Sábado Gigante
| Sábado Gigante | |
|---|---|
.jpg){kind=logo} | |
| Also known as |
Show Dominical (1962–1963) Sábados Gigantes (1963–1986) |
| Created by | Don Francisco |
| Presented by |
Don Francisco Rolando Barral (1986)[1] Pedro de Pool (1986–1991) Javier Romero (1991–present) |
| Country of origin |
Chile (1962–1986) United States (1986–15) |
| Original language(s) | Spanish |
| No. of seasons | 53 |
| No. of episodes | 2,466 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time |
Approx. 2 hours, 15 minutes (without commercials) 3 hours (with commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel |
Canal 13 (Chile) Univision (USA) |
| Picture format |
480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original run | August 8, 1962 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Sábado Gigante (English translation: "Giant Saturday" or "Gigantic Saturday"; known officially as Sábado Gigante Internacional outside Chile) is a Spanish-language television program that is broadcast by Univision in the United States. It is Univision's longest-running program and the longest-running television variety series in history.[2] Sábado Gigante is an eclectic and frenetic mix of various contests, human-interest stories, and live entertainment. From its start in 1962, it has been hosted by Chilean TV star Mario Kreutzberger under the stage name of Don Francisco. Pedro de Pool began serving as co-host in 1986; that role was taken over by Javier Romero in 1991.
The three-hour program aired on Univision each Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A new episode was produced every week throughout the show's history, with no reruns and only rare pre-emptions due to special programming (most notably by Teletón USA, an annual 24-hour telethon held each January, which Kreutzberger has hosted since its inception in 2012). On April 17, 2015, Univision announced that Sábado Gigante would be cancelled after 53 years, with its final episode airing on September 19, 2015.[3]
Broadcast history
Kreutzberger originated the weekly program on August 8, 1962, airing on Canal 13 in Chile as Show Dominical ("Sunday's Show"). He had been inspired by television shows he had seen in the United States and Argentina but, as he explained, "My idea was mixing all the programs that I saw into one program."
The program's broadcasts were subsequently moved to Saturdays, and henceforth, was renamed Sábados Gigantes in 1963 and quickly developed a loyal following in Chile, and then throughout Latin America. In Chile, during the 1970s and 1980s, the show reached peak audiences of 80%. During this period, some episodes of the program lasted up to eight hours.
In its early years, the series was broadcast live with the exception of short segments; notable among the pre-taped segments was the travelogue, where Kreutzberger visited different locations around the world.
On April 12, 1986 Kreutzberger and the program moved to Miami, Florida where it began to be produced by Univision (formerly the Spanish International Network, or SIN). At that time, the show's title was changed to the singular Sábado Gigante, although some longtime fans in Chile still call it by the pluralized title. On June 18, 2005 the series celebrated its 1,000th episode on Univisión, and on May 20, 2006 it celebrated its 20th anniversary on the network. On October 27, 2012, Sábado Gigante celebrated its 50th anniversary (counting both its runs in Chile and the U.S.).
For several years, two programs were recorded each week from identical sets:
- One in Miami, Florida for broadcast in most Latin American countries, as well as Spanish-language stations in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
- One in Santiago, Chile for broadcast in that country (Kreutzberger's home country).
Regular segments
El Chacal de la Trompeta
One of the show's signature segments, six contestants are given the chance to sing a song, with the bad performers being eliminated mid-song by "El Chacal", a ghost-like character who blows an old trumpet to end such acts (similar to The Gong Show). Unlike The Gong Show, El Chacal does not have to wait a specific amount of time before eliminating someone (on many occasions, contestants have been eliminated almost immediately after beginning their performance). Don Francisco would always get into the act, and wear silly hats and wigs to intimidate the contestant. On some occasions, the eliminated performer would be "fed" by a lion in his cave, with Don Francisco chanting "A los leones". The "Lion" character was later phased out and would be "replaced" with an Alex the Lion doll. The "surviving" performers are voted on by the audience, with the one receiving the most applause winning a prize or cash (in this case, $1,000). The performer also has the chance to win an additional $1,000 by acquiring "La Córona", which will pre-qualify that performer into the "Reyes del Chacal" competition, which is held every two to four years. From 1986 to 1993, any performer who advanced also received a six-pack of Coca-Cola.
Often whenever Don Francisco sings during this segment, El Chacal would blow the trumpet mid-song, effectively insulting the host, who responds by kicking El Chacal. He would also kick the character if a bad call was made.
El Chacal's name roughly translates to "the Jackal," and his antics are more in line with such, similar to a laughing hyena. However, there is a bit darker (or dark humor) meaning behind the character and his appearance. He actually has more similarities to an "Executioner" or a "Hooded Hatchetman", who used to kill people on the gallows or guillotine while wearing such a mask. Only in this case, he "kills off" acts of performers by playing the trumpet and not wielding an axe or guillotine.
