Norwegian Television Special Featuring 8-Hours Of A Crackling Fire Draws One Million Viewers

By - 358 words

Language

Reading Level

Listen to Article

On Friday February 22nd, over one million people or about 20 percent of Norway's population settled down with their buckets of popcorn to watch a 12-hour special mini-series! The highlight? Eight exciting hours of a crackling fire!

The show, which Norwegian Public Broadcast producer Rune Moeklebust calls 'slow but noble television' was inspired by local author Lars Mytting's best-selling non-fiction book called - Solid Wood: All About Chopping, Drying and Stacking Wood - and the Soul of Wood-Burning.

Totaling 12 hours, it began at prime-time and went all the way through to the wee hours of the morning. Besides the fire, it also featured four hours of conventional programing which included interesting topics like how to burn, slice and stack wood, some music & poetry recitals (probably about wood) and of course, a guest appearance from the wood expert, Lars Mytting!

If you think a show like this was a big dud promptly resulting in putting the audience to sleep, think again - Not only did over 20% of Norway's population stay up to watch 'National Firewood Night' but they also, sent angry text messages - Not about it being a waste of time, but about how the wood in the fireplace was stacked! About 51% were upset that the bark was stacked facing up and the rest, about it being stacked facing down!

Host Rebecca Nedregotten was not surprised. In a country where temperatures can drop to below -30°C, firewood is an important topic! So much so, that before he settled for a 12-hour special, the producer had contemplated making it an ongoing series - Given the tremendous success, we would not be surprised if he does indeed revive that idea!

This is not the first time Norway's Public Broadcast Television has featured an offbeat show. In 2011, they broadcast a 134-hour special in which they followed a cruise ship from Norway to the Arctic and last year, an 8-hour train journey. The former, garnered 3.4 million viewers while the latter was such a runaway success, that it has been broadcast repeatedly a number of times. Don't you wish you lived in Norway?

Resources: newsfeed.time.com, huffingtonpost.com

Cite Article
Geography
Learn Keywords in this Article
129 Comments
  • hey
    heyover 11 years
    They just wasted 12 hours on a FRIDAY night watching... fire. Wow.... Thats pretty sad.
    • Norwegiandude over 11 years
      That is ridiculous! They actually staked the wood the wrong way!!!! Who would be crazy enough to put some wood facing up and some down! I wish I saw the show, It would be really excited, considering the shows we see here in Norway. :)
      • ZE DERP MONSTERover 11 years
        SRRY I ACCTULLY THINK ITS KIND OF GOOD I POSTED DAT BEFORE READING
        • B-Cheeseover 11 years
          That is so weird, and we thought our soap operas were boring! :P
          • FIREover 11 years
            i HAVE A FIRE PLACE AND I CAN WATCH REGULAR TV AND sit by a fire
            • Horcrucx Apolloover 11 years
              wow. eight hours of crackling fire?
            • jlawrocksover 11 years
              wow lol. i would not want to live in Norway if that's their main source of entertainment.
            • jenniferover 11 years
              lol
              • jenniferover 11 years
                cool
                • jenniferover 11 years
                  this is a awsome video it was cool espesily when the back ground light up with the fire