''Romano-tv'' (previously ''Manne-tv'') is a twelve-episode sketch-show based on common

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

s and misconceptions the Finns have of the domestic

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

minority. It ran from June 2 to August 18, 2007 on

Yle Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...

. The show was propelled by the excitable performances of Santeri Ahlgren and

Eeki Mantere Erik Kristian “Eeki” Mantere (25 January 1949, in Helsinki – 30 April 2007, in Espoo) was a Finnish musician that became famous in the 1970s as Viktor Kalborrek, soloist of the band Hullujussi. After Hullujussi disbanded in 1976, Mantere c ...

(who died in April 2007, just before the shooting of the show) as well as through the support of the Finnish celebrity and musician

Remu Aaltonen Henry Olavi "Remu" Aaltonen (born 10 January 1948) is a Finnish drummer and singer. He is the lead musician of the band Hurriganes, but has also pursued a solo singing career. Aaltonen was born in Helsinki. He was the oldest child in a family o ...

of Hurriganes (who himself is a member of the

Finnish Romani Finnish Kalo () is a language of the Romani language, Romani language family (a subgroup of Indo-European languages, Indo-European) spoken by Finnish Kale. The language is related to but not mutually intelligible with Scandoromani language, Scand ...

community). The show's builds on the tradition of such extreme low-budget sketch-shows as ''

Pulttibois Pulttibois (Finglish for "Bolt Boys"; also a play on words of ''pultti pois'' - "to have a screw loose") was a popular Finnish sketch comedy television show that premiered on MTV3 in 1989 and which starred a two-man cast of comedic actors - Pir ...

'' and ''

Kummeli Kummeli is the name of a Finnish comedy crew formed by Heikki Silvennoinen, Timo Kahilainen and Heikki Hela from Tampere. They are also the heads of ''Porkkana Ryhmä'', the crew's production company. Other famous members have included Olli Keskin ...

'' by adding a comical effect through a more intentional approach. This is manifested by blooper-shots being shown within the episode rather than at the end of each program. The show attracted wide criticism when it first aired and up until the 14th of July the show ran under the title ''Manne-tv'' after which Yleisradio had the name changed to the more neutral ''Romano-tv''. Some groups found the use of the term ''manne'' (a Finnish racial slur referring to Romani people) offensive or inappropriate despite the usage of the term in the show in a tongue-in-cheek connotation. Despite the change in name the fake ''commercial bumpers'' and characters in the show still referred to the show as ''Manne-tv'' even after the official switch. Despite the controversy the show also enjoyed a slew of popular guest stars.

References

External links

* 2007 Finnish television series debuts 2007 Finnish television series endings Antiziganism in Europe Finnish television sketch shows Race-related controversies in television Stereotypes of Romani people Romani in Finland Romani mass media {{Finland-tv-prog-stub