Pizza (TV series)
Pizza/Fat Pizza (titled Fat Pizza: Back In Business from season six onwards) is an Australian comedy television series created by Paul Fenech. The series premiered on SBS on 24 April 2000 where it aired for its first five seasons between 2000 and 2007 before moving to 7mate for its sixth season in 2019. The series has a spin-off feature length movie, Fat Pizza, released in 2003, and a best-of highlights video and DVD that featured previously unreleased footage and a schoolies exposé, released in 2004. In addition to this, a theatre show entitled "Fat Pizza", starring several characters from the show, toured the Australian east coast. In 2014, the storyline of the series was combined with that of Housos to create the motion picture Fat Pizza vs. Housos. The film was shown in Australian cinemas from 27 November 2014.[2]
| Pizza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Fat Pizza: Back In Business (Season 6-present) |
| Genre | Comedy Off-color humor Slapstick Adventure |
| Created by | Paul Fenech[1] |
| Developed by | Paul Fenech Dave Webster |
| Starring | Cast of Pizza |
| Opening theme | "That's Amore" by Dean Martin (Seasons 1–4) "Subwoofa (in Him) MkII" by Kz5 (Season 6) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 49 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Paul Fenech[1] |
| Producer | Tanith Carroll[1] |
| Production locations |
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| Running time | 25-50 mins. approx. |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Picture format | PAL 4:3 (2000–2005) 576i 16:9 (2007-present) |
| Original release |
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| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Fat Pizza Swift and Shift Couriers Housos |
Through some ironic and self-conscious references, Pizza involves themes of ethnicity and stereotypes (similar to Acropolis Now), cars, sex, illicit drugs and violence to produce its dark humour. The television program is noted for its frequent cameo appearances of numerous Australian celebrities of all varieties, including actors, comedians, professional athletes and other public figures.
History and development
Pizza began in the early 1990s as a black-and-white short film entitled Pizza Man created by Paul Fenech, in which he starred as the eponymous pizza man. In 1995, the short film won third place in the Tropfest film festival.[3]
The subsequent television series Pizza is written and directed by Paul Fenech, who portrays the protagonist of the series, pizza deliveryman Pauly. In a few of the episodes, Pauly breaks the fourth wall and as Paul Fenech, the self-described "fil-um maker",[sic] presents featurettes that reveal the history of the series, often in a tongue-in-cheek or parody manner. It was first broadcast on the SBS network in 2000 until the fifth season in 2007. The half-hour program was part of the SBS Monday comedy slot, noted for its offbeat comedy shows including South Park and John Safran.
The Fat Pizza feature film was released in 2003[4] and the second Fat Pizza vs. Housos in 2014,[5][6] also featured characters from another Paul Fenech comedy series Housos.
In August 2019, it was announced the series would be returning for a new season on Seven Network’s multichannel 7mate, titled Fat Pizza: Back In Business.[7][8][9] The season premiered on 5 November 2019.[10] On 29 January 2020, it was announced that Fat Pizza: Back in Business had been renewed for another season.[11] The season renewal was officially confirmed at Seven’s Upfronts in October 2020, and will air sometime in 2021.[12]
Synopsis
In the series, long time pizza man Pauly, teaches new employee Sleek Paul Nakad that pizza delivery is dangerous. This fact is reiterated by a news report. The show focuses on the activities of Pauly and his fellow co-workers, as they deliver pizzas for "Fat Pizza", the Sydney-based pizzeria of Bobo Gigliotti, whose slogan is "they're big and they're cheesy".
Throughout the series, the dangers of pizza delivery are exemplified by encounters with aliens, killer kangaroos, bikies, bogans, petty criminals, muggers, drug dealers and/or addicts, dominatrices, celebrities, the CIA, ASIO, Australian Border Force, the Australian Tax Office, the New South Wales Police Force, the NRL, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Army, Arab and Asian terrorists, organised crime gangs and even evil Satanic forces that conspire to bring about the end of the world. In spite of this, the characters remain unfazed and unsurprised, and they persist in their dead-end, below-minimum-wage job, which pays A$2.00 per hour.
Cast
Fat Pizza employees (2000 - 2007)
- Paul Fenech as Pauly Falzoni – main protagonist, pizza delivery man, boxer, aspiring "fil-um maker", and (since the sixth season) the owner/manager of Fat Pizza. His favourite derogatory comment for people is "stooge", originating from a comment a teacher once made to him. Pauly has been one of Bobo's longest-serving employees at Fat Pizza and has provided Bobo with some good ideas over the years. During the 2005 series of Pizza, Pauly's parents, relatives, and Pauly were shown with a cousin named Luigi, who lives in Italy. In one episode, it is shown that Pauly's dad was a Maltese spy for British Intelligence and his mother was a Mexican woman whom Pauly's father had met on a boat from Hong Kong to Australia. Pauly's ethnic background consists of Maltese, Italian, and Spanish roots. He makes an appearance in Housos telling his cousin Franky that their uncle Fred has died. In the sixth season; after receiving a large payout from his injuries sustained from being hit with a "coward punch", Pauly reopens the shop and becomes the manager after Bobo is imprisoned.
- Paul Nakad as Sleek the Elite – so named because he is "slicker than slick", an aspiring rapper, ladies' man and a pizza delivery man who self-titled himself the "Lebanese Lover" or "Lebanese Legend". He was the main co-star in the first two series and the movie. He is a lady killer, hence the name "Lebanese lover". In the third series (2003, after the movie) it was revealed Sleek had been kidnapped by Islamic terrorists while holidaying in his homeland of Lebanon for "rooting all their women". In several episodes, Sleek was portrayed as the closeted bisexual male. He was replaced by Rocky's other cousin, Slick, who is killed off by Bobo in season three, episode one. Sleek returns in the "Fat Pizza vs. Housos" movie, where he returns to working for Bobo after spending time in Guantanamo Bay for being mistaken for a terrorist due to his rapping. In the opening episode of the sixth season, Sleek is seen running his own kebab shop.
