07/23/2002   English German
  Edition # 38  
San Francisco, 07-23-2002

The Osbournes on TV

Michael The most popular show on American television at the moment is called "The Osbournes." The TV channel MTV came up with the idea of placing a camera crew in the home of Ozzy Osbourne, the former singer of the band "Black Sabbath," to follow Ozzy, his wife Sharon, and their two rambunctious teenage children every step of the way and capture the everyday life in this unusual household.
Figure [1]: In the living room of the Osbournes

The Osbournes are British, but they live in an ugly mansion for the nouveau riche in the upscale suburb of Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. Ozzy Osbourne is now 53 years old and a total wreck. With "Black Sabbath"--absolute superstars of the hard rock scene in the seventies--it was wild: Ozzy consumed drugs like a centrifugal pump. Today, he shuffles around the house like a zombie, mutters incoherent things, and yells for his wife (Sharon! Shaarooooon!!) when he can't find something, the TV is acting up, or the dog has pooped on the carpet again.

Figure [2]: The luxurious house of the Osbournes

Parents and children constantly use terrible swear words that wouldn't even go unpunished in a ghetto family. However, with the Osbournes, it's completely normal to use the so-called F-word. Because of this, US television stations have to bleep it. (reported previously in Rundbrief 12/2000) Ozzy: "What the --BLEEP-- is that?" Daughter Kelly: "The --BLEEP--ing dog --BLEEP-- on the --BLEEP-ing carpet again!".

Figure [3]: Cursing, Ozzy chases after the cat that has hidden in the bushes.

It gets interesting when the completely tattooed Ozzy presents himself to his offspring as the responsible father and insists, for example, that the children come home from a party at a certain time. Or when he confesses to his lovely wife in a Midlands English working-class dialect: "Sharon, I love you more than life itself...". That's what makes the show so charming.

Figure [4]: The defiant 16-year-old son wants to go to the rave, but he is not allowed to!

MTV produced it with a small budget and did not expect it to be successful at all. However, it was a huge hit and even surpassed the mega-million productions on other channels in the ratings. MTV recently extended the contract with the Osbournes for a second season. The people in charge reported that the negotiations were utterly chaotic, with Ozzy's wife Sharon repeatedly stalling the MTV people and making wild back-and-forth decisions. Ozzy himself only catches half of what's going on anyway and will surely be satisfied with the negotiated fee. You will find more about this unusual family here.

Clear the way for Angelika!

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