Sonja Barend
Barend has worked for television since 1966. From the late 1970s on she presented her own weekly talk show for the (socialist) VARA broadcasting organization, a show whose name was based on the day of transmission, e.g. Sonja op Maandag ("Sonja on Monday"). In 1996 Sonja op Zaterdag ("Saturday") came to an end, after the retirement of Ellen Blazer, her regular producer, with whom she collaborated from the beginning of her television career. Her show, which featured interview and public discussion, was known for allowing ordinary people to have their say. This included, for instance, the viewpoints of ethnic minorities, and relied to a great extent on Barend's personality and commitment.
Barend was outspoken on political and ideological topics, and television viewers either loved or hated her. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s she was never afraid to openly discuss taboo topics—homosexuality, feminism, emancipation, and sexuality. According to Marcel van Dam, chairman of the VARA from 1985 on to 1995, she personified the public's negative perception of the VARA (ill-tempered, moralistic), but he could not imagine how the VARA would have survived without her.
From 1997 until 2002 she and Paul Witteman had a daily news and talk program, B&W. She officially retired from making television in 2006, and on the occasion of her last Sonja show, was awarded as Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by Job Cohen, then-mayor of Amsterdam. That last episode, which included an overview of her career and a number of notable television personalities, received a subtitle, "En morgen gezond weer op!" ("And tomorrow, wake up healthy"), in reference to her usual closing of her TV shows. Gezond Weer Op is also the title of a collection of interviews culled from her shows. An annual award for best television interview is named after her.
Biography from the Wikipedia article Sonja Barend. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Recently Updated Shows
Swamp People: Serpent Invasion
The Florida Everglades are under siege. An invasion of Burmese pythons is decimating this natural wonder of the South. Entire species of animals are being wiped out. Aggressive, ravenous and incredibly fast-breeding, these pythons have no natural predator to stop them…except for man.
Deal or No Deal Island
The iconic game of Deal or No Deal is back and unlike anything you have ever seen before! This new format transports audiences to the Banker's private island where he makes the rules and there are twists behind every palm tree. Hidden on the island are over 100 cases with millions of dollars split between them, which teams must retrieve so that they can play a game of Deal or No Deal against the Banker. Only one team will survive until the very last episode, where they'll compete to beat the Banker for the biggest prize in Deal or No Deal history.
Wild Cards
Wild Cards follows the unlikely duo of a gruff, sardonic cop and a spirited, clever con woman. Ellis, a demoted detective, has unfortunately spent the last year on the maritime unit, while Max has been living a transient life elaborately scamming everyone she meets. But when Max gets arrested and ends up helping Ellis solve a local crime, the two are offered the opportunity to redeem themselves, with Ellis going back to detective and Max staying out of jail. The catch? They have to work together, with each using their unique skills to solve crimes. For Ellis, that means hard-boiled shoe leather police work; for Max, it means accents, schemes and generally befriending everyone in sight, while driving Ellis absolutely nuts. Against the backdrop of beautiful Vancouver — with all its unique, charming, and even contradictory neighbourhoods and subcultures — the two will have to learn what it means to trust another person and maybe actually become partners.
The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalism in its militarized ‘return to traditional values'. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred is a Handmaid in the Commander's household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate the world. In this terrifying society, Offred must navigate between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead – all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.