''Radio9'' is a

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

sketch show set in a fictional

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

. Broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

between 2003 and 2006, it was written by

Hils Barker Hils Barker is a British comedian and writer. She was a finalist in newcomer competitions So You Think You're Funny and The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award, and went on to write and perform in two series of comedy show '' Radio9'' for BBC Radio 4. ...

and Johnny Daukes. The show often used the taglines: *''"Round the clock radio... 24 hours a day"'' *''"Real radio, for real people. With real radios."'' The show targeted some traditional radio formats, including plays, interviews,

adverts Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

, as well as trailing programmes that are never heard and advertising activities which are "coming soon" to Radio9, such as

Contract Bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...

. Radio9 was adapted for TV on BBC Three, changing its name to The Message. The show is divided into distinct segments. The "News Creation" segment of the show involves Radio9 creating road accidents, power failures or "acts of civil obedience", and then reporting it live. In "The Big Debate", the host attempts to incite her guests to violence by relaying inflammatory and incorrect information: "Well, this is a tragedy that reasoned debate should descend so quickly to mud-slinging.... He just called you a poof, what's your response to that?" "The Great Pretender" is a

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

in which ordinary people attempt to fool a panel of experts in tasks such as piloting an aircraft,

downhill skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping), w ...

heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to corr ...

. Relayed by a sports commentary team. The "Adverts" portion contains humorous adverts. Examples include Pro-Celebrity Bee Keeping and NIMBY (''Not In My Back Yard''). Other parts of the show include "The Afternoon Play", "Sport... and Talk", featuring sports talk ranging from the Board Game Olympics to premiership football as commentated on by

Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...

and Sylvia Plath. "Chasing Rainbows" involves "Ordinary People in Extraordinary Circumstances", and the segment "New Movements" shows Quentin Montreal investigating numerous topics such as the Accidentalist Art Movement.

References

External links

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Radio9
BBC Radio comedy programmes {{BBC-radio-stub