"Detective! Night Scoop" (ABC TV, Fridays at 11:17 PM) is a popular variety show where "detectives" tackle bizarre requests and worries submitted by viewers. On June 26th, Detective Daigo Nagami investigated "What do drinking grandpas really think?" Director Amon Miyamoto made his first appearance as special director, with Assistant Director Yasushi Ishida and Secretary Saori Masuda also appearing.
The request came from two sisters, a third-year junior high school student and a sixth-grade elementary school student, from Hyogo Prefecture. The two sisters have a problem with "our grandfather." Their great-grandfather is 88 years old. He has always been a big drinker and drinks every night. However, when he gets carried away, he drinks too much, and they are constantly worried about him burning himself or breaking a bone.
He still hasn't learned his lesson, and he often gets seriously injured when he's drunk. Even when Mom and I get angry at him, he just manages to brush it off and doesn't listen. Why won't Grandpa listen to our requests? We want to know what Grandpa really thinks.
Grandpa was a heavy drinker who often got injured when he drank, and once he broke his neck, narrowly avoiding a cervical spine injury. Yet, he still drank with a straw. To help his sisters, who wanted him to drink in moderation, Detective Nagami approached Grandpa by pretending to be on a fake TV show called "Cheers with Grandpa." Grandpa said he had to accept his granddaughters' feelings, but as they talked, he revealed that he was lonely now that his classmates were gone. The great-grandchildren heard Grandpa's true feelings and...
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After entering the studio, Special Director Miyamoto Amon energetically read his opening remarks, then said, "Ah, I was nervous." He then joked, "I'm behind the scenes, after all. If I messed up this, the actors would make fun of me again."
In fact, Miyamoto praised the show enthusiastically, saying, "I've been watching it since the days of Ryutaro Kamioka. I really like Kamioka; he's sharp and has a great sense of courage. He pushes the limits right up to the very end, both with the staff and the content. That's why I think it's the most essential program in Japan... I think it's a national treasure of a program from Osaka."
