Buena Fortuna

A live game/variety show hybrid that appears to be the forerunner to Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.

Broadcast
Telefe: May 15 - December 2, 2005

Host
Julian Weich

Production Company
Promofilm & Telefe Contenidos

Premise
Everyone at the show's studios automatically participated in the show. The way the contestants were selected was like a lottery; each audience member was given a specific number. A lottery-like machine would release a set of numbered balls (usually two to four, depending on the game), and the audience members with those numbers would go on the main stage to play a game, the winner of which the winner received a prize.

Games

 * Ball Catching - Four contestants wore baskets on their heads, and the audience would throw balls at them for one minute. The contestant who caught the most balls was the winner.
 * Kisses - Two contestants would put on heavy lipstick, and try to kiss as many people as possible in one minute, including the cameraman, camera, and even host Julian; this game could be played by both men and women, and because of this, they were allowed to kiss people of their own gender. Whoever kissed more people was the winner.
 * Number Guessing - Usually, five or six contestants took part in this game. A bingo-like machine would release balls, with numbers on them ranging from 1 to 80. Each contestant, in turn, predicts whether the number on the next ball will be higher or lower. Correct guesses earn money, but wrong answers earn a strike; two strikes eliminates that contestant. All the contestants in this game earn money for being selected, but the last contestant standing keeps all the money they won in the actual game.
 * Questions - Four contestants are chosen from the public to play this game, similar to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and The Weakest Link. The contestants stand in a circle around host Julian, who then asks them multiple-choice questions. Each question has four possible answers. One contestant gives an answer; if they are right, they win the question, but if they are wrong, the question is passed to the next contestant, with that answer removed from the choice bank. If the first three contestants choose all the wrong answers, the fourth contestant automatically wins the question. In front of each contestant is a line of five squares. When a contestant wins a question, they step on to the next square. The first contestant to reach their last square is the winner.
 * Lucky Stairs - The finale of each episode. The contestant with the most winnings from the whole show would join the host on top of a staircase. A member of that contestant's family would call the show, and would give them advice on which block on the next downward step they should step on. The contestant could decide to take the caller's advice or choose a different block. Most of the blocks had money amounts; if the contestant stepped on these, they would win that amount of money. On each step, however, there was one block that said "Para" (which means "Stop" in Spanish). As the game went on, the staircase became more and more narrow, making it more likely to step on a "Para" block. If the contestant could make it to the bottom of the staircase, they would win a large amount of money.

Other Segments

 * Home Element - Viewers could call the show on their cell phone, and play the game from home.
 * Musical Guest - Each episode also featured a musical guest, who would sing a song for the audience.