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(Originally posted on The Coffee House Forums. May, 2019).
Ahhh... the memories.
The sweet, untamed, never-ending memories.
Produced between 1996 and 2006 by PROMOFILM and broadcasted by PRAMER, A Jugar con Hugo was a true staple of not only cable TV, but my own childhood as well. And it really shouldn't have been.
Think about it, this was a show that was only ever relevant for those who were fortunate enough to partake in it (an honor reserved for those with iron-willed desire, as getting picked up to play was often a thing of patience, and I never even got through the first round of selection) yet, me and every single kid I have ever met watched it religiously. There was some undeniable charm to it, and I can say without batting an eye that I watched a large part of the show's 6728 episodes.
This was my first-ever experience with "interactive TV", and I'm surprised by how well it'd still work on today's world, with all the advances and improvements that have taken place in the years since the show went off the air. It worked like this: a kid from the audience would call to the show and have their phone's keypad turned into a controller of sorts, which they'd then use to guide the title character through a handful of great-looking mazes, dodging enemies and obstacles and colecting treasure along the way, which would all add up to generate a score.
Those who got to the goal would then be faced with the task of defeating Hugo's nemesis, a witch called Zilla, who had a Browser thing going on, and kidnapped Hugo's family every single segment.
Unlike the maze part of the game, this one limited itself with presenting you with three options: picking the right one would make the witch be defeated or flee, while the wrong one would make Hugo get ejected, captured or defeated. Whether or not there was a method to it, I don't know, but it seemed to be complete random whether you'd achieve your goal or fail. And that was part of the fun, really. You could have had a perfect run going and still come up short because you didn't pick the right option at the end. It kept you guessing, but I'm sure it was very frustrating.
There were a variety of prizes awaiting those who were patient, brave and definitely lucky enough to conquer the game. Those who beat the maze but didn't get the greatest score were rewarded with their own copies of the game and some trinkets, coming from the sponsored network supporting the show. The day's top winner, however, would wind up with a classy bike... a toy not many parents could afford during those years, so a desirable one indeed.
All winners from the month would meet again at the end of it to compete one more time, with the winner of that section getting a plane ticket to Orlando, Florida. Definitely a fair and exciting prize to get.
That was basically what the show was about, so why did we like it so much? I honestly couldn't tell, but I have nothing but extremely fond memories of it whenever I try to recall it.
I remember coming home from school at the edge of dusk, on freezing winter nights and sitting at the table, with a lovely-made cup of hot chocolate handed to me by my mom and that I can still remember the smell of. I also remember my dad bringing us delicious-looking pastries to go along with that, that he had picked up on his way from work. It was a sacred ritual and one that the show was always at the center of.
I think all of that had a lot to do with the fact that Gaby, the host, had such a contagious cheerful attitude. I know that being on children's television requires you to just go along with the flow and pretend, without failing, that you were having a blast worthy of your own, personal Wonderland, but keeping it up for close to 7000 programs makes me believe that she was not putting on a mask at all. She honestly seemed to be really into it. And it worked.
Generously complementing that were the works of the several voice actors bringing Hugo to life.
Getting some pre-recorded lines to be spat whetever the character got hit, won or lost would have been the easy way of doing it, but those in charge weren't about taking shortcuts, and the end result is a charming experience of surreal proportions. Hugo, a video-game character, talked to you, on your own tongue, with your own lingo and provided commentary on a mountain of mundane topics... and would some times go on a back-and-forth with Gaby.
Unless you haven't experienced it yourself, you have no idea how effective that was. Most game shows build a wall between player, live audience, host and television audience, but this one tore it apart. You felt as important as the dude playing, because you were addressed, and that was something I truly miss from that era of television... and that it's probably long gone, never to return.
I'm lucky enough to own the last episode of the show, on a dusty VHS tape that's probably on its last legs.
That last episode hits you like a truck, because unlike the likes of Nivel X and other PRAMER-broascasted shows, they knew that was the end of their run. The fact that the end of Hugo as a show happened on a 31st of December only adds to the atmosphere.
The final half hour is full of reminiscense, of bringing up events that happened long ago, of thanking everyone for their continuous support over the years and, of course, of playing.
It was a very emotional note to end on, with Gaby reminding you, the viewer, that that was a happy occassion and that there was a chance of the adventure continuing some place else. That of course didn't happen, but the show did, indeed, get two more rounds to fire: a special for the 20th anniversary of the character in August of that year and an official streaming of some episodes through the internet.
There was also a great joke in there, where they said Zilla wanted to give her farewell words as well, before experiencing a change of careers to become a "government official". It totally flew over my head all those years ago, but now I can laugh at it. It's the perfect way of coping with the sadness of an ending with the power a malice-filled smile. After all, the disastrous state of the mismanaged Argentina was what was killing the show and network it was on.