- Tahir Bilgiç as Habib Halal Habib – meaning "Friend" in Arabic. Habib featured as a supporting character in the earlier series of Pizza; a friend of Sleek's, he is a stereotypical young Lebanese (Bilgiç is actually Turkish) drug-dealer and fence of stolen goods (typically mobile phones). He played a larger role in the theatrical version of Pizza. In 2003 after the loss of Sleek, he was employed at the shop as a deliveryman, a position he regularly uses as a front for his illegal activities. He claims that he's is socially inept, and used to be moderately successful with attractive women (which played a part in developing his fetish for "fat chicks" due to him being unable to get the kind of girls Sleek and Rocky picked up on a regular basis as well as Sleek and Rocky regularly cockblocking Habib from getting the attractive girls (as seen in the Fat Pizza movie)), but has hitched up with Toula.
- Jabba as David "Davo" Dinkum – a stereotypical bong-smoking Aussie bogan. Being the only non-"choco" at Fat Pizza sometimes leaves him at the end of discrimination, but he gets on well with the drug-dealing Habib. Introduced in the movie, he has appeared since. Since 2005, Davo was sacked from Fat Pizza and now he is unemployed, spending most of his time smoking his bong, getting drunk and looking for chicks (the vast majority of them pot-smoking bogan chicks that reside in Hashfield). He wears thongs as training footwear.
- John Boxer as Bobo Gigliotti – the psychotic, pizza chef and (prior to the sixth season) the owner/manager of Fat Pizza. He has little patience and those that cross him usually end up on the wrong end of his chainsaw. He is a stingy, crooked boss, imposing dreadful working conditions and abuse. Additionally, he is consistently docking the delivery-boys' $3/hour pay for any deviation from schedule. The few things that he likes are his mother, referred to by him as Mama; his mail-order bride, Lin Chow; and making pizzas. Since Lin Chow was deported to Vietnam, Bobo has been single and, during the 2007 series of Pizza, he has recently met a former erotic film actress named Ruby a.k.a. "Mama Jugs" (Angela White) and the two have since gotten engaged, much to the disgust of Bobo's mother. Bobo makes a cameo in the Housos episode "Uncle Fred" with his trademark chainsaw. In the sixth season, Bobo is imprisoned for 25 years after the events that transpired at the end of the "Fat Pizza vs. Housos" movie. However, he gives Pauly advice about how to run the shop when he takes over from Bobo. In the second episode of the sixth season, Bobo escaped from prison.
Supporting cast
- Annalise Braakensiek as supermodel Claudia MacPherson – pronounced "Clow-dia", the name is an obvious play on models Claudia Schiffer and Elle Macpherson. She is dimwitted, rich, blonde, bulimic, and attractive. She is a regular customer at Fat Pizza and often has run-ins with both Pauly and Sleek.
- Rob Shehadie as Robert "Rocky" Shekazbah – self-stylised "Lebanese Rambo". A tall, muscular, homophobic egotistical Lebanese friend/second cousin of Habib (often role of enforcer), seems to be able to score with any number of young (and likely underage) women.
- Maria Venuti as Mama Gigliotti – Bobo's overbearing Italian mother who actually owned Fat Pizza. Despite her being quite physically abusive, Bobo still loves his Mama and lived with her prior to the sixth season when he was sent to prison. Since Bobo's imprisonment, Mama has been in a state of shock and has had to be looked after by a carer. However, her aggressive demeanour remains unchanged.
- Tuyen Le as Lin Chow Bang – Bobo's diminutive mail-order bride from Vietnam. The Fat Pizza movie partly dealt with the arrival of Lin Chow (and her family), and as such she only appears since 2003. She has not been seen since 2003 after the Department of Immigration deported her back to Vietnam due to Habib and Rocky informing both the police and Immigration so they could avoid drug dealing charges and time in jail.
- Rebel Wilson as Toula Maccalopolous – an obese Greek-Australian girl who was Habib's girlfriend and now wife, whom she refers to as her "Habibi". She is a voracious eater. She accompanied Pauly and Rocky in the "Pizza World" mockumentary. In Los Angeles she asks a tourist centre if they have star map, but one that marks all the fast food places rather than celebrity residences. In the fourth series of Pizza, it is revealed that Toula has a gang of obese girls called the "Fat Chick 12" (because although there are only 6 girls in the gang, they are as large as two people). It is also revealed that Toula is an obsessive control freak, domineering and controlling over every aspect of Habib's life, especially in the later stages of their engagement and after Habib married her. Before the wedding, Toula used the members of the Fat Chick 12 to spy and stop Habib from enjoying his last days of bachelorhood by preventing erotic dancers from going to Habib's buck's night. After the wedding, Toula's control over Habib has become more extreme with Toula preventing Habib from returning to work and forcing Habib to wear pink tracksuit pants. In the 2007 series of Pizza, Habib has returned to work and has successfully been avoiding Toula by saying that he is "really busy" with work.
- Anthony Salame as Omar, Habib's cousin and best friend of his cousin Mohammed. He was introduced in Pizza in 2007, when he helped Habib do an insurance job on the old Fat Pizza premises. He is often shown to be with Habib and Rocky in most episodes. He was shown to be friends with Pauly when they went to the fireworks factory in Canberra to pick up fireworks for Habib.
