Mitten im 8en
Encyclopedia
Mitten im 8en
was an Austria
n TV soap/comedy series produced by the ORF
which ran from May 10 to June 29, 2007. The title translates to
"In the Middle of the 8th" (district), referring to Vienna's
Josefstadt
.
Repeatedly announced to be a core feature of the retuned
programming by ORF's new management, the show received extremely
bad ratings and devastating criticism from the start, and was
thus cancelled in the middle of its first season.
, replacing the main
evening newscast (Zeit im Bild), which until then was
broadcast on both ORF TV channels simultaneously.
The plot revolved around a family, a neighbouring flat share, and
a bar in Vienna. It showed a demagogic mix of stereotypical,
one-dimensional characters, often drawing humor from their
incompatibility, and mocking cliches rather than providing real
identification figures.
The underlying concept was of John de Mol's, and was known to
have failed before in the Netherlands. For Austria it was redone
to combine Viennese humor and language style with slapstick and
sketch-like comedy as well as dramatic elements and focus on
character relationships.
private stations' daily soaps in that timeslot, ORF wanted to
offer a light dramedy-like series with a distinct Austrian
note. They also wished to respond to calls for a
domestic production, as opposed to the policy of buying
in German-dubbed U.S. sitcoms only.
MiA was shot entirely in studios on the outskirts of Vienna and
supplemented with a handful of outside establishing shots from
the "real" 8th district.
Among the actors were
kabarettists Gerold Rudle,
Angelika Niedetzky and Christoph Fälbl as well as the comedian
and TV show host Max Schmiedl. Most of the younger roles were
played by actors at the beginning of their careers. Due to ORF's
lack of authors and directors sufficiently experienced
in the genre, early production heavily relied on the assistance
of German personnel, who were planned to be gradually replaced by
Austrians as the show went on.
Journalists reported that test screenings had featured a laugh
track, anyway this was removed in the final version and replaced
by sound bits.
being tentative at best. Critics stated MiA was stuck between the
genres of soap opera and sitcom; its screenplays were said to be
too shallow to work as comedy *or* drama. Almost every
other part of the production was subject to scathing criticism as
well, including acting, directing and inaccuracy in depicting
Austrian (youth) culture.
MiA reheated the debate on public broadcasting's obligation to -
and definition of - quality programming, as well as its balance
between license fees and commercial
revenues. Namely the show was accused of excessive product placement
. MiA was also heavily advertised outside the ORF
programmes, including posters, lottery games, ads in papers,
magazines, online and even on beer coasters.
Viewers' interest started out way below expectations and kept
shrinking throughout the whole season. Producers reacted by
having parts of the upcoming episodes rewritten to be less campy,
but negative reception from the media and the public
continued. Being a public foundation, ORF is supervised by
various boards representing the viewers as well as the parliamentary
constellation, most of which also supported the strong criticism
of MiA.
By the end of June 2007 MiA was eventually cancelled, closing with
a hastily written ending that skipped two years in the plot and
gave away the outcome to some major storylines. After that, the
rotation of Malcolm in the Middle
was resumed as a
replacement.
was an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n TV soap/comedy series produced by the ORF
ORF
ORF may refer to:* ORF , the Austrian public service broadcaster.* Open reading frame, a portion of the genome.* The IATA airport code for Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.* ORF format , Olympus raw image file format....
which ran from May 10 to June 29, 2007. The title translates to
"In the Middle of the 8th" (district), referring to Vienna's
Josefstadt
Josefstadt
Josefstadt is the eighth district of Vienna . It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and residential homes.It has a population of 22,057 people...
.
Repeatedly announced to be a core feature of the retuned
programming by ORF's new management, the show received extremely
bad ratings and devastating criticism from the start, and was
thus cancelled in the middle of its first season.
Setup
MiA was set to air at 7:30 pm on weekdays on ORF1ORF1
ORF eins is an Austrian television channel. It was the first television channel in Austria, started in 1955.ORF eins is one of four public TV channels in Austria. ORF eins broadcasts TV series and featured films, whereas ORF2 focuses on cultural programming and information. ORF Sport Plus is the...
, replacing the main
evening newscast (Zeit im Bild), which until then was
broadcast on both ORF TV channels simultaneously.
The plot revolved around a family, a neighbouring flat share, and
a bar in Vienna. It showed a demagogic mix of stereotypical,
one-dimensional characters, often drawing humor from their
incompatibility, and mocking cliches rather than providing real
identification figures.
The underlying concept was of John de Mol's, and was known to
have failed before in the Netherlands. For Austria it was redone
to combine Viennese humor and language style with slapstick and
sketch-like comedy as well as dramatic elements and focus on
character relationships.
Production
Aware of losing many, especially younger viewers to Germanprivate stations' daily soaps in that timeslot, ORF wanted to
offer a light dramedy-like series with a distinct Austrian
note. They also wished to respond to calls for a
domestic production, as opposed to the policy of buying
in German-dubbed U.S. sitcoms only.
MiA was shot entirely in studios on the outskirts of Vienna and
supplemented with a handful of outside establishing shots from
the "real" 8th district.
Among the actors were
kabarettists Gerold Rudle,
Angelika Niedetzky and Christoph Fälbl as well as the comedian
and TV show host Max Schmiedl. Most of the younger roles were
played by actors at the beginning of their careers. Due to ORF's
lack of authors and directors sufficiently experienced
in the genre, early production heavily relied on the assistance
of German personnel, who were planned to be gradually replaced by
Austrians as the show went on.
Journalists reported that test screenings had featured a laugh
track, anyway this was removed in the final version and replaced
by sound bits.
Reception
The show is widely considered a total failure, with reactionsbeing tentative at best. Critics stated MiA was stuck between the
genres of soap opera and sitcom; its screenplays were said to be
too shallow to work as comedy *or* drama. Almost every
other part of the production was subject to scathing criticism as
well, including acting, directing and inaccuracy in depicting
Austrian (youth) culture.
MiA reheated the debate on public broadcasting's obligation to -
and definition of - quality programming, as well as its balance
between license fees and commercial
revenues. Namely the show was accused of excessive product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
. MiA was also heavily advertised outside the ORF
programmes, including posters, lottery games, ads in papers,
magazines, online and even on beer coasters.
Viewers' interest started out way below expectations and kept
shrinking throughout the whole season. Producers reacted by
having parts of the upcoming episodes rewritten to be less campy,
but negative reception from the media and the public
continued. Being a public foundation, ORF is supervised by
various boards representing the viewers as well as the parliamentary
constellation, most of which also supported the strong criticism
of MiA.
By the end of June 2007 MiA was eventually cancelled, closing with
a hastily written ending that skipped two years in the plot and
gave away the outcome to some major storylines. After that, the
rotation of Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
was resumed as a
replacement.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Iréna Flury | Verena Huber |
| Barbara Kaudelka | Lisa Moizi |
| Michael Pascher | Robert Aufderklamm |
| Martin Maier Martin Maier Martin Maier was founder and proprietor of Martin Maier Trunk and Bag Company , which specialized in making specialty and sample trunks... |
Michael "Michi" Obermaier |
| Verena Scheitz | Sylvia Steinlechner |
| Gerold Rudle | Walter Steinlechner |
| Laurence Rupp | Lukas Steinlechner |
| Maria Schuchter | Julia Steinlechner |
| Nikola Rudle | Florentina "Flo" Steinlechner |
| Max Schmiedl | Ossi Weininger |
| Angelika Niedetzky | Claudia Holacek |
| Veronika Polly | Angelika "Geli" Windbüchler |
| Christoph Fälbl | Der Prohaska |