Direct hit on live broadcast

May had to convince TV viewers that Russia is a superpower, and “Russia” is a super channel. We were shown the greatness of the Kremlin and the authorities at the inauguration, military might at the May 9 parade, sporting achievements in hockey and football, and a musical victory at Eurovision. If the first two events were shown by both main channels of the country, then the rest were lucky to be broadcast by Rossiya. The channel did not miss the opportunity to chalk up the May victories (it seems that a little more, and they would have agreed that the Victory of May 9, 1945 became possible thanks to the Rossiya channel). Although, in principle, in May one could really be grateful to television for the opportunity to feel involved in the events. Without getting off the couch, you felt that for several hours you were uniting with the country or - in the case of Eurovision - with Europe (though it would be better to unite around something more significant than the song of Dima Bilan).

In May there was a direct hit on live television, of which there is very little left on television: news, sporting events, events in the Kremlin like the inauguration or “Direct Line” with the president and the game “What? Where? When?”, the May victories in which the country valued less than in football, although these guys play with their heads somewhat better. The triumph of the live broadcast, however, unexpectedly ended with the suspension of the “Vremechko” program, which was also broadcast live.

Among the indirect broadcasts, it is worth noting the wonderful cycle of Vladimir Pozner and Ivan Urgant “One-Storey America”, which was unlucky with the timing of the show and frequency (but, apparently, our television can show an unbiased attitude towards another superpower, America, only once a week and after midnight) .

Ivan Urgant was just as good in the new funny program of Channel One with a title that could be included in a textbook for speech therapists - “ProjectorParisHilton”.

Back in May, the Rossiya channel launched an interesting project, “Name Russia,” and announced it on air something like this: “Russia chose the future (Medvedev’s personnel), now it chooses the past.” Having chosen (also, by the way, mainly with the help of television) the main personality in the present - the President of Russia, the country began electing the main personality in the past: out of 500 famous people, by December there will be only one left - a national hero. At the same time, the Rossiya channel, apparently wanting to modernize history, gave dubious characteristics to the heroes of the past: “Kutuzov was wounded in the eye,” “Krylov died of gluttony,” “Bagration is a person of Caucasian nationality.” Fortunately, the channel heeded the criticism and corrected these absurdities in the biographies of the heroes on the project website.

In May there was another victory - TV academician Manana Aslamazyan in the Constitutional Court. But for some reason the country did not celebrate this victory, no less important for life in Russia, with nightly enthusiastic shouts in the streets and waving of Russian flags.

Yulia LARINA, “Ogonyok”