- Katrina Spadone[13] as Katrina, or Kat for short – a best friend of the obese Toula, and girlfriend to Rocky. In the recent series of Pizza, Katrina started to develop a crush on Pauly since Rocky was not treating her right. She has broken up and re-united with Rocky several times (much to the torture and torment of Pauly who is keen on having Katrina as his girlfriend). In World Record Pizza, she joined Pauly, Habib and Kev in their trip around the globe, much to Rocky's disgust, so that Pauly can try to get Katrina. However, before they left Brazil to return to Australia, Katrina decided to stay in Brazil with her new boyfriend. She has since re-appeared, featuring in the Season 5 episode 'Doctor Pizza'.
- Murray Harman as Murray the Cop – A hot headed cop who did not like too much paper work. He seems to have many run ins with Pauly.
- John Mangos as the newsreader.
New employees at Fat Pizza
The new employees at Fat Pizza from the 2005 series are:
- Kevin Taumata as Kev the Kiwi – A stereotypical Māori-Australian, who is obsessed with alcohol. Whenever on/off duty, he will sneak to a local pub to "git on thuh puhss." Kev often uses New Zealand slang including "choice!" and "bro'". He also has a small rivalry with Junior. He is always seen with his sunglasses on.
- Andrew Ausage as Junior – Bobo's apprentice chef, who, like Bobo, abuses the other employees. He and Kev have a small rivalry, and sometimes fight each other for reasons unknown. Sometimes Junior would add Samoan-inspired ingredients on pizzas, such as pig snouts and turtle meat and cooked meat in a Hāngi.
- Alex Romano as DJ BJ ("BJ" standing for Big Jams) – A young employee, who is more abused and yelled at from Bobo and Junior more than the others. He enjoys playing his turn-table but is also clumsy and a weakling, resulting in occasional accidents and injuries (e.g., a snake chasing him at Uluru, being electrocuted by fiddling with plugs on Melbourne Cup Day).
- Anh Do as Chen Chong Fat (a.k.a. Keith) – A stereotypical Asian, who tries to get into Australian culture, eating pies and sausage rolls and talking in outdated slang. In Season 5, he was framed for eating a police dog (Davo Dinkum, Habib and Rocky were the ones responsible for stealing the police dog) and was sent to jail, and was not seen after that episode.
- Hollie Meyer as "Baby" and "Toula's gang". A stereotypical "fat chick" who is one of Toula's girls. She forces herself on DJ BJ who becomes her boyfriend and she is not shy to push her weight around. She is the butt of the fat jokes and happy to retaliate violently when ridiculed. Hollie also played a variety of other roles including Toula's double in series 5, the Ghost, and "Voula" in the 'Italy' episode, season 4.
- Khalid Malik as Indian doctor.
The new employees at Fat Pizza from the 2019 series are:
- Joe June as Jingping
- Peter Chidiac as Jayden Brown
- Yasmin Horner as Yasmina
Guest appearances
Pizza has an extremely long list of guest appearances of many Australian media personalities (hence this list is incomplete). Many have recurring roles, or reappear in later episodes as entirely new characters. They also show a high degree of retroactive continuity.
- Angry Anderson – as a bikie, as well as an ANZAC commander in a flashback to the Battle of Gallipoli.
- Chris Franklin – as Dazza, a stereotypical bogan alcoholic, often seen putting up with his equally-stereotypical wife Shazza.
- Anthony Mundine – as himself.
- Tony Mokbel – as himself.
- Carl Barron – as a machete-wielding armed robber who attempts and fails to rob Bobo.
- Nick Barker
- Clementine Heath - as The Kinky Girl in the flashback Fat Batman episode
- Tony Bonner – as a murderous Special Air Service commander.
- Bessie Bardot – as Pussy Galore, a female British assassin who worked with Pauly's father in one episode of Pizza.
- Richard Carter – as a police detective.
- Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen – as Selina, one of Sleek's numerous girlfriends.
- Bob Ellis – as Premier of NSW.
- Michael Diamond – as himself on one episode of Pizza Live.
- Peter Everitt – trying to steal money from Pauly for cigarettes, already has a cigarette on his ear.
- Jeff Fenech – as himself.
- Mario Fenech – as Pauly's Uncle Shiba.
- Tim Ferguson – as magician David Cockerfield (Fat Pizza) and Julian Bausage (Season 6).
- Cornelia Frances
- Kym Gyngell
- Nathan Harvey – as Dougie, one-time Pizza Hut mascot.
- Merv Hughes – as Ivan Milat.
- Bill Hunter – as a police detective.
- George Kapiniaris – as Ronnie McDoggle, also as an Albanian war criminal.
- Bernard King.
- Jack Levi (Elliot Goblet) – as a Health Inspector and Driving Instructor.
- Lex Marinos – as Sleek's lawyer.
- Margaret Pomeranz – as herself.
- David Stratton- as himself.
- Shane Porteous – as a doctor who has shady connections with the illegal human organ market.
- John Seru – playing numerous characters, sometimes playing as a bodyguard for celebrities.
- Gary Sweet
- Red Symons
- Robbie McGregor
- Michael Veitch
- Kirsty Lee Allan – as Sharona, an attractive waitress who Bobo hires. She appears in only one episode, where she is eventually killed by Chong Fat in a carnival dodgem car accident.
- Garry Who - as Golfing Instructor, The "Stooge" Teacher & Lifesaver Les.
- Jim Webb - plays various characters including the bikie and Jim Smith from season 5.
- Craig Ward - as Stomach Rumbling Guy & Aussie Pub Guy.
- Bruno Xavier – as Mahatma Gandhi during many flashbacks throughout the series.
- Renzo Bellato - Mama Gigliotti's carer (Season 6) and Leonard the disabled nut.
- Andrew Doyle - as Ronnie McDoggle from 'Freaky Pizza'.
- Bill Bentley - various characters including Dr. Freeman (one of the golfing doctors).
