If you've followed me for a while on Twitter, you might have noticed I'm an incorrigible hound when it comes to 80s and 90s italian TV. I'm particularly fond of the format we over here call 'fiction', which really means tv series. They're usually cheap, by the dozen, they features the same carousel of actors over and over, and they tend to be a pretty good mirror of Italy's pop culture as a whole. This article, in loving memory of RAI Fiction's near demise, will comment on a few of my favorites. There's some good stuff from the 2000s as well, but I'll be keeping those aside for the moment.
I Cinque del Quinto Piano
Quintessential italian Tv for the true culture vulture. First aired in 1988, this sit-com features a nameless italian family, and their interactions as they unfold mostly in a single environment - their living room. There's Edoardo, father and editor at a small press; Gisella, former singing talent and now owner of a fashion boutique; Gianfilippo, son and token slacker uni student; Stefania, high schooler interested more in boys and girls over school; and Simone, the youngest son whose main mission is to annoy his older siblings. A fairly typical family from 80s Milan burgeoisie, but there's little politics at stake here: rather, the series focuses on the bizzarre, often surreal interactions between cast members, where the comedy mostly comes from each one's own archetype being pushed to its limits. Comedian Gian Fabio Bosco aside, the series features mostly nobodies, who did very little after this show.
Passioni
For a totally different kind of show, Passioni. Big american family sagas like Beautiful or The Guiding Light were a huge hit in Italy, and this two-part show (1993) was the country's take on it. Produced by Titanus and Berlusconi Communications (soon-to-be Mediaset), Passioni focuses on the dramas of the Boldano family, and an adulterous event that will change, years later, the lives of all involved. Betrayals, blackmailing, illnesses and bankrupcies abound. Lots of well-known italian actors in this one: Gigi Proietti, Virna Lisi, Lorenzo Flaherty and many others. Notable is the moving title sequence featuring Cocciante's Il Tempo.
Il Maresciallo Rocca
Now, this one's a classic! While the previous two will be mostly unknown to today's general public, famous Carabiniere Rocca (played by legendary actor Gigi Proietti)'s crime-fighting adventures have become an italian TV cult, often re-aired even on RAI Fiction. Running from 1996 to 2005, the series follows Rocca as he goes through a series of family tragedies, in parallel with criminal-of-the-day storylines that tend to resolve in one or two episodes. While drama abounds, the overall tone is actually fairly light, with comedy provided mostly by Proietti's stereotypical portrayal of a Roman no-nonsense, old fashioned man who gets hopelessly left behind as times change. It also inspired a slew of italian police-themes series, such as Il Capitano or R.I.S.
Un Medico in Famiglia
Another classic. Running from 1998 to 2016, the mammoth tv show follows the adventures of titular public health doctor Lele and his extended clan of sons, daughters, relatives, friends, and colleagues. There is some mild drama (runaway kids, a couple deaths) but overall the tone is as comedic as it gets: of particular note is Lele's father Libero (played by famous italian actor Lino Banfi), an old-fashioned retired train conductor, who finds it harder and harder to cope with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren's increasingly wild and contemporary lifestyles. Lots of famous faces in this one, including Milena Vukotic, Giulio Scarpati, and Claudia Pandolfi.
This is but a few of the hundreds fictions produced by italian TV over the 80s and 90s - if you want to find out more, I suggest perusing the rather exhaustive wikipedia entry on the subject.
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