1980s Italian TV Shows

Striscia la notizia is an Italian television program on the Mediaset-controlled Canale 5. Its name in Italian translates as "the news slithers", a probable parody of the slighting Italian journalist, submitted to politicians and overwhelmed with shame. The polysemic term Striscia, in English strip, can recall both a line of cocaine and the comic strip. But Striscia is also the slithing snake: this show worm in the hidden holes to unmask the television cheats. Founded in 1988, it is meant to be a parody of the daily news, which airs right before the program, but Striscia also satirizes government corruption and exposes scams with the help of local reporters who are also comedians. The program is directed and produced by Antonio Ricci and is hosted by two major comedians. Usually Ezio Greggio is assisted by another comedian for the winter season, after which there is a change of guard.

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Cascina Vianello is an Italian television series.

An epic crime saga of power, money, violence and corruption. The mafia controls everything through local and international networks like an octopus, and anyone who tries to bring them down pays the ultimate price.

After his proposal to sail west to the East Indies is rejected by Portugal, Columbus overcomes court intrigue in Spain to gain support for his expedition.

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The life of the 13th-century Venetian explorer who sought to connect the civilizations of China and Europe through trade.

The plot centres around Phileas Fogg making a £20,000 wager with three members of the Reform Club that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days. He takes with him his newly employed French valet Passepartout, and is pursued by Detective Wilbur Fix who mistakenly thinks Fogg robbed the Bank of England and is using the wager as a cover to escape capture.

Teneramente Licia is an Italian television series. It is one of the four live adpatations of the Japanese manga Ai Shite Knight. It is the sequel to "Love me Licia" and "Licia dolce Licia", and was followed by "Balliamo e cantiamo con Licia".

Pimpa, a white female dog with red dots all over her body, who lives with her owner/father figure Armando, a plump moustached man who treats her like a daughter. Every day Pimpa goes through new adventures wheter it's in her house's surroundings or all over the world, or even in space, meeting old friends and making newers.

The renowned Insurance International Co. has created an enquiry network, headed by detective Jack Clementi, to defend itself against insurance fraud. Jack has saved the company enormous amounts of money throughout his successful investigations and his bosses are more than willing put up with his brusque manners, his disconcerting frankness, and his intolerance for any form of company bureaucracy. Yet he is a big guy with a huge heart.

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It covers unsolved crime cases and still open mysteries which happened in Italy since the aftermath of WWII. The episodes include reconstructions made by professional actors, interviews with the real protagonists of the cases, in-depth reports by journalists, investigators, experts and/or magistrates who dealt with the facts under examination, and from any phone calls from viewers who can provide new stimuli for the investigation.

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Set between 1629 and 1631. Renzo Tramaglino and Lucia Mondella are Lombard peasants forced to separate and endure a thousand vicissitudes because of the bullying of the squire Don Rodrigo. However, during their journey they will find various people willing to help them, from Friar Cristoforo to the Innominato, from Federigo Borromeo to Donna Prassede.

Zanzibar is an Italian television series.

The stories revolve around the investigations of Valentina Rosselli, and the intrigues in which she gets involved because of her curiosity and her wonderful physical appearance. In the Shareholders She is often assisted by the antiquarian Philip Rembrandt, with whom she shares an ambiguous relationship.

Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna is a 1986 TV movie, starring Amy Irving, Rex Harrison, Olivia de Havilland, Omar Sharif, and Jan Niklas. The film was loosely based on the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia and the book The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth. It was Christian Bale's first film and Rex Harrison's last film. It was originally broadcast in two parts.

Treasure Island in Outer Space is a 1987 science fiction Italian and German television miniseries directed by Antonio Margheriti. It is based on the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, setting the story in space on the year 2300. The series was produced by RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana in co-production with West Germany and France, and directed by Anthony M. Dawson. It is the biggest sci-fi production of Italian television. The miniseries of 5 episodes of 100 min was originally aired in Italy from November 19, 1987 on RAI Due channel. It was also adapted as a 120 min film. The miniseries is also known as Space Island (UK and Norway, USA on VHS) and Der Schatz im All (Germany).

