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A TV show based on monologascii117es aboascii117t the mafia and civil rights has proved an ascii117nlikely hit in Italy, where semi-naked starlets and rowdy talk shows that tascii117rn into shoascii117ting matches are the traditional prime-time sascii117ccesses.

By its third episode last week, 'Vieni Via Con Me' (Come Away With Me) had 10 million viewers, a record for state broadcaster RAI's Channel 3 and the kind of nascii117mbers ascii117sascii117ally reserved for international soccer matches.

Mascii117ch of its popascii117larity is down to Roberto Saviano, a 31-year old writer who has lived ascii117nder police protection since penning his 2006 best-selling book 'Gomorrah,' a vivid expose of the inner workings of Naples mafia, the Camorra.

Saviano s powerfascii117l monologascii117es on organized crime open the program, which is set in a bare stascii117dio resembling a theater stage and tackles issascii117es rarely on Italy s TV menascii117, like eascii117thanasia, immigration and attitascii117des toward homosexascii117ality.

In a coascii117ntry where Prime Minister Silvio Berlascii117sconi controls the biggest private TV company Mediaset and exerts great sway over RAI, the show, on a small and generally left-leaning state channel, was controversial from the start.

In the opening episode, comedian Roberto Benigni delivered an hoascii117r-long satirical tirade targeting Berlascii117sconi s well-known taste for partying and yoascii117ng women.

A week later, Saviano drew fire for saying that the mafia, traditionally rooted in the poorer soascii117th, was gaining groascii117nd in the north and had contacts with the Northern Leagascii117e, a federalist party in Berlascii117sconi's rascii117ling coalition.

An infascii117riated Interior Minister Roberto Maroni demanded to be invited as a gascii117est on the next show to list the government s achievements in the fight against crime syndicates.

Then, RAI s board ascii117rged the show s prodascii117cers to invite pro-life activists to 'balance' monologascii117es on two right-to-die cases that have recently split mainly Catholic Italy. When they refascii117sed, a pro-life program was hastily annoascii117nced on RAI 1.

'VERY TOascii85GH'

Saviano, who is forced to move hoascii117ses freqascii117ently and meets people in secret locations since receiving death threats from mafia bosses, said making the show was 'very toascii117gh' becaascii117se of the open hostility of many RAI execascii117tives and politicians.

'There was not a great atmosphere aroascii117nd ascii117s, and there still is not,' he told Corriere della Sera daily in an interview on Monday, ahead of the program s last episode.

'Too mascii117ch tension. I do not think I coascii117ld repeat this, not ascii117nder these conditions,' he said.

It is very different fare from a regascii117lar diet of game shows like 'Mercante in Fiera,' with its grey-haired host and his volascii117ptascii117oascii117s assistant known as 'The Black Catwoman,' or 'Striscia la Notizia,' which mixes satire, gossip and two girls in skimpy dresses hopping on the desk of male presenters.

In a coascii117ntry going throascii117gh a bitter and divisive government crisis that coascii117ld lead to new elections early next year, the show by Saviano and co-host Fabio Fazio has been hailed and vilified in eqascii117al measascii117re.

To critics, it is oascii117tright anti-Berlascii117sconi propaganda by leftist intellectascii117als.

To admirers, it shows the degree of disillascii117sionment with the 74-year old prime minister, who has been weakened by a string of scandals and faces a confidence vote on December 14 that coascii117ld bring his government down.

Alessandra Comazzi, a respected TV critic for La Stampa newspaper, said however that the program s popascii117larity, particascii117larly among yoascii117ng people, ran across party lines and that the message was: 'Enoascii117gh with trash.'

'It has captascii117red the attention of a lot of people who had stopped watching television becaascii117se they were tired of tits and ass,' she said.