Sábado Gigante
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| Sábado Gigante | |
|---|---|
| Format | Variety show |
| Created by | Don Francisco, a Chilean journalist |
| Starring | Don Francisco |
| Country of origin |  Chile(1962-1986)  United States (1986-present) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 3 hours per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Canal 13 (Chile) Univision (United States) |
| Original run | 1962 – Present |
Sábado Gigante ("Giant Saturday") is a Spanish-language variety television show; it is Univision's longest running program, and the longest running variety TV show in the world (certified by Guinness World Records[1]). Sábado Gigante is an eclectic and frenetic mix of variety show and game show with celebrity guests, ranging from singers, to movie stars, to world leaders. From its start, it has been hosted by Chilean presenter Mario Kreutzberger using the persona Don Francisco. Pedro De Paul was the announcer until Javier Romero took over in 1991.
Although many believe that the name Don Francisco is his real name, Kreutzberger has never changed his name. There is also the misconception that Don is his first name, where in reality it is a title similar to mister. Furthermore, Francisco is not his last name, rather his given name. In Spanish, calling someone Don is a sign of respect. The feminine version is Doña, as in Doña Flor.
Kreutzberger originated the weekly program in 1962, airing on Canal 13 in Chile under the name "Show Dominical" (Sunday's Show). He had been inspired by television shows he had seen in the USA and Argentina, but, as he explained in his own words, "My idea was mixing all the programs that I saw into one program." The show was renamed "Sábados Gigantes" in 1966, and quickly developed a loyal following in Chile, and then throughout Latin America. In Chile, during decades of 1970 and 1980, the show reached peak audiences of 80 per cent of the market. During that time period, some episodes of the program lasted up to eight hours.
On April 12, 1986, Don Francisco and the program moved to Miami, Florida, where Univision (formerly SIN) began producing it. At that time, the show's title was changed from the plural "Sábados Gigantes" to the singular Sábado Gigante, although some long-time fans in Latin America still call it by the plural Sábados Gigantes. On June 18, 2005 the program celebrated its 1,000th episode on the Univisión Network, and on Saturday, May 20, 2006 it celebrated its twentieth anniversary there.
For a while, two programs were recorded each week from identical sets: one in Miami, Florida, which was broadcast in most Latin American countries, on Spanish language stations in the United States, Canada and Europe, while a second program was recorded in Santiago, Chile, for broadcast in Chile, Kreutzberger's home country.
A new show has been produced every week throughout the show's long history, with no reruns.
In its early years, the show was broadcast live, with the exception of short segments. Most notably, the pre-filmed "Traveling Camera" segment, where Francisco visited different locations from around the world.
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[edit] New Sábado Gigante Layout
Commercials for Sábado Gigante are teasing a brand new layout for the show. Kreutzberger, in his persona as Don Francisco teased that the new Sábado Gigante would be a "Super Gigante" that will feature bigger prizes, and viewers would be able to interact with the show from home. The new show's layout began on September 6, 2008.
[edit] Arrest of Adonis Losada
Adonis Losada, who plays Doña Concha, was charged with 18 counts of possession of child pornography after detectives in Boynton Beach, Florida say he allegedly uploaded one of the images to a social networking site. Police found 18 images of child pornography on a hard drive in his home. [2]
[edit] Parodies
- Sabado Gigante was parodied in the Family Guy episode "Stewie Loves Lois".
- Sabado Gigante was also spoofed in the Sealab 2021 episode "ASHDTV". For this purpose, the show was renamed "Sábado Muy Loco".
