Series / Domian

Jürgen Domian with his iconic moose.

Domian was a landmark German radio and TV show, hosted by Jürgen Domian (born on 21. December 1957) on German public radio station EinsLive.

The concept of the show is simple: people call to whatever theme they like (except when they have a set topic, usually on Wednesdays) and talk with host Jürgen Domian, who looks directly into the camera and is only equipped with a simple console and a headset. Before the callers have the chance to talk with Domian they are pre-selected by an experienced team of journalists to avoid fake callers. Despite the careful preparation, sometimes a fake caller comes through, much to the anger of his audience. Domian actually rather pities those individuals for being morally immature.

Despite or because of its late-night airing slot from 1am to 2am, it has earned consistently exceptional ratings and is notable for its wide thematic range, covering social issues, bizarre fetishes and personal fates. It's considered the late-night flagship of public broadcasting, and has gradually improved its reputation since it went on air in 1995.

Domian has a highly devoted fanbase and the shows success is largely credited to its host's charisma and interviewing skills as well great empathic abilities. He recognizes his limitations, and since he is no trained psychologist, he always has an experienced psychologist in his team. As a minor celebrity, he enjoys huge respect among his peers in the media business, both for his success and humble humanism.

The show was canceled on December 16th 2016.

Jürgen Domian and his show contain examples of:

• Actual Pacifist: He refused to serve the Bundeswehr and went for German civil service because of that.
• Affectionate Parody:
  • "Domian-Bingo" (modified towards the lawyer-friendly ''dbingo''), made by fans and originated on the German ImageBoard Krautchan with laconic entries such as "cancer", "caller starts crying" or "mental disorder" or "caller wants to greet" instead of numbers.
  • Not approved by the man himself.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The choice of topics for theme nights. Ranging from Female Rapists or Dark and Troubled Past to something as mundane as cars or incidents with insects. The Jaywalking theme nights fit the Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking trope as well, see Cerebus Rollercoaster.
• Berserk Button: Domian is calm and reserved most of the time, but whenever a caller displays aggressive intolerance...
• Bigger Is Better in Bed: Deconstructed by a caller with a penis measuring incredible 33cm (2016-05-27).
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Occassionally callers who have already called Domian before complain that he doesn't remember them.
• Catchphrase: "So, liebe Leute!"
• Cerebus Rollercoaster: Boy howdy, this is the show's most defining trait. It can switch from bizarre fetishes to Tear Jerkers and amusing anecdotes within 10 minutes or less.
• Cultured Badass: Domian has diverse knowledge in academia.
• Cool Old Guy: Being born in 1957, he is slowly evolving towards this. Also Older Than He Looks.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Actually Domian himself. He suffered from bulimia and serious mental troubles after he discovered his bisexual orientation and broke away from faith after feeling out-argued by essays of Arthur Schopenhauer.
• Darker and Edgier: When it was relocated to a night-time airing slot.
• Deadpan Snarker: Believe it or not, but he can get incredibly snarky at times, especially when arguing with homophobes.
• invokedDude, Not Funny!: Domian is not pleased whenever some caller tries to fool him with fake stories about sexual abuse.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The early show had music playing in between and the topics were less controversial because it was aired during daytime.
  • Domian also avoided looking directly into the camera and wore a weird brown cap.
• Even the Guys Want Him: It's common on a weekly base that a straight male caller comments on his sex appeal.
• Faith–Heel Turn: Was a flaming fundamentalist when young. He is now an atheist and humanist.
• Fetish: The show broke a good amount of taboos. The most notable one was objectophilia and Domian is still proud of being the first one to deal with that topic in public German broadcasting.
• The Fundamentalist: Domian when he was young, going so far to distribute passionate flyers and publically insult churchgoers for being hypocrites right before or during a service.
• Germanic Efficiency: Lampshaded by Domian when he said they are an unusually small team for a show as popular as theirs.
  • He does the make-up and camera work by himself.
• Grand Finale: The last five minutes of Domian was subdued yet melodramatic. Domian gave out thanks for his team and his fans and then calmly cleaned up his desk with his team silently watching him. While Jeff Buckley's version of ''Hallelujah'' plays.
• The Hermit: During Domian's summer break, Jürgen often travels to Sweden to live in a wooden log as a recluse.
• Iconic Item: The legendary white moose, which has become a symbol for the show. As of 2014 the lampshading by Domian is taken up to eleven and the moose stands on a large plastic stand.
  • The item was sold in an auction for 43.200 Euro, donated to a German hospice.
• Large Ham: Subverted. Unlike most radio hosts, he talks in a distinctive soft baritone.
  • Double Subverted when enraged, he can ham up magnificently.
• Last-Name Basis: Most people refer to Jürgen as Domian.
• Malaproper: For some reason some callers mispronounce his name as Dominan. Usually lampshaded by Domian.
  • This has become an Inside Joke among his fans.
• Manly Tears: After a terminally ill young man called Domian, Jürgen shed a tear and interrupted the show for a few minutes. The audience wept with him.
  • Also during the second to last show, Domian shed Manly Tears when the editor played greetings from fans who will miss him.
• Minimalist Cast: Host Jürgen Domian, subverted as he had a team of journalists and psychologists to back him up.
• Nice Guy: Jürgen Domian possibly is one of the most recognized Nice Guys in German TV history. Combined this persona with his Cultured Badass appeal.
• Odd Friendship: With the two popular Camp Gay Cloudcuckoolanders Hella Von Sinnen and the late Dirk Bach.
• Reason Before Honor: Domian cancels his show due to being fed up with working at nights for 22 years, despite that he could continue if he wanted.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Domian loves to filibuster people if he thinks their behavior is unethical.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: During Domian's "18 years of broadcasting" anniversary, Hella Von Sinnen gave the show a surprise visit. She's just as Red Oni as a Large Ham Camp Gay Cloudcuckoolander Genki Girl can possibly get, to the reserved Blue Oni of Cultured Badass Jürgen Domian. Their choice of clothing mirrored that, with Hella's flamboyant red shirt and Domian's neat dark blue Badass Suit.
• Rousing Speech: He loves giving these to callers with suicidal tendencies.
• Rule of Cool: The intro, showing Domian driving a cab. There is absolutely no relation to the show itself.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: His choice of shirts. Lampshaded once by Domian, he pointed out he puts great effort in choosing nice shirts for the show.
• Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Highly idealistic. Domian constantly emphathizes that there "always is a way".
• There Are No Therapists: Averted, there always is a therapist backing him up for severe cases.
• Truth in Television: The whole point of the show is to be authentic.
• Watershed: The slot is from 1am to 2am as the firmly established flagship of late-night entertainment.
• Your Normal Is Our Taboo: Deconstructed by Domian, who consistently questions the concept of "norm".