Zapped (TV series)

Zapped is a British television sitcom, set in both the real world and a fantasy world, with the majority of characters and stories wholly set in the latter. It stars James Buckley as Brian Weaver, a real world inhabitant who becomes trapped in Munty, a town in the fantasy world.[1]

Zapped
Written by	Dan Gaster Will Ing Paul Powell
Directed by	Dave Lambert
Starring	James Buckley Paul Kaye Sharon Rooney Kenneth Collard Louis Emerick Sally Phillips
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	15 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	30 to 40 minutes
Production company	Baby Cow Productions
Release
Original network	Dave
Picture format	HDTV 1080i
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	13 October 2016 – 21 November 2018
External links
Website

James Buckley announced during a live stream on 8 February 2019 that the show had been cancelled and he would not be making any more episodes.[2][3]

Plot

Brian is a temporary office worker in West London who takes delivery of a package addressed to someone in a place called Munty. He opens it, puts on the amulet within, and is teleported to the medieval setting of Munty. The three episodes of series one focus on his attempts to get back to the real world. He is not missed by his real world colleagues, who do not like him.

Setting

Munty is a place in a fantasy universe, where magic is a real force, but one closely controlled by a police state. The enforcers of the state are "fairies", who are the opposite of the traditional image of the fairy - they are big, burly, thuggish men.

The stories are mostly set in and around the town pub (The Jug and the Other Jug) and a nearby shop. They revolve around Brian's attempts to get home and his interactions with his newfound friends. Brian does not gel with his new surroundings and does not fit in, notably remaining in his real world clothes throughout.[4]

Cast and characters

Main characters

• James Buckley as Brian Weaver, the unwitting protagonist, and a former office worker from the real world who is now trapped in Munty.
• Louis Emerick as Herman, the landlord and only barkeep of a tavern in Munty named 'The Jug and The Other Jug' where most of the series takes place. Herman is a retired swordsman and veteran of the Mage Wars, and still keeps the heads of ogres and unicorns he killed on the walls of the tavern.
• Kenneth Collard as Steg Steggson, a half-giant half-dwarf Munty resident, and one of Herman's few regular patrons. Steg considers himself a 'champion of the people' and a force for progress and social justice, although the causes he regularly takes up are often ridiculous or inconsequential.
• Paul Kaye as Howell, a disgraced former grand wizard who now owns a magic emporium nearby to the tavern, which he frequerntly visits. Howell funds his substance abuse issues and alcoholism with various dodgy schemes.
• Sharon Rooney as Barbara, another tavern regular, is an apprentice soothsayer with an unrequited affection for Brian. A running joke is that her future predictions and prophecies often initially appear vastly incompetent, but actually turn out true in the end, although nobody realises.

Recurring and supporting characters

• Steve Coogan as Feffenhoffer a sadistic circus master.
• Phil Daniels as the Warden of the Pear Orchard.
• Kathryn Drysdale as Lorelei, a demifin.
• Tim FitzHigham as Fenton Breem, Munty's premier musician and playwright.
• Martin Glyn Murray as Greg.
• Ricky Grover as Hawthorn, a fairy.
• Miranda Hennessy as Effandra.
• Tim Key as Sextus.
• Guz Khan as Skylark, a fairy.
• Sylvester McCoy as The Protector.
• Sally Phillips as Slasher Morgan, a criminal who often deals with Howell.
• Jessica Ransom as Jess, a real world office worker.
• Rufus Hound as Kevlar.
• Richard Sandling as Springleaf, a fairy.
• Nina Wadia as the Judge.
• Tony Way as Chestnut, a fairy.
• Susan Wokoma as Rina.

Episodes

Series 1 (2016)

Episode	Title	Air date
1	"Mr Weaver"	13 October 2016
Instead of receiving a new phone charger in the mail, bored and unassuming office worker Brian Weaver (James Buckley) receives a magical artefact, the Amulet of Ortaramen. When Brian puts on the bracelet, he is teleported from London into its counterpart in a parallel dimension, a city called Munty where magic exists and fantasy creatures live along people. Brian falls in with a ragtag group of misfits who frequent 'The Jug and The Other Jug' tavern for survival in this strange new world, and also to obtain their help in getting back home. These include landlord Herman (Louis Emerick), drunk dwarf Steg (Kenneth Collard) and inept oracle Barbara (Sharon Rooney). However, getting home for Brian won't be easy as the amulet is also being sought after by some very burly and violent fairies in the employ of the dictator of Munty, 'The Protector'. Also, the original intended recipient of the amulet, the disgraced wizard Howell (Paul Kaye), has sold off the amulet to pay off a debt to criminal underworld boss Slasher Morgan (Sally Phillips).
2	"Mr Charisma"	20 October 2016
Brian tries to use a charisma potion to retrieve the amulet.
3	"Mr Wuffles"	27 October 2016
Brian is granted a wish which might enable him to get home.

[5]

Series 2 (2017)

On 12 April 2017, it was announced that Zapped has been renewed for a second series of six episodes, to be broadcast starting 12 October 2017.[6][7]

Episode	Title	Air date
1	"The Trial"	12 October 2017
Brian has been locked up and charged with starting the snail wars. Steg persuades him to opt for trial by combat against a terrifying warrior called Radnok.
2	"Magic Darts"	19 October 2017
Brian takes a magical crash course from Howell, Barbara loses her only soothsaying client and the Fairies become obsessed with darts.
3	"The Party"	26 October 2017
Brian heads to a trendy, exclusive new bar near Munty docks. He proves a hit with the bar's cool clientele, but are they what they seem?
4	"Pear Fair"	2 November 2017
It is Munty's famous Pear Fair and Brian and Steg get the easy job of guarding an albino pear tree.
5	"Showtime"	9 November 2017
Desperate to reach the City of a Thousand Towers before the Super Solstice, Brian ingratiates himself with a company of travelling players who are in town to perform the annual Munty Play.
6	"The Henge"	16 November 2017
The Super Solstice is Brian's last chance to get home.

[8]

Series 3 (2018)

Episode	Title	Air date
1	"Circus"	17 October 2018
Brian is forced to perform in a travelling circus, run by the sadistic Feffenhoffer.
2	"Chef"	24 October 2018
3	"Popcorn"	31 October 2018
Brian introduces popcorn to Munty.
4	"Barrel"	7 November 2018
When Brian collects the wrong barrel from the docks, a hostage situation develops in The Jug And The Other Jug.
5	"Book"	14 November 2018
6	"Amulet"	21 November 2018

References

1. "Dave: Zapped".
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0X2bJcEzJw
3. "Zapped cancelled after three series". British Comedy Guide. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
4. "Zapped 1.1".
5. "British Comedy Guide: Zapped".
6. "When Does Zapped Series 2 Start?".
7. "Dave Twitter account". Twitter. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
8. "IMDb: Zapped".

External links

• Zapped at IMDb
• Zapped at British Comedy Guide
• Zapped at epguides.com