Programming and production style
The programs were shot primarily around the city of Helsinki, with occasional programming such as concert events and E3 shot elsewhere. If shows were not hosted at MoonTV's studios they were usually shot at public locales. MoonTV employees were notorious for relying heavily on guerilla shoots (shooting without permits). This was poked fun at in the early airings in commercials which showed candid footage of a police-car chasing the film crew. For these reasons certain inserts were usually hosted at playgrounds or inside clubs or restaurants. As MoonTV became better recognised such problems with shooting became less of an issue.
MoonTV gathered the support of several Finnish musical artists who would regularly shoot inserts and commercials for the show. Most noticeably Jimi Pääkallo's "Se on ihmisten tekemä" (It's made by humans) insert became extremely popular amongst viewers. Pääkallo was also a regular guest and even shot a commercial for the channel's cooking show Musta Pippuri.
MoonTV's initial purpose was to be, according to channel's co-founder Pekka Kossila, a 24/7 video game-oriented channel. Originally channel's programs were very short, sometimes only 15 minutes, but with the introduction of more youth-oriented programs the average show-length became 30 minutes (with commercials). MoonTV's programming was updated weekly (originally on Mondays, later on Thursdays) and this meant that reruns of any show could be seen several times daily like in today's movie or music channels. However, there were several programmes like the entertainment and sport news that were updated on a daily basis via the Web. Aivoradio (Brain Radio), a 15-minute news and current events programme was the only show to be updated daily, but appeared only for a brief time very late into MoonTV's existence.
Being a completely computer-run channel MoonTV was prone to various technical malfunctions. During its run the channel "went dark" several times. The periods of darkness could last anywhere from a few minutes to a whole week. Additionally, the fact that the channel was not supported by a bigger, better established channel (such as SubTV which is a part of MTV3) undoubtedly had effects in the overall production values of the channel's programmes. Unlike other commercial channels, MoonTV did not feature subtitling for programmes, regardless of their language.
Despite having minimal impact in Finnish television culture MoonTV sustained a steady fan-base and helped launch the careers of several of their employees and associates such as Jarno Sarkula of the band Alamaailman Vasarat, Miika Huttunen and Thomas Puha, the main editors of the game magazine Pelaaja and the Finnish equivalent of Jackass, the Extreme Duudsonit.
Yleisradio Oy, abbreviated as Yle, translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock company, which is 99.98% owned by the Finnish state and employs around 3,200 people in Finland. Yle shares many of its organisational characteristics with its British counterpart, the BBC, on which it was largely modelled.
The Assembly demoparty is an annual demoscene and gaming event in Finland. It is the biggest and the longest standing demoscene party. The Summer event takes place every year at Messukeskus in Helsinki, between late July and early August, and lasts three to four days. The 2020 edition was held online.
Pelaaja ("Gamer") is a Finnish video games magazine published 11 times a year by H-Town. Pelaaja turned 15 years old in 2017. Pelaaja covers both PCs and consoles, although between 2003 and 2007 it focused only on consoles. During that time the PC coverage was in a separate magazine named PCPelaaja, now defunct. Its editor-in-chief was Miika Huttunen, who was a former editor-in-chief of Pelaaja.
The Dudesons are a Finnish entertainment group. They are best known for their TV shows and live performances, which are a combination of stunts and comedy. Their early TV shows were similar to Jackass. Starting their television career in the early 2000s, they gained international fame and had a show on the American television channel MTV in 2010. After The Dudesons in America, the group started to shift from the stunts to more multidimensional careers.
Alamaailman Vasarat is an avant-garde Finnish musical group formed in 1997. Their music is influenced by European folk, klezmer, jazz and metal. Though not officially disbanded the group has been inactive since 2014. The band's founder Jarno Sarkula died on 12 July 2020 in Portugal.
Tiina-Rakel Liekki is a Finnish artist, freelance journalist, writer, director and producer, and former pornographic actress.
Jarno Sarkula was a Finnish musician and one-time TV-personality.
Elias Poutanen is a former host/computer-game critic. He has worked for the magazine Pelaaja and for a number of related television programmes. Though officially a Finnish citizen, he was born in Australia.
Jani Petteri "Wallu" Valpio is a Finnish media personality.
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Levyraati is a Finnish television show which ran from the 1961–1992 originally on YLE and starting from 1992 on MTV3. It is based on the British Juke Box Jury.
Aki Linnanahde is a Finnish television and radio personality.
Deuteronomium is a Christian death metal band formed in 1993, Jyväskylä, Finland, one of Finland's earliest and most influential groups in that genre.
Gladiaattorit is a Finnish competition television program part of the international Gladiators franchise.
HIFK is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland that plays in the SM-liiga, the sport's top-level league in Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall.
The Central Television of the USSR was the state television broadcaster of the Soviet Union.
Oy Rabbit Films LTD is a Finnish TV production and distribution company founded by The Dudesons: Jarno Laasala, Jukka Hildén, Jarppi Leppälä and HP Parviainen.
Arman Alizad is an Iranian-Finnish master tailor, fashion columnist and TV personality. He is best known for the martial arts series Kill Arman, which has aired in over 100 countries around the world. Alizad has also hosted several other Finnish TV series, such as Dresscode, Unisex, Loman Tarpeessa and Arman Reilaa.
Tuukka Tiensuu is a Finnish television director, writer and producer. He is best known for the internationally successful Finnish TV-series The Dudesons, Kill Arman,The Dudesons in America and Beyond Human Boundaries.
Dresscode was a Finnish fashion TV-series airing on MoonTV. It was hosted by master tailor Arman Alizad. The series run for three seasons, from 2001 to 2003.
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