The episode Loriot II, broadcast by Radio Bremen on 18 October 1976, included the sketch Zimmerverwüstung, room devastation. An attempt to straighten a crooked picture ends in chaos. Loriot himself was known for working with geradezu „preußischer“ Akribie und unermüdlichem Fleiß, almost “Prussian” meticulousness and tireless diligence. He is said to have worked on weekends and holidays too.
television
“Top, the Bet Stands!”
ZDF broadcast the first edition of Wetten, dass..? on 14 February 1981. The show was invented by Frank Elstner, who was also its first host. After each bet was read out, the host called Top, die Wette gilt!, done, the bet stands. That was the signal for the candidate to begin. A celebrity Wettpate predicted whether the candidate would succeed. In case the prediction was wrong, the Wettpate offered a stake in advance, or the host set one. In the original bet with the studio audience, the host himself was the Pate, and his stake had to be paid by the end of the evening.
Let’s Make a Deal
An American game show first broadcast in 1963 and still running. The title is the premise. A country that has televised deal-making continuously for sixty years has a settled view of it.
The price is right
The German title of the television show known in English as The Price Is Right, in which contestants guess the retail price of consumer goods. The premise only works if prices are knowable — if there is a right answer to guess. The show is built on the assumption that every item has one correct price.
Shark Tank
An American television format in which entrepreneurs negotiate investment terms live, on camera, and the negotiation is the entertainment. Millions watch people haggle over equity percentages for pleasure.
The Super Bowl ad
American companies pay several million dollars for thirty seconds and frequently spend it on a story that barely mentions the product. The purchase being made is an emotional association, and everyone involved knows it.
C-SPAN
The proceedings of both chambers of Congress are televised gavel to gavel, unedited, without commentary, and have been since 1979 in the House and 1986 in the Senate. Committee hearings, floor debate, procedural votes. The legislature is broadcast as it happens, including the parts nobody would choose to show.
The political talk show
German public broadcasting runs several weekly prime-time debate programmes simultaneously — Markus Lanz, Caren Miosga, Maybrit Illner, hart aber fair, Maischberger.
One study analysed 1,208 episodes across four of them. Another found that around 79 percent of German television viewers watch them.
A country that schedules multiple hours of televised argument every week, in prime time, on the main public channels, and watches them in those numbers, has a settled view about whether disagreement is worth listening to.
“Best pitch ever”
Shark Tank: Present the positives. Answer questions about the negatives.
As Wen Muenyi – born and raised in a small African village – of Jax Sheets pitches his men’s bedding company, the Sharks fall in love with his candor. When Kevin O’Leary questions whether the business is worth $2.1 million, Wen responds ‘I mean, I said it, but it might not be true!’ getting a big laugh from the Sharks, and Wen explains why he’s already living the American Dream.
Yes, candor can sell, too.
“We’re gonna keep going”
They simply could not overcome the critical questions.
YouTube comments:
“Best pitch ever indeed! Lesson to learn about how to hold your poise when the unexpected happens in perhaps the biggest moment of your life! Applaud Scott and his mate for doing an amazing job!”
“Let’s make kids safer in school.” … “No, the margins are awful.”
“They’re now worth over 8 million and still sell online :)”