- Tim Shaw - as a financial consultant who helps Bobo revamp Fat Pizza.
Series overview
| Series | Channel | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||||
| 1 | SBS | 9 | 24 April 2000 | 19 June 2000 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 27 August 2001 | 29 October 2001 | |||
| 3 | 10 | 21 July 2003 | 22 September 2003 | |||
| 4 | 8 | 30 May 2005 | 18 July 2005 | |||
| 5 | 8 | 22 October 2007 | 10 December 2007 | |||
| 6 | 7mate | 4 | 5 November 2019 | 26 November 2019 | ||
| 7 | TBA | April 2021 | TBA | |||
Episodes
Series 1 (2000)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Dangerous Pizza" | 24 April 2000 | |
|
The pilot, introduces Bobo, Bobo's mother, Claudia MacPherson, Pauly and Sleek, who is beginning his first shift. The episode underlines that delivering pizzas is one of the most dangerous jobs in the Western World. At the end of the episode, Pauly is abducted by aliens. Guest Stars/Cameos; Frenzal Rhomb, Normie Rowe, Col Joye and John Mangos as himself. | ||||
| 2 | 2 | "Space Pizza" | 1 May 2000 | |
|
The episode introduces Rocky and Habib. Pauly has been dumped in the desert by the aliens and tries to find his way back to civilization. Meanwhile Bobo has employed a new pizza deliverer in place of Pauly. However the new deliverer ends up being killed by an axe murderer. Guest Stars/Cameos; Barry Crocker | ||||
| 3 | 3 | "Film Pizza" | 8 May 2000 | |
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An Actor attempts to sue Fat Pizza for damages following an altercation with Bobo, Sleek also attempts to file a lawsuit, against a Wrestler, meanwhile, the filming of a "James Bond" movie takes place at a nearby Movie studio, and frequent usage of Mobile Phones results in a Petrol station in Campsie blowing up. Guest Stars/Cameos; Kamahl, Jon English and Dr. Karl. | ||||
| 4 | 4 | "Crime Pizza" | 15 May 2000 | |
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The premier of New South Wales passes a new homeboy law allowing police to detain and search anyone in a baseball hat or tracksuit. Unfortunately for the workers at the Fat Pizza pizzeria their uniforms consist of tracksuits and baseball caps. Pauly is arrested in a case of mistaken identity by two hopeless detectives. A disgruntled customer hires a hitman to kill Pauly because of a mix up on a pizza delivery. Even though it is Sleeks birthday he is beaten Rodney King style by the whole police force. Claudia MacPherson has been videoed having sex with her boyfriend and the video is being broadcast on the internet and mama Gigliotti is under attack by some middle-class homeboys. Guest Stars/Cameos; Ada Nicodemou and Ian Turpie narrating Australia's Most Wanted style. | ||||
| 5 | 5 | "Crazy Pizza" | 22 May 2000 | |
| Bobo closes the shop early and gets ready to date a sexy somebody he met on the Internet. Sleek and Pauly have a night on the town. As usual not all is well in the land of Fat Pizza. The mother of all road rages ensues, bouncers, midgets plane crashes and dead bodies turn the night upside down. The episode's finale parodies The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "Love Pizza" | 29 May 2000 | |
|
Supermodel Claudia MacPherson is marrying actor Roger Connery the new Bond film star. Pauly joins the army reserves (thinking he will meet girls). Bobo falls in love with Angelina, Pauly's replacement and the two set off to get married in Sicily. Sleek tries out a new deodorant that leaves such an attractive scent he ends up in tight squeezes with drag queens, crazy chefs, a porn star, and a rock band called Marilyn's Regurgitators. In the end after his mother has a health scare, Bobo decides to take care of his mother and postpone his wedding. Unfortunately Angelina has found love in Sicily with Marilyn's Regurgitators announcing they will all marry her. Guest Stars/Cameos; Frenzal Rhomb and Gary Sweet. | ||||
| 7 | 7 | "Road Trip Pizza" | 5 June 2000 | |
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A former employee of Fat Pizza shoots Bobo in the Groin, resulting in him being taken to Hospital and requiring surgery. While this is happening, Sleek and Pauly take a road trip to the Gold Coast, along the way they have their share of stories and mishaps, including Pauly telling Sleek his bad experience involving the Pope at a prawn factory, Sleek hanging out with some campers with drugs and Pauly being shocked by urinating on a barbed-wire fence. Guest Stars/Cameos; Michael Veitch, Elliot Goblet and Tottie Goldsmith. | ||||
| 8 | 8 | "Snowy Pizza" | 12 June 2000 | |
| It is Australia Day at the Fat Pizza pizzeria, Sleek is exhausted after winning a rap marathon and dreams himself into colonial times. Although in his dreams colonial Australia keeps turning into a rap video clip with sexy female dancers at every corner. He becomes the man from Snowy Pizza. Bobo is furious at TV chef Bernard for giving a bad review on his pizzas and wants revenge. Claudia MacPherson hires a personal trainer because she is told she is fat and Pauly ends up attempting to resuscitate a heart attack victim with a vacuum cleaner. | ||||
| 9 | 9 | "Gambling Pizza" | 19 June 2000 | |
|
After their shifts, Sleek and Bobo head out to the casino to place some bets. While Sleek wins, Bobo is on a losing streak and finds himself desperate enough to bet his shop. Unfortunately Bobo loses, Pauly and Sleek find themselves working at the pizza shop for their new boss, the Mafia. Guest Stars/Cameos; Tania Zaetta, Paula Duncan, Val Lehman as Top Dog, Maggie Kirkpatrick as The Freak. | ||||
Series 2 (2001)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | "New Pizza" | 27 August 2001 | |
| The shop is moved to Hashfield, a dangerous neighbourhood, where Pauly and Sleek encounter many problems with the locals. The media films Bobo making pizzas in an unhygienic fashion. | ||||
