Yuku free message boards

Plot

Nathan Barley is a webmaster, guerrilla filmmaker, screenwriter, DJ and in his own words, a 'self-facilitating media node'. He is convinced he is the epitome of urban cool, and therefore secretly terrified he might not be, which is why he reads Sugar Ape magazine - his bible of cool.

In reality however his 'output' is of no real interest to anyone but him and his immediate friends. The website consists of stupid pranks caught on camera, photos of him with attractive women and photos of him standing on street corners in major cities around the world. He is of the belief that because he has a camera, some knowledge of web publishing and some webspace, this makes him talented.

The humour derives from the fact that since the rapid rise of the internet and the explosion of digital television, actual publishers and broadcasters think that such drivel is worthy of attention. Barley and his fellow idiots are often hired/published ahead of actual journalists and talented writers trying to make intelligent points, such as the earnest documentary film maker Claire Ashcroft, and her brother Dan Ashcroft, a jaded and apathetic hack who, having written an article for Sugar Ape entitled 'The Rise of the Idiots', is disgusted to find that 'the idiots' in question - Nathan and his contemporaries - have adopted him as their spiritual leader.

[edit] Characters

The series features two other central characters, siblings Dan and Claire Ashcroft. Dan - an instantly recognisable Brooker point-of-reference - dislikes everything Nathan Barley stands for, while Claire seeks to highlight the plight of the inner city's homeless and drug-dependent. Ironically, while Dan sees a clear distinction between himself and the "idiots", he's frequently forced to compromise his own ethics in order to earn a living - and seems to be fighting the dawning realisation that he may actually be the very thing he despises. At the same time, Claire, who clearly wants to see herself as socially responsible and philanthropic, ultimately only seeks to further her own career. This sets the scene for an unusually open-ended, and certainly introspective, satire-bordering-on-social-commentary.

Other recurring characters include the staff at Dan Ashcroft's magazine, Sugar Ape, such as asinine chief editor "Jonatton Yeah?" [sic], Ned Smanks (Richard Ayoade) and Rufus Onslatt (Spencer Brown), a pair of gormless graphics designers, Sasha the receptionist (one of the few non-"idiots" in the show), and the eccentric and ludicrous "Doug Rocket", founder member of The Veryphonics (a parody of David A. Stewart of Eurythmics), played by comedian The Divine David.

Dan Ashcroft's flatmate is a DJ called "Jones", who appears blissfully unaware of the antisocial cacophony he creates. Jones is played by Noel Fielding, Barratt's partner in comic duo The Mighty Boosh.

The first episode was broadcast on February 11, 2005 on Channel 4. The six-episode run was co-written by TVGoHome creator Brooker and Chris Morris. Morris also directed.