There were only two programs on TV: you woke up with Ceausescu, you went to bed with Ceausescu, 2 hours on end. That was about all: 2 hours in the afternoon, 2 hours during the day. Romanian TV 1 and 2 were just the same: you woke up with the ?Romanian Chant?, you went to bed with the ?Romanian Chant?. So, not much to look at really. The TV was dead, the radio was dead as well, because the radio followed the same policy, the newspapers were dead; the same policy as well?(22)

The daily TV programs ran from 20.00 to 22.00 with a slight variation at the weekend: from 19.00 to 22.00. The Bulgarian programs were much longer. So everyone ended up trying to get one of those fancy gadgets, home made aerials of aluminum bars for receiving Bulgarian programs.

While what the Romanian channels did was broadcast rather one single program about, and starring the Ceausescu couple ? for which reason the news ended up being dubbed the ?Daily Blah-blah?, the Bulgarians showed films on a daily basis, football matches, both in the Bulgarian championships and international competitions, the World Cup and lots and lots of entertainment shows. (M. V.,157)

It was interesting that I watched the Bulgarian programs and I had managed to learn some Bulgarian words as well, mostly the ones that I heard in the cartoons, but the programs were not long enough. On some days they showed Romanian films, such as ?The Miscellany Brigade?, starring the late Toma Caragiu?They were great to be sure. Whether they were full of communist bullshit or not depended on who made them, who was starring in them and so on. But one thing was for sure: they were class - A Romanian made comedies, so hilarious they made you split your sides. (S. C., 5)

The TV didn?t enjoy one bit of freedom. On weekdays there was only one 2 hour programs, 20.00 to 22.00. On Sundays the program was slightly longer, but I?m not really sure. The program started and wound up with the same national anthem ?Three colors I love best in this world?.

We had Romanian TV 1 and for some time there was also Romanian TV2. The newsreel was full of lies. There was also no end of shows with hymns to the Ceausescu couple and Romania. The girls that did the singing were dressed in these angle long robes, they couldn?t be bothered to dance, they wouldn?t budge really, just stood there glued to the spot.