Polylux
Encyclopedia
Polylux, the self-appointed "last/worst on the first [channel]" ("Das Letzte im Ersten
"), is a weekly half-hour German
television
program hosted by Tita von Hardenberg. It was produced by RBB
for Das Erste and was aired in the timeslot on Thursdays at 11:15 CET
.
The show, which was concerned with politics
, culture
and social
trends, offers a vivid blend of documentary
& satirical
segments. Typically it began with a satirical 'report
' by Carsten von Ryssen related to a current matter of public concern. The show's essential hipness, which was underlined by von Hardenberg's crisp announcements and the visual & thematic backdrop of the city of Berlin
, infuses the subsequent documentary pieces with a certain esprit. Thematically, their scope ran from coverage of political and social movement
s to current trends in underground
and popular culture
, whereby one piece was usually biographical
in nature, setting it off from the more panoramic style of the rest of the show. Less serious segments often echoed the satire of the keynote feature. Regular items included the (usually biweekly) "Berlin for Beginners" ("Berlin für Anfänger") and the show's end note, in which Manfred Dumke, an elderly pensioner, shared his curious insights on current affairs with the rest of Germany from the comfort of his front room.
The feature "Berlin for Beginners" was in fact a vestige from the beginnings of the program in the mid 1990s when Polylux was still called Tip TV and was the televised version of the Berlin city magazine
Tip, then already hosted by von Hardenberg, but on a regional TV station, FAB. When Tip was taken over in 1997 the new owners didn't want the show, but fortunately for von Hardenberg, the ORB
was interested in the format, and so it was taken on under the new title Polylux. In 2000 the ARD
adopted Polylux into its late night programming on das Erste, showing it at 4:00 a.m. However the youthful appeal of the program quickly earned it an earlier slot, which was on Mondays at midnight. It was then moved to a slot on Thursdays before it was canceled.
announced on the 21. of May the cancellation of the show at the end of 2008. The decision was reasoned with a lack of funding. The last show was aired on the 18. December 2008. The shows offshoot web portal Polylog.tv will continue with its programme.
Das Erste
Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
"), is a weekly half-hour German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
program hosted by Tita von Hardenberg. It was produced by RBB
Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg
Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg is an institution under public law for the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, situated in Berlin and Potsdam...
for Das Erste and was aired in the timeslot on Thursdays at 11:15 CET
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
.
The show, which was concerned with politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
trends, offers a vivid blend of documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
& satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
segments. Typically it began with a satirical 'report
Report
A report is a textual work made with the specific intention of relaying information or recounting certain events in a widely presentable form....
' by Carsten von Ryssen related to a current matter of public concern. The show's essential hipness, which was underlined by von Hardenberg's crisp announcements and the visual & thematic backdrop of the city of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, infuses the subsequent documentary pieces with a certain esprit. Thematically, their scope ran from coverage of political and social movement
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
s to current trends in underground
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
and popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, whereby one piece was usually biographical
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
in nature, setting it off from the more panoramic style of the rest of the show. Less serious segments often echoed the satire of the keynote feature. Regular items included the (usually biweekly) "Berlin for Beginners" ("Berlin für Anfänger") and the show's end note, in which Manfred Dumke, an elderly pensioner, shared his curious insights on current affairs with the rest of Germany from the comfort of his front room.
The feature "Berlin for Beginners" was in fact a vestige from the beginnings of the program in the mid 1990s when Polylux was still called Tip TV and was the televised version of the Berlin city magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
Tip, then already hosted by von Hardenberg, but on a regional TV station, FAB. When Tip was taken over in 1997 the new owners didn't want the show, but fortunately for von Hardenberg, the ORB
Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg
Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg , based in Potsdam, was the public broadcaster for the German federal state of Brandenburg from 12 October 1991 until 30 April 2003...
was interested in the format, and so it was taken on under the new title Polylux. In 2000 the ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
adopted Polylux into its late night programming on das Erste, showing it at 4:00 a.m. However the youthful appeal of the program quickly earned it an earlier slot, which was on Mondays at midnight. It was then moved to a slot on Thursdays before it was canceled.
Cancellation
The RBBRundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg
Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg is an institution under public law for the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, situated in Berlin and Potsdam...
announced on the 21. of May the cancellation of the show at the end of 2008. The decision was reasoned with a lack of funding. The last show was aired on the 18. December 2008. The shows offshoot web portal Polylog.tv will continue with its programme.