Detroit on the Volga

Best foot forward .. Poster courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor
CURRENT NEWS

I love Pope Francis, but we have had Pope Overload the last 3 days. I’ll be glad to get back a normal news cycle. I’m sorry to see John Boehner leave as the GOP Speaker of the House. He was one of the last reasonable Republicans – I have to wonder who will replace him. Donald Trump and Ben Carson are still miles ahead of the other GOP contenders. This race fascinates me the same way NASCAR fascinates, with possibilities of a wipeout or explosion.

EXPORTING RAYMOND

This past week I watched a good documentary, Exporting Raymond. In it, producer Philip Rosenthal was tasked with bringing the Russian version of Raymond to life in Moscow. He had to travel to Moscow (after securing Kidnap-Rescue insurance) and meet with Russian TV czars to recreate the hit show -- Everybody Loves Kostya. Russian tastes are different – they demanded a better looking, more macho Raymond. Russians don’t like wussy men. They made Kostya’s family more upscale – Russians don’t like to see shows about working class riffraff. Also, a few Raymond shows delved into more subtle, psychological humor. Russians like more physicality and farce. There was a lot of reworking the scripts.

Rosenthal was initially horrified by some of the turns his show (based partly on his own life) took in Russia. Ultimately though, they made good casting decisions and honored his directorial advice. The show was a big hit, topping the ratings shortly thereafter.

MOSCOW – SIDESTREET VIEW

This documentary fascinated me for the unofficial Moscow Travelogue it provided. Most pictures I’ve ever seen show the beautiful tourist areas (like Red Square in the picture). What does Moscow look like away from the glitzy government buildings and historic areas? Raymond gave us a view that answered the question.

DETROIT ON THE VOLGA

The street scenes were gritty, gray commercial districts with dense traffic and billboards. The cold, gray, wet weather didn’t enhance the view, but mostly it looked like warehouse buildings and non-descript office buildings.

Russia’s 2nd biggest TV studio is housed in a single building – it looks maybe like a Chase Bank building we would’ve built in the 1970’s. That, except for the mile high weeds and large piece of façade fallen off. The inside fares no better – big pieces of plaster chunking off the wall, a wire cable precariously stapled along one wall. Rosenthal commented that being in this building actually raised his fear of being kidnapped.

Everybody Loves Kostya was pretty well received and got bumped over to Russia’s #1 TV Studio across town. This facility looks like an abandoned US military base from the 1950’s. Beige brick buildings surround a weedy parking lot. Stray dogs eat out of a trash can. The facility is large – size-wise it might compare to Universal Studios in Hollywood. The soundstages are rudimentary by US standards and there is no studio audience. Overall my impression would be that their TV industry trails ours by a couple of decades. In fairness, they put a lot of emphasis on ballet and “legitimate” theater. In fact some Russians look disdainfully at TV, almost the way we would look at soft-core porn.

YARD CREW?

Nonetheless Russia – have you ever heard of a lawn crew? They maintain the landscape of public areas. What about handymen and carpenters? In America, if a chunk of a building falls off we put it back asap. We don’t say “Whatever”. I will say we have a US analog to this. The USPS center nearest me looks oddly like the Moscow TV studio. It’s a 1950’s beige brick building surrounded by yard-high weeds and fast food containers. Both share the common trait of government oversight. This impression may take way from my Socialist leanings. Workers of the world unite, but first mow the damn lawn and rewire the wall!

If you have a chance, watch this excellent documentary. You will learn as much about Russian property management as you do about television tastes worldwide.

© 2015 Snillor Productions