Lester and Charlie
Lester & Charlie is a social satire/political satire web series created, produced, edited and directed by Jeff Bond and Richard Wooley. In each episode, the title characters attempt to resolve a person’s dilemma or address a socio-political issue by executing a misguided but well-intentioned scheme. Segments have appeared on CNN, Time and on Alan Colmes' blog Liberaland.[1][2][3][4] Each episode is purportedly produced on a US$20 budget and shot with a broken camcorder.[5]
In 2011, in collaboration with the Coffee Party USA, Lester and Charlie produced a series of videos marking the one-year anniversary of the controversial Citizens United decision by the United States Supreme Court.[6]
In May 2011, they appeared in character in the Bravo reality series Pregnant in Heels.[7]
Cast and locations
- Main Cast Member
- Guest Cast Member
- Location
| NAME |
INFORMATION |
| Lester |
as himself, a good-natured moron |
| Charlie |
as himself, another good-natured moron |
| Joe Biden |
in episode Vote! |
| Jim Knipfel |
in episode Blind Justice |
| Amani Toomer |
in episode Hail Mary Pass |
| Susan Wilson Solovic |
in episode Lester & Charlie: The Lost Episodes |
| Ron Corning |
in episode American Outrage |
| Bobby Rivers |
in episode Support Group |
| Murray Hill, Inc. |
in episode The Corporation That Ran for Congress |
| Anne Maxfield |
in episodes Painful Intercourse, Desperately Seeking Sanity and Support Group |
| Dr. Chris Caine |
in episode Meth Rats |
| Celia Howard |
in episode Mother |
| Rev. Joan Alevras |
in episode Mother |
| Mary Jones |
in episode The Overlooked Guild |
| Sister Karol Jackowski |
in episode Obama - Too Chill for the Spill? |
| The Real Housewives of New Jersey |
in episode Real Housewives Take on Gay Marriage |
| Moran’s Chelsea |
all episodes |
| Hunter College |
in episode Meth Rats |
|
Synopses
Season 1
- Premier Date: November, 2008
- End Date: September, 2009
| Title |
Log Line |
| The Bradley Effect: Inoculations |
Lester and Charlie take credit for the outcome of the 2008 Presidential Elections |
| Meth Rats |
Lester and Charlie help forgotten victims in the war against drug abuse |
| Taxi Driver |
Lester and Charlie do their part to bring tech support jobs back to the USA |
| Bailout Bandwagon |
Lester and Charlie figure out a way to help every citizen cure the bailout blues |
| Blind Justice |
Unable to stop a criminal, Lester and Charlie give a serial victim the ammunition he needs to fend for himself |
| Hail Mary Pass |
Lester and Charlie tackle the health care crisis |
| Painful Intercourse |
Lester and Charlie ponder dyspareunia, the disease that no one talks about |
| Mother |
Lester and Charlie come to the aid of a harried mother and daughter |
| Support Group |
Wives of investment bankers have their own support groups – but what are the husbands of investment bankers doing for support? |
| The Overlooked Guild |
Lester and Charlie are concerned about the fate of America’s favorite guild |
| Take That, GOP |
Lester and Charlie take on the impossible task of re-branding the Republican Party |
| Boycott Brigade |
Lester and Charlie invite 100,000 people to join them as they decide to stop paying their credit cards |
| Lester & Charlie: The Lost Episodes |
Lester and Charlie remember highlights of the last year with never-before-seen footage of their exploits |
Season 2
- Premier Date: November, 2009
- End Date: July, 2010
| Title |
Log Line |
| American Outrage |
Lester and Charlie set up a video hotline for angry Americans |
| Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell |
Lester and Charlie set out to discover why any form of communication gap is tolerated in the military |
| Last of the Last Straws |
If the right people moved to Canada, the rest of us wouldn't have to |
| Filibuster Fever |
It worked so well for the United States Senate that now it's taking to the streets |
| The Crush Video |
After United States v. Stevens and the Supreme Court's important ruling on free speech, Lester and Charlie show you how easy it is to make your own crush video. |
| Tea Party for Title II |
Tea Party candidate Rand Paul doesn't want the government telling private businesses they can't discriminate; Lester and Charlie invite business owners to fantasize about whom they'd like to keep outside. |
| Obama - Too Chill for the Spill? |
Lester and Charlie find a sensitivity coach to help Barack Obama deal with the BP oil spill |
| You're Soaking In It |
We all know we shouldn't be so dependent on oil, but do we know where to start? |
| Desperately Seeking Sanity |
Lester and Charlie have some tough questions for Republicans, but first they have to find out where they hide. |
| Going Postal |
Wall Street is hiring again, and the economic crisis could be in its last throes. Lester and Charlie are worried about the people whom a recovery might leave behind. |
Season 3
- Premier Date: August, 2010
- End Date: Ongoing
| Title |
Log Line |
| Real Housewives Take on Gay Marriage |
Lester and Charlie ask The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Why all this fuss about gay marriage? |
| Stop Making Sense |
With the Democrats suffering from an "enthusiasm gap", Lester and Charlie suggest taking a page out of the GOP playbook. |
| Vote! |
Lester and Charlie volunteer at a phone bank on the eve of the 2010 elections. |
| The Corporate Takeover of America: You Either Are a Corporation, or You're Owned by One! |
Lester and Charlie get a lesson from a new Congressman who supports Citizens United. |
| The Corporate Takeover of America: The Corporation That Ran for Congress |
Lester and Charlie's exclusive interview with Murray Hill, Inc.. |
| The Corporate Takeover of America: Profiles in Courage, Part 1 |
The government didn't see Heather as too big to fail until she became a corporation. |
| The Corporate Takeover of America: Profiles in Courage, Part 2 |
A little girl discovers that incorporation is the key to having a voice in American government. |
| The Corporate Takeover of America: Profiles in Courage, Part 3 |
Lester and Charlie visit a support group for corporations. |
| Don't Be a Sucker! |
Lester and Charlie find a history lesson for the people who want to "take our country back" in a vintage anti-racist propaganda film. |
| Concession Sessions |
As Democrats yearn for a stronger Obama, Lester and Charlie find surprising historical precedent for presidents making concessions to the opposition. |
| Gold4Cash? |
With the world economy on the brink, all those people who gave their gold to Cash4Gold may have realized that they want their gold back. |
Do It at Home, America!
