The start of III after 9, because the name was changed years later as well as the conception, ran in the common third television program of Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and Radio Bremen (RB) and (at that time still) Sender Freies Berlin (SFB).

"[2] The FR author continues: "The production conditions were made visible, and this transparency alone was extraordinary in a medium that sought to perfect the illusion, at least in the entertainment sector" – the programme was perceived as unconventional, unemotional and spontaneous.

This, as a pioneer of television documentary film at the Süddeutscher Rundfunk in Stuttgart, had been honoured journalistically and wanted an "anti-magazine", live and direct, alive with surprises and the presence of mind of the participants.

If controversies arise between the guests, the presenters Amelie Fried and Giovanni di Lorenzo often suffocate them in the beginning for the sake of a harmonious chat".

These were Sandra Maischberger, Annette Dasch, Maria Furtwängler, Katrin Bauerfeind, Judith Rakers and Sarah Wiener.

[8] Sensation was caused when on February 19, 1982, the former leading member of the 2 June Movement Fritz Teufel and the then Federal Minister of Finance Hans Matthöfer (SPD) were among the guests on the programme.

During a discussion with the moderator about good behaviour, Teufel pulled a water pistol and sprayed the minister with magic ink.

On 9 March 1984 the brothel boss Karl-Heinz Germersdorf from Hanover together with his third Thai wife and his lawyer was a guest on the talk show.

In 2009, Middle East expert and journalist Peter Scholl-Latour clashed with Israeli public relations manager Melody Sucharewicz in a heated discussion.