January 26: The doctor Massimo Inardi, an expert in classical music, loses the title of champion of the quiz Rischiatutto. He had retained the title for eight weeks, after having gained the (by then) astronomical sum of 48.300.000 liras. Inardi, a renowned parapsychology scholar, became very popular and received the nickname of “magician” for his presumed extrasensory perception power to read the quiz's answers in the mind of the presenter Mike Bongiorno. In June, Inardi wins the final of the show.[1]
August 26: RAI broadcasts in PAL color the opening ceremony of the 1972 Summer Olympics.[5] Until September 11, the games are shown in color, alternating between the PAL and SECAM systems. The German system appears to be the superior one. The expected transition of RAI to color television, wanted by the Post and Communication minister Giovanni Gioia, is however further delayed by the opposition of the Republican Party, which sees it as an incentive to consumerism. The Republican Party threatens a government crisis about the matter.[6]
September 20: for the
PCI puts into operation a cable television channel, broadcasting the events of the festival.[7]
December 15: the convention assigning the radio-TV services to RAI, is expected to expire after twenty years. It is extended for another year.[7]
Gulp (later Supergulp) – show of “TV comics[8]”, care of Guido De Maria and Giancarlo Governi, with characters both classical (Corto Maltese) and specially created (Nick Carter). It's the most beloved Italian show for children in the Seventies.
The fairy with turquoise hair) and the little Andrea Balestri (Pinocchio), music by Fiorenzo Carpi; in six episodes. Comencini underlines the realistic sides of the book and takes some liberties with the plot (the Pinocchio's metamorphosis in child is put at the beginning instead of the end); however, his version is the same considered the nearest one to the Collodi's spirit. The serial is the greatest RAI production of the year, shot in colors and adapted also in a movie.[12]
Nascita di una dittatura (Birth of a dictatorship) – by Sergio Zavoli; inquiry in six episodes about the coming to power of the fascism, fifty years after the march on Rome. It's today again a precious historical document for the interviews to the survivor witnesses of the events, fascist or antifascist, some of which (as Amedeo Bordiga) deceased before the airing.[21]
Una donna un paese (A woman, a country) - by Carlo Lizzani and Claudio Nasso; interviews to 13 prominent women of politics and culture from the whole world, from Carla Fracci to Indira Gandhi.[24]