In November 2013, Leonardo Núñez Guerrero, the man who played El Chacal for more than 20 years, was fired from the show by Don Francisco.[4][5]
Miss Colita
A parody of beauty pageants, six women compete in swimsuits or other revealing attire for the title of Miss Colita. It is similar to the Brazilian contest "Miss Bumbum". The contest is usually held the Saturday before the Miss Venezuela, Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, although it – or variants of the segment – is frequently held every two to four weeks. A Christmas-themed version, Miss Santita, is held the Saturday before Christmas. Another version, "Miss Colita Petite", features mainly smaller women. From 2003 to 2005, it was succeeded by a similar contest, "Miss Curvilinea", which focused more on the body type and form.
It is also well known for the song "Mueve la colita", where the idea of the contest was conceived from; it has been an unofficial "hymn" of Sábado Gigante.
This segment has been criticized by several former Miss Universe delegates (including Alicia Machado, Justine Pasek, Mónica Spear and Taliana Vargas), due to the main focus of the contest being the buttocks. This led to the creation of Miss Curvilinea, among other similar contests.
Miss Chiquitita
This contest featured girls (usually children) competing for the title of Miss Chiquitita. The contest was held between 1994 and 1996, and was held in a two-month period; it was revived on July 2012 after a 16-year hiatus. The structure was similar to Miss America, sans the swimsuit and evening gown rounds.
El Detector De Mentiras
Whenever someone is accused of infidelity, Don Francisco puts that person to a lie detector test, conducted by Miami-based polygraphist Joe Harper. While this is a serious segment, there is some humor, whenever Harper mispronounces the words in the questions since he is not fluent in Spanish, only to be criticized (and corrected) by Don Francisco.
There has been one instance where infidelity was not involved in this segment, when a woman believed to had an encounter with extraterrestrial life in Battle Ground, Washington.
Póngale Ritmo
This segment is a dance competition. The first round has contestants perform a freestyle dance before a panel of judges. Only three are selected for the final rounds of the contest. Whenever an obese contestant performs on the competition, Don Francisco frequently referenced Ritmo Dieta, a Zumba-style weight loss competition similar to Póngale Ritmo.
La Cuatro
At some point during the show, Don Francisco gets interrupted (and sometimes annoyed) by "La Cuatro" (played by Chilean singer and actress Gloria Benavides). She has a semi-romantic interest in Don Francisco, but would frequently pester him, including the use of bad jokes and bothering the audience. If La Cuatro pokes fun at various celebrities, Don Francisco warns her (numerous times) to not mess with them.
Comedy segments
There have been numerous comedic segments throughout the show's run. They were best known for helping launch the career of the Argentinian model/vedette/actress Nanci Guerrero, who starred in a majority of these sketches. Most have included:
- La familia Fernández: A sketch involving a dysfunctional Mexican family.
- La oficina de Producción: One of Sábado Gigante 's most well-known sketches, it follows five network executives – La Cuatro (played by Gloria Benavides), Karina, Anabel (played by Nanci Guerrero), Mr. Douglas, and Ñañito (played by Armando Roblan) – at a production office. Don Francisco precedes the sketch by calling one of the characters, while each sketch would end in bad luck.
- Hospital Gigante: A similar sketch in a hospital setting. This sketch was known for its suggestive themes, as La Doctora Cosabella (played by Guerrero) would often strip into her lingerie. Rómulo (played by Miguel González), a paramedic, has a romantic interest in Cosabella. La Cuatro has a role as another doctor. González and Guerrero returned in-character in 2006, attempting to take Don Francisco to their hospital.
- Hotel Gigante: A sketch set in a hotel. It is similar in format to "Hospital Gigante", albeit with different characters.
- Nave Espacial: A parody sketch of various science fiction films, mostly Star Trek. It is set in a space station.
- Cuatro Para Las Cuatro Con La Cuatro: Itself a parody of telenovelas, it follows La Cuatro as a maid in an apartment (later a mansion). Regular characters included Doña Concha (played by Adonis Losada) and Doña Eufrocina (played by Norma Zuñiga) as the residents. It was followed by two "sequels", La Posada and Don Medical Center, the latter a reboot of Hospital Gigante.
- La cosa está dura: A sketch involving Mexican immigrants adjusting to typical American life.
