Gaby, Fofó, and Miliki Shine Again Thanks to Artificial Intelligence

After succeeding in America, they were seen on TVE as the ideal candidates to replace the legendary children's show 'Los Chiripitifláuticos'. 'The TV Clowns' debuted in Spain in 1973 with a show initially scheduled for three weeks. The phenomenon resonated with the youngest members of the household, and five decades later, it still remains in the collective imagination. Under this premise, 'Journey to the Center of the TV' pays homage tomorrow (11:15 PM, on La 1) to the Aragón family by showcasing some of their most iconic moments on television, as well as other unreleased footage recovered from RTVE's vast archive.

However, images of 'The TV Clowns' will be offered as never seen before on TVE. The team of 'Journey to the Center of the TV', led by director Fernando Sanjuán, thought they could apply artificial intelligence (AI) technology to the public broadcaster's archive. A pioneering experiment on a global level that has yielded "absolutely surprising" results because it has significantly improved image definitions, especially black-and-white ones, according to Pedro Santos, the director and creator of the nostalgic program. Thus, viewers will be able to see Gaby, Fofó, and Miliki opening the show with their iconic "How are you?" or singing their great children's hits like 'Hello Don Pepito', 'Susanita', or 'My Beard Has Three Hairs', with better quality.

In this process, 'Journey' incorporated artificial intelligence applied "just enough so that the images are not distorted and are respected." "If you overdo it with AI, faces can look artificial. And if you don't go far enough, it won't be noticeable. We've been working in that middle ground all this time," explains Santos, who adds that this technology will be noticeable throughout the season in archival footage prior to 2000.

The program on La 1, narrated by filmmaker Santiago Segura, will cover all stages of 'The TV Clowns', from Latin America to their arrival at TVE, including their solo careers. 'Journey' has accessed moments never before shown on public television, such as exclusive footage of the clowns applying makeup or announcing Fofó's death from the hospital. "It will touch everyone who has welcomed 'The TV Clowns' across different generations," says Pedro Santos.

Despite being on air for eleven years, the team of 'Journey' continues to be amazed by the treasures hidden in RTVE's archive. Prado del Rey has just received a series called 'Televised Spain', a format that TVE shot for its international channel. Among the 622 documents recovered are unseen images and videos, such as Marisol and Carlos Goyanes' wedding.

In this eleventh season of ten episodes (eleven in total, counting a special to be aired on Christmas Eve), 'Journey' also pays tribute to singer Nino Bravo, which has been a "challenge" for the program. "We have tried to search where there was nothing to find images that capture the essence of what I believe is one of Spain's greatest voices," says the director.

Another episode will feature discontinued moments from RTVE's archive where everything is "new and unseen". Thus, viewers will see The Pop Magician's first appearance on TVE, outtakes from Jesús Quintero or current Telecinco presenter Joaquín Prat at seven years old, telling the camera he wanted to be a sailor when he grew up.

Each episode takes a little over two months to produce, says Pedro Santos. And they are already thinking about the next batch of new episodes. "I'm already thinking about how we can do it. There's no other way. It gets harder each time, but it has to be done. I said that by the second season I wouldn't come up with more episodes, but we've been creating stories from the archive," he emphasizes. "'Journey' maintains its essence: being able to showcase that television, those fashions, customs, and people who appeared on screen so that people can know or rediscover them," he concludes.