Sweet and sour shows

'Running on empty' appears to have become the motto of choice where certain individuals and sections of the audio, visual and written media are concerned.

This week has been especially rife with stories of people who are owed money by production houses and individuals; their chances of being remunerated are akin to those of ice cubes in hot coffee.

I can fully attest to this - for otherwise I would not have been writing it - having been taken for a couple of rides myself, in the not too distant past. It appears not to matter whether one is employed by a company, or one is a freelancer - or even whether a contract is involved. There is a great difference, in law, about whether assets belong to a company, or to the individual who owns it.

Be that as it may, there are many people who know they are working for fame, and not fortune, and fully accept this; again, there have been times when I was offered assignments 'because they will give my name local and international exposure' by people who mistakenly think we all crave the 15 minutes of fame.

Voluntary work is all very well - but only if you believe in the cause for which, or in the person for whom, you are working.

Then there is the blag associated with television programmes that offer prizes galore. Once the credits fade on the last programme of the schedule, or the presenter departs for pastures new, the chances are that many people will be left with a bitter taste in their mouths. They either have to fight tooth and nail for what they were promised, or let it flow, and vow never to take part in any more game shows or quizzes... until the next time.

One of the letters I have received reads "In October of last year my family participated in the programme Ta' Gewwa Gewwa on Net TV. We won the show on the day, and were told we would be awarded gifts. However, whenever we phoned the station or the producers, we were given the cold shoulder. This is absurd, and unfair. Had we known there were no prizes, we would still have gone, given that we did not go for the gifts but for the fun of it. But it is crass to promise something and then renege upon your promise..."

• I have it on good authority that as from tomorrow, the afternoon band of Calypso Music Television will be revamped.

Angela Agius and Manila Bottone will be presenting Rendezvous from 12 to 1.30 p.m., in rotation. Eleanor Cassar's programme Melange will go on air between 2 and 4.30 p.m.

Now all that's left is for the management to go for a deal that would make the station available to everyone, and not just Go subscribers.

• As usual, several letters have noted the atrocious misuse of the language, which remains despite the efforts of those of us who care. We had tkebbes used for a forest fire before there was even any mention of arson; there was cahhad used as a noun, to mean disclaimer, and kellu impatt ma' vettura instead of the plain and simple habat, besides many others.

• CPi will be offering three enlightening programmes on three different stations in the coming season.

Ucuh will be broadcast on Net Television. This will be aired live on Wednesdays between 9.35 and 11 p.m. The ever-popular Sejjahtli will be moving to Favourite Channel. It will go out live, and is slotted for Saturdays from 8.50 till 10.30 p.m. On One Television, CPi is producing an all-new programme with the punned name Bil-Kelma t-Tajba. This will be pre-recorded, and broadcast on Saturdays between 6.40 and 7.10 p.m.

Wholesome programmes on local stations are few and far between - so these ought to be a necessary oasis.

• When I was a teenager I regularly took part in quizzes on Rediffusion (even back then, television was never my medium), and later, I was given the opportunity to write the questions for a couple of shows myself.

I recalled this fondly this week, when I heard that veteran Italian quizmaster Mike Buongiorno had died.

There were times when this revered personality annoyed me to the hilt - especially when he appeared to prefer one child or adult over another, as was evident by his sarcastic put-downs and offhand comments. He was not above putting his veline in what he insisted was their place, either, when he thought they were getting ideas above their station. However, the fact remains that he was a past master at broadcasting, and showed us all that quizzes are not about décolletage and gimmicks and floor shows.

No doubt, many of us would like to see something of the sort - soothing and didactic - pitting astute, gifted, and eminent people against one another. Charles Abela Mizzi, where are you?

television@timesofmalta.com