Starting in 2009, Lester and Charlie have run a non-political sub-series, “Do It at Home, America!”, providing non-sensical tips on saving money in a tough economy.
- Premier Date: June, 2009
- End Date: Ongoing
| Title |
Log Line |
| Do It At Home, America! |
Lester and Charlie show Americans how to use their underemployment time making the luxuries that they simply used to buy. |
| Do It At Home, America: Marmaduke! |
Lester and Charlie demonstrate an easy way to stretch one's entertainment dollars. |
| Do It At Home, America: Light Beer! |
Lester and Charlie demonstrate a sure-fire way to make light beer at home. |
| Do It At Home, America: Dry Cleaning! |
Lester and Charlie demonstrate an easy way to do dry cleaning at home. |
| Do It At Home, America: Greeting Card! |
Lester and Charlie demonstrate an easy way make your own store-bought-looking greeting card. |
| Do It At Home, America: Google! |
Lester and Charlie demonstrate an easy way make your own search engine. |
| Do It At Home, America: Workout Video! |
Lester and Charlie find one element of health care that no one has to pay for - their own workout video. |
| Do It At Home, America: Coupon! |
Lester and Charlie demonstrate how easy it is to make your own coupon at home. |
| Do It At Home, America: Rapture |
With everyone worried about the predicted rapture on May 21, 2011, Lester and Charlie show you how to pack your own survival kit. |
| Do It At Home, America: Horoscope |
With the price of newspapers going up, Lester and Charlie show you how to recycle old horoscopes from the 1950s. |
| Do It At Home, America: Menthol Cigarettes |
Wondering how tobacco companies can afford to market cheap cigarettes in urban markets, Lester and Charlie turn to WikiLeaks for the secret recipe for menthol cigarettes. |
Lester & Charlie 2012: Meet the Candidates
Starting in 2011, Lester and Charlie rolled out introductions to the 2012 presidential candidates.
- Premier Date: September 2011
- End Date: Ongoing
| Title |
Log Line |
| Lester & Charlie 2012: What You Don't Know About Michele Bachmann |
Lester and Charlie investigate the origins of Michele Bachmann's inspiration. |
| Lester & Charlie 2012: The Obama Remix |
Lester and Charlie show how Obama's jobs speech could have been much simpler. |
| Lester & Charlie 2012: The Herman Cain Video You Haven't Seen |
Lester and Charlie discover that Herman Cain has had a long career in show business. |
| Lester & Charlie 2012: The Machine That Controls Rick Perry's Brain |
With the help of a little old man with a big machine, Lester & Charlie discover who's really behind Rick Perry. |
Creators
Jeff Bond, a formally trained actor, and Richard Wooley, a former executive of production in independent film,[8][9] joined forces as a writing team in 2001. They adapted (from book to screenplay) Elizabeth Fuller’s memoir, Me and Jezebel, about a chance encounter with Bette Davis, and Murdering Mr. Monti, the acclaimed children’s author Judith Viorst’s only adult fiction novel. They have developed television series with Showtime, Revolution Studios and Crossroads Television. Jeff Bond's most recent short story was published on McSweeney's Internet Tendency.[10]
See also
References
- ^ "CNN iReport". http://www.ireport.com/people/maxfolger. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "CNN". http://imagesource.cnn.com/imagesource/ViewAsset.action%3Bjsessionid=D53D8ED199591B565EBACDD6EF5FA970?viewAsset=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-INF%2Fpages%2Fbrowseaction%2FsearchResults.jsp&cnnId=05951959&searchResultsActionBeanClass=com.cnn.imagesource.action.search.BrowseActionBean&damId=5951959. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "Alan Colmes' Liberaland". http://www.alan.com/2009/08/21/how-to-rebrand-the-republican-party/. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "TIME.com". Time. January 9, 2010. http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2010/01/09/weekend-video-just-add-tang/. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "About The Lester & Charlie Show". http://bondwooley.wordpress.com/about/. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "Lester & Charlie Report on the Corporate-Person American Movement – Movement for the People". http://www.movementforthepeople.org/about-the-summit/corporate-persons/. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ Una LaMarche (May 11, 2011). "Pregnant in Heels Ep. 6: Bare Neigh-ked Lady". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/una-lamarche/ipregnant-in-heelsi-ep-6_b_860603.html. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
- ^ "The New York Times". http://movies.nytimes.com/person/1296409/Richard-Wooley. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "showbizdata.com". http://www.showbizdata.com/credits/1063457/Richard-Wooley. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ Jeff Bond (June 9, 2011). "Excerpts from my Novel, “Here's the Story of a Lovely Lady”". McSweeney's Internet Tendency. McSweeney's. http://www.mcsweeneys.net/authors/jeff-bond. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
External links