Radio9 is a surreal

Surrealism

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....

 comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 sketch show set in a fictional radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

. Broadcast on BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

 between 2003 and 2006, it was written by Hils Barker

Hils Barker

Hils Barker is a British comedian and writer. She was a finalist in newcomer competitions So You Think You're Funny and The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award, and went on to write and perform in two series of comedy show Radio9 for BBC Radio 4....

 and Johnny Daukes. The show often used the tagline

Tagline

A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...

s:

"Round the clock radio... 24 hours a day" and

'"Real radio, for real people. With real radios."

The show targeted some traditional radio formats, including plays, interviews, adverts

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 and documentaries

Documentary

A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...

, as well as trailing programmes that are never heard and advertising activities which are "coming soon" to Radio9, such as Contract Bridge

Contract bridge

Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...

. Radio9 was adapted for TV on BBC Three

BBC Three

BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...

, changing its name to The Message

The Message (TV series)

The Message was a surreal comedy series which spoofs current practices in the television industry. It originally aired in 2006 on BBC Three. It consisted of six episodes, and was not renewed after the first season.-External links: Comedy Guide...

.

The show is divided into distinct segments. The "News Creation" segment of the show involves Radio9 creating road accidents, power failures or "acts of civil obedience", and then reporting it live. In "The Big Debate", the host attempts to incite her guests to violence by relaying inflammatory and incorrect information: "Well, this is a tragedy that reasoned debate should descend so quickly to mud-slinging.... He just called you a poof, what's your response to that?" "The Great Pretender" is a reality show in which ordinary people attempt to fool a panel of experts in tasks such as piloting an aircraft, downhill skiing or heart surgery. Relayed by a sports commentary team. The "Adverts" portion contains humorous adverts. Examples include Pro-Celebrity Bee Keeping and NIMBY

NIMBY

NIMBY or Nimby is an acronym for the phrase "not in my back yard". The term is used pejoratively to describe opposition by residents to a proposal for a new development close to them. Opposing residents themselves are sometimes called Nimbies...

 (Not In My Back Yard). Other parts of the show include "The Afternoon Play", "Sport... and Talk", featuring sports talk ranging from the Board Game Olympics to premiership football as commentated on by Ted Hughes

Ted Hughes

Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...

 and Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...

. "Chasing Rainbows" involves "Ordinary People in Extraordinary Circumstances", and the segment "New Movements" shows Quentin Montreal investigating numerous topics such as the Accidentalist

Accidentalism

Accidentalism may refer to:* In philosophy, it is used for any system of thought which denies the causal nexus and maintains that events succeed one another haphazardly or by chance . In metaphysics, accidentalism denies the doctrine that everything occurs or results from a definite cause...

Art Movement.