Kõige suurem sõber

Kõige Suurem Sõber (Estonian for "The Biggest Friend") was a long-running children's TV show on Estonian Television in the early 1980s. It featured a big orange furry creature called Leopold (played by Harri Kõrvits) and a host of other more or less recurring characters, and is for many Estonians a symbol of childhood and/or children's TV.

Unfortunately, most of the magnetic video tapes used for storage of the show have been recycled in the perestroika-era deficits. However, a small number of the episodes have remained, and are now available from ETV on both VHS and DVD.

Major characters

Leopold

The main character of the show. Played by Harri Kõrvits in a fursuit.

Postikana

A chicken serving as a postmaster of the show. Puppeteered by Hendrik Toompere.

Onu Raivo

Playing himself, a freelance artist. See Raivo Järvi.

Äpu

A small and shy character living inside one of Leopold's drawers. Puppeteered by Heino Seljamaa.

No relation to Apu Nahasapeemapetilon of The Simpsons. Indeed, Kõige suurem sõber precedes The Simpsons by almost a decade.

Minor recurring characters

Anekdoot

This character lived inside one of Leopold's cupboards, and sometimes told a joke after the main show. He had no other relations to the other characters.

2007 parody controversy

In early 2007, Ken Saan and others planned to introduce an irreverent parody show "Täna Õhtul Leo Põld" (Tonight Leo Põld) reusing, in grotesque ways, characters of this show. Many people considered this extremely inappropriate, and objected in various ways. Although the first few episodes were produced, the show was withdrawn before broadcasting the pilot episode, scheduled for 15 May 2007, due to death of Dan Põldroos, one of the main actors of the parody.

In response to the controversy, Estonian National Broadcasting, a successor of Estonian Television and Estonian Radio, decided to trademark some of its most well-known characters, including those of Kõige Suurem Sõber. [Postimees 23 July 2007: [http://www.postimees.ee/230707/esileht/siseuudised/273566.php ERR asus oma kangelasi kaitsma] ]

Broadcasting of the pilot episode was rescheduled to 6 September 2007 at 22:05, but on 5 September 2007, the Harju Maakohus issued a temporary injunction against broadcasting until ETV's trademark claims have been tried. [Postimees 5 September 2007: [http://www.elu24.ee/?r=4&id=2302 http://www.elu24.ee/?r=4&id=2302] ]

References