Discovery Channel has a sense of humor (seriously, we do!). And we love seeing our shows through viewers' eyes. Thus we've enjoyed YouTube's "Hedgehog Man," a unique take on our documentary Grizzly Man; "Survivorman," a spoof on our series of the same name; and even the South Park-like cartoon featuring the Teutuls and the audio track from American Chopper that we came across one day online.
Having happened on these clips by accident, we're now proactively seeking them. We're calling on you viewers to take your favorite Discovery Channel series or documentary and give it your own clever twist in a less-than-10-minute parody of a scene or trailer. The parodies we like best may be featured on Discovery Channel. We may also feature our favorites on Discovery.com and put them to a vote so you can don your film-critic hat.
To break it down, a parody is an imitation of a serious work for humorous or satirical effect – it is a spoof. If you use elements from the show that is the subject of your parody, you should use only so much as is needed to conjure up that show (i.e., make that show identifiable) for the viewer. It is funny and familiar like peanut butter and chocolate, hence the popularity of such viral videos as "Brokeback to the Future,""Tom Cruise Kills Oprah," "Shining" and "Super Friends Whassup."
But we're Discovery Channel, after all, so we're looking for only Discovery Channel-related parodies (we'll leave TLC, Animal Planet and Travel Channel to their own devices). Perhaps it's re-enacting a scene from Monster Garage using puppets against audio from the show, or reediting footage from Deadliest Catch into a romantic-comedy movie trailer. It could be using your goldfish to star in "Fish Week," or adding special effects, new audio or cartoon characters to a particular scene of Dirty Jobs, Extreme Engineering, I Shouldn't Be Alive, FutureWeapons or MythBusters. We don't care. We just want it to be funny and immediately recognizable as a Discovery Channel spoof.
Specifically, here are the shows you should feel free to roast: American Chopper, American Hot Rod, Biker Build-Off, Cash Cab, Deadliest Catch, Dirty Jobs, Extreme Engineering, FutureWeapons, Going Tribal, A Haunting, I Shouldn't Be Alive, Monster Garage, MythBusters, Shark Week, Stunt Junkies, Survivorman and Walking With Dinosaurs.
Note: If your video is selected and featured on Discovery.com, you may be asked to submit your entry on a tape. Thus you must be sure to edit your submission to a broadcast-capable size before cutting it down. In other words, be sure that your video is 720 X 480 (full DV size) or it will be unusable. And please refrain from using popular music or other copyrighted material in the background.
So raise that one eyebrow, roll up your sleeves and prepare to make us — and your fellow viewers — laugh with Discovery Channel. CLICK HERE to submit your video ... just don't take too long to think up, write and shoot/edit your no-more-than-10-minute video spoof.
SUBMIT YOUR DISCOVERY SPOOF VIDEO
