''Fantástico'' (originally known as ''Fantástico: O Show da Vida'',
Portuguese for ''Fantastic The Show of Life'') is a Brazilian weekly television news program broadcast on Sunday nights on
TV Globo
TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto M ...
since August 5, 1973, created by José Bonifácio de Oliveira Sobrinho.
It lasts two hours, including commercials. Currently presented by Maria Júlia Coutinho and Poliana Abritta, it has been recognized as one of the best programs of
Brazilian television, besides being the most watched program on Sunday.
History
''Fantástico'' debuted on August 5, 1973 in
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
and began as a
variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...
featuring music, dance numbers, tele theater, humorous sketches and some news as well. The following year, it began transmission in
color
Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...
.
In 1988, the show began live broadcasts; in 1993, the format changed to a
television newsmagazine. In 1996 Fantástico reported the
Varginha UFO incident.
Scenographer
A scenographer or scenic designer, also production designer, is a person who develops the appearance of a stage design, a TV or movie set, a gaming environment, a trade fair exhibition design or a museum experience exhibition design. The term ori ...
Cyro Del Nero worked as the show's
art director
Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...
, designing much of the style of the series.
Format
''Fantástico'' is an open-ended newscast with hosts introducing and reporting stories. Some segments include the work of other reporters: This typically happens when going live to a location.
Its hosts stand in front of a backdrop that changes according to the story presented. The hosts undertake original reporting and investigations led by national newspapers, sourcing typically from
O Globo
''O Globo'' (, ''The Globe'') is a Brazilian newspaper based in Rio de Janeiro. ''O Globo'' is the leading daily newspaper in the country and the most prominent print publication in the Grupo Globo media conglomerate.
Founded by journalist Ir ...
.
Topics for each show vary, some are political, some involve scandals, the environment, crime, science, health, sports, religion, international news or a combination. Occasionally, stories develop into specials that span over a period of a few weeks. These stories are thematic, with hosts travelling the country to find their topic in Brazilian society. Past topics have included
psychics,
indigenous religions
Indigenous religion or native religion is a category used in the Religious studies, study of religion to demarcate the religion, religious belief systems of communities described as being "indigenous people, indigenous". This category is often j ...
,
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
's crime wave, and
Afro-Brazilian tribal customs.
In 1995, ''Fantástico'' showed the original ''
Mr. Bean'' series (starring
Rowan Atkinson), in 1996 it showed the famous magician
David Copperfield
''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...
and in 1999–2000 exhibited the controversial magician
Val Valentino known as Mr. M – Valentino became famous thanks to narration by
Cid Moreira.
In 2011, the Brazilian actors
Otávio Muller and
Heloísa Périssé play "Lolô" and "Tavinho", and
Ingrid Guimarães presents the
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
al
supermodel "Leandra Borges".
Now, ''Fantástico'' also brings musical acts in live from stage at the new and big studio program since April 27, 2014. Among them, the actress and singer
Demi Lovato
Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...
performed on stage with some hits acoustically as "
Really Don't Care
"Really Don't Care" is a song by American singer Demi Lovato, featuring English singer Cher Lloyd. The song was released on May 20, 2014, as the fourth and final single from the former's fourth studio album '' Demi'' (2013). Both of them co-wrot ...
" and "
Neon Lights", aired on May 4, 2014. The Colombian singer,
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...
was also present in July, 2014.
The action star
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
who released the ''
Terminator Genisys
''Terminator Genisys'' is a 2015 American cyberpunk action film that is the fifth installment in the Terminator (franchise), ''Terminator'' franchise. It is a Reboot (fiction), reboot of the franchise, taking the premise of the The Terminator, ...
'' movie, had an interview on May 31, 2015.
Opening credits
The opening had a traditional ballet, but in different seasons: in 1973, they had a style similar to the spectacle musical ''
Pippin'', the following years, a ''
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche.
In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (Par ...
'' style. In the 1980s, the program was updated with 3D graphics, inserting a real-ballet, with special costumes. In 1987, a contemporary ballet was performed in landscapes as varied as a lagoon mono lake, the landscapes of
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and United States.
In the 1990s, all of the shows openings were made entirely in
3D, and then, the traditional ballet was replaced by simple idents. In 1995, ''Fantástico'' got a new logo, which (aside from some modifications) would be the branding of the program since then.
Since April 2010, the opening sequences were altered to run for 30 seconds: images of DNA, stars, waterfalls, schools, plant, among others are shown. In 2014, a new version of the credits was broadcast, which included French model and dancer Cathy Ematchoua, featuring her dancing on a grey background, though this was short-lived.
