In 1985, Italian television broadcasts over half a million commercials and advertising occupies 16 percent of the hours of transmission. An agreement between RAI, Fininvest and advertisers to limit publicity crowding does not substantially change the situation.[1]
17 May: RAI breaks the "midnight wall" (the traditional end time of broadcasts) by airing erotic auteur films (including In the realm of the sensess) at half past one. [2]
29 May: millions of spectators, waiting for the 1985 European Cup final, see live the Heysel disaster, with the death of 39 Italian supporters. The RAI commentator Bruno Pizzul, clearly dismayed but with great professionalism, reports first of the tragedy and then of the match that is played anyway.[3]
11 June: Andy Luotto leaves Quelli della note where he played Sheikh Harmand (an Arab weatherman portrayed in a caricatured and, for some, racist way) after receiving death threats from Islamic fundamentalists. The character had already aroused the official protests of Italian Muslim associations. The actor returns, in European clothes, in the last two episodes of the show. [4]
14 September: Enzo Tortora is sentenced to ten years in prison for association with the Camorra and drug trafficking. The presenter, while continuing to proclaim his innocence, waives his immunity as a Member of the European Parliament and is placed under house arrest on 29 December.
1 December: the journalis Mino Damato, host of Domenica in, performs live a walk on hot coals.
28 December: RAI 3 celebrates the 90th anniversary of the cinematograph with La magnifica ossessione, a 40 hours marathon of movies, care of Enrico Ghezzi. The initiative will be repeated in 1995 for the centenary.[1]
Fininvest
4 February: the Senate, with the decisive vote of MSI, approves the "Berluconi decree"; private televisions get the right to broadcast on a national scale, but not live. [2]
Fininvest, although it always bases its schedule on variety and American fictions, begins to produce information programs and Italian fictions.
Other private televisions
18 February: birth of Junior TV, syndication of local channels, specialized in anime and show for children.
Aeroporto internazionale (International airport) – first attempt of long-lasting Italian serial, ideated by Ennio De Concini, directed by Paolo Poeti, with Adolfo Celi (as the good-hearted director of a terminal), Orazio Orlando and Dalila Di Lazzaro; 2 seasons.
Variety
Parola mia (My word) – quiz about the Italian language, hosted by Luciano Rispoli, sided by Anna Carlucci and the university professor Gian Luigi Beccaria; 3 seasons plus a reprisal in 2002. It is a rare example of a TV quiz with a true cultural value.[5]
Un giorno in pretura (A day in the tribunal) – hosted by Roberta Petrelluzzi; again on air. TV reality program, which broadcasts, without commentary, the sessions of the trials; initially dedicated to small criminal cases, later it brought historic judicial affairs (such as the crimes of the Monster of Florence) or political ones (such as the trials for Tangentopoli) to the homes of Italians.[6]
Linea diretta – daily in-depth magazine hosted by Enzo Biagi and aired in the late evening; it is inaugurated by an interview to Mehmet Ali Acga.
Il mercato del sabato (Saturday market) – magazine about economy and citizens' rights, hosted by Luisa Rivelli, among the first Rai programs of the morning time slot; 8 seasons.
Fininvest
Variety
Forum – court show, with various hosts, all female (Catherine Spaak, Rita dalla Chiesa, Barbara Palombelli); the civil cases are settled by a true magistrate (the most famous is Santi Licheri, who kept the role for 24 years) while, often, the contenders are played by actors. The show, again on air, is one of the most popular Mediaset programs and has generated several spin-offs.[7]
Doppio slalom (Double slalom) – quiz for teenagers, Italian version of Blockbusters, hosted by Corrado Tedeschi; 6 seasons. In 1988, the future politician Matteo Salvini (by then 15 years old) is champion of the show for three episodes.[10]
C’est la vie – game show, fromt the ABC's format That's life!, hosted by Marco Columbro, then by Umberto Smaila; 5 seasons.
Il gioco delle coppie (The couples' game), Italian version of The Dating Game, hosted by Marco Pedrolin and others; 10 seasons.
Il buon paese – game show, hosted by Claudio Lippi, with the challenge between two families representing two Italian villages; 2 seasons.
Pentatlon - quiz hosted by Mike Bongiorno; 2 seasons.
News and educational
Le frontiere dello spirito (Spirit's borders) – religious magazine, hosted by Claudio Sorgi and later by Gianfranco Ravasi; lasted till 2017.
Big bang, lo spettacolo della vita (The show of the life) – popular science program, hosted by Jas Gawronski; 5 seasons.
Sogni e bisogni (Dreams and needs) – by Sergio Citti, with a stellar cast (from Paolo Villaggio to Ugo Tognazzi). A cycle of "modern fairy tales", feel-good stories but in a paradoxical key, with a fantastic frame, where an angel, a devil and the destiny (Giulietta Masina) seek the book with the future of people.
Voglia di cantare (Desire to sing) – by Vittorio Sindoni, with Gianni Morandi (in the autobiographical role of a singer searching for a relaunch) and Capucine; 4 episodes.
Un foro nel parabrezza (An hole in the windscreen) – by Sauro Scavolini, from the Carlo Bernari’ s novel, with Vittorio Mezzogiorno and Mismy Farmer; 3 episodes. The life of a journalist is upstet by the encounter with a mysterious woman.
Antonio Petito, artista comico – biopic by Gennaro Magliulo, with Mario Scarpetta in the title role.
Serial
Caccia al ladro d’autore (Author’s hunt for the thief)- with Giuliano Gemma, as the leader of a carabinieri unit specialized in the recovery of stolen artworks.
Quelli della notte (The night people) – variety by Renzo Arbore. The program, often improvised on air, is a demented parody of the talk-shows with absurd guests (the friar Nino Frassica, the Arab Andy Luotto, the communist Maurizio Ferrini, and so on); aired at the 11 p.m. and thought for a niche audience, it gets an extraordinary public and critic success and becomes a cultural phenomenon.[16]
Buonasera, Raffaella – variety with Raffaella Carrà, evening version of the successful noon program Pronto, Raffaella, in 15 episodes (the last five are broadcast by satellite form the RAI Corporation studios in New York). The show gets high rating but arouses also harsh quarrels and a parliamentary question for the huge costs of the trip to America.[17]
Pomeridiana – talk-show providing for the intervention via phone of the public at home; ideated and hosted by Luciano Rispoli.
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