"F" This and "F" That!

Viewer discretion advised: This post strictly not for the easily offended.

As the story goes, when director Ridley Scott was preparing to make his Mogadishu masterpiece Black Hawk Down he decided to cast a then unheard of Australian in the role of Hoot, the tough-as-nails Delta Force commando. Scott saw Eric Bana's breakout performance as the self-aggrandizing underworld crusader Mark 'Chopper' Read in the film Chopper and immediately cast him without the need for a screen test, thinking 'this Chopper guy is just the kind of hard bastard I want to play Hoot.' But the Eric Bana who turned up on set wasn't what the director had been expecting. Regardless, Bana did the role proud and has been enjoying internation success ever since. On ya mate!

Who Ridley thought he'd cast:
(Chopper trailer)



The character Bana brought to the screen was too good to leave be, so comedy troupe The 3rd Degree kidnapped him for one of their more popular recurring sketches on The Ronnie Johns Good Times Campfire Jamboree Half Hour Show, Now on Television.

(*gasp* out of... *wheeze* ...breath...)

Heath Franklin's charicature of Bana's characterisation turned out to be just as riveting to watch. Like a shock-jock you can't bare to tune out because you're compelled to hear what inflammatory remark is up next.

The Ronnie Johns Half Hour (as it was often shortened to for ease of reference) was a half hour sketch comedy show that knew where the line of bad taste was drawn and didn't give a rat's arse about stepping over it. From sketches Dealing With Alcoholism to Giving The Sex Talk all the way to the infamous Jihad Joe Toy Commercial, nothing was off the table.

But what drew audiences was foul-mouthed Chopper. Each week Chopper would lecture us on a variety of subjects he was unfit to teach. Come to think of it, I doubt there's a single subject he is fit to teach. Oh, wait. Maybe: How To Breach Broadcasting Standards. . .

Since the title of this post is "F" This and "F" That I'm going to give you two doses. A warning to the uninitiated -- there will be "F" words aplenty.

First, Chopper teaches us the rules of the road:




And of course, the now immortal - Harden The F*ck Up!