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Have you ever wondered just how different television in foreign coutries may be? I think this new trend may help illustrate just how great the gulf between us has grown.
In Norway, a man named Thomas Hellum approached one of his employers in 2009 and said that he wished to film a documentary about the 100th anniversary of the Bergen Railway ride in real time. They asked how long it would take and he said it would be shown in real time.
In other words, the documentary would take as much time as it took for the Bergen Train to reach its destination. Since the trip took seven hours and 15 minutes, the documentary would also be seven hours and 15 minutes. There were no breaks or cuts, you simply had the vantage point of a person sitting in the train, watching the world past by. There was also no voice over.
It was a phenomenal success. Millions of Norwegians tuned in to watch, shattering previous records of total viewers.
Here is my favorite comment taken from their social media at the time.
I am 76 years old and have just watched the best television program ever, I watched all the way until the train stopped. Just before the end station, I rose from my seat to get my luggage. I hit the curtain rod and realized I was in my own living room.