TVSquad

Russian TV censors have cut a scene from a broadcast of the show South Park in their country, claiming it portrays former President Vladimir Putin as a greedy and desperate leader (the episode first aired in 2005, when Putin was still in the president's office).

Sometimes comedy just doesn't translate overseas. Upon watching the segment, it doesn't feel like they're so much making fun of Putin as simply doing some situational humor involving the economic crisis in Russia at the time (and the only difference nowadays is that it has spread to pretty much every country).

This incident about the episode seems to speak more about the current situation in Russia than about in South Park. Compared to other segments of the show (Mickey Mouse, anyone?), this one is kind of tame.

I leave it for your judgment. The video of the offending segment is after the jump. Feel free to watch the segment and determine if the Russian government should be offended. Unless you're from Russia, of course.

For the most part American game shows are pretty tame. Oh sure, we eat a live slug once in awhile, and we take a dip into a pool of rattlesnakes on occasion; however, overall, the craziest thing we do is have our halter tops fall off while running down the stage. And, that's by accident.

The rest of the world, on the other hand...well, they've pretty much thrown off the Puritan shackles that we still bear and, for lack of a better phrase, let it all hang out when it comes to their game shows. Sometimes literally. Some examples of this can be found at Cracked.com, which lists 6 examples of the most insane game shows in the world.

It's a typical night in Moscow. You have just finished supper and are now ready to sit down with your wife, children, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to watch some television. On the screen a sad-faced shoe salesman is anchored to his living room couch watching his own TV. Strutting behind him is his gaudily-dressed, shockingly red-haired wife. To the side his ditsy blonde-haired daughter and fairly intelligent son, who dreams of something bigger in his life, bicker over something or other.

Sounds a bit like Married... With Children, doesn't it? Well, truth be told, it actually is. The name of the show is Schastlivy Vmeste (translated to Happy Together) and it is an authorized copy of the former FOX sitcom featuring Russian cast members and dialog. It is also a huge hit in Russia, especially among younger viewers. According to a spokesperson for Russian channel TNT, Vmeste is the most popular scripted series among the 18 to 30 crowd.

I've written for newspapers and magazines, but I've always been apprehensive about calling myself a journalist because it was never my major in college. In fact, my college didn't even have that as a major. I've always been fascinated by the career itself, however, and learning about all the obstacles that go along with getting a story.

If you share my interest in anything having to do with the media, and independent media especially, you'll probably enjoy Democracy on Deadline, which appears as part of the PBS series Independent Lens on November 21 at 10 pm. The documentary looks at independent journalists in several parts of the world, from right here in the United States to places like Russia and the Middle East. In the US, the problem for journalists is breaking through the wall of secrecy put up by the Bush White House during the days leading up to the Iraq war, and during the war itself. The documentary does not, however, place all blame on the government, it also points out how shoddy journalistic standards and a disinterested public have played a significant role in slowing down the flow of information.

Imagine a house with three single men in their thirties taking care of one of three little girls. Now imagine all of them speaking Russian. That's the scenario taking place on Russian TV, where old American sitcoms like Full House are being remade into new Russian-language versions. Other sitcoms that are being remade, according to this article, are Suddenly Susan, Step by Step, and Perfect Strangers (yes, Perfect Strangers. Balki is now Andrei, and he comes from a remote former Soviet Republic to move into the Moscow flat of his cousin Ivan).

If you think, though, that a local Moscow-based producer bought the rights to these series, think again. The remakes are being produced by Warner Brothers, the original U.S. producer of each show. Either WB is hurting for money or they really think foreign markets are about to explode. What's next? A Chinese version of Urkel?

[Thanks to Reb and Dinges for the tips.]