The last two weeks have been characterised by a spate of press launches by the three major stations and two of the television production houses (26th Frame and Brainbox) as the race for viewers and those all-important ratings gets underway.
Following a summer when PBS was in the news because of a bitter feud between the board of directors and the editorial board about who gets the final say, loyal Maltese audiences are eager to know what is in store for them this season.
Well, what’s in store, in some cases, is more of the same.
Long-running programmes such as Becky, Xarabank and Bondiplus will continue on PBS. On One TV, Bla Agenda, Vice-Versa, Kalamita and Str82dPoint are also back for another season. While on NET, Santa Monika, Kontra l-Hin, Kollox Sibt and Sellili are among the returning programmes.
While some viewers are pleased with this kind of comforting continuity, others might yearn for something new. In this respect, each station has tried its best to come up with a programming line-up that will have people talking. However, even though there are some new faces, and what looks like a round of musical chairs as programmes and presenters shift from one station to another, unfortunately, original concepts are scarce.
Probably as a result of this summer’s power struggle, during the PBS launch they were careful not to mention the name of the production houses behind each programme – even though it is common knowledge that practically the whole schedule is outsourced (only the news, Meander, Montage and a new current affairs programme Focus are in-house productions).
On PBS, a new drama called Tghanniqa (produced by 26th Frame) has Claire Agius Ordway and Fabian Scerri de Carlo among the leads. With an audience that is always hungry for more Maltese language drama, this story of a steamy love triangle is bound to find its niche. Il-Kristu tal-Kerrejja is another drama by the same production house. Set back in the 1970s, it gives us the clichéd plot of a man who leaves the priesthood (sound familiar?).
The successful breakfast show Bongu presented by John Bundy (DeeMedia Productions) will continue, while Eileen Montesin joins forces with John Bundy to present Il-Weekend Jibda Hawn on Saturday afternoons. The light-hearted interview programme Illejla, produced by Brainbox and presented by Josef Bonnici, which debuted over the summer months, now has Valerie Vella as a co-host.
The legal wrangling over copyright fees to the Big Brother franchise owned by Endemol Int., which landed L-Ispjun and its producer Pierre Portelli in court last season, has now been resolved. Mr Portelli’s company has qualified for the programme’s licence and, in fact, the local version is going to be called (what else?) Big Brother.
“We felt that the strength of the name Big Brother, viewed by millions around the world, shouldn’t be lost in Malta, a bi-lingual country by nature. In fact only a few countries of the 40 that have produced Big Brother so far opted for the change the name,” explained Mr Portelli. Although it has been launched now, the programme won’t start until next April because, apparently, the Big Brother house has yet to be built.
And…Action (Blaze Productions) is another reality show “which aims to discover fresh talent” – the winner will be invited to produce a programme for the summer season. Moira Delia has abandoned Manuel “Showtime” Xuereb, preferring to concentrate on her beloved animals in her new show Puss in Boots.
Joseph Chetcuti will continue presenting his extreme makeover programme Arani Issa, surprising the prospective candidates with the news that they have been chosen. While last year it was filmed and edited by Where’s Everybody, this year the production has moved to Blaze Productions.
Il-Hadd fuq TVM (a 26th Frame production) sees an interesting team of presenters: Julia Farrugia, Janice Darmanin, Charles Saliba and Hector Bruno all come together as they visit various towns and villages early on Sunday morning. This will be followed by Hadd Ghalik? (a Where’s Everybody production), which also visits various places with quizzes and competitions.
Saviour Balzan will continue to present Reporter, albeit for only 10 minutes, every weekday before the 8pm news.
One of the most surprising changes is on the Brainbox production 118, which has been ably hosted by John Demanuele for several seasons, and is now going to be presented by Graziella Attard Previ. The same company is also giving us Il-Kunjata, where Gianni Zammit will help a prospective groom pop the question to his girlfriend in a unique way.
Where’s Everybody have secured the rights to another Endemol production, the quiz Deal or No Deal, which will be on every evening. Fans of Ray Calleja’s inimitable talents will be pleased to see him resurrect some of his most loveable characters, including Frankie Quattromani in Bomba (which was on One TV a few years ago).
Meanwhile, Andrea Cassar, whose survival programme Liquorish won’t be returning because she was not prepared to pay double for the airtime, will be behind the scenes producing two children’s programmes, Big Bug and Kif?
Claire Agius Ordway will continue to present Hajja (a Zoo production), which tackles parenthood.