In 2015, the singers Luiza Possi and Chay Suede performed the first opening theme for the ending, but performed officially on April 26, 2015, on the Special Commemorative 50th Globo, with a new opening being created, on four elements with the models being incorporated into a rose plant (representing land), an iceberg (representing water), clouds (representing air) and a volcano (representing fire).
On March 24, 2017, the opening returned to dancing, this time with an urban group.
On August 5, 2018, the program sequences opened with dancers invoking natural elements with the new graphics, this time in chroma key. Since September 19, 2021, in celebration of the 2,500th program, a new opening sequence premiered, using ten dancers. The sequence, recorded at Estúdios Globo, was inspired by the four elements of Nature – water, fire, earth and air, and by new technological resources, seeking greater representation in the group's choice.
Spin-off
There is a special television program in ten minutes called ''O Show da Vida É Fantástico''. Even being an allusion to the original title, this program brings memorable music videos from the 1980s and 1990s, and now is reprising the following ''Destino Fantástico'' (''Fantastic Destiny'') of 2005/06, which shows the scenery and interesting things of the Brazilian territory.
Initially, presented the following "Clipes do Fantástico" ("Fantastic Clips"), Brazilian singers as
Marina Lima,
Paulo Ricardo (
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines.
One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
band leader),
Biafra
Biafara Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicized as Biafra ( ), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria ...
,
Sidney Magal
Sidney Magalhães, better known as Sidney Magal (born 19 June 1950 in Rio de Janeiro), is a Brazilian singer, dancer and actor.
Sidney Magal is portrayed by Filipe Bragança in the Brazilian biographical film ''Meu sangue ferve por você'', dire ...
, among others are present beside the former presenter of ''Fantástico'' Valéria Monteiro.
The program was broadcast on May 19, 2014 on Brazilian channel
Viva, property by
Globosat
Globosat, was a Brazilian pay television content service, part of Grupo Globo. Established in 1991, after the Cable Television in Brazil, creation of subscription television services in Brazil, with 29 channels and over 1,000 employees, it is ...
.
Hosts
Current hosts
*
Maria Júlia Coutinho (2021–present)
*
Poliana Abritta (2014–present)
Former hosts
*
Cid Moreira (1973–1992)
*
Sérgio Chapelin (1973–1992)
*Glória Maria (1986–2007)
*
William Bonner (1988–1993)
*Valéria Monteiro (1988–1992)
*
Celso Freitas (1990–1996 and 2002–2003)
*
Sandra Annenberg (1991–1996)
*
Fátima Bernardes (1993–1996; 1997)
*
Pedro Bial
Pedro Bial (born March 29, 1958) is a Brazilian television producer, producer, television director, director, writer, journalist and a TV presenter. He is best known for hosting the variety show ''Fantástico'', and the reality show ''Big Brother ...
(1996–2007)
*
Zeca Camargo (1998–2013)
*Eva Byte (''a
virtual hostess'') (2004–2006)
*
Tadeu Schmidt (2007–2021)
*Renata Ceribelli (2007–2013)
*
Patrícia Poeta (2008–2011)
*
Renata Vasconcellos
Renata Fernandes Vasconcellos (born June 10, 1972) is a Brazilian newscaster and journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to t ...
(2013–2014)
Ratings and recognition
Ratings
''Fantastico'' is the most watched show on Brazilian television on Sunday since its debut. While still maintaining the lead, its rating had a significant drop, as well as other programs of TV Globo. Since 2003, the program has lost about 55% of its public: lost 26.9 rating points. That was also due mainly to the growing popularity of
Rede Record's ''Domingo Espetacular'' and to the growth of
Pay TV
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
in Brazil and as well as
SBT's Programa Silvio Santos, which is also recorded with a live studio audience.
A survey by TV Globo in 2012 pointed out that the program was watched by 13 million views, with 23 rating points, considering the national measurement Ibope where each point is equivalent to 569 259 people.
Awards
''Fantástico'' was nominated for Best Web Hit at the ''
2010 MTV Video Music Brazil'', due to host Zeca Camargo being filmed yawning, live, when the show returned from commercials on June 6, 2010. The video of this incident was one of the most viewed on the Brazilian internet in 2010. It lost, however, to the parody of
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
's "''
Baby
In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...
''" titled "''Justin Biba''" ("''Little Gay Justin''"), made by Galo Frito.
References
External links
Official Website (in Portuguese)*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fantastico
Brazilian television news shows
Portuguese-language television shows
TV Globo original programming
1973 Brazilian television series debuts