The programme was extremely popular in Romania, but following his visit to North Korea the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu opted to replace the programme (and other popular shows) with broadcasts designed to show off the success of his policies. Consequently, the population tuned into foreign stations to follow the series. In 1989 these channels carried news broadcasts of events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, which were absent from Romanian television news. This in turn contributed to the uprising which brought down the Ceaușescu regime.