Getting Your Children Hooked On Portuguese TV
On thing that most of us have to deal with is to get children hooked on Portuguese Language TV. Not that there is much choice in the matter, but there are some options and a great one is about to be launched.
The great televisio revolution in Portugal this summer was “Floribella” and “Morango Com Açucar”.
“Floribella” is a novela that is geared more towards the younger crowd because all of the main characters are young or teenagers. It was broadcast everyday on SIC and then repeated daily the following day on two separate sessions. (We were being bombarded with 6 hours of “Floribella”.)
Now this “Floribella is not the same one that is/was giving on TV Capixaba (Satellite Intelsat 805). That one is a Brazillian production with a completely different plot line.
“Floribella” was/is a great big success, they’ve launched a CD, a clothes line, dances, and now they are taking their show on the road through Portugal with the band that is on the program and also doing “Showtógrafos”.
Personally I think the show was pretty good. It had a story line that was a cross between “Happy Days”, Miles on “Frasier”, “Who’s The Boss” and “The Nanny”. It was cute, simple, funny and enjoyable. My kids were hooked on it, and so were everyone elses’ kids that we talked too.
Is was recently announced on the SPTTV channel (Newark, New Jersey) (
www.spttv.com) that the novela will be lanched soon. For those of us interested in the importance of our culture and in maintaining our Portuguese, this is a good oportunity to sit down and watch some wholesome family programming in Portuguese. You know Portuguese culture is not all about the three F’s, Futebol, Fado e Folclore.
One more thing, if SPTTV is going to carry it, I am assuming that FPTV in Canada will also carry it.
Now about “Morangos Com Açucar”… It is a teenager style soap opera, but there’s no use in getting into the details about it because TVI is not transmitting to North America and I doubt RTPI will carry is because it is making lots of money for TVI.
While I have your attention, RTPI has some nice programs that some children might get hooked on mostly on Sundays:
-Triangulo Jota (used to give and it was a greate detective show about three teenagers).
-As Lições dos Tonecas (more adult like, but still fun)
-Todos Ao Pavilhão do Conhecimento (kids gameshow)
-Brincar a Brincar
They’re not great, but it’s all that we have.