Enjoy a clip of the show, my friends (Spanish video):
Ahhh... the memories.
The sweet, untamed, never-ending memories.
Produced between 1996 and 2006 by PROMOFILM and broadcasted by PRAMER, A Jugar con Hugo was a true staple of not only cable TV, but my own childhood as well. And it really shouldn't have been.
Think about it, this was a show that was only ever relevant for those who were fortunate enough to partake in it (an honor reserved for those with iron-willed desire, as getting picked up to play was often a thing of patience, and I never even got through the first round of selection) yet, me and every single kid I have ever met watched it religiously. There was some undeniable charm to it, and I can say without batting an eye that I watched a large part of the show's 6728 episodes.
This was my first-ever experience with "interactive TV", and I'm surprised by how well it'd still work on today's world, with all the advances and improvements that have taken place in the years since the show went off the air. It worked like this: a kid from the audience would call to the show and have their phone's keypad turned into a controller of sorts, which they'd then use to guide the title character through a handful of great-looking mazes, dodging enemies and obstacles and colecting treasure along the way, which would all add up to generate a score.
Those who got to the goal would then be faced with the task of defeating Hugo's nemesis, a witch called Zilla, who had a Browser thing going on, and kidnapped Hugo's family every single segment.
Unlike the maze part of the game, this one limited itself with presenting you with three options: picking the right one would make the witch be defeated or flee, while the wrong one would make Hugo get ejected, captured or defeated. Whether or not there was a method to it, I don't know, but it seemed to be complete random whether you'd achieve your goal or fail. And that was part of the fun, really. You could have had a perfect run going and still come up short because you didn't pick the right option at the end. It kept you guessing, but I'm sure it was very frustrating.
There were a variety of prizes awaiting those who were patient, brave and definitely lucky enough to conquer the game. Those who beat the maze but didn't get the greatest score were rewarded with their own copies of the game and some trinkets, coming from the sponsored network supporting the show. The day's top winner, however, would wind up with a classy bike... a toy not many parents could afford during those years, so a desirable one indeed.
All winners from the month would meet again at the end of it to compete one more time, with the winner of that section getting a plane ticket to Orlando, Florida. Definitely a fair and exciting prize to get.
That was basically what the show was about, so why did we like it so much? I honestly couldn't tell, but I have nothing but extremely fond memories of it whenever I try to recall it.
I remember coming home from school at the edge of dusk, on freezing winter nights and sitting at the table, with a lovely-made cup of hot chocolate handed to me by my mom and that I can still remember the smell of. I also remember my dad bringing us delicious-looking pastries to go along with that, that he had picked up on his way from work. It was a sacred ritual and one that the show was always at the center of.
I think all of that had a lot to do with the fact that Gaby, the host, had such a contagious cheerful attitude. I know that being on children's television requires you to just go along with the flow and pretend, without failing, that you were having a blast worthy of your own, personal Wonderland, but keeping it up for close to 7000 programs makes me believe that she was not putting on a mask at all. She honestly seemed to be really into it. And it worked.
Generously complementing that were the works of the several voice actors bringing Hugo to life.
Getting some pre-recorded lines to be spat whetever the character got hit, won or lost would have been the easy way of doing it, but those in charge weren't about taking shortcuts, and the end result is a charming experience of surreal proportions. Hugo, a video-game character, talked to you, on your own tongue, with your own lingo and provided commentary on a mountain of mundane topics... and would some times go on a back-and-forth with Gaby.
Unless you haven't experienced it yourself, you have no idea how effective that was. Most game shows build a wall between player, live audience, host and television audience, but this one tore it apart. You felt as important as the dude playing, because you were addressed, and that was something I truly miss from that era of television... and that it's probably long gone, never to return.
I'm lucky enough to own the last episode of the show, on a dusty VHS tape that's probably on its last legs.
That last episode hits you like a truck, because unlike the likes of Nivel X and other PRAMER-broascasted shows, they knew that was the end of their run. The fact that the end of Hugo as a show happened on a 31st of December only adds to the atmosphere.
The final half hour is full of reminiscense, of bringing up events that happened long ago, of thanking everyone for their continuous support over the years and, of course, of playing.
It was a very emotional note to end on, with Gaby reminding you, the viewer, that that was a happy occassion and that there was a chance of the adventure continuing some place else. That of course didn't happen, but the show did, indeed, get two more rounds to fire: a special for the 20th anniversary of the character in August of that year and an official streaming of some episodes through the internet.
There was also a great joke in there, where they said Zilla wanted to give her farewell words as well, before experiencing a change of careers to become a "government official". It totally flew over my head all those years ago, but now I can laugh at it. It's the perfect way of coping with the sadness of an ending with the power a malice-filled smile. After all, the disastrous state of the mismanaged Argentina was what was killing the show and network it was on.
Enjoy a clip of the show, my friends (Spanish video):
