For those feeling chilly this winter, Norway is broadcasting a 12-hour prime-time show on local TV of a burning fireplace. Tune in, zone out and put your feet up to get warm.
Apparently the show will not only feature a burning fire, however, but will also be accompanied by commentary by "firewood specialists" along with cultural news and expert advice, according to Reuters.
Rune Moeklebust, a producer for state broadcaster NRK, told the media, "We'll talk about the very nerdy subjects like burning, slicing and stacking the wood, but we'll also have cultural segments with music and poems."
"It will be very slow but noble television," he added. Apparently this is not the first time that NRK has actually set a world record for broadcasting the longest, continuous TV program.
Two years ago they apparently broadcast 134 hours of a cruise ship sailing up the Norwegian coast on its way to the Arctic. It was so popular, that apparently at one stage 60% of the population was watching the show. It seems that long calming sequences of images has become the network's trademark and Norwegians like it.
Another hit was an eight-hour train journey across Norway, which the locals liked so much, it was actually repeated.
The latest show idea was apparently inspired by the success of a book, written by firewood celebrity Lars Mytting. The book is titled "Hel Ved", meaning "strong character" in English. However, "ved" apparently also means "firewood". Reportedly the book has sold approximately 130,000 copies in its first year after publication, which is not bad going, considering Norway's population of only 5 million people.
Getting back to the show, Moeklebust said, "People in Norway have a spiritual relationship with fire. Fire is the reason we're here, if there was no firewood, we couldn't live in Norway, we'd freeze."
Asked how he thought the show might do in the TV ratings, Moeklebust said, "More people will tune in than on a normal Friday night."
Gawker had something funny, and somehow appropriate, to say about the whole idea:
What do you think? Could you sit in a stupor watching a burning fireplace on the little screen for hours on end?Staring at fire was originally developed as an entertainment property by cavemen, and had an impressive, multi-millennia run as the number-one method of entertainment during primetime hours across several demographics before being superseded by television.
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