Radioshow is а cult Lithuanian

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

radio and TV show hosted by Algis Ramanauskas-Greitai and Rimas Šapauskas. It is also the name of their humorous rock band. Radioshow has started at radio station Radiocentras in 1992. Later it has moved to the radio station Ultra Vires. In 1995 Radioshow debuted as a comedy puppet show on TV at LNK station. From 1997 till 1999 Radioshow was running at BTV TV station. In 2004 it briefly ran on

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

radio station Užupio radijas before being shut down, because of swearing on the air. However the show was immediately picked up by the regional radio station Vox Maris.

Controversy

Because of the constant taboo breaking, swearing and making fun of the symbols of national pride, Radioshow was often criticized by the conservative media and the older generation. Music critic Viktoras Gerulaitis has stated, that "These guys are sowing the seed of

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

, and it seems there is no-one that could stop them". This quote was later sampled into the song by Algis Ramanauskas' band '' Svastikos Sukitės Greitai''. It is ironic, that today Algis Ramanauskas is a member of the conservative

Homeland Union The Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats ( lt, Tėvynės sąjunga Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai, TS–LKD), also known colloquially simply as the Conservatives, is a centre-right political party in Lithuania. It has 18,000 mem ...

party. Another controversy was caused in 1995 by the obscene album ''Unplugged'' attributed to Radioshow. However Algis Ramanauskas denied his authorship and claimed, that it was a bootleg made by the imitators.

Characters

Main characters

Bronius

Bronius is approaching retirement age and is full of sentiments to the

Soviet era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

. He often refers to programming of the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

n TV and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian radio and television. He is annoyed by modern Lithuania - he has some command of English but uses it mostly to communicate disgust with all things Western. Bronius has a dirty mind and a dirty mouth and enjoys sexual

innuendo An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...

and filthy fantasies, particularly those involving TV celebrities, which he describes with considerable inspiration and lewd detail. Bronius is a character voiced by Algis Greitai.

Česlovas

Česlovas is a former teacher. Česlovas' looks resemble former speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament

social democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

Česlovas Juršėnas Česlovas Juršėnas (born 18 May 1938CV at Seimas website
) is a

. This character is married and has two daughters (Sigutė and Akvilė), but despite that he often displays random acts of latent homosexuality, as the most of Radioshow characters do. Česlovas is voiced by Rimas Šapauskas.

Albinas

Albinas, also referred to as ''Senis'' ( en, Old man), is a 100-year-old man of

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...

nationalistic beliefs. His claim that he was born in the mountains of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

is a reference to the TV series ''

The Highlander ''Highlander'' is a British film and television franchise created by American screenwriter Gregory Widen. The series began with a 1986 fantasy film starring Christopher Lambert, who played Connor MacLeod, the titular Highlander. Born in Glenfin ...

''. Albinas makes frequent references to his pre-war memories.

Zbygniewas

Zbygniewas is a character of Polish ethnicity, speaking Lithuanian with a heavily inflicted Russian accent. Zbygniewas claims to hail from Nemenčinė, a town near capital

with large predominance of Polish,

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

and Russian population. In his younger days he was a

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

and used to read

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

. His career included a stint at as a communal heating boiler attendant, a choice occupation for rebellious intellectuals in the former Soviet Union, and also at a mortuary, which involved a sexual encounter with a dead female body, which Zbygniewas discusses with great reluctance. He is voiced by Algis Ramanauskas-Greitai.

Igorj

Russian speaking character voiced by Rimas Šapauskas.

Mindaugas, later - Budulis

Coarse-voiced, aggressive young Lithuanian gangster guided by values and rules of Russian prison life ("paniatkes") and making frequent references to his encounters with the law enforcement authorities. This character underwent some changes and is currently known as Budulis. He is discernible from a blackened mouth and a track suit worn on a permanent basis. In later episodes of the show, Budulis makes references to his work as a labourer in Ireland. (voiced by Rimas Šapauskas)

Filadelfijus

Filadelfijus is a young incompetent journalist. His name originates from a motion picture title ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

''. In the beginning he was speaking in a high-pitched voice, hinting that he might be homosexual. However, in the later shows unprofessional babbling and not the allusions to his homosexuality became his distinctive mark. Filadelfijus is voiced by Rimas Šapauskas.

Minor characters

''Mindė'' - nationalist character (animated pig's head); '' Vanga'' -

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

n prophetess (animated portrait of Lithuanian writer Žemaitė, taken from one Litas banknote); ''Dujokaukė Kiulamae'' -

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

n character always speaking derogaratively about the Lithuanians (his name translates into English from Lithuanian as ''"

Gas Mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mas ...

"'' and the surname is of the former

BC Žalgiris Basketball Club Žalgiris ( lt, Krepšinio klubas Žalgiris) is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania, and competes domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL, Lithuanian Basketball League). Founded in 1944, ...

Estonian basketball player

Gert Kullamäe Gert Kullamäe (born 3 June 1971) is an Estonian basketball coach and a former professional basketball player who currently coaches Estonian team BC Pärnu Sadam. Kullamäe mostly played at the shooting guard position and was a great 3-poin ...

; ''Slavik'' from Maladzechna; ''Almantas'', a gay type.

Discography

*1996 Plugged *2001 Underground *2001 Raštai *2005 Kronikos #1 *2005 Kronikos #2

References

External links

{{in lang, lt}
Steinberger Guitar Community
Lithuanian radio programs Lithuanian television series Television shows featuring puppetry BTV (Lithuania) original programming LNK (television station) original programming