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Yesterday I had lunch with my grandma and she told me about this pilot episode she saw in a local TV channel. She's a bit senile though, so she could not remember the name of any of the characters.

Oh dear, what an ugly TV film I saw yesterday! There were these four weird characters living together...
For starters, I don't really know what that famous actor was doing there. He's so handsome, I'm sure you know him, he was in that big film a couple decades ago...
Oh, and then there was a man with huge wings, but I think he messed up his costume because he looked like a gladiator as well, can you believe?
A third one was a famous stylist. I thought she was busy partying around... oh well, I guess you can get tired of it, right?
But let me tell you about the fourth one: he was the weirdest one. It was a hedgehog, I think? Anyway, it sat down all curled up without doing anything, but all the other ones kept talking with that round spiky thing... Now that I think of it, I guess it was the most important one, because it was covered in gold. A golden hedgehog, can you think of it?

Anyway, I think the people running this TV channel realized that it was a really horrible series, because it went down after some minutes with apologies about some copyright infringement.

Can you help her remember?

  • What are the names of the characters?

  • What is the TV series it tried to copy?

Hint 1:

-Having a golden hedgehog as a character sure is a strange choice... but I guess the authors put it there because it has a cute snout?
-Oh, but its snout wasn't visible at all! I told you, it was completely covered in a sort of golden tinfoil!
-Wait, what? No, you didn't! So how could you tell it was a hedgehog?
-Uuuh... I mean, it was round and kind of spiky, sitting in its brown basket as if it was a pet, what else could it be?

Hint 2:

-I wonder how it is for a stylist to suddenly become an actor. I mean, she sure is more used to cameras than others, but it must be difficult.
-Oh no, I remember her appearing in at least another film before! However, that one was about fashion, so maybe it wasn't difficult for her. If only I could remember her name...

Hint 3:

-So we have a nameless famous actor, a nameless famous stylist, a nameless... winged man in armor and, what, a nameless golden spiky ball. Grandma, this is not much, really... don't you remember at least the characters' names?
-That's one of the problem, my dear... during the show they called each other with their actual names! Many of them had foreign-sounding names, now that I think of it...

Hint 4:

-You said that the famous actor was in a famous film. Do you remember more about it?
-Of course. It was an enormous romantic film. It didn't end well, though. At the time, it gave me chills.

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  • 2
    $\begingroup$ This is my first puzzle. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! (also, grammar mistakes are not hints... just tell me and I'll correct them.) $\endgroup$ Jun 1, 2018 at 16:10
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    $\begingroup$ Weren't the dragon eggs in Game of Thrones gold and spiky? Would it be too puzzle-breaking to give us a hint as to whether this is an actual TV show or an analogy? $\endgroup$ Jun 4, 2018 at 14:33
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    $\begingroup$ I want to guess rot13( Synfu Tbeqba ) but I don't know exactly how it will fit all the pieces of the riddle. (i hope i did the rot13 thing right :D ) $\endgroup$
    – Doug
    Jun 4, 2018 at 16:14
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    $\begingroup$ lol, I want to say teletubbies $\endgroup$ Jun 4, 2018 at 19:19
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    $\begingroup$ The hedgehog might refer to a rot13(sreereb ebpure), haha $\endgroup$
    – Rick
    Jun 6, 2018 at 6:54

2 Answers 2

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The TV show being copied is

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which featured 4 characters living together: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michaelangelo

The famous actor is

Leonardo DiCapro, who started in Titanic (hint 4)

The stylist is

Donatella Versace, who appeared in Zoolander (hint 2)

The man with wings is

"Michael-angel" (Michael the Arch-angel), filling the role of Michaelangelo

The golden hedgehog is

A ferrero rocher raffaello candy, playing the role of Rafael. (thanks to Rick van Osta for the idea in the comments). One problem with this is that the Raffaello candies are wrapped in white; but the basic Ferrero Rocher are wrapped in gold and sit in a wrapping that resembles a brown basket.

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  • $\begingroup$ rot13(Encunry) and rot13(Zvpunry) are both rot13(nepunatryf), so you may be able to fit the hedgehog to the other one you weren't trying? $\endgroup$ Jun 9, 2018 at 6:26
  • $\begingroup$ Interesting side note: rot13(Zvpunrynatryb) is the full first name of a character who is more commonly known as "Spike"... although my guess is that the curled hedgehog is more likely related to rot13(gur tbyqra engvb) $\endgroup$ Jun 9, 2018 at 6:30
  • $\begingroup$ You got the show and the first two characters! Now, about the golden ball something was said in the comments, and you've got the right train of four about the armed angel. You're almost there!! $\endgroup$ Jun 9, 2018 at 6:38
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    $\begingroup$ Updated with answers for the last two characters. $\endgroup$
    – Pugmonkey
    Jun 9, 2018 at 11:34
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    $\begingroup$ I did enjoy it. It was difficult without hints, but fun. $\endgroup$
    – Pugmonkey
    Jun 10, 2018 at 22:45
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The only thing I'm pretty certain about, is that this is

a reality show. I felt that in my gut yesterday but was unable to comment - Hint 3 to me pretty much confirms it (since they refer to each other by their real names)!

For starters, I don't really know what that famous actor was doing there. He's so handsome, I'm sure you know him, he was in that big film a couple decades ago...

Combined with Hint 4, this is definitely Leonardo DiCaprio. No doubts about it.

Oh, and then there was a man with huge wings, but I think he messed up his costume because he looked like a gladiator as well, can you believe?

This one really confused me and made me wonder if this was referring to RuPaul's Drag Race or something similar! But that has way more than 3 people.. I'm still thinking about this one. Of course, the word gladiator immediately made me think of Russell Crowe, but he wouldn't be dressed in costume, with wings..

A third one was a famous stylist. I thought she was busy partying around... oh well, I guess you can get tired of it, right?

Kim Kardashian was both a former stylist and party girl - plus grandma seems to be confused about this being a show with acting, so "actor" in Hint 2 may not necessarily mean that they act, just that they appear in shows/on TV. That said, after reading Pugmonkey's guess, I think Donatella Versace is a very good guess and more likely the right answer. Her name sounds more foreign for sure. Surprisingly enough, Kim also appeared in Zoolander!

But let me tell you about the fourth one: he was the weirdest one. It was a hedgehog, I think? Anyway, it sat down all curled up without doing anything, but all the other ones kept talking with that round spiky thing... Now that I think of it, I guess it was the most important one, because it was covered in gold. A golden hedgehog, can you think of it?

Combined with Hint 1, I feel like this is a "Got Talent" show's Golden Buzzer. It's not.. spiky, but is entirely gold, and in some photos it sits in the middle of a pointed gold star, while in some photos it has a raised ring around it that could be seen as a basket (though not brown)? All in all, the first show that came to mind was America's Got Talent, but there are 4 judges there, not 3.

Lmao I legit just woke up in the middle of the night with a revolution that this is:

A commercial, NOT a reality show! That’s why it went down in minutes! That said, I’m still lost about the winged man 😂

Edit: Never mind it’s been solved and I was completely off track haha

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  • $\begingroup$ Good answer, but not quite the right one! $\endgroup$ Jun 9, 2018 at 6:39

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