Carpool (web series)
| Carpool | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Talk show |
| Created by | Robert Llewellyn |
| Starring | Robert Llewellyn |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 106 (Excluding five 'special' episodes, and a trailer) (as of 9 July 2014) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 10-30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network |
www.llewtube.com iTunes YouTube |
| Original release | 9 January 2009 - present (Currently on hiatus) |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Carpool |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Carpool is a web series presented by English actor and comedian Robert Llewellyn. In each episode he interviews a guest while giving them a lift in an eco-friendly car (normally a Toyota Prius hybrid electric vehicle). The guests are often well-known British television personalities such as Jonathan Ross or Ade Edmondson. However, Llewellyn also interviews less-well-known figures as long as he feels that they will prove to be an interesting subject. The guests have also included Llewellyn's fellow Red Dwarf actors, Danny John Jules, Craig Charles, Chris Barrie and Hattie Hayridge (as well as Tony Hawks, Arthur Smith and Ruby Wax who all appeared in cameo roles in Red Dwarf, while Ed Bye, the show's producer/director, was the first person interviewed for the series). Llewellyn has also reunited with his Scrapheap Challenge co-hosts, Cathy Rogers and Lisa Rogers for interviews.
The show is filmed using small cameras mounted within the car. Llewellyn drives his guest to a destination of their choosing as they talk informally about a variety of subjects. As Llewellyn is driving for the majority of the time, it can be difficult to deal with technical problems especially interference from mobile phones. Occasionally, as in the Lisa Rogers episode, outside events such as being stopped by police interrupt the discussions.
The TV show, based on the web format, has been developed by RDF. Funded and sponsored by Toyota, Carpool was first broadcast on Dave on 4 November 2010.[1] The deal was planned by ZenithOptimedia, a leading media agency, and the deal brokered by newcast, the Branded Entertainment Division of ZenithOptimedia. Carpool has been shortlisted for best content partnership in Broadcast Awards.[2]
In an August 2011 update, Llewellyn announced that the show would stay as a web-exclusive and that no more made-for-TV episodes would be made. He also revealed the show would take a short hiatus, before a relaunch in the autumn.[3] The show briefly returned on 20 November 2011, with a "last of 2011" episode.[4] In a "special" released in July 2014, Llewellyn revealed he had starting shooting new episodes for release later in the year,[5] however, no new episodes have been added as of January 2016.
Episodes
Dave series guests
| Episode | Guests | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rufus Hound and Jason Manford[6] | 4 November 2010 |
| 2 | Arthur Smith and Chris Addison[6] | 11 November 2010 |
| 3 | Rob Brydon and Jeremy Hardy[6] | 18 November 2010 |
| 4 | Ross Noble and Stephen K Amos[6] | 25 November 2010 |
| 5 | Craig Charles and Paul Daniels[6] | 2 December 2010 |
| 6 | Jo Brand and Jason Byrne[7] | 5 January 2011 |
| 7 | David Baddiel and Tim Minchin[7] | 12 January 2011 |
| 8 | Phill Jupitus and Toby Williams[7] | 19 January 2011 |
| 9 | Tim Vine and Doon Mackichan[7] | 26 January 2011 |
| 10 | Jim Jefferies and Richard Herring[7] | 2 February 2011 |
Technical failures
Some shows were filmed, but due to technical failures, the episodes were never released. This is a list of them, along with the technical errors that occurred.[8]
- Helen Lederer – Out of focus picture and inaudible sound.[8]
- John Hegley – A "total sound fail".[8]
- Nick Carpenter – Camera batteries were flat. (Filmed on the Silverstone GP Track)[8]
- Cathy Rogers – Microphone failed halfway through, the first half was shown in her other episode
Commissioning
At London Film and Comic Con in July 2009, Danny John-Jules mentioned that RDF Productions (the production company behind Scrapheap Challenge) had commissioned Carpool for broadcast and that Llewellyn is re-shooting a number of episodes in high-definition video for broadcast.
On 30 June 2010, it was announced that new shows will appear on the UKTV channel, Dave, as well as still appearing online after broadcast and that the format of the show will remain unchanged.[9]
See also
Notes
- ↑ This is the release date of the original release. A second version was released on 26 January 2009 that fixes iPhone compatibility
- ↑ On 3 July a second version of this episode was released with the title "iPhone Jason Calacanis Carpool" and description "iPhone compatible version" the only differences are the video dimensions and the Total bitrates being smaller in the former and higher in the latter.
References
- ↑ "Twitter announcement of Carpool debut on Dave". 24 September 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
- ↑ "Broadcast Awards Shortlist". May 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ↑ "Update | Carpool". YouTube. 2011-08-05. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/bobbyllew/status/137942454698651648
- ↑ "Mark Thomas Carpool". YouTube. 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Carpool Line Up". Toyota. 4 November 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Dave official show site".
- 1 2 3 4 "Carpool Announcement". llewtube. 30 June 2010.
- ↑ Robinson, James (30 June 2010). "Dave commissions series based on Robert Llewellyn's web chatshow". The Guardian (London).