Mess:Tv is (as you may or may not have guessed) a tv show. But it’s unlike any other tv show I’ve ever seen before, and it is highly addictive. Not addictive in the way ”oh I absolutely HAVE to see what happens to Rhonda when she goes to the mall to meet the guy she is SO destined to be with” no, this is reality tv gone... very real.

So we had Big Brother. Which I guess was sort of okay, although I liked the concept better in writing than I liked the actual result. I think I watched about one and a half show before I gave the whole thing up, but that’s not really relevant for Mess:Tv. the only thing I knew before I saw Mess:Tv was that I didn’t like reality shows much. But Mess:Tv doesn’t present themselves as a reality show. They present themselves as ”an alternative breakfast show” and alternative they are.

What’s It All About?

It’s basically three people locked up in a tiny, itsy bitsy studio.

And that’s it.

Yeah I know, absurd isn’t it, but here comes the twist that makes it all so exciting and addictive. The show lets its audience participate. Using text messages viewers can text in whatever they want, the hosts of the show will then comment, or make up topics that people can discuss, they will try to entertain and keep themselves from falling asleep. Ah I forgot to mention that the show is aired at 03.20am to 11.15am every single day of the week. So yes, it does become quite entertaining watching how three people struggle to entertain viewers and keep themselves awake during the whole thing.

Despite the concept being a bit… off, they have managed to do some pretty amazing stuff. They’ve put together a band, made a music video, tried to beat a Guinness World Record, done many disgusting stunts all suggested by viewers and the list goes on and on.

They have also managed to turn many youngsters into insomniacs. Me being one of them. I simply can’t go to sleep before I’ve seen at least half an hour of Mess:Tv. It’s quite dangerous, considering that I go to school and try to lead a normal life. I also use large amounts of money texting in messages for the show. It costs 10 Norwegian Kr (13 Norwegian Kr is 1 £ so.. you get the picture) to send in one message, so you can only imagine peoples phone bills after they’ve been hooked by the show.

Basic Info

The show premiered on the fifth of October 2002. The premiere was hosted by Kjell G who is a sort of famous musician in Norway (I say ”sort of” because his band Infinity, and the music they make can barely be called music at all) probably a good strategy to get people to tune in in the first place. The name Mess:Tv.. Well they haven’t really explained it, but of course there is the obvious reason why it’s called that. You –the viewer- send in messages to the show. The other reason why it’s called Mess:Tv is that. Well, it sometimes gets quite messy. They always have a poll running, above the area where the text messages are shown they have a poll. And sometimes they are about who the viewers wants to do totally disgusting stunts live on air. They have a weekly segment called ”It’s submerged in water” where they put something in water (something edible) the viewers of course can vote for what they want to be put in water. The thing... whatever it is lies in water for three hours, then the viewers can vote for one of the hosts, and the host with the most votes have to eat the goo which has been submerged in water for three hours. It’s very disgusting, messy and totally entertaining. They’ve also blown up teddy bears, put clothes on fire and lots more.

They have 13 hosts and 3 chat moderators that share the viewers’ hearts. Oh yes, the hosts have got their own fan bases, people send them fan-mail, fans have created clans and websites for their favourite Mess:Tv host. A bit scary if you think about it. Because it’s really easy to become one. All you have to do is send in a 20 second (!!) long tape of yourself doing something that is typical for you. And you have to state your name, age and location too. So basically, all you have to do to become a host for Mess:Tv is to find a funny way to say your own name.

Competition

Lately the Norwegian Broadcasting Network NRK has tried to start their own Mess:Tv concept, and so far they are failing miserably. It is an absolute pain to watch those poor people imitate Mess:Tv. The only thing they have got going for them is that the channel they work for actually has enough money to send music videos, so they can do that. A feature that Mess:Tv doesn’t have. The only music video they can play is the one they made themselves for Infinity’s new song called something that I can’t remember, and it’s not really that important, because the song is a pain to listen to anyway.

So. I don’t know if this is a Norwegian thing or not. For some strange reason Mess:Tv, Rubicon tv (the people who sponsor/make the show) and TvNorge (the channel who lets them play) has removed all their info about the show on all of their websites. But if I remember it correctly I think it was either a Finnish or Swedish concept that didn’t really hit home in those countries... But of course, bring it to Norway and you’ll get success.