NAZI PROGRAMME "IN POOR TASTE"

The bosses of beleaguered TV station TIT are once again under fire this week, after a TV show on the Nazis smashed the complaints record and has put the President in a surely untenable position.

Billed as a history retrospective, "The Nazis" was supposed to be an in-depth look into the motives of the upper ranking members of the Nazi Party. However, when the show aired on Wednesday night, viewers were stunned to find that it nothing of the sort.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Pritchard Rembleson, a long term resident of Fukuoka City, and whose father was killed during the fall of Berlin. "There was a couple of minutes of historical fact at the start, but with crass cartoon animations and joke voice overs. Then, unbelievably, the remaining 55 minutes of the show was about Nazi food."

Mr Rembleson went on to mention that the guests "were dressed as the SS, Luftwaffe and Gestapo, including numerous idols wearing provocative uniforms". As if that wasn't enough, the guests openly praised the Nazi Party for their delicious food, and one of the idols even went as far as to say that her skimpy swastika costume was "cute" and that she wanted one for her wardrobe.

At time of writing, Mr Rembleson is preparing a legal case against the station, and seems to have the backing of the majority of people interviewed. "My legal partners and I requested a meeting with the President of TIT, but he declined. We shall see him in court, though."

JAPANESE "24" FALLS FLAT

Following a much-hyped and sponsorship-laden promotional campaign, the highly anticipated Japanese version of the hit American show "24" hit the screens last Friday, but already it looks like being the latest in a long list of crossover flops.

The main problem with the show, according to Jun Kaneda, the founder of www.24.co.jp, the premier 24 fansite in the country, is the chronic lack of action.

"In the American original, there was action, intrigue and gripping drama," he moaned. "In the new Japanese version, most of the show takes place in the boss' office, with the Jack Bauer character listening to his boss talking, and patiently waiting for him to authorise and stamp his requests."

This, as well as the "dog-amateur" approach - an example being the ludicrous idea to have the main character wearing an ill-fitting blonde wig - has led to thousands of fans swearing they will boycott the show in the future.

Norinobu Masatsuru, President of TIT television, the TV station that secured the rights to make the show last March, refused to comment.