| 11 | 2 | "Politically Incorrect Pizza" | 3 September 2001 | |
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Assault charges are pressed against Pauly, who defends himself after being abused by an old and disabled man, against Bobo, who prejudicially declined the applications of a lesbian, a blind man, an obese man and an old and disabled man, and against Habib, Rocky and the boys who faked that they were disabled but were caught out comfortably playing rugby in the park. In the end with the help of Sleek all charges are dropped. Guest Stars/Cameos; Diana Glenn and Ross Higgins. | ||||
| 12 | 3 | "Sexy Pizza" | 10 September 2001 | |
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Pauly thinks he is on a mystery flight to Surfers Paradise, but ends up in Vietnam. Bobo buys toxic cheese from Russia and Sleek, who thinks he is gay, delivers to the Mardi Gras. Guest Stars/Cameos; Big Kev and Tony Barber. | ||||
| 13 | 4 | "Millionaire Pizza" | 17 September 2001 | |
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Sleek stars in a Survivor-style reality program with six beautiful models. Pauly encounters legal troubles after a run-in with boxer Mike Titan and seeks a solution via a road rage incident with Anthony Mundine. Bobo gets a new apprentice who is subjected to "apprentice abuse". Guest Stars/Cameos; Tony Barber and Anthony Mundine. | ||||
| 14 | 5 | "Melbourne Pizza" | 24 September 2001 | |
|
Pauly and Sleek have the day off work and decide to drive to Melbourne. They stay in a hotel and set out to some night clubs to meet some girls. Sleek successfully hooks up with women, while Pauly, who has unknowingly taken ecstasy, returns to the home of a girl he meets and engages in many problems that evolve into fights. Guest Stars/Cameos; Nick Giannopoulos, Tottie Goldsmith and Costas Kilias. | ||||
| 15 | 6 | "Flashback Pizza" | 1 October 2001 | |
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Pauly and Sleek get the day off work as Bobo has an appointment with a psychiatrist amid concerns claim that he is crazy. Guest Stars/Cameos; Diana Glenn, Kim Gyngell and Jean Kittson. | ||||
| 16 | 7 | "Freaky Pizza" | 8 October 2001 | |
| Pauly is forced to babysit his uncle's grossly overweight child and runs into severe problems when his car is stolen. Meanwhile Claudia McPherson needs a new kidney and an organ harvester has found an unbeknownst donor in Sleek. | ||||
| 17 | 8 | "Girlfriend Pizza" | 15 October 2001 | |
|
The men all have girlfriend/dating experiences. Pauly is dating two girls at once and does not know which one is worse, Bobo has a date with a disabled bad-tempered woman who will not accept any help at all, and Sleek has a new girlfriend Dina (Briar Hawkins) who, much to his horror, is a stripper. Guest Stars/Cameos; Diana Glenn and Richard Carter. | ||||
| 18 | 9 | "ANZAC Pizza" | 22 October 2001 | |
|
Pauly wants to march in the ANZAC Day parade but is repeatedly sidetracked. Guest Stars/Cameos; Ross Higgins | ||||
| 19 | 10 | "Desert Pizza" | 29 October 2001 | |
|
Sleek, Pauly and his uncle are fishing on a boat, they have some bait which contains marijuana, goat's cheese and petrol, Sleek accidentally rolls up a joint and lights it only to realise that the boat had exploded. The explosion sends Pauly and Sleek out to sea where they end up as castaways on an island. Guest Stars/Cameos; Tony Nikolakopoulos | ||||
Series 3 (2003)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 1 | "Brand New Pizza" | 21 July 2003 | |
|
A host of new employees start at Fat Pizza such as Sleek's cousin Slick and a brain damaged apprentice chef alongside Habib and Rocky. Meanwhile Bobo is on edge because his new wife Lin Chow will not sleep with him. Guest Stars/Cameos; Cornelia Frances, Angry Anderson and Michael Veitch. | ||||
| 21 | 2 | "Terrorism Pizza" | 28 July 2003 | |
| New laws against terrorism spell big trouble for the boys at Fat Pizza as Habib, Rocky and Pauly are all mistaken for terrorists. | ||||
| 22 | 3 | "Cult Pizza" | 4 August 2003 | |
| Bobo instructs his crew to work dressed with Christmas attire in July, which was encouraged by Bobo's mail-order bride Lin Chow, while Davo is engrossed in a new religion. Pauly is also suspected as a stalker and a "paedophile". | ||||
| 23 | 4 | "School Pizza" | 11 August 2003 | |
|
Pauly reconnects with an old classmate who had a crush on him through several pizza deliveries. Meanwhile Habib and Rocky try out a new scam inside an ATM which is stolen by bogans with Habib still inside and Bobo is busted perving on Claudia MacPherson by his wife and his mother. Guest Stars/Cameos; Holly Brisley | ||||
| 24 | 5 | "Road Trip Pizza" | 18 August 2003 | |
|
Habib and Pauly lie about being sick and take a road trip to Melbourne with Rocky and Toula. Once there Pauly has another run-in with the kinky sex chick and her husband whilst Habib and Rocky attack an AFL umpire. Back at Fat Pizza Davo has been forced to do all the deliveries and has sexual experiences with lesbians, twins and even implies one with Claudia MacPherson. Guest Stars/Cameos; Warwick Capper, Tottie Goldsmith and Costas Kilias. | ||||
| 25 | 6 | "SEXPO Pizza" | 25 August 2003 | |
|
The episode is told through flashback and interviews. The boys take a trip to SEXPO because Habib is interested in making a porno and wants to find actresses to perform in it. This episode is rated MA as opposed to the others which are rated M. Guest Stars/Cameos; Ron Jeremy and Serenity. | ||||
| 26 | 7 | "Birthday Pizza" | 1 September 2003 | |
