Sandwichman is a popular comedy duo currently with many programs on NHK and various commercial stations. The TV program that best showcases the charm of the two and their storytelling skills, which are said to be outstanding even among manzai comedians, is "Hospital Radio," which airs irregularly on NHK General TV. Their latest episode, "Saitama Prefectural Cancer Center Edition," will air on February 11th at 8:15 AM. I'll explain why I recommend it.
"Hospital Radio" is a program in which the two members of Sandwichman set up a temporary radio station in a hospital for one day only, and talk to patients and their families. The first episode began in August 2018 and was highly praised, winning an award at the 56th Galaxy Awards (2018). Since then, the show has been broadcast irregularly, steadily, and has grown into a long-running, popular program.
Naturally, the topic of conversation turns to illness, but normally, when you want to "report" such personal information, it takes a considerable amount of time to build a relationship. However, in the case of these two, when they sit across the microphone from patients and their families, they easily extract honest thoughts that they would normally not reveal. In addition to their speaking skills and personalities, the medium of "radio," which gives the feeling of a one-on-one relationship between DJ and listener, also works to their advantage.
The person who made the biggest impression on me was a 17-year-old woman battling neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer, who appeared in the second episode (broadcast in April 2019), filmed at the National Center for Child Health and Development (Setagaya Ward, Tokyo). She had been facing the disease for about 15 years, and spoke calmly, with a childlike innocence still lingering in her face, saying, "Even when I found out the cancer had recurred, I wasn't that surprised."
When Sandwichman's Date Mikio casually asked her, "Do you have a message for your mom and dad?", she blurted out, "When I was in elementary school, I could buy anything I wanted after surgery, but now I have to pay for everything myself." This was such an unexpected comment that both of them chuckled. The program interspersed footage of the inside of the hospital listening to the radio conversation, and at this point, a person who appears to be her mother was shown looking down in shock, which made the viewers burst into laughter.
"At times like this, I usually hear words of gratitude," Date said without hesitation, to which the woman replied, "I don't get any pocket money, I'm only getting 500 yen a day in the hospital," "I'm working hard in the hospital just to get 500 yen," and "It's like a part-time job." Date also persistently interjected, "Are you in the hospital to get rich?" and "It's not a part-time job," and Tomizawa Takeshi, listening next to her, could only burst out in laughter. The 15 years of her journey as she continued to fight the disease were conveyed with realism, and it was a scene that made me laugh but also touched my heart.
Of course, the hard work of the program staff who supported the two was also a big factor. They visited the hospital for long periods of time, listened to the stories of many patients and their families, and prepared well for the actual broadcast. It can be said that the program was made possible thanks to the cooperation of the hospital and the efforts of the staff.
In this episode at Saitama Cancer Center, a woman with breast cancer recalls an episode in which a friend undergoing treatment for a different cancer encouraged her, and requests a song that her friend sang for her at karaoke when she was feeling down. A nurse who had a total hysterectomy says that her own experience as a patient made her keenly aware of the feelings of hospital patients, and that this has led her to empathize with them wholeheartedly in her daily work.
The Sandwichman duo said of the Saitama Cancer Center episode, "Many of the people there loved to talk. It felt like everyone was living in the present, looking ahead and making various resolutions. I really felt their power to live." What kind of dramas will the Sandwichman duo bring out in the patients? This episode is sure to be a must-see. (Text by Sasamoto Hirozai/MANTAN)
