1985 in Italian television
This is a list of Italian television related events from 1985.
Events
- 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.
RAI
- : Ricchi e Poveri win the Sanremo Music Festival, hosted by Pippo Baudo, with Se m'innamoro.
- : RAI breaks the "midnight wall" by airing erotic auteur films at half past one.
- : 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.
- 11 June: Andy Luotto leaves Quelli della note where he played Sheikh Harmand 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.
- 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.
- : 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.
Fininvest
- : 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.
- Fininvest, although it always bases its schedule on variety and American fictions, begins to produce information programs and Italian fictions.
Other private televisions
- : birth of Junior TV, syndication of local channels, specialized in anime and show for children.
- 4 August : the Brazilian Rede Globo buys the majority of Telemontecarlo’s shares.
Awards
2. Telegatto Award, for the season 1984–1985Best shows: Pronto, Raffaella?, Zig ZagBest movie in TV: Raiders of the lost ark.Best miniseries: Christopher Columbus, Cuore, Quei 36 gradini, Quo vadis?, V Best serial: Orazio, Dallas, Dynasty, Hotel.Best soap opera: Los ricos también lloran.Best telenovela: Chega mais.Best quiz: Il pranzo è servito, Superflash.Best game show: Ok il prezzo è giusto, M’ama non m’ama.Best variety: Ci pensiamo lunedì, Domenica in, Drive in, Fantastico 5, Quo vadiz? Risatissima, Il tastomatto, W le donne.Best talk show: Aboccaperta, Maurizio Costanzo show.Best educational: Jonathan, dimensione avventura, Quark.Best magazine: Bit, Italia sera, Nonsolomoda.Best music show: Dee Jay Television, Festivalbar, Sanremo music festival.Best sport magazine: Il processo del lunedì, Record.Best features: Trent’anni della nostra storia, Linea diretta.Best TV commentary: Miss World 1984, on Canale 5.Special award as best journalist: Giorgio Bocca.Debuts
RAI
Serials
Aeroporto internazionale – first attempt of long-lasting Italian serial, ideated by Ennio De Concini, directed by Paolo Poeti, with Adolfo Celi, Orazio Orlando and Dalila Di Lazzaro; 2 seasons.Variety
Parola mia – 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.Pronto, chi gioca? – new edition of Pronto, Raffaella?, with Enrica Bonaccorti, and later Giancarlo Magalli, in the place of Raffaella Carrà; 2 seasons.News and educational
Un giorno in pretura – 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 or political ones to the homes of Italians.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 – 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 ; the civil cases are settled by a true magistrate 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.- Grand Hotel – mix of variety and sit-com set in a luxury hotel, ideated by Silvio Berlusconi himself, with Daniele Formica, Paolo Villaggio, Franco and Ciccio, Gigi e Andrea and several guest stars playing themselves ; 2 seasons.
- Buona domenica – interstitial show of the Sunday evening, hosted by Maurizio Costanzo, Lorella Cuccarini and others; 20 seasons.
Game shows
- Doppio slalom – quiz for teenagers, Italian version of Blockbusters, hosted by Corrado Tedeschi; 6 seasons. In 1988, the future politician Matteo Salvini is champion of the show for three episodes.
- C’est la vie – game show, from the ABC's format That's life!, hosted by Marco Columbro, then by Umberto Smaila; 5 seasons.
- Il gioco delle coppie, 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 – religious magazine, hosted by Claudio Sorgi and later by Gianfranco Ravasi; lasted till 2017.
- Big bang, lo spettacolo della vita – popular science program, hosted by Jas Gawronski; 5 seasons.
- Parlamento in – political magazine, hosted by Rita Dalla Chiesa, Emilio Carelli and others; lasted till 2003.
Other private channels
Hot line - musical show ; till 1992.Pegaso kid – show of cartoon .Shows of the year
RAI
Drama
Il minestrone by Sergio Citti, with Roberto Benigni, Franco Citti and Ninetto Davoli, in 3 episodes; a shortened theatrical version had been distributed in 1981.The two lives of Mattia Pascal – by Mario Monicelli, from Luigi Pirandello's The late Mattia Pascal, with Marcello Mastroianni, Flavio Bucci and Laura Morante; in 2 parts.Un caso d’incoscienza - by Emidio Greco, with Erland Josephson and Rudiger Vogler; inspired by the life of Ivan Krueger.Miniseries
- Mussolini and I, by Alberto Negrin, with Bob Hoskins, Anthony Hopkins and Susan Sarandon, 3 episodes. The serial arouses controversies for the given image of the fascism, judged too benevolent, and for the disappointing Bob Hoskins' performance.
