TV

[Margaret]

Maybe should have called this the Watercooler bit. Wonder if anyone else watches 'Forum' which is on 5 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon, channels that is. It's back after the summer break and I'm already wasting far too much time on it as it's quite easy to get hooked once you start watching. There's a running summing-up along the bottom of the screen so anyone with basic Italian would be able to see what they're on about and then maybe try and work out what's said.

[brynithel3]

Hi Margaret

Sorry to sound a bit obtuse but when you mention Channel 4 and 5 you must mean Italian television but what are the actual channel names? I have a dish and box set up in my study, in my home in Wales, and it is aligned for Italian television but I cannot seem to find this programme.

Are they Rete 4 and Canale 5?

Ciao

John

[Margaret]

Mm, sorry, that's right. It's a sort of arbitration - two people come on and put their case, then the audience argue about it (and people text in and email) and then a judge gives a decision. It's interesting seeing the difference in the sort of problems that crop up in Italy (some of which you wouldn't get at home), how the audience see things (which again is often quite different from how we would) and how different the decisions are from what they would be at home. I usually find the Italian decisions make more sense and seem fairer to what I think would be said in the UK but wonder what you think - if you manage to get the channels. One thing's a bit shaming - you never get people getting violent as on Jeremy Kyle. They get excitable but in an Italian way. Though thinking of Roberto Saviano's book I guess the Italians can hold their own on that score for settling disputes!!