drew searches for a cure in George's talking car while trying to keep Zombie George away from others and his scheduled date.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Zombies ain't pretty but neither are half the women I wake up next to."
Episode 14 - "Pretty In Pinko"
Original completion: June 2008
Written by Ben Bailey
George's new girlfriend is really a communist spy, planning to dissect his brain. She also puts a wedge between his friendship with Drew, and Drew moves out onto the backyard.
Edwin J. Hill's Words of Wisdom: "Tache!"
[edit] Forthcoming Episodes
"Versa Vice 2: Vice Versa"
Written by Ben Bailey
During a sexual dry spell, George gets the idea that he has changed places with Drew again, meaning that Drew will get into romantic entanglements and he will get some amazing supernatural power.
"Oh, Boy"
Written by George Bailey
Drew gets a job as a janitor at a science lab and accidentally gets stuck in a time leaping machine, ala Quantum Leap. Now, with the help of a hologram version of George, he must find a way to get back, do some good, and try not to change the future too much.
"Breast Friends"
Written by Nathan Zoebl
George bets that if Drew got breast implants he could pass as Hilary Swank. Drew takes him up on the bet. Drew gets more in touch with his feminine side while George wrestles with his sudden attraction to a boobed-up Drew.
"Remember The Time We...Chin Stroke...Flashback"
Written by George Bailey
A clip show goes horribly wrong for George and Drew.
"The Final Countdown"
Written by George Bailey & Drew Brigner
George and Drew discover that their house is instrumental in stopping the apocalypse. The two must find an old nemesis of the devil to help save the world.
[edit] External links
"Capital grads create 'The Edwin J. Hill Social Club'" [1]
Timeline of ACTV/Community 21 [2]
M.J. Willow, of Vast Wasteland, about ACTV [3]
"Sick humor shows are threatened" [4]
"Media greenpeace at risk" [5]
Interview with Damon Zex [6]
Damon Zex personal website [7]
Angsto the Clown website [8]
Squirtman personal website [9]
