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The origins of the Polcheck Chronicles
While the origins of the Hans Polcheck character are something Pat knows
better than I do, Hans first entered my life because of the film competition
24/7. This competition, held by Manly Youth Council, was in its first year
when I entered. Contestants arrive on a Friday night, and at 8pm receive a
list of items and locations. They then have 24 hours to make a film lasting
no longer than 7 minutes. While my film that year was irrelevant (I won the
Green prize for having all the environmental items in my film) it was 2
other film makers who caught my (And a lot of peoples eye). Pat Feary and
Tom Kildea created a film called “CSI Mona Vale.” It featured Tom as a
seemingly gay investigator who wanted to be an interior decorator, and Pat
as the commanding, yet goofy detective Hans Polcheck. I remember thinking it
was great, and hoping to work with them again.
Another entrant (And winner) that year was Kate
Bradley, and the 2 of us became good friends after the competition. We soon
decided to make a promotion film for the next year called “24/7: The movie”
spoofing the series 24. Pat and Tom came to our planning meeting, and I soon
saw they would have to be a big part of the story. Sadly, Tom was moving to
England, but Pat and his friend Rhys Bennet agreed to reprise their roles.
This was where Pat and I became good friends. We shot
scenes for Hans right from the beginning, and I liked the character so much
I put him in more scenes. Soon Pat was also playing different thugs, and I
just KNEW I had to work with him again.
And so for the 24/7 contest of 2004, we teamed up
again. Joined again by Rhys, we added Holly Bennet (no relation to Rhys),
Sarah Gibson, Ryan Dunn, and Linda Moore (My wife) to the team. We created
what would become the basis for the first episode of TPC “Get Randy,” a
story we called “The Case of the Missing Case.” For it, the cast one best
under 18s, and we the audience voted us peoples choice. By now, most
everyone agreed, that Hans was a character they would like to see more of.
Holly and Sarah wrote a story that involved Hans, and
while talking about it, I came up with the idea to do a series. So Pat and I
sat down and seriously talked about Hans being a regular person in our
lives. We knew it would be a lot of work and time, but we figure “what the
hell?”
And so the Polcheck Chronicles was born!
Interestingly, of the main people making TPC, over half
were from the 24/7 competition. Goes to show you can make friends anywhere,
doesn’t it?
- Craig Moore
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