Herman Enciclopédia (1997–1998) User Reviews

one of my favourite comedy shows ever

[quaseprovisorio · 10/10 · 5 October 2021]

When i think about my favourite comedy shows, i think about... the british the office, parks and recreation, party down...and herman enciclopedia. For me this was some of the finest work ever made in comedy. It is hard to understand if you dont get a lot of portuguese culture, and mostly portuguese culture from the 80's and 90's... but for those who are aware of it, this is a neverending source of laughs.

It is mostly a sketch comedy show with recurring characters such as lauro dermio the music critic, mike and melga the infomercial dudes. Diácono remédios, the guy who shows up when the show gets too "naughty", a portuguese soap opera set in one of the historical lisbon neighbourhoods...this show is almost 25 years and its still celebrated and remembered. Why? Because it was really funny and everyone were able to relate with it.

For me the best show on portuguese tv ever. And yes, one of the best comedy shows í've ever watched in my life. Period.

Very good humor!

[HB_soulflytribe · 10 October 2001]

What would happen if the best portuguese comedy actors would join in a show? THIS!!! Herman Enciclopédia!! Herman José and company made a wonderfull show!! I have no doubt this was the funniest portuguese TV show!! Very well done. Things as Melga Shop, Diácono Remédios and other stuff make us laugh so much as the english comedies (excluding Monty Python - the masters!).

Vary Good work. 8.5/10

Of the best humor shows of the Portuguese TV of the nineties.

[filipemanuelneto · 7/10 · 7 December 2017]

Herman José is one of the most solid names in comedy in Portugal. For decades, his name was almost a synonymous of humor. He went through more than one TV channel and, in all of them, he had several shows, ranging from comedy to entertainment, talk shows or other formats in which he was host. Many people like him, many others do not like him, but the truth is that Herman José is one of the oldest and most consecrated names in national TV entertainment. Of all his TV works, "Herman Enciclopedia" should be one of the most striking and notable. Here were born some of his most famous characters such as Lauro Dérmio, Melga or the iconic Diácono Remédios. Nowadays, this program is somewhat forgotten, partly due to the disgrace of Herman José himself, who lost strength with the rise of a new and fresh generation of comedians. However, it continues to be interesting and to take place in the great humor TV shows of the nineties.

Herman José at his finest!

[chosenone-5 · 27 October 2005]

This show is truly the highlight of Mr. José's career in comedy and entertaining! Based on the format of the old Monty Python sketch shows like the Flying Circus, Herman crafts a deliciously unorthodox plethora of fictional characters such as Diácono Remédios, Rute Remédios, Mike & Melga, Lauro Dérmio, David Vaitenborough, Super Tia, that to this day retain an almost legendary status in Portuguese pop culture.

Who can forget Diácono Remédios having his office invaded by two fondling and groping members of the Klu Klux Klan on Christmas Eve, only to unmask them as actors from a rival company, before telling one of them to go back to work on his pet store... and then when the actor cracks down laughing because the delivery of the line is so hilarious, Herman notes that he seems to be having a bad case of asthma and the actor practically pisses himself with laughter as he trudges off stage? Or Super Tia blackmailing a rich heiress with obscene letters from her lover under pretense of giving away the loot... er, the "donation, to the poor when she is actually keeping the expensive china, the pearl earrings, the jacuzzi tub and the silver-finish Porsche for herself?! Or the outtakes of a Mike & Melga sketch during Christmas season when they're pitching a supposedly fully-electronic nativity set (with electronic door lock and built-in radio with Hebraic descrambler...), when Mike presses the "eject button" and sends the center figure of Baby Jesus shooting into the fake ceiling?! The outtakes are hilarious because both Herman and the other guy have to call in a production assistant to dislodge Baby Jesus off the ceiling panels... And finally, at the end of the show, we see Baby Jesus dropping slowly from the ceiling on a parachute built into his crib... Outrageously funny stuff! And speaking of outtakes, one of the most memorable moments of the show is when Lauro Dérmio (a fictitious cinema critic played by Herman José himself) commits the famous "Do not pirimpampalhate..." gag and can't stop from laughing himself to tears for five minutes straight, even requiring a production assistant to hand a kerchief for him to wipe off his tears of laughter?! All in all, Herman's best show EVER and the highlight of his career before the move to SIC when his quality as a comedian began to cheapen and droop like molten licorice. The final show, with the "Devil" coming in to take him to Hell (and losing one of the horns on stage, which Herman subsequently tries to glue back on but does it upside down so that the "Devil" is left with two mismatched horns on his forehead) is a fitting close to a true classic of Portuguese television.

And remember... "Do not pirimpampalhate the alhey woman"!