World War II is about to end. Benito Mussolini, il Duce, supreme dictator of Fascist Italy, sees his totalitarian dream crumbling and his power slipping away as the terrible day of his ignominious death at the hands of those he so ruthlessly oppressed for more than two decades draws inexorably near.

Rome, late 1980s, Leopardi Classical High School. This is where the various protagonists of the series meet and experience the epic, hilarious exploits of their classmates in 3C, the most outgoing high school students of the entire school year. Bruno Sacchi, a shy, rather plump boy, often awkward but with a big heart. Chicco Lazzaretti, the classic, tireless repeater, obsessed with school and his classmates, always ready to answer teachers in funny ways to distract his classmates. Of course, Daniele and Rossella, typical sweethearts who have grown up together since childhood, are also present, along with the beautiful, blonde Sharon Zampetti, desired by everyone.

The saga of an Italian immigrant family in search of the American dream.

Michael Palin attempts to copy the exploits of fictional character Phileas Fogg, by trying to travel around the world (without flying) in 80 days.

Drama about love and intrigues in ancient Rome during the times of Nero.

Enrico Borghini is an entertainer who finds himself becoming the director of a tourist village in crisis. Helped by the village staff, who are initially hostile to him, he manages to revive the fortunes of the structure.

The story of the half-Jewish Ida Raimundo and her two sons Antonio and Giuseppe in Rome, during and immediately after the Second World War.

Love me Licia is an Italian television series. It is one of the four live adpatiations of the Japanese manga Ai Shite Knight. Its sequels are "Licia dolce Licia," "Teneramente Licia," and "Balliamo e cantiamo con Licia".

Giuseppe Verdi was born in 1813 and lived until 1901, his life spanning nearly a century of political turmoil and considerable personal turmoil. This 1982 biographical television miniseries, as seen on PBS's Great Performances, dramatizes the life of this classic Italian composer known for operas including La Traviata, Rigoletto, and Aida and his Requiem.

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Barbara Carey arrives in Rome to visit her sister, blind pianist Marianne Saunders, only to discover that she has mysteriously vanished. To make matters worse, this is the third instance in recent months of a blind girl's abduction. With the help of British Consulate Martin Foster, Barbara searches for her sister – a search that leads her to the private island of millionaire David Malcom. Is Marianne still alive? Why are blind women being targeted? And what terrible secrets does David keep on his remote island?

Jurema, of humble origins, was raised on a large farm together with Vítor Correia and Carlos Valadares, whose father was the farmer. The three of them were very close and spent their childhood together. Only in adolescence began the rivalry between Carlos and Vítor, because of Jurema.

In March 1917, amidst World War I, a sealed train carries Russian revolutionaries, led by Lenin, from Germany to St. Petersburg. Along the journey, political tensions and personal dramas unfold, culminating in a historic arrival.

Drive In is an Italian television variety show, broadcast by Italia 1 between 1983 and 1989. It was referred as the most innovative and popular Italian television show of the 80s.

In 1925, Desmond Jordan, an American archaeologist, tries to find the mysterious Speaking Mountain that is supposed to be in the middle of the Sahara desert, where he meets a bunch of deserters from the French Foreign Legion, who are pursued by the ruthless Lieutenant Ryker.

Balliamo e cantiamo con Licia is an Italian television series. It is one of the four live adpatations of the Japanese manga Ai Shite Knight. It is the sequel to "Love me Licia", "Licia dolce Licia", and "Teneramente Licia".

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Stendhal's epic tale of a young French officer in the Napoleonic wars, and his aunt - a duchess of legendary beauty and resourcefulness.

A story about the devil's influence on five people's lives in 20th-century Venice.

Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero. Fan of Richard Wagner, betrayed by him, in love with his cousin Elisabeth of Austria, abandoned by her, tormented by his homosexuality, he will little by little slip towards madness.

Classe di ferro is an Italian action/adventure television series that aired from October 6, 1989 to December 26, 1991. The series focused on a diverse group of young adults who enroll in Italy's military service.