Świat według Kiepskich

The Kiepskis and their neighbours

Świat według Kiepskich (The World According to the Kiepskis, "kiepski" being a term roughly translating to the English term poor or crappy) is a popular Polish television sitcom, produced by Polsat since 1999. The show follows the life of a dysfunctional Polish family from Wrocław, who live in an old apartment in Wrocław on 3/4 Ćwiartki street (in Polish Ćwiartka means 1/4 but it often refers to 1/4 of a litre bottle of vodka). Most episodes are centered on Ferdynand Kiepski, who tries to make various schemes to improve his financial or life situation, all of which ultimately fail. The series parodies the dynamics of Polish families in a style similar to that of the US series Married... with Children, released in Poland as Świat według Bundych (The World According to The Bundys); in many ways it inverts the dynamics of the Bundys. In many ways it is also inspired by The Simpsons. It is the third longest comedy TV series in the world after The Simpsons (502 episodes) and The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (435 episodes).

Director: Patrick Yoka

Main characters

The Kiepski family

• Ferdynand Kiepski (Andrzej Grabowski): Head of the family, unemployed (since 13 December 1981, the day when martial law was declared in Poland) father of two, who has a penchant for canned beer and trying to prove that he is an unappreciated genius. His character is similar to that of Peggy Bundy, who enjoys the finer things in life yet refuses to work for them, as well is similar character to Homer Simpson. Ferdynand comes up with ridiculous get-rich-quick schemes that, due to his own faults and comic coincidences, always fail. His favorite pastimes are drinking "Mocny Full" ("Strong Full") beer and watching television. He inherited his name after his German grandfather, Ferdinand Urlich Doppeldeke. He made his debut in the first episode - Umarł odbiornik, niech żyje odbiornik! (TV is dead, long live the TV!)
• Halina Kiepska (Marzena Kipiel-Sztuka): Ferdek's wife, who works at a nearby hospital as a nurse. In early episodes she was a cleaning lady at a hospital, but one day Ferdek had his wish granted through a miracle, and his wife got a better job. Every day she has to solve problems created by other members of the family. She also debuted in the first episode.
• Rozalia Małolepsza (commonly known as "Babka" - "Gran") (Krystyna Feldman): Ferdynand’s mother-in-law, but her last name is also Kiepski; she sometimes says that her name is Rozalia Małolepsza ('Not-much-better'). She is a senior citizen who lives in two worlds—real and imaginary. Her pension is a key component of the family’s budget. Ferdynand constantly tries to con her out of money in order to buy more beer for himself. She loves "Koziołek Matołek", a Polish cartoon from the 1960s, and also Radio Maryja. Feldman resigned from this role two years before her death in 2007. Rozalia debuted in the first episode.
• Waldemar Kiepski (nicknamed "Cyc" - "Boob") (Bartosz Żukowski): 25-year old son of Ferdynand and Halina. Like his father he is unemployed. His life centers on bodybuilding or drinking beer with his father, and he avoids books and studying as much as he can. Walduś had problems with finishing elementary school, but after many attempts he succeeded. He equates to Kelly Bundy as he is the family's bumbling buffoon with his own share of "Kelly-isms". He often helps his father with his schemes. Walduś ends up leaving for the United States to sell hot dogs with his uncle Staszek. He was debuted in the first episode.
• Mariola Kiepska (Barbara Mularczyk), Walduś’ 17-year old sister. Like Bud Bundy she is the most well adjusted of her family. She is a typical teenager and likes to spend time outside the house - this usually involves going somewhere with her boyfriend Łysy ('bald'). She is typically perverted- usually when a guest comes over, she will turn the topic toward sex, and after the topic change she will typically giggle. (She is usually ignored though. She was debuted in the first episode first - Umarł odbiornik, niech żyje odbiornik! (TV is dead, long live the TV!)
• Jolanta Kiepska (Anna Ilczuk), Waldemar's wife.

Others (first series)

• Marian Paździoch (Ryszard Kotys): a neighbour of the Kiepski family who owns several unsuccessful businesses. His day job is selling lingerie at a bazaar. He is a constant rival to Ferdynand and both are often thorns in each other's sides, something akin to Marcy D'Arcy. He is usually called by the neighbours 'menda', which means an unpleasant, evil person. There is not much known about Paździoch's past. In one episode he stated his father is German and in another, that his mother wanted him to be a priest (he lies to his mother and says he is one). Marian's real name sounds Marian Janusz Heinrich Gottlieb Paździoch von Bibersztajn. Also, Pazdzioch once hinted that he had been a member of the ZOMO unit, saying that he had been using a baton on the streets of Wroclaw. In episode 363 - Uczeń czarnoksiężnika (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) he turned out to be an evil sorcerer, but he was defeated by Ferdek and Walduś and was turned into a roll of toilet paper. He was debuted in the first episode.

• Arnold Boczek (Arnold Bacon in Polish) (Dariusz Gnatowski): another neighbour, and employee of a butcher shop; he is very fat and not too smart. Arnold Boczek was born in Italy and his second name is Leoncio. He enjoys eating fatty meat accompanied with vodka. Very naive to Paździoch's fake business plans. He's a keen lover of Mongolian ballet, which he watches on television. In the first two episodes Boczek appeared to live with his brother, who has never been seen or mentioned again (however some other relatives of Boczek appeared during the show). Also, in the first two episodes he appeared in, Boczek was portrayed as much more aggressive and tough but in later episodes he become a very sympathetic and childish person. He thought that the main idea of Easter was to go to church with food and eat it later. Ferdek calls Boczek 'zboczek' (from Polish 'zboczeniec' for pervert). He was debuted in the second episode - Wiara czyni cuda (Faith performs miracles).

Others (second series)

• Helena Paździoch née Meisner (Renata Pałys): Marian's wife. Greedy and despotic. She debuted in first episode - Umarł odbiornik, niech żyje odbiornik! (TV is dead, long live the TV!)
• Listonosz Edzio (Eddie the Mailman (Bohdan Smoleń): delivers mail to the Kiepski’s home. Always speaks in verse. He is sometimes called "Edzio-Pedzio", by Ferdynand (Pedzio is a humorous abbreviation of the Polish slur "Pedał", which translates to faggot). He was debuted in first episode.
• Borysek (Kazimierz Ostrowicz) - an old man who lives in the Kiepski's block of flats. He is a strict Catholic while also being a sexaholic. He was debuted in the second episode.
• Paulinka (Zuzanna Helska) - an old woman who lives in the Kiepski's block of flats. Babka's friend, a very strict Catholic and vulgar. She also debuted in the second episode.
• Ziemowit - a cousin from the country, son of Ferdek's brother Staszek. He was living with the Kiepskis for a while.
• Wujek Władek (Uncle Vlad) - Ferdek's uncle, who was played by different actors.
• Łysy (Bald) - Mariolka's boyfriend.

Characters from single episodes

• Roboguy(Robochłop) (Mariusz Czajka) - a fictional robot, model Meteor.
• Death (Śmierć), then the name changed to Gienia Kiepski (Cezary Rybiński) - Grim Reaper- originally he came to kill Ferdynand, but he didn't do it, and he was adopted by Kiepski's family.

See also

• Married... with Children