31 minutos
A spot in 2004
Created by	Álvaro Díaz Pedro Peirano
Starring	Álvaro Díaz Pedro Peirano Rodrigo Salinas Daniel Castro Patricio Díaz Alejandra Dueñas Francisco Schultz Fernando Solis
Country of origin	Chile
No. of episodes	56
Production
Running time	0:27
Broadcast
Original channel	TVN (Chile)
Original run	March 15, 2003 – March 27, 2008

31 minutos (Spanish for 31 minutes) is a Chilean television show which takes the form of a mock news broadcast, and is fronted by puppets who present various items. The programme was devised by Álvaro Díaz and Pedro Peirano and is produced by their own company, APLAPLAC. It was first aired in March 2003 on the TVN channel in Chile.

31 minutos has achieved considerable success on Chilean television, captivating adult viewers as much as children. The sarcastic and carefree humor along with the producers' reputation in Chile of being the essential part of the extinct cult show Plan Z (aired about a decade before) earned the series immediate acceptance among the public (specially among Plan Z's wide and loyal fan base) and helped boost its popularity, being considered a spiritual successor of sorts of said show. When the first season was had its debut, it occupied the morning time slot on Saturdays. But its orientation toward children was somewhat questioned because of the enthusiastic response from adult audiences; therefore the second season was moved to the time slot after the night time news at 10:00pm on Fridays. Its almost explosive commercial success is reflected in the range and quantity of products spawned by the show, including an audio CD with the songs from its first season. In 2004, Nickelodeon started airing the first season across Latin America, being particularly popular in Brazil, and a second CD was released with music from the second season. In 2005, a third album was released, with the 3rd season's music and some extras.

Part of the show's success with more adult audiences is due to its use of double entendres and parody. The puppets are ironic imitations of famous television personalities and there are many references to incidents or television events which characterized Chile in the 1980s and 90s.

A movie version entitled "31 minutos, la película", that was shot in Santiago and Rio de Janeiro, premiered on Chilean theatres in March 27, 2008.

[edit] Notable characters

• Tulio Triviño (leader, parody of Bernardo de la Maza)
• Juan Carlos Bodoque (journalist, probably a parody of both Rafael Cavada and Santiago Pavlović)
• Juanín Juan Harry (producer)
• Jackson Aceituno (war correspondent, parody of Amaro Gómez-Pablos)
• Policarpo Avendaño (entertainment commentator, parody of Italo Passalacqua)
• Calcetín con Rombos Man (superhero, parody of Superman)
• Mario Hugo (reporter)
• Patricia Ana Patana Tufillo (the leader's niece)
• Balón von Bola (sports commentator, parody of Sergio Livingstone and Julio Martinez)
• Raúl Guantecillo (sports commentator, parody of Pedro Carcuro)
• Tenison Salinas (sports reporter)
• Huachimingo (reporter)
• Mico el Micófono (reporter)
• Eusebio Manguera (owner of the channel)
• Dante Torobolino (explosive magician, parody of El Mago Oli, Gerardo Parra)
• Cossimo Gianni (image consultant, parody of Jordi Castell)
• Tío Pelado (fraudster)
• Bongo Stingo (journalist, parody of Carlos Pinto)
• Guaripolo (the ambiguously self proclaimed "31 minutos's children's favourite character")
• Tío Horacio (elderly children's entertainer, parody of El Tío Memo, Domingo Sandoval)
• Freddy Turbina (musician)

[edit] See also

• Spitting Image - a British satirical puppet show.

[edit] External links

• Official site (in Spanish)
• Fan site (in Spanish)
• 31 minutos at the Internet Movie Database