Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/421389
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2014 News 17 No money, more problems: is TV drama oversaturated? TELEVISION producer and actor Mark Doneo recently told MaltaTo- day that "I can't stomach more than five minutes of any local drama at the moment," citing poor scriptwriting and production value. But the programmes manager of the national broadcaster PBS and the director of the popular – and since concluded – production 'Deceduti' paint a more nuanced picture of the overall situation. PBS programmes manager Re- uben Zammit said that the enduring popularity of local television drama can't be ignored – and neither can the fact that local audiences tend to choose Maltese productions over foreign ones – while 'Deceduti' di- rector Abigail Mallia believes that funds should be more focussed on a select few quality dramas, rather than spread out too thin. Confessing that there is still plenty of room for improvement as far as Maltese drama is concerned, Zam- mit emphasised that production val- ue "has improved dramatically over the past five years". "You obviously can't compare the local scenario with the kind of pro- ductions churned out by US and UK networks, but taking it all in context, I would say that we've improved quite a bit over the past few years, both in terms of storytelling and production value. Now, this doesn't mean that there isn't room for improvement, but there's also no denying that local drama is what our audiences go for," Zammit said, stressing that Brit- ish and American productions did not even come close to enjoying the same viewership as locally produced dramas. "We've run shows like Sherlock and Merlin. You'd expect programmes of this calibre to attract a really wide audience, but the fact is that they didn't – certainly not when com- pared to Maltese shows. They were even problematic when it comes to acquiring sponsorship, since even prospective sponsors know that it's Maltese shows that are most watched…" Insisting that online downloads of international television dramas have little to do with this stark difference in viewership, Zammit said that Mal- tese audiences still want to watch tel- evision dramas that reflect their mi- lieu, pointing to the fact that shows like the historical drama 'Ic-Caqqufa' tackle social mores that would be fa- miliar to Maltese audiences. "Even if you may not like these shows per se, the fact remains that Maltese people respond to them, because they recognise the social environment in which they're set," Zammit said. Another criticism levelled by Mark Doneo was that local dramas "take ages to say whatever they have to say. You watch an entire episode and you learn absolutely nothing of the story. It's either just exposition or filling up time," but Zammit considers this de- vice part and parcel of the soap opera formula. "To truly compare like with like, you should compare local soaps with soaps abroad: and soaps in particu- lar, not dramas. You'll probably find that they all have the kind of slow pacing in terms of plot, that things take a while to develop." Showing confidence in the PBS sta- ble for the coming few years, Zammit said that he looks forward to helping cultivate new talent in the field of TV production –particularly as it emerg- es from institutions like MCAST – while pointing out that PBS has also done its fair share of "risk taking" from time to time. He cites the popular programme 'Deceduti' as being an example of how the channel took a chance with a "new format" – as it turns out, it was a formula that eventually paid off. "Deceduti combined the kind of farce Maltese audiences are used to with the kind of black humour you find in British comedy. The result was that for the first time, we had a show which appealed to a younger audience: in contrast to other pro- grammes in our stable, 'Deceduti' appealed to the 50-and-under demo- graphic," Zammit said. But 'Deceduti' director Abigail Mallia said that it wasn't all plain sailing, particularly during the show's initial phases. Her experience further betrays the cracks of local television production, where even popular shows have to struggle to pay their staff and remain afloat. "Deceduti was meant to be a spinoff of Evangelisti, and it's understand- able that there was a period of ad- justment during the transition since the two shows ended up being quite different from each other," Mallia, who also runs Take 2 Entertainment, said. "The first six weeks were crazy. We began to notice a pattern: every week we would meet and lament over why people weren't just 'getting' the show, and as a result we couldn't get any sponsors. And sponsors are crucial to the way Maltese shows are made. You'd get some productions that are directly commissioned by the station, but these would be docu- mentaries, 'infotainment' pieces, not drama," Mallia said, stressing that the station was "very supportive" of the show despite its halting initial steps. However Mallia, who is currently working on a feature film, believes that television has reached some- thing of a "saturation point" nowa- days, and that funds need to be allo- cated more judiciously if the scene is to really improve. "The fact is that, even though our production eventually became the most-watched programme on the PBS roster, we still struggled to pay our actors and crew adequate wages, and worked for a pittance. So while I was satisfied with the show on script level, I know it could have been a lot better production-wise. Unless things change, the situation really will go from bad to worse," Mallia said, stressing that she doesn't blame the production houses themselves for this scenario, since they "have to work to rigid budgetary constraints which naturally affect the quality of their work". "Speaking as objectively as I can – maybe the fact is that we simply don't have the necessary resources at our disposal, period – so the stations probably have their hands tied too. But the truth of it is that, in order to maintain a level of quality, you need to invest a certain amount of money into your product. And this simply isn't happening, to everyone's detri- ment," Mallia said, suggesting that local stations may do well to adopt the Malta Film Commission's model when it comes to selecting prospec- tive programmes. "Instead of spreading their resourc- es thin, local stations should focus on a small number of shows and culti- vate them properly, be more selec- tive. Our film [Limestone Cowboy], wasn't initially funded by the Film Commission, but once we made the effort to improve our concept, they stepped in to support us. It's this kind of focus on quality that we need for television, and I fear it's not being given priority at the moment," Mal- lia said. Reuben Zammit however pointed out that finding quality programmes and populating PBS's slots with them is something of a challenge. While striving for the situation to improve in the near future – by dint of the aforementioned academic courses, as well as ad hoc workshops that the station hopes to facilitate – Zam- mit confesses that quality proposals aren't exactly thick on the ground. "Out of around 20 drama proposals we receive each year, and if I'm hon- est, only around two or three of them end up being usable," Zammit said. treljic@mediatoday.com.mt Continuing to look into the state of local television drama, TEODOR RELJIC discovers that while local audiences thirst for stories told in a Maltese milieu, resources may be spread too thin for us to expect a spike in quality any time soon COURT NOTICE The Registrar, Civil Courts and Tribunals notifies that the First Hall of the Civil Court ordered the sale by Judicial Auction of the following property to be held in the corridors of the Courts of Justice, Republic Street, Valletta. Date, Judicial Sale No. and Time Property 27 th November, 2014 20/14 – 10.30am JGL Garage numbered three (3) which forms part of the Block named 'Lily of the Valley', in Triq Monsinjur Indri Fenech, Il- Mellie!a. The garage is free and unencumbered valued at twelve thousand and five hundred Euros ("12,500) Further details can be obtained from the website: http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/courtservices/JudicialSales/search.aspx The bidders taking part in the auction must present their identity card. Rudolph Marmara' For the Registrar of Civil Courts and Tribunals Maruska Mallia in Deceduti