Animal-related contests
There have been contests involving animals, usually pets. One of them, La gracia de mi mascota, features pets performing certain talents. Ron Magill, from the Metro Zoo in Miami, is a guest on the show whenever these contests are held. Another game, Los huevos de Ron Magill (named after Magill himself), has audience members attempt to replicate an animal's sound which, if one is performed successfully, then that person can reach their hand in an oversized egg for a chance to win up to US$1500. The name of this contest is sometimes mocked by Don Francisco, who would intentionally use the more vulgar term of the word "huevos" (which is also a Spanish slang term meaning testicles), much to Magill's chagrin.
It is noted that Magill had also been mocked by Don Francisco, as well as (in some occasions) made fun of by the audience due to his poor Spanish-speaking ability. However, Magill has stated that he learned the language through his tenure on Sábado Gigante.
The car games, aka "Final de Automovil"
Throughout the show's run on Univision, a disclaimer said by either Don Francisco, Javier Romero or one of the co-presenters precedes the car games by stating: "Neither Sábado Gigante or Univision ask for money in exchange for prizes, if you receive a call asking for money in exchange for a prize [from someone claiming to be on behalf of Univision or Sábado Gigante], please call the corresponding authorities." while the same disclaimer is shown on-screen at the end of the program. A similar disclaimer is also used for the Chilean version of Gigante hosted by Don Francisco's daughter, Vivi. Contestants must be 18 and older to compete for the car. The car being given away on the program is a Kia Soul.
Other cars given away in the US program have included those from Ford Motor Company (1986-1989, 1999-2014), Honda (1990-1999), Daewoo (2000) and Hyundai (2005-2009). In Chile, some cars given away include Volkswagen, Lada, Renault-Samsung, and Subaru.
In 2000 and from 2005-2009, another car prize (usually from a different manufacturer) was offered at the end of the first hour of the show.
Prior to the revamping in 2008, the games played for the car were similar to the pricing games seen on The Price Is Right, but were based on luck rather than having the contestant guess the actual price of the car. These have included a game with a staircase with buttons in any of these three colors (red, green, or blue) with the contestant trying to avoid a "broken" button (indicated by an alarm) to win (this game was relaunched in 2005 with a man in a cherry picker, usually a stunt double, falling out of it if the broken button was pushed).
This game is similar to The Price Is Right 's "Any Number" pricing game. It's where contestants can call out digits one at a time, revealing them in the prices of four prizes on the gameboard, and wins the first prize whose price is completely revealed. A gameboard contains spaces representing five digits in the price of a car, four digits in the price of a trip anywhere in the world (usually a Spanish-speaking country), four digits representing an amount of money that is valued at more than $1,000 (similar to a piggy bank), and three digits in the price of a smaller prize. The first digit in the price of the car is revealed at the beginning of the game (a rule implemented after cars valued at more than $10,000 were used in the game).
Another game involved 12 keys with the contestant having to choose the key (with a set number of chances) that opens the large "vault" containing the car inside (similar to The Price Is Right 's "Master Key" and "Safe Crackers" pricing games). In 1995, the "vault" changed color from gold to blue. In 1999, a relaunch of the game had all the finalists choose one key each and was expanded to 16 keys, whilst the 2006 relaunch returned to the old format, but with a makeover (it resembled a bank vault and the keys in-game were modeled after real keys). If the vault opens in which they pick the winning key number, the siren went off and the contestant wins a new car. Otherwise, the buzzer will sound if the vault does not open in which the contestant picks the wrong key number. This game was considered the most popular car game of the show and is the first car game played. This game now appears occasionally, with all finalists each picking the key they believe opens the car door. And if the car door opens, they won a new car.
There are games similar to The Price Is Right 's "3 Strikes" pricing game, but gameplay varied depending on that game's concept (with the El Chacal de la Trompeta character image used as the "strikes"; if the contestant finds the Sábado Gigante logo, it will eliminate one strike and awards a $500 bonus, which the contestant gets to keep regardless of outcome). Each wheel adds $1,000 to the player's score, and if the contestant successfully finds all 4 wheels, the contestant wins $4,000 and a brand new car and the prizes they have accumulated.
Since 2008, the number of panels is determined by the number of players competing during the show. One of them has the word "Auto" in it, while the others have El Chacal. The player who finds the Auto panel, moves on to the car game.
There was one game where contestants are given a survey question and must correctly guess five responses related to the question (similar to Family Feud).
The new car games introduced in 2008, which are essentially updated and digitalized versions of older games, have included:
- A car puzzle, which contestants find the parts of a digitalized car. Each piece adds $1,000 to the player's score, while El Chacal takes money away. The first one takes $1,000 from the player, the second deducts $2,000 and everything for all three; thus it is possible to have a negative amount after the first and/or second mistake. If the player successfully finds all 7 parts of a digitalized car without finding El Chacal 3 times, the player wins a brand-new car and whatever money has been accumulated (up to $7,000). The older version has players spell out the word "Gigante", similar to The Price Is Right 's "Spelling Bee" pricing game and is played using the 3 Strikes.
