A week ago, on Saturday, January 29, “Super Saturday Sensational” celebrated its fifth anniversary. The anniversary is generating great interest as it is the longest-running program on Venezuelan television and the second oldest variety show in the world, after the Brazilian “Mosaico na TV” which will celebrate its 61st anniversary in July, since it began as a modest local program aimed at the Jewish community until it reached open television.
According to research carried out by the author, the Venevisión marathon is ranked eighth, behind “Eurovision Festival”, “Coronation Street”, the one mentioned in the previous paragraph, “General Hospital”, “Programa Silvio Santos”, “Almorzando con Mirtha Legrand” and “Plaza Sésamo”. It is evident that there are plenty of reasons to celebrate.
And that is the intention of its executive producer, Helena Rosas, who dreams of bringing together all the historical entertainers of the program, holding a massive event in the best style of the Orquídea Festival and bringing important international figures from the world of music. There are many plans, although the crisis and the restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic can be a straitjacket to carry them out.
Beyond what they can finally specify from La Colina, the date should not go under the table, above all, because the television industry has no mercy and when a space stops capturing the attention of the public, it goes out of style. or it runs out of content, it goes off the screen and see you later, said Monchito.
That is why the applause for "Super Saturday Sensational" should be multiplied, since it has managed to complete different cycles with different hosts and survive the death of its producer-founder Ricardo Peña. Amador Bendayán, Gilberto Correa, Daniel Sarcos, Leonardo Villalobos and now Henrys Silva and José Andrés Padrón have had the support of the viewers, despite the changes that have occurred in the industry itself.
Obviously, the ratings cannot be the same as when there were two competing channels, but amidst the maelstrom of options offered by subscription television, the Saturday show has found a way to stay afloat, perhaps because many generations have memories associated with its broadcasts, perhaps because it is an encounter with melancholy, perhaps because its name is a reminder of the gentilic. Whatever the case and beyond the criticism it may receive, because neither the country nor the program are what they were, there is no doubt that "Super Saturday Sensational" has a heritage character that must be recognized. With a decree, with a bravo! or with a few lines.