Former One TV presenters Herman and Frieda have now moved their show Flimkien to PBS, while Teen & Co, yet another 26th Frame production presented by Pauline Agius (formerly a presenter on NET), is aimed at the teenage market.
One TV chose the majestic grounds of Tal-Virtu Palace to hold its launch, the same location where its much-touted new mystery drama Miriana Coljero is being filmed.
Produced by Mark Doneo, Miriana is being given a lot of hype, just as is the breakthrough drama Gizelle (produced by 4 People Ltd.) which caught the public’s imagination last year. Another new production is Bronk Productions’ Marvin about a man who strives to make the world a better place.
Simone Cini returns with her well-received informative programme Ieqaf 20 minuta, plus she is also the presenter of the Sunday morning newspaper review show Il-Hadd ma’ l-Ahbar. Toni Abela and Brian Bonnici return with the current affairs programme Iswed fuq l-Abjad and joining them is none other than the always watchable and opinionated Grace Borg.
Ghal Qalbi, produced by 26th Frame, is a new Sunday night show for couples who will compete for prizes, presented by real-life couple Antonella Galea Lofreda and Joe Galea.
The team of comedians known as Zoo are on One TV with their production of Teletubi. This is more Muppet show than Teletubbies however, as the four cheeky puppets have their say on what is going on in Malta. Zoo’s ties with Where’s Everybody seem to have been dissolved after the satirical programme Zinners was pulled off the air last season by PBS.
Other new programmes on One TV include the Sunday afternoon programme Trid Tarah, a daily magazine programme Tant Iehor and X’hemm Tajjeb, a cookery programme.
The former PBS programme Showtime has moved to One TV, with Manuel Xuereb now sharing the limelight with Angele Cauchi, the wife of the show’s new producer Malcolm Galea. It will be interesting to see how it will fare in its Friday night slot against the formidable Xarabank.
On Aroma chefs will compete for prizes with their best recipes.
240 volts is a music programme on Sunday evenings, Matinee is a magazine programme on Saturday afternoons, while Ruth Frendo has a new programme called Pandora. There is also a new children’s programme called Childwise.
Finally, NET TV, too, has some new faces and what looks like a major upheaval behind-the-scenes for Saturday afternoons. Singer J Anvil joins Mireille Bonello to present Sas-Sitta, a mixture of entertainment, comedy and a kids’ corner, produced by Spiteri Lucas Entertainment. This effectively means that the Spiteri Lucas brothers pulled out of Kollox Sibt, the Karl and Romina Bonaci show, and have not only taken their time slot but several of the singers with them (Natasha and Charlene Grima, Ludwig Galea and Klinsmann Coleiro).
Kollox Sibt meanwhile, has become a Saturday evening show roping in the Dominic Galea orchestra and singers such as Lawrence Gray and Eleanor Cassar together with comedians Hector Bruno and Augusto Cardinali.
Veteran broadcaster Gloria Mizzi has a new show called Ma’ Gloria, which will cover everything from current topics to cooking. A relatively new face, Jean Claude Micallef, teams up with Louise Tedesco for the breakfast show La Qomna, Qomna.
Not to be outdone by its competitors, NET has also commissioned a new drama by Hermann Bonaci called Gheruq, which once again takes us back to Malta’s past, set before the Second World War, with the by now
predictable clash between the upper and lower classes.
The comedy Ta’ Horrox Borrox starring Gemma Portelli will return on Sunday nights.
Dan Kien is-Seklu XX is back with Stephanie Spiteri, who is going it alone this time, sans Charles Spiteri who has moved back to the national station.
Meanwhile a new makeover programme called Eva has a group of beauty professionals transforming women who have lost their self-confidence; a kind of revamped version of last season’s Cinderella Plus.
Another surprise is that, after three years, Pierre Portelli will be back on NET TV hosting a new discussion programme called …bil-fatti, in which speakers will be challenged to sustain their comments with facts. This programme will be a NET TV production.
A new Saturday morning programme called Hola! teams up Rachel and Toni. Viewers will remember Rachel Micallef as the actress who played Ruth in One TV’s Simpatici. In fact the programme is produced by Simpatici creator Hermann Bonaci.
At a glance, NET seems to be the station with the least number of new ideas – only seven new programmes compared to no less than 22 new local productions on the national station and 13 new programmes on One TV.
So after months of negotiations and frantic scrambling for the most lucrative time slots, the 2007/2008 TV season is all set to go. The question is: what will you be watching?