Nintendo TV show from 1989: "Les Trésors de Super Mario"
Sept 7, 2024 16:45:40 GMT
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Post by Jdtendo on Sept 7, 2024 16:45:40 GMT
In 1989, a short-form TV series called Les Trésors de Super Mario ("Super Mario's Treasures") was aired in France to promote the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was hosted by Mario himself, voiced by French voice actor Jean-Claude Donda. The show consisted in gameplay sequences showcasing NES game tips interrupted by original animated sequences featuring Mario.
During the episode, Mario asked a very easy question and prompted the viewers to send a postcard with the answer to a dedicated mail address in order to take part in a contest to win NES games and Nintendo merchandise.
According to my research, the show was broadcast on channel FR3 in the evening (around 8:25PM) on Saturdays (though it has been claimed that the show was broadcast daily).
The show has been aired as early as February 11, 1989 (see these TV listings where the show is listed as "CONCOURS SUPER MARIO", which means "Super Mario contest"), predating The Super Mario Bros. Super Show by several months.
The show was stopped during the summer vacations and did not come back in September, according to a disappointed fan in the 1989/4 issue of the French Club Nintendo magazine. It's unknown whether the show eventually came back, and even if it did, it did not run for much longer.
Currently, the show is lost for the most part. There is only one remaining clip of an episode that is available online, from a VHS recording (see video above).
I watched through a lot of 1989 FR3 recordings on YouTube and I did not find any trace of the show. Trying to contact the production company (IDDH) would probably be fruitless considering it closed in 2000 and people from IDDH whose names are associated with the show are either dead (Bruno-René Huchez, Regis Ghezelbash) or completely unknown (Naïm Mehdad).
It's a shame that this part of Nintendo's history along with the original animations of Mario are currently almost completely lost. We don't even have a full episode. But maybe if we find an FR3 recording from a Saturday evening in 1989, it could lead to more of Les Trésors de Super Mario being found.