- Sogni e bisogni – by Sergio Citti, with a stellar cast. 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 seek the book with the future of people.
- Voglia di cantare – by Vittorio Sindoni, with Gianni Morandi and Capucine; 4 episodes.
- Olga e i suoi figli – by Salvatore Nocita, with Annie Girardot; story of a widow and her schizophrenic son.
Mystery
- A viso coperto – drama about Anonima sarda, by Gianfranco Albano, with Ray Lovelock, Marlene Jobert and Nino Castelnuovo; 4 episodes.
- Un uomo in trappola – thriler by Vittorio De Sisti, with Ugo Pagliai, Elena Sofia Ricci and Massimo Lopez; 4 episodes.
- Un foro nel parabrezza – 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.
Period dramas
- Il corsaro – by Franco Giraldi, from the Joseph Conrad novel, with Philippe Leroy, Ingrid Thulin and Laura Morante; 3 episodes.
- Quo vadis? – by Franco Rossi, from the Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel, with Francesco Quinn, Marie Therese Relin and Klaus Maria Brandauer ; European coproduction in 6 episodes.
- Christopher Columbus by Alberto Lattuada, with Gabriel Byrne in the title role and a stellar cast in the minor ones ; 4 episodes.
- Antonio Petito, artista comico – biopic by Gennaro Magliulo, with Mario Scarpetta in the title role.
Serial
Caccia al ladro d’autore - with Giuliano Gemma, as the leader of a carabinieri unit specialized in the recovery of stolen artworks.Variety
Il tastomatto – variety by Enzo Trapani, focused on the parody of the channel surfing; with Pippo Franco, Albano and Romina and, for the first time in television, the trio Anna Marchesini-Tullio Solenghi-Massimo Lopez.Quelli della notte – variety by Renzo Arbore. The program, often improvised on air, is a demented parody of the talk-shows with absurd guests ; 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.Buonasera, Raffaella – variety with Raffaella Carrà, evening version of the successful noon program Pronto, Raffaella, in 15 episodes. The show gets high rating but arouses also harsh quarrels and a parliamentary question for the huge costs of the trip to America.Pomeridiana – talk-show providing for the intervention via phone of the public at home; ideated and hosted by Luciano Rispoli.Cinecittò Cinecittà, by Vittorio De Sisti, with Vittorio Gassman, Jane Birkin and many famous actors and directors as guest stars, from Sergio Reggiani to Marcello Mastorianni;; and Passione mia, hosted by Monica Vitti, directed by Roberto Russo; both tributes to Cinecittà and the Italian cinema.Shaker, videococktail – directed by Vito Molinari, with Renzo Montagnani and Daniela Poggi. Supersera – with Alida Chelli and Enzo Garinei.For children
Magic – hosted by Piero Chiambretti.Pane e marmellata – hosted by Fabrizio Frizzi and Rita Dalla Chiesa.News and educational
AIDS story - reportage by Giangi Poli about the spread of AIDS in the United States.Serata Manzoni – talk show hosted by Beniamino Placido, for the 200th anniversary of the writer's birth.- Laurel & Hardy, due teste senza cervello – documentary by Giancarlo Governi; 12 episodes.
- Mister O – program about parapsychology, hosted by Alessandro Cecchi Paone.
Fininvest
Fiction
Doppio misto - trash comedy by Sergio Martino, with Gigi e Andrea and Moana Pozzi.Yesterday, vacanze al mare by Claudio Risi, with Massimo Ciavarro and Mauro Di Francesco; a group of friends remember their holidays on the Romagna Riviera.Variety
Zodiaco – quiz inspired by the astrological signs, hosted by Claudio Cecchetto and Jerry Scotti.Other private channels
Pop shop - music show ideated by Nelson Motta.Felicità, dove sei? -first telenovela by Italian production, with Veronica Castro.Diego 100% - sitcom with Diego Abbantantuono, set in a Milan barEnding this year
Gli affari sono affariAl ParadiseCartoni magiciPronto, Raffaella?RisatissimaSuperflash- ''Supersanremo''
Deaths
- : Giuseppe Marrazzo, 56, RAI journalist, famous for his daring reportages about Italian organized crime.
- : Italo De Feo,, journalist and former RAI vice-president.
- : Gianni Granzotto,, journalist.
- : Stefano Satta Flores,, actor and presenter.