Vintiöt

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Vintiöt is a Finnish sketch comedy TV series that aired on MTV3 from 1994 to 1995, with 27 episodes. A follow-up, Vintiöt – Ten Years After, came in 2003 and added 12 more episodes. The show features a well-known Finnish cast including Samuli Edelmann, Santeri Kinnunen, Niko Saarela, Janus Hanski, Jussi Chydenius, Kari Hietalahti and Juha Veijonen. It was very popular with children and teenagers and even popularized catchphrases like Asiaa! (“This is business!”).

Vintiöt is known for its quirky, absurd humor and characters. Most sketches were improvised on location with simple props and very little budget, and there was no continuous plot. The show’s opening credits even showed the cast on a Soviet submarine. Written by Hietalahti and Saarela and directed by Aleksi Mäkelä, the sketches often revolved around two odd characters or a single odd scenario, sometimes using nasal voice effects in post-production.

Iconic bits include Rane, a nasal-voiced young man who brags about adventures with women and trouble with the police; a married couple who argue over a seventies Opel Kadett; Mirjami, a hot-dog stand attendant played in drag; two men peering through a curtain at something ridiculous; and other quick setups like a mitten-wielding character and theatre-for-one sketches. The humor is quick, silly, and memorable, with the familiar exclamation “Asiaa!” punctuating many gags.