The viewer decides

Published: October 28, 2011 at 8:54pm

What are the odds that most of those ranting and raving against Joe Azzopardi, Xarabank, Where’s Everybody and on and on are glued to the television right now, discussing Giga?

Unless they’re out getting plastered, of course. But let’s not mention names.

The viewer decides, and the market speaks. End of story. That’s what liberal means. But Labour thinks it’s all about sex.




28 Comments Comment

  1. Anthony says:

    I have had my share of Giga as a child living in Valletta.

    We children were haunted by her name and some of us had problems falling asleep at night.

    I remember my teacher, Miss Formosa, telling us that whoever mentioned Giga in class would have to forgo ‘ ir-recreation’.

    We were scared to go to school alone for quite a while and went in groups or with a parent or two in tow.

    If Peppi is to have my attention on Friday evenings he should have a go at someone like Belen Rodriguez.

    Miss Sixty will foot the entire advertising bill I am sure.

  2. Albert Farrugia says:

    Well that’s beside the point isn’t it? No one is denying that Joe “Peppi” Azzopardi is a master in his craft.

    Leaving politics aside, one of his masterpieces was the “kif tista’ ma ccemplix” videos on L-Istrina.

    Heart-wrenching videos which surely helped raise the amount of money collected, yet which eventually had led the Broadcasting Authority to issue guidelines regarding the depiction of vulnerable persons on TV.

    And just look at his guests tonight….who is Dr Camilleri, for example?

    She looks nice, definitely intelligent, but why aren’t we informed for what reason is she on the panel?

    And Dr Frank Portelli? What`s the point of his presence? Or maybe these people are on the programme just because they are somehow friends of the presenter?

    This is just one of the problems with Where’s Everybody…where`s the transparency?

    [Daphne – Perhaps they’re there because nobody else wants to do it, Albert. Hasn’t that ever occurred to you? The only people who have a real reason for appearing on television are politicians, and we can’t always be looking at them. I never go on those shows, for instance. Why would I bother? What incentive or interest could I possibly have? Most people reason as I do. Then look at the leader of the Opposition, for instance. He spends months griping about how biased Lou Bondi is, how his guests are this and that, then when he is asked to appear alone for the whole show, he says no and turns up halfway through.]

  3. Albert Farrugia says:

    …oh…and Charlie l-Pips? Why? Of course nothing at all to do with the recent JPO incident in which he was mentioned….

    [Daphne – Sorry, I don’t get your drift.]

    • Albert,

      It seems you are mistaking the whole story. The ‘character’ you are referring to (in relation to JPO … I’m assuming you’re referring to the Fosos imaginative JPO fear) is not ‘Charlie l-Pips’ but another one.

      So, surely, your allegation is not true at all. Let’s all hope you did not hear this in a Kazin tal-Labour.

    • Harry Purdie says:

      Albert, think this through:

      NEWS FLASH!: ‘Maltese Village, Zurrieg, Hometown Of Famous Old Labour Minister, Seeks to Criminalize Talking and Thinking at the Same Time.’

      • A Grech says:

        In that case, no politicians will ever be charged because they all talk but they don’t think.

  4. DV says:

    BA survey next week?

  5. Patrik says:

    Who or what is Giga?

  6. John 'Buzu' Busuttil says:

    During this last fortnight the Broadcasting Authority was carrying out its survey (the dates are supposed to be secret).

    So when the survey results are published one will immediately notice that Inkontri has come out as one of the best watched programme following the hype caused by the Peppi & We programme.

    In the same week Lou Bondi invited Joseph Muscat and Xarabank for two weeks in a row reopened Giga’s case where anyone can say anything about anybody since the protagonists are all dead.

    Still Xarabank does not need any survey since it is a well-known fact that it is the most watched programme, and this thanks also to the Labour Party for the numerous free rides they give Where’s Everybody on the broadcasting market.

  7. A. Charles says:

    I am going off at a tangent but I can’t help noticing that every time a Maltese person is interviewed on radio or TV, he or she peppers the speech with three words – obviously, basically and “trid tifhem”.

  8. chris says:

    Xarabank appeals to the simple-minded and the majority of those who appear on the programme do so for public exposure.

    Three years ago, one of my credits at university was regarding Media, and our lecturer led a very critical discussion about the programme. Lo and behold, I was told that this person started appearing on the show.

    But hats off to Mr Azzopardi and PBS if they can cash in on the Maltese lust for sensationalism and gossip.

    [Daphne – I suppose the word ‘genre’ means nothing to you, despite your credit in media. There are different genres and each has its standards of excellence. The Sun is not a poor version of The Sunday Telegraph. It is a different animal altogether, and it is an excellent example of its kind. Different audiences require different shows. I would much rather watch Eastenders than Hard Talk. This does not make me simple-minded.]

  9. Francis Saliba MD says:

    I did not hear the most important question that should have been asked. Did I miss it?

    What I would very much like to know is, did not one of the officers of the court, at the trial, not inform Giga’s daughter of her right not to testify against her parents?

    If she was thus informed, and if she still testified regardless, her present stance is open to the suspicion that she may have developed a belated feeling of guilt for her share in the conviction of her parents and now she may only be seeking to transfer that guilt to some vague and unidentifiable scapegoat.

    • Dr Frank Portelli says:

      Reluctance to give evidence on grounds of consanguinity

      According to the Maltese Criminal code this is completely at the discretion of the presiding Judge

      Article 633 (2)

  10. Brian*14 says:

    @ A. Charles

    ….but the best one must be “Ifhimni” – heqq, ghax kollha professuri dawn u difficli tifhimhom.

    • A.Charles says:

      Brian, you are right and “ifhimni” must the most abused word used in interviews.

      On Saturday, I heard an interview on Campus FM in which the interviewee, a teacher of environmental studies, said “ifhmni” 10 times in less than five minutes.

  11. chris says:

    No i did not miss out on the term “genre” , as i said before it is the type of show that applies to simple minded , it is a vulgar imitation of the Maurizio Costanzo Show. As for your prefence for Eastenders , well it speaks volumes.

    [Daphne – Not only Eastenders, but also Jerseylicious and Hoarders. I suppose the only thing it speaks volumes about is that I don’t have to prove anything to myself. You might still be at that stage in life where you are beset by self-doubt about your intellectual level if you find yourself enjoying anything other than Wagner and French art films, both of which bore me to tears, incidentally.]

  12. TROY says:

    We’ll hear ‘pips’ but we won’t see his face.

  13. cat says:

    Wara dawn is-snin kollha ghalfejn regghat inqalghat Giga?

    Xarabank sar forsi dawk il-programmi Taljani li meta jsir delitt idumu s-snin jiddiskutuh ghax ma jkollhom xejn aktar x’juru fuq it-TV.

    • Carmel Scicluna says:

      Ma naqbilx mieghek, Cat. L-aktar l-aktar jekk dik il-povra mara Giga nstabet hatja meta ma kinitx kif qed tehbirni qalbi.

      [Daphne – Povra mara, my eye. She ill-treated that poor child horribly. She deserved to spend all that time in jail for her extreme cruelty to him, even if she didn’t actually kill him. He lived in fear and misery for eight years, thanks to his ghastly mother. May she rot in hell. If you know the story of that boy’s short and miserable life, you’ll have no pity for that woman. Life in jail would have been too good for her.]

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