- A virtual race, where contestants select a colored stock car (Red, Green or Blue) – which closely resemble Formula One cars – and wins if the chosen color places first. This preceded a similar game where the 2002 to 2005 versions included a car, El Chacal, and a cruise ship (if the ship placed first, the contestant wins a cruise to an unspecified location). The 2006 to 2008 versions have depicted a horse race and is similar to the current format.
- A roulette game, where players spin a virtual wheel and try to stop at the car space five times. There are 6 parts of a car spinning around a virtual wheel including a gallon of gasoline, license plate, car door, steering wheel, car key, and a car tire/wheel. Each parts of a car adds $1,000 to the player's score, and if the contestant successfully stops at the car space 5 times without stopping at the "Chacal" space 3 times, the contestant wins a brand-new car and whatever money has accumulated. The older versions have the word "Auto" and "Chacal" and amounts of cash (between $500 and $1500) on the wheel.
- There was another game in which a contestant picks a door up or down, and are then shown a number and the contestants are asked if the next door's number is higher or lower. Each correct answer adds $1,000 to the player's score, and if the contestant successfully gets 5 out of 7 right without making 2 mistakes, the player wins $5,000 and a brand-new car. The 1996 to 1999 version was played differently, where the contestant must collect cards containing five parts of a disproportionate car, with the adjacent card being El Chacal (in monster form). The 2000 to 2008 version is similar to the current format.
Irregular segments
La Cámara Viajera
La Cámara Viajera ("The Traveling Film") is the show's travelogue segment – which only appears occasionally – where Don Francisco visits a selected country where he mainly talks about the culture and its attractions. The segment has taken him to over 185 countries worldwide, many of them more than once.
Product placement
Throughout the show's run, product placement has been a vital part of Sabado Gigante. Whenever a certain product is advertised during the show, Don Francisco, along with the audience, would sing that product's jingle. Otherwise, he will describe the product. Most products, such as Cookie Crisp and Chex cereals (when they were produced by Ralston), would often alternate weekly or monthly. Other products advertised on Sabado Gigante have included AC Delco, Allstate, American Airlines (for the show's travel segment "La Camara Viajera"), AutoZone, Cap'n Crunch, Coca-Cola, Colgate, Dog Chow (alternates with its Puppy Chow counterpart), Domino's Pizza, Ferrero Rocher, M&M's (alternates with its sister brands Snickers, Skittles and Starburst), Mazola, Miller (for the musical segments), Oreo (alternates with its sister brands Chips Ahoy!, Ritz, Nilla and Premium Saltines), Pampers, Payless ShoeSource, Pepto-Bismol, Polaroid (for the car games) Quaker Instant Oatmeal (most often for El Chacal de La Trompeta; alternates with Aunt Jemima), Secret Deodorant and Sprint.
Adonis Losada's arrest
In September 2009, comedian Adonis Losada, who played Doña Concha on the show, was arrested and subsequently charged with 30 counts of possession of child pornography after detectives in Boynton Beach, Florida alleged that he uploaded one of the images to a social networking site. Police found 18 images of child pornography on a hard drive in his home.[6] Following the arrest, the Doña Concha character was dropped from future Sábado Gigante telecasts.
Haitian telethon
In 2010, following the Haiti earthquake, the show aired a special three-hour telethon benefiting the American Red Cross.
Parodies
- Sábado Gigante was parodied in the Family Guy episode "Stewie Loves Lois".
- The series was spoofed, as Sábado Muy Loco, in the Sealab 2021 episode "ASHDTV".
- Stephen Colbert parodies Sábado Gigante on The Colbert Report occasionally with "Colberto Reporto Gigante" hosted by "Esteban Colberto" (clearly Colbert wearing a white suit and a fake mustache), and featuring "chicas" who dance around him while he "discusses" an issue – frequently immigration – with Colbert.
- In one episode of the Spanish dub of Garfield and Friends, in the Orson's Farm Quickie following "Attack of the Mutant Guppies", the Guppies say they want to go on Sábados Gigantes (in the original English version, the Guppies wanted to go on Muppet Babies).
References
- ↑
- ↑ "Longest Running TV Variety Show". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
- ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2015/04/17/univision-cancels-sabado-gigante-variety-show/25931993/
- ↑ El chacal de la trompeta" hablará sobre su despido de "Sábado gigante
- ↑ 'Chacal de la Trompeta' Reveals His Identity After Being Fired From Sábado Gigante
- ↑ David S. Seltzer (2009-10-05). "Actor From Popular Univision Show Arrested for Possessing and Distributing Child Pornography".
External links
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