| It is Bobo's birthday and the boys have hired a stripper for him whom his mother and wife catch him out with. Meanwhile Rocky has a new girlfriend, Habib is pulling off an insurance scam with Toula, Pauly has to change his attitude to impress his new girlfriend Daniella and Davo's new addiction may prove to be more troublesome than his last. | ||||
| 27 | 8 | "Quarantine Pizza" | 8 September 2003 | |
| Bobo orders Habib and Pauly to steal some chickens to have more ingredients. However, when they realise that the chickens are infected with bird flu and are causing fatalities to the customers, Fat Pizza is put into quarantine. | ||||
| 28 | 9 | "Refugee Pizza" | 15 September 2003 | |
|
Habib and Rocky have been arrested for a range of offences forcing Toula and Katrina to take on their deliveries. Meanwhile Bobo's mother takes Lin Chow and her family to beach for the day and a series of misfortunes kill them all except Lin, Davo cannot remember what he did last night and Pauly hooks up with a new girl who just happens to have eight kids. In the end Lin is busted by immigration authorities and deported thanks to Rocky and Habib. Guest Stars/Cameos; Melissa Tkautz, Angry Anderson and Richard Carter. | ||||
| 29 | 10 | "Pizza Live" | 22 September 2003 | |
| The Fat Pizza crew "hijack" SBS and broadcast live in protest of the "cancellation" of the show. | ||||
Series 4 (2005)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 1 | "New Shop Pizza" | 30 May 2005 | |
|
With help from a financial consultant, Bobo completely overhauls Fat Pizza. With a new location, new staff and new delivery vehicles, business soon begins booming but not everyone is happy with all the changes. Guest Stars/Cameos; Angry Anderson | ||||
| 31 | 2 | "Small And Large Pizza" | 6 June 2005 | |
|
After a string of driving offences, Pauly is forced to get a new car to fit new regulations implemented by the court. Meanwhile Fat Pizza's oven has broken, Rocky and Kev get into a fight over Katrina, and a new police officer is causing a little trouble. Guest Stars/Cameos; Jade Gatt and Ryan Lappin. | ||||
| 32 | 3 | "Father's Day Pizza" | 13 June 2005 | |
|
Pauly reminisces about his father, who was forced to leave his wife and 4-year-old son to work with the British Government, and his adventures that are portrayed as that of James Bond's before he arrived in Australia. Guest Stars/Cameos; Bessie Bardot, Michael Craig as Priest, Anthony Sumbati as Ian Fleming, and SS John Oxley. | ||||
| 33 | 4 | "Holiday Pizza, Part One" | 20 June 2005 | |
| Due to daylight saving, Pauly mistakenly arrives at work one hour early only to see Bobo with a transvestite. Pauly uses his mobile phone to take photos and blackmails Bobo, requesting two weeks paid holiday to Italy or he would show the photos to Bobo's mother. Pauly arrives in Italy to stay with his cousin Luigi and accidentally spends an evening with a €100 per hour escort before being mugged by gypsies, which forces him to work as a pizza delivery boy for money. | ||||
| 34 | 5 | "Holiday Pizza, Part Two" | 27 June 2005 | |
| Luigi and Pauly are supposed to go to Sicily but Luigi's ego makes both of them follow two women to Venice. | ||||
| 35 | 6 | "Waitress Pizza" | 4 July 2005 | |
|
A new waitress at Fat Pizza sees the boys compete for her affection. Guest Stars/Cameos; Kirsty Lee Allan | ||||
| 36 | 7 | "Burnout Pizza" | 11 July 2005 | |
| Habib, Toula, Rocky and Katrina accompany Pauly so that he can race in a drag racing competition being held on the Gold Coast in Queensland. | ||||
| 37 | 8 | "Habib's Wedding Pizza" | 18 July 2005 | |
| Habib marries Toula, after proposing to her when he was drunk, at a shifty venue. Bobo is the caterer, DJ BJ is the DJ, Chong Fat and Kev are the waiters. Arguments and punch-ups arise from who had booked the venue, the religion of Toula and Habib, the wedding singer, and Habib's dad, who returns from Cuba as he had been in Guantánamo Bay, shows his dislike for Toula. | ||||
Series 5 (2007)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 1 | "Carwash Pizza" | 22 October 2007 | |
|
Bobo does an insurance job on his old Fat Pizza pizzeria and buys a new shop in Hashfield Valley, but because business is so bad he is forced to turn the shop into a pizzeria café car wash. Guest Stars/Cameos; Angela White | ||||
| 39 | 2 | "Law And Order Pizza" | 29 October 2007 | |
| Davo steals a police drug-sniffer dog and then tells the cops when the dog was suddenly cut up into pieces, Chong Fat is suspected of the crime. Chong Fat admits that Davo had stolen the dog, Habib and Rocky had stolen the dog off Davo and offered him a ransom to pay if he wanted it back or else they would chop off its head. Davo is taken to the police station and tells the officers that Habib and Rocky then stole the dog off him. The cops arrested Rocky and Habib and took them to trial. Habib confesses that he took the dog but then gave him to Bobo who was believed to have cut it up to use for pizza meat. Bobo is then sentenced to trial and admits that Chong Fat had cut up the dog. Chong Fat is then taken into custody and sentenced to prison, where he is raped by a gay cell-mate (the same inmate who also raped Habib in New Shop Pizza). | ||||
| 40 | 3 | "Melbourne Cup Pizza" | 5 November 2007 | |
| Bobo holds a Melbourne cup lunch at Fat Pizza. Everything goes wrong, from bad food to power failures and the obese customers are unhappy at the lack of food and alcohol. | ||||
| 41 | 4 | "Beach Pizza, Part One" | 12 November 2007 | |
|
Bobo has a day off and goes to Cronulla beach with his ex-porn star girlfriend Ruby. The day explodes into mayhem as pizza deliveries go wrong and Habib and Rocky accidentally start a riot with lifesavers. The media then interview Pauly and he is taken out of context and blamed as the instigator of the Cronulla Beach riot. Guest Stars/Cameos; Angela White | ||||
| 42 | 5 | "Beach Pizza, Part Two" | 19 November 2007 | |
