The TV shows nobody remembers anymore: from 'Bla, bla, bla' to 'Suspiros de España'

From 'Bla, bla, bla' to 'Jazz entre amigos': the TV nobody remembers anymore

There was a time when television in Spain signed off with the national anthem and, according to one participant, prime time started at 21:35. Between those two milestones lay a schedule that nobody champions today: late-night game shows, Japanese series with unpronounceable names, and proverbs shows hosted by the brother of a former prime minister. The nostalgic viewer who drops in, puts on a show not even their dear mother remembers, and leaves has plenty to choose from: from TVE's 'Bla, bla, bla' to 'Suspiros de España', a van with two microphones that toured villages recording ordinary people.

The conversation starts from a clear premise: you can't cite José Luis Balbín's 'La Clave' or Emilio Aragón's 'VIP Noche'. You have to dig into the basement. And the basement turns up covered in dust: 'Con las manos en la masa', Jiménez del Oso's 'Más allá', 'La casa del reloj', 'Los Ríos', 'El Cuentacuentos'. Some of these names spark vivid memories; others, not even that. TV memory is selective and often deceptive.

Prime time in 1985 looks nothing like today's

One fact that comes up in the conversation: forty years ago prime time started between 21:35 and 22:00. Today, after 23:00. That time shift is not neutral: it changes viewing habits, the audience profile and advertising profitability. The shows that aired in that slot would be unviable today. 'Jazz entre amigos' was scheduled at two or three in the morning, once everything else had ended. One participant sums it up with a smirk: "They pulled it because of low ratings. No shit, you son of a bitch, put it on at six in the afternoon".

Television during the Transition and the eighties wasn't competing with on-demand platforms or YouTube. It was competing with itself. And even so, shows like 'De 7 en 7', 'Audacia' or 'Lingo' came and went without a trace. The host of the latter was Ramoncín, the king of fried chicken, according to how he's described in the conversation. The show hasn't gone down in history precisely for its quality.

Japanese series, space game shows and Alopécico Sotelo's brother

The list of oddities is long. 'La frontera azul' (1973), a Japanese series about clan wars in pre-medieval China, promised massive battles and cavalry charges. It turned out to be a disappointment: the unpronounceable names and the East Asian faces that all looked alike made it impossible to tell the good guys from the bad. Another victim of oblivion is 'Scavengers', a space-themed game show hosted by Bertín Osborne. And in the unintentionally comic category, a proverbs show slotted between the news and the Saturday afternoon film, hosted by Joaquín Alopécico Sotelo, brother of former prime minister Leopoldo Alopécico Sotelo.

Unintentional humor has its place too: 'Contacto con tacto', described as "a ing piece of shit from the golden age of television", with Bertín Osborne at the helm. The expression is a literal quote from the conversation, but it serves to illustrate the tone. Not everything broadcast back then was good; there simply was no alternative.

TV memory as a generational marker

Remembering 'Tres, dos, uno, contacto' isn't just an exercise in nostalgia. It's an age marker. One participant puts it precisely: "The idea that you're very old if you remember 'Tres, dos, uno, contacto' is a very 2026 take". Their parents and grandparents grew up without television. Talking about childhood TV was a youthful thing in 1995; today it's a sign of maturity. The same person adds that today's elderly don't talk about the YouTubers of their childhood, because there weren't any.

That reflection connects with another: the children's and youth programming of the eighties and nineties has been replaced by on-demand content. Kids today don't share schedules or TV guides. The conversation about 'Sábado Cine' or the broadcast day closing with the national anthem evokes a collective experience that no longer exists. It's not better or worse; it's different.

The video that changed everything: from linear TV to the algorithm

The conversation drifts toward the present. One participant points out that prime time today starts after 23:00, which leaves out a large part of the audience. Another replies that schedules were healthier forty years ago. The discussion reaches no consensus, but leaves one clear idea: television no longer organizes social life. The algorithm does.

Meanwhile, the shows of the past are still there, on YouTube, waiting for someone to rescue them. 'Cien años del automóvil', 'La noche de los castillos', 'El cigot de Colón', 'Apartamento para tres'. Some were hits; others, flops. They all share the same fate: oblivion. Until someone drops in, puts one on, and leaves.

How many of these shows would survive a modern audience? The question hangs in the air. The answer probably doesn't matter. What matters is that they existed, that someone watched them, and that today nobody remembers them. That's television.