LET’S TALK ABOUT TV. Courses for competitions

These are mere entertainment spaces where, once a week, they are broadcast in the Prime mode (?) which simply consists of the participation of the aforementioned “faces” of television, exchicas realityactors, entertainers, comedians and others who compete representing non-profit and social foundations.

José Luis Córdova. Journalist. “The century”. Santiago. 5/20/2024. Regarding the current and popular game shows “What does Chile say?” on Channel 13, “Now I fall!” on TVN and “Pasa Palabras” on Chilevisión, it is worth remembering iconic spaces from the past in this area. Entertainment was then a vehicle of cultural training that contributed to the training and information of the television audience.

Among them the memorable “Who am I?”, which was broadcast between 1967 and 1970 on Channel 13 with a sequel between 1970 and 1979 on TVN, with animation by Enrique Bravo Menadier, and the participation of comedian Jorge Romero “Firulete” , the writer Marta Blanco, the actress Liliana Ross and the priest Alfredo Ruiz Tagle.

These personalities had to identify a person and their profession or trade through questions. It was a Creole version of the space “What my line?” of the CBS network (“Unknown Profession”) that operated successfully between 1950 and 1975. In our country, the Bravo program Menadier was replaced by the contest “Reach for the Stars” between 1970 and 1971, which returned during the dictatorship, between 1978 and 1979. with less public interest.

For its part, the remembered tournament “Fulfill your wish with CRAV” on Channel 13 captivated viewers between 1965 and 1969 and between 1970 and 1971 on Channel 9 of the University of Chile. Animated by the prominent professor Mario Céspedes, the contest was born on Radio Minería and its participants had to answer questions on topics that they themselves had chosen, for example, the history of Chile, classical music, Easter Island, opera, etc.

It must be remembered that this prominent pedagogue was arbitrarily detained after the civil-military coup and sent to the Chacabuco Concentration Camp, where he was cruelly tortured for his political ideas. What a tribute in his memory.

Another similar space was the eight-minute microspace “How Much Do You Know?” between 1966 and until 1980, which was animated by the teacher and announcer Justo Camacho; also “Student Championship”, with Julio Videla and “How much is the show worth?” with the announcer Leo Caprile and the memorable performances of Enrique Lafourcade and Eric Polhammer.

We currently have three contest spaces on screen that do not follow the parameters of those already described, for example, because they do not have the supervision of a notary to certify the authenticity of the questions and answers. In the time of mistrust we live in, this need for oversight is unquestionable. Furthermore, the questions and questions are as relative as they are sometimes unusual and absurd, giving rise to equally crude answers.

We have previously referred to “Pasa Palabras”, pointing out that it has inevitably dropped in tune after several seasons, an issue that is explained by the reiteration of the dynamic and the fatigue of the television audience.

Channel 13 currently broadcasts “What does Chile say?” with animation by Martín Cárcamo. Two groups of four people compete against each other to answer questions of different types among the “most popular” (?) of a survey to win a monetary prize. Friends, family, work colleagues, etc. They compete against each other to guess questions asked to 100 Chileans to accumulate points, although many of the statements and judgments issued are questionable in their plausibility.

It is based on the “Family Feud” franchise, the North American TV competition (American Broadcasting Co.) created by Mark Godson and launched in 1976 that has 26 seasons.

Simpler and more direct is the “Now I Fall!” tournament, a Spanish television contest on Antena 3, from 2011 to 2021, adaptation of an Israeli contest. In this case the complication is in the elimination system, which is cumbersome, sometimes arbitrary and, above all, unclear.

In reality, these are mere entertainment spaces where, once a week, they are broadcast in the Prime mode (?) which simply consists of the participation of the aforementioned “faces” of television, exchicas realityactors, entertainers, comedians and others who compete representing non-profit and social foundations.

Finally, a laudable initiative but one that needs a training course or workshop to carry it out with transparency and without mistrust, like almost everything in the world today. And especially on our weak television.