|
After causing the Cronulla riots and bashing radio shock jock Allen Ford Jones, Pauly and Junior are deported to Coconut Island, only there is a twist the department of immigration makes a mistake and they are sent to Crocodile Island. Guest Stars/Cameos; Angela White | ||||
| 43 | 6 | "Doctor Pizza" | 26 November 2007 | |
|
During an argument over cockroaches on Bobo's pizzas, Bobo accidentally bites off Rocky's finger. Both are sent to Hashfield Hospital, meanwhile Pauly is road raging all the hospital doctors and after bashing them there are no doctors to help Bobo and Rocky. In the end Junior decides to help with Bobo's surgery (after he lied to a Coconut Island nurse saying that he is a doctor). Meanwhile DJ BJ had trouble with the golfing doctors. Guest Stars/Cameos; Edinson Cavani and Shane Porteous. | ||||
| 44 | 7 | "Cracker Pizza" | 3 December 2007 | |
| In response to a new Government ban on crackers and new "working for tips" laws, the pizza shop workers suffer more grief than usual. Habib sets off all his old crackers before the ban is enforced, Davo is arrested for robbing a service station to pay for pizzas and Pauly drives to Canberra with Habib's cousin Omar to buy crackers. | ||||
| 45 | 8 | "Barbeque Pizza" | 10 December 2007 | |
|
Habib fakes the death of his wife, Toula, while she is in Greece whereby Habib receives $100,000. Bobo's gay Italian cousin Santino comes to visit from Italy. He shows Bobo how to make good pizzas. He gets a crush on DJ BJ. Bobo's mama goes interstate and Bobo has a barbeque to celebrate his engagement to his ex porn star girlfriend Ruby. Habib buries Toula's coffin (which he later tells Rocky there were only bricks in the coffin) and gets the insurance money. Guest Stars/Cameos; Angela White | ||||
Series 6 (2019)
| No. overall | No. in series | Episode | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Aus. viewers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Paul Fenech | Paul Fenech | 5 November 2019 | 147,000[14] | |
|
Pauly Falzoni, former pizza delivery boy, now boss, is trying to rebuild the infamous Fat Pizza restaurant in the notorious suburb of Hashfield. Guest Stars/Cameos; Anthony Mundine | |||||||
| 47 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Paul Fenech | Paul Fenech | 12 November 2019 | 170,000[15] | |
|
Pauly becomes the victim of fake news and must deal with the backlash. Guest Stars/Cameos; Holly Brisley | |||||||
| 48 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Paul Fenech | Paul Fenech | 19 November 2019 | 211,000[16] | |
|
Pauly struggles to find delivery staff. During a routine delivery he discovers a secret about his father. Guest Stars/Cameos; Tim Ferguson as Julian Bousage | |||||||
| 49 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Paul Fenech | Paul Fenech | 26 November 2019 | 160,000[17] | |
|
Pauly finds himself in the middle of an assassination plot. Corrupt police, gang members, and a killer clown are all out for revenge. Guest Stars/Cameos; Jarrah White as Psycho | |||||||
Pizza Live (2004)
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | 17 May 2004 |
| 2 | "Episode 2" | 24 May 2004 |
| 3 | "Episode 3" | 31 May 2004 |
| 4 | "Episode 4" | 7 June 2004 |
| 5 | "Episode 5" | 14 June 2004 |
Pizza: Special Deliveries (2004)
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "History Pizza" | 13 September 2004 | |
| A clip show of all the historical recreations featured in the series. Pauly emphasising his family's influence on all things pizza and Australian. | |||
| 2 | "Bobo And Pauly - The Early Years, Part One" | 20 September 2004 | |
| 3 | "Bobo And Pauly — The Early Years, Part Two" | 27 September 2004 | |
| 4 | "Pizza World — Tokyo" | 4 October 2004 | |
| Pauly, Rocky and Toula travel around the world trying out different pizzas, meanwhile searching for the world's first pizzeria, found in Naples, Italy. They are flung across the world because of a cheap flight to Naples having so many connections. | |||
| 5 | "Pizza World — Los Angeles" | 11 October 2004 | |
| 6 | "Pizza World — Las Vegas" | 18 October 2004 | |
| 7 | "Pizza World — Rome" | 25 October 2004 | |
| 8 | "Pizza World — Naples, Part One" | 1 November 2004 | |
| 9 | "Pizza World — Naples, Part Two" | 8 November 2004 | |
| 10 | "Pizza Does Nimbin" | 15 November 2004 | |
| The Fat Pizza crew go to MardiGrass. | |||
The DaVinci Cup (2006)
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | 22 May 2006 |
| 2 | "Episode 2" | 29 May 2006 |
| 3 | "Episode 3" | 5 June 2006 |
World Record Pizza (2007)
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Bangkok" | 19 March 2007 |
| 2 | "India" | 26 March 2007 |
| 3 | "Amsterdam" | 2 April 2007 |
| 4 | "Paris And Malta" | 9 April 2007 |
| 5 | "Rio" | 16 April 2007 |
| 6 | "Australia" | 23 April 2007 |
A Real Slice of Pizza (2001)
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | "A Real Slice Of Pizza" | 5 November 2001 | |
|
Behind-the-scenes of Pizza, including bloopers, deleted scenes and interviews. | |||
Stage show (2016)
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DVD1 | "Fat Pizza vs. Housos Live" | 1 June 2016 | |
| A DVD release of the live stage show of Fat Pizza vs. Housos. | |||
Feature films
Fat Pizza (2003)
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | "Fat Pizza" | 10 April 2003[18] | |
| Fat Pizza the film is yet another slice of life at a dodgy suburban Sydney take away. Bobo Gigliotti (who lives with his mother) is a psychotic pizzeria owner/pizza chef who is awaiting the arrival of his mail-order refugee bride Lin Chow Bang, and a new pizza deliverer is on the block. In the end, a group of biker thugs arrive at the new deliverers shop and threatens to murder everyone. | |||
Fat Pizza vs. Housos (2014)
