''In de Gloria'' ("In the Glory") was a 2000–01 Belgian TV sketch comedy show, directed by Jan Eelen and produced by the company ''

Woestijnvis Woestijnvis (literally: ''Desert Fish'') is an independent Flemish television production company based in Vilvoorde, Belgium. History The name of the company refers to a famous mistake of a quiz-candidate in the Flemish version of Wheel of Fort ...

''. It was a

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

series which satirized

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

and

human interest In journalism, a human-interest story is a feature story that discusses people or pets in an emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest, sympathy or motivation in the reader ...

shows, especially the way regular people are exploited by media. The show ran on the Belgian public TV channel

Canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...

for two seasons of 10 episodes each. In

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

itself, the series continues to enjoy significant popularity and critical praise, with several sketches having gained classic status. Despite the local popularity, the show has never been exported.

Concept

''In de Gloria'' is a

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

format. Every episode consists of a series of sketches that are mostly improvised around a central idea. The tone is tragicomical. Eelen based some of the spoof targets on pre-existing TV formats, including some shows of his own company,

. In an interview, Eelen said he was inspired by the Dutch mockumentaries of

Van Kooten en De Bie Van Kooten en De Bie were a Dutch comedy duo formed by Kees van Kooten and Wim de Bie. They started performing together in 1963. They started off as radio comedians, but gained more prominence from 1966 on by working for television. In 1974 the ...

and

Arjan Ederveen Arjan Ederveen Janssen (born 9 September 1956 in Hilversum) is a Dutch actor, comedian, TV scriptwriter and TV director. He participated in the TV series '' Theo en Thea'', '' Kreatief met Kurk'' and '' 30 minuten'' and played in the musicals '' ...

's '' 30 minuten''.

Cast

* Sien Eggers * Frank Focketyn * Kris Focketyn as Jos Vermaelen from Vermaelen projects * An Miller *

Wim Opbrouck Wim Opbrouck is a Flemish actor and singer from Belgium who is especially known for his work on stage. Early life and education Wim Opbrouck comes from Bavikhove, part of Harelbeke and studied at the Herman Teirlinck Studio. Career Opbrou ...

Lucas Van den Eynde Lucas Van den Eynde (born 23 February 1959) is a Belgian actor who has acted in theater films and television programs and also dubbed animated films in Belgian Dutch. In 1998, he was the recipient of the Arlecchino Award (the award presented an ...

* Tania Van der Sanden * Tom Van Dyck

Status

''In de Gloria'' has been lauded by TV critics ever since it first aired. In 2002, it received the Prijs van de Vlaamse Radio-en Televisiekritiek for "Best TV Show". It's also popular with viewers. All seasons are available on DVD.

Internet notoriety

The sketch "Boemerang" (''

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...

'') from the very first episode of ''In de gloria'' gained notoriety on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. It features the host of a

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

interviewing victims of medical failures. One of the victims speaks in a squeaky voice due to a failed

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. The host tries to suppress his laughter, to no avail. Eventually, another victim talks to the host in a deep voice causing him to burst out laughing. The full sketch shows the TV host in a supposed archive TV show (hence the title ''Boemerang'') looking back on the infamous moment that got him fired in the past. All people in the footage are actors. The show's host, Erik Hartman, is played by Tom Van Dyck; his two guests Valère and Marijke are portrayed by

and An Miller. It quickly became an

Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

among foreigners who mistook it for being real. In September 2006, the YouTube clip was even shown during ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...

'' and Star Channel news, with both hosts announcing it as being real. Parts of the Boemerang sketch were also featured in an

Argentinian Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

television advertisement for

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

beer, titled Risas (''laughs''), where Hartman is seen laughing.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0235922 Flemish television shows Belgian television sketch shows 2000 Belgian television series debuts 2001 Belgian television series endings Belgian mockumentary television series 2000s satirical television series Belgian comedy television shows Belgian satirical television shows Television shows set in Belgium Reality television series parodies VRT Canvas original programming