"Basta" used satire in order to inform and complain about a number of modern evils. This often took the form of a "Revenge tastes sweetest" approach to daily annoyances, such as the general slowness and unhelpfulness of customer helplines. (You know the type. "If you have questions about a bill, press 1. If you want to report a change of address, press 2. /... / If your aunt's domestic cat wants to convert to Buddhism, press 788.") In a remarkable segment, the "Basta" team took up residence in a shipping container placed before the main entrance of a well-known firm. Unsurprisingly, this was a firm rumored to have some of the worst helplines in Flanders. When an unsuspecting security guard telephoned in order to have the container removed, the "Basta" team kept him busy for hours. Finally he was given "an apology for his trouble", in the shape of a gift bonus whereby more containers would be placed on the very same spot...
So this was pretty smart television, situated somewhere between satire, entertainment and investigative journalism. Not all of the episodes were equally relevant or amusing, but the makers of the series did succeed in planting some richly-deserved harpoons. One of its segments on "telefoonspelletjes" pretty much exposed these games as a form of organized and willful fraud, rather than harmless television amusement. The segment caused a considerable public uproar, what with officials, commissions and secretaries of state being asked about their policies (or, as the case might be, lack of policies).
Strange rumors swirl around the series : it is said that it was terminated or cancelled prematurely because some of the topics proved too hot to handle. Whether these rumors are true or not I do not know, but they're certainly a form of testimony to the sharpness of the satire.
So this was pretty smart television, situated somewhere between satire, entertainment and investigative journalism. Not all of the episodes were equally relevant or amusing, but the makers of the series did succeed in planting some richly-deserved harpoons. One of its segments on "telefoonspelletjes" pretty much exposed these games as a form of organized and willful fraud, rather than harmless television amusement. The segment caused a considerable public uproar, what with officials, commissions and secretaries of state being asked about their policies (or, as the case might be, lack of policies).
Strange rumors swirl around the series : it is said that it was terminated or cancelled prematurely because some of the topics proved too hot to handle. Whether these rumors are true or not I do not know, but they're certainly a form of testimony to the sharpness of the satire.