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| F2 | "Fat Pizza vs. Housos" | 27 November 2014[19] | |
| After serving 15 years in jail for assaulting a health inspector with a chainsaw, pizza chef Bobo Gigliotti is released. Upon his release, he and his Mama attempt to reopen Fat Pizza, their former business in the fictional Sydney suburb of Hashfield. They soon find that due to rent increases since the time they were last in business, the only place that they can afford to reopen their pizzeria is in the infamous housing commission suburb of Sunnyvale. Employing many of their previous workers including Sleek the Elite, as well as a few locals, their re-establishment in Sunnyvale results in conflict with the local Housos, notably Shazza Jones, Franky Falzoni and Kev the Kiwi. | |||
Other appearances
- Fat Pizza: Sex, Drugs, Raps and Phones (2000): A single disc comedy album featuring sketches about Pauly, Sleek and Bobo. The album also features numerous rap songs performed by Paul Nakad (Sleek).
- Pizza: The Stage Show: A live stage show that toured Australia during the series early run, featuring many of the shows performers.
- Fat Pizza Fully Prank'd (20 November 2006): Shock Records WRXXX01. A compilation album of material from the banned "Fat Pizza Radio Show" and "Fat Pizza" soundtrack.
Awards and nominations
- 2001: Most Outstanding Comedy Program (nominated)[20]
- 2002: Most Outstanding Comedy Program (nominated)[21]
- 2004: Most Outstanding Comedy Program (nominated)[22]
- 2005: Most Outstanding Comedy Program (nominated)[23]
Australian Comedy Awards
- 2003: Outstanding Australian TV Comedy – character based (nominated)[24]
- 2004: Best Achievement in Sound for a Television Program (won, for episode "School Pizza")[25]
Filming location
In Season 1, the internal and external shots of the Fat Pizza restaurant were filmed at 322 Pacific Highway, Lane Cove, New South Wales. The restaurant used for filming in Seasons 2 and 3, as well as the Fat Pizza movie and live shows, was at 67 Hume Highway, Chullora, New South Wales. The Chullora and Lane Cove shop's had actually operated as pizzeria's, the Lane Cove shop still operated as one until approx 2016 (since turned into flats) and the Chullora shop operated as a pizzeria between 2000 and 2009, but as of 2013 it had been sold and the interior stripped completely.[26] It was re-opened as "Kyoja Dumpling" a Vietnamese dumpling take away shop but was not profitable and by 2017 the shop was empty once again.[27] In 2006 parts of the series were filmed at the Babel Restaurant in Fairfield Heights before moving to St Johns Park in 2007.
Some episodes were also in other parts of Australia. The cast also went to Bangkok, Thailand, Mumbai, India, Amsterdam, Netherlands and Paris, France.
See also
References
- "Australian Television: Pizza".
- "Fat Pizza Vs Housos". Hoyts. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
- "Movie Network, Tropfest launch Oz low-budget film push".
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Fat Pizza Vs Housos". Event Cinemas. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- Jarvis, Danielle (28 November 2014). "Fat Pizza vs. Housos director Paul Fenech makes a cheeky promise". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- Tyeson, Cam (15 August 2019). "'Fat Pizza' Is Officially Copping A Very Unlikely Revival (Rebel Wilson Obvs Not Included)". Pedestrian. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Knox, David (16 August 2019). "Fat Pizza back in business for 7mate". TV Tonight. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Wadelton, Brett (15 August 2019). "Cult comedy Fat Pizza is returning to Australian TV in 2019". 7 News. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Ryan, Aaron (27 October 2019). "Airdate: Fat Pizza is Back in Business on 7mate". TV Black Box. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- Knox, David (29 January 2020). "Renewed: Fat Pizza: Back in Business". TV Tonight. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- Knox, David (21 October 2020). "Upfronts 2021: Seven". TV Tonight. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- Spadone
- Knox, David (6 November 2019). "Tuesday 5 November 2019". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- Knox, David (13 November 2019). "Tuesday 12 November 2019". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- Knox, David (20 November 2019). "Tuesday 19 November 2019". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- Knox, David (27 November 2019). "Tuesday 26 November 2019". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- Krahenbuhl, Oakley. "Fat Pizza Critical Review by Oakley Krahenbuhl PART ONE". australiancinema.info. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- Layt, Jess (17 November 2014). "Q&A with Fat Pizza vs Housos' Paul Fenech". Campbelltown-MacArthur Advertiser. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "2001 Logie Awards". australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "Logie nominations for 2002". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 April 2002. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "2004 Logies nominations". The Age. 16 April 2004. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "Logie Line-up". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 April 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "A Serious Comedy". The Age. 26 November 2003. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "ParlInfo - Special Broadcasting Service Corporation (SBS) Reports 2004-05". aph.gov.au. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "WhereIs Location". WhereIs. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
External links
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