History
"Het Leugenpaleis" aired on Studio Brussel from 1988 [4] to 1999. Right from the start it divided listeners in two camps: you either loved it or hated it. [5] Peeters and Matthysen's unprofessional attitude often caused them to start laughing halfway their performances or made skits go on for so long that the musical interludes had to wait. Originally radio network chief Jan Schoukens planned to fire them, but since the airings had garnered a cult following by then the show was allowed to stay in the air.
In 1989 the show won the HA! van Humo, an annual prize for best Flemish TV show, awarded by the Flemish magazine Humo. It is still the only radio show so far to be awarded this TV prize. [6]
The show ended in 1999, but in 2005 it returned for one final episode to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Belgian radio. [7]
Television adaptations
In 1993 Bart Peeters appeared in Mark Uytterhoeven's popular TV talk show "Morgen Maandag", where he played BRTN network head Cas Goossens, whom he had imitated a lot in "Het Leugenpaleis". It was one of the most memorable moments of the show.
De (V)liegende doos
In 1995 Peeters and Matthysen tried to transfer the absurd Leugenpaleis comedy to television. Since the BRTN refused to give them their own show at the time they broadcast the format on the commercial network vtm. The shows, "De Vliegende Doos" and "De Liegende Doos" ("The Flying Box" and "The Lying Box") were broadcast in prime time at Sunday evenings. "De Vliegende Doos" was a big budget comedy musical spectacle show aimed at a family audience, with puppets and Ronny Mosuse playing an African warrior. "De Liegende Doos" was broadcast later at night and more adult in style. Both programs went live and were completely improvised. While the shows received a lot of media attention at the time the format didn't really catch on with the general public. "De Vliegende Doos" was perceived to be too infantile. "De Liegende Doos", which was more in line with the madcap style of the radio show, got a better reception, but was still too daft for the average viewer. Still, "De Vliegende Doos" was shown in repeats during vtm and its sister channel 2BE's matinée hours and a CD with music from the show was released later.
Het Peulengaleis
Four years later Peeters and Matthysen returned to the small screen with "Het Peulengaleis", a switcheroo of the radio show's title. This time the VRT did give them a chance to make a TV version of "Het Leugenpaleis" and it aired on Canvas late at night. Each episode was directed by Stijn Coninx and featured, apart from Peeters and Matthysen, guest actors among which Tine Embrechts was the most prominent.
The show was smaller in budget and pretense and reached its target audience much easier. It was an instant hit and popular enough to inspire six TV seasons.
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