In 1982, Serge Moati got a wonderful idea : he gives free-hands to Desproges on FR3 (3rd channel of French TV). In the meantime, Desproges is already busy, everyday at noon on France Inter FM - he plays a rather hard district attorney on "Tribunal des Flagrants Délires" - but every night, from 8.33 till 8.35, he's unemployed. So, he creates "The necessary minute of Mister Cyclopède" and Jean-Louis Fournier directs it. They like each other. They're insane the same way and they have a common passion : they both love neurasthenic cows and birds who can't fly. Pretty clear about their way to see things.
So, what is Cyclopède ? A kind of well-dressed know-it-all who gives advices when no one asks him anything. For example, "How to recognize Mona Lisa from Mono Liso ?", "How to silent an Andalusian", "Let's protect the widow against the orphan", "How to proceed an euthanasia on a kamikaze". That's right, the Andalusian with castanets is quite noisy. And when there's no war, the kamikaze is bored. But spending money of taxpayers with this kind of show... Cyclopède himself is stunned by this idea. And Desproges is happy. He wanted to divide France in two : the fools who like and the fools who don't. He won.
The fools who like show some dependency signs, and the most daring of them knock him on the belly calling him Pierrot. The fools who don't like start nervous breakdowns. The most desperate catch Desproges in the street, shake him while screaming : "What the hell does that mean ?". The cowards write to FR3 :"Sir, this minute is unbearable. And this Desproges guy, until when will he stops ?"
From 1982 to 1984, it was easy to avoid the show : it lasted only 90 seconds, just to time to tie your shoes. On the DVD, that's a little different. There are more than one hundred of Cyclopède's here. Do as you feel, that's simple. The indignant fools have just to read their TV set instructions : you push a button, it just stops. And the happy fools can stay, but they're asked to keep their mouth shut. Desproges hated when somebody knock him on his belly, calling him Pierrot. He hated boys or girls next door. Just look the way he treated The Little Prince or cheerleaders. And what about chihuahuas ? He put them on boiling water because he thought that was funny. "Chihuahua boiled is chihuahua spoiled." So if I was one of the happy fools, I would just shut up.
Marie-Ange Guillaume, badly translated by The Great Swan
Last note : Desproges keep his misogynistic habits. He was the one who said : "The more I know men, the more I love my male dog. The more I know women, the less I like my female dog..."
