Hyvät herrat

The main characters of the series are business advisor Johannes Paukku (), a sausage manufacturer who became wealthy with "Paukku's Run", and his son-in-law Raimo "Tollo" Koskivuo (), a Social Democratic politician who was promoted from member of parliament to party secretary and minister during the series. In each episode, Paukku and Tollo organised a saunailta, or evening sauna party, and invited a political guest or other well-known public figure, with whom they attempted to gain support for their own political projects, accompanied by drinking and conversation. Paukku's character was reportedly modelled on business leader and industry lobbyist ; In the first year, sauna guests' backs were washed by the character Armi (Eila Pehkonen). After Pehkonen's death in September 1991, she was replaced by Tyyne Hurskainen (), who commented on politics from the perspective of the "front-line" of the National Coalition Party. Throughout the series, the sauna guests were served the alcohol Koskenkorva Viina—referred to as "turpentine"—by various waiters: first Pia (), then Timo (), whom Paukku nicknamed "Håkan", and South African Dr. Samuel Livingstone Matabele (Billy Carson). Paukku's openly dismissive treatment of the waiters was used to satirise prejudices against women, sexual minorities, immigrants, and activists. According to director Melasniemi, Paukku was always the character who ultimately misbehaved, was ridiculed, and became the subject of laughter. == Production and casting ==

To ensure topical political commentary, episodes in 1990 were filmed on Mondays and broadcast the same evening, which meant that the cast often had to read that day's afternoon newspapers during filming to prepare. From spring 1991 until the end of the series, recording was moved to Tuesdays, giving the production team one additional day of preparation. The show was filmed in the Park Hotel Käpylä in Käpylä, Helsinki, which has operated under the name Finlandia Park Hotel Helsinki since February 2017. According to screenwriter Lasse Lehtinen, several well-known actors were considered for the role of Paukku, including Lasse Pöysti and Pentti Siimes. The main requirement was that the chosen actor had to be sober, which made casting difficult because many actors available at the time reportedly struggled with alcoholism. Director Pertti Melasniemi insisted on casting Matti Tuominen, a decision later regarded by Lehtinen as successful, believing Tuominen convincingly embodied the role. At the time, Tuominen was relatively unknown to television audiences, although he already had an extensive career in theatre. His son, actor Sakari Tuominen, later stated that in private life his father's personality was very different from Paukku's, describing him as shy, modest, and more of a sidekick than the centre of attention. The theme music of the series, and other synthesizer music in the program, was made by Jussi Halme. At the beginning of episodes from 1994 to 1996, a computer-generated animation by Seppo Välimäki was used as its intro. == Guests ==

In each episode of the series, a Finnish politician or other public figure appeared as themselves. Guests included senior political leaders such as ministers and presidents. According to show writer Lasse Lehtinen, politicians actively sought to appear on the programme, and only a few, such as Paavo Väyrynen, declined invitations. Although the characters Paukku and Tollo often ridiculed their guests, there was no shortage of participants, as the programme offered media publicity and an opportunity to present personal views on a popular television show. In this way, real politics and the screenwriters' satire were interwoven in Hyvät herrat. • Matti Vanhanen • Juha "Junnu" Vainio • Ben Zyskowicz • Jörn Donner • Ilkka Kanerva • • • Tuovi Allén • • • Leif Salmén • Leena Harkimo • Eero Paloheimo • • • Spede Pasanen == Impact ==

An episode broadcast on 6 April 1993 attracted 1.4 million viewers. The series made its main character, sales adviser Paukku, a cult figure. His recurring catchphrase "Personnel, turpentine!" (Henkilökunta, tärpättiä!) became widely recognised in Finland. The appearances of high-ranking politicians on the programme, which frequently employed dark humour, also provoked controversy. In the mid-1990s, the current affairs programme '' on MTV3 organised a studio debate and viewer survey on the question, "Is it appropriate for ministers to appear on Hyvät herrat''?". The discussion was illustrated with clips from a post–May Day episode of the series, in which Paukku and Tollo awoke from a drinking binge wearing May Day masks. According to , biographer of President Martti Ahtisaari, Hyvät herrat contributed in 1992–1993 to raising Ahtisaari's public profile as a potential presidential candidate. His name was first mentioned in this context during an episode in September 1992. Shortly afterwards, Aarno Laitinen wrote a column in Iltalehti titled "Could it be Martti Ahtisaari?". Lehtinen, who was at odds with the long-time Social Democratic Party (SDP) chairman and former prime minister Kalevi Sorsa, reportedly opposed Sorsa's candidacy. Eero Heinäluoma, a later SDP chairman, recalled in Ahtisaari's biography: "The essential thing was that Lasse Lehtinen, a propagandist even more skilled than Joseph Goebbels, set out to push Ahtisaari for the presidency systematically, using the entire media and influencing his fellow journalists across outlets." == Episodes ==

In 1999, a short sequel was made to the series called Herrat nauraa. In the winter of 2006–2007, MTV3 aired a new series, Donna Paukku, in which Johannes Paukku's illegitimate daughter arrives in Finland and begins inviting sauna party guests, with the help of Tollo and former back-washer Tyyne Hurskainen. Of the actors in the original series, only Anja Pohjola, who played Tyyne Hurskainen, was involved. Aarno Laitinen did not contribute to Donna Paukku, but he could not prevent it from being done under copyright law. ==Reruns==

In the first years of the series, episodes were reaired on the Sunday morning after their premiere. Episodes of the series were rerun in the summer of 1998. During the 2006 presidential elections, three episodes of the fifth season were reaired, in which presidential candidates Matti Vanhanen, Tarja Halonen and Sauli Niinistö appeared as guests. In addition, in the summer of 2006, MTV3 aired eight selected episodes from 1990 to 1992 as a wish list. ==Cast==

• Matti Tuominen as trade advisor Johannes Paukku • Eero Melasniemi as Member of Parliament/Party Secretary/Minister of State Raimo "Tollo" Koskivuo • Eila Pehkonen as back-washer Armi (1990–1991) • Anja Pohjola as back-washer Tyyne Hurskainen (1991–1996, 1999) • Sarina Röhr as bartender Pia (1990–1991) • Mikko Roiha as bartender Timo/Håkan (1992–1993) • Billy Carson as South African-born bartender Dr. Samuel Livingstone Matabele (1993–1996) ==Cameo roles==

Sales advisor Paukku made a cameo role in Ere Kokkonen's movie Vääpeli Körmy - taisteluni. In the film, when negotiations are underway to end the war between Finland and Sweden, the commander of the Swedish army is softened up by taking him to Paukku's sauna. ==Homages==

The sauna facilities at are named after the series characters Paukku, Tollo and Tyyne. ==References==