Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 Grand Finals Winner

Later tonight judges Kris Aquino, Ai-Ai Delas Alas, and Freddie Garcia will announce the Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 Grand Finals winner.

I watched Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 yesterday and I have to say I was rather unimpressed by some of the finalists, especially those who did dance and musical pieces. That aside, my four top bets for the Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 Grand Finals Winner are Angel Canlas, the Happy feet, the DJP trio, and Rico the Magician.

Anyway, proceed to the section below to see the list of the grand finalists of PGT Season 2.

List of Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 Grand Finalists:

* Freestylers
* Madrigal Siblings
* B4
* Angel Canlas
* Happy Feet
* Jem Cubil
* Filogram
* John Michael Narag
* Buildex
* Djp trio
* NielBeth
* Marcelito Pomoy
* Rico the Magician

So who's your bet? We're just a few hours away from the proclamation of the winner. Stay tuned at this site for more news on the Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 grand finals winner.

Update:

Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 Grand Finals Winner: Marcelito Pomoy
Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 2nd Placer: Happy Feet
Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 3rd Placer: Freestylers

Congratulations to Marcelito Pomoy for being the Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 Grand Finals Winner at the Araneta Coliseum this June 26, 2011.

'Till my next installment.

The Rock is Back at the WWE!

The Rock is back at the WWE! He's back! He's Back! Seriously, he just came back like, 2 days ago. I wasn't able to have knowledge of it until this morning when someone in a forum I frequented said so in a post.

I've been a huge WWE fan as far as I can remember. I've been like, watching WWE for more than a decade now, and it's so amazing to see a childhood hero resurface from Hollywood back to his "home". The Monday Night Raw 02/14/11 episode was an event that truly made me happy. I don't know why but everytime I see The Rock back at the WWE I genuinely feel happiness. I wish I was at the stadium that time (I want to scream my lungs out chanting "Rocky Rocky Rocky!") Enough about being emo, watch the full runs at the YouTube boxes below:

Part 1 of 2


Part 2 of 2


I hope you've noticed that each and everytime "The Great One" speaks the crowd roars in unison. What you have there is history itself - 02/14/11: The Day The Great One came back at the WWE.

I guess I'll be watching out for every installment of Monday Night Raw from now on. I used to pass a few episodes here and there (same story, Nexus vs Cena. Now Nexus vs Orton), but now that The Rock is back, hell I'mma stick my eyes on our 42" LCD.

If you saaameeeeeeeeeeeellalalalalalalalaaaaw, what The Rock, is cooking.

'Till my next installment.

GMA's Teleserye Shows

The GMA Network must have either the most brilliant or the dullest creative team that gives the network the titles for its daily soap operas. See, it's because I have a bone to pick with the titles of their latest teleseryes. Why? Just read on below and you'll know why. See the titles of their latest teleseryes below:


Alakdana - literally translated the "Scorpion Woman";
Koreana - Another way to spell Jun Pyo;
Dwarfina - Fortunately there's only 1 Dwarfina. Imagine if Snow White had 7 Dwarfinas;
Negrita - Racism does not follow;
Machete - This is not the blade you're thinking of right now

See how the first four sound alike and Machete is the only the odd one out? On one hand, this could be a very good marketing strategy. It's a basic principle in marketing that when one names a product, the name should be short and brief but yet it describes the product well and that other people can easily recall it. Get the idea? Now when you say Alakdana, you can easily recall the actors and actresses associated with it right? You can also recall that the show is all about a woman scorpion. See how it works?

On the other hand, it could simply be an absolute lack of creativity of the folks from the GMA Network. I mean, the titles above are good titles, but wouldn't they have thought of something better? Because as far as I'm concerned, all I'm seeing (or remembering at least. Selective memory) from GMA these past few years are one-liner superhero or underdog-themed shows such as Darna, Gagambino, Grazilda, Illumina, etc. That's not to say that GMA shows have a one-liner title format.

Oh well. Whatever. They're the TV station anyway. And I have no say on whatever they plan to do on their teleseryes. It's not like Batman, Superman and Spiderman were invented yesterday (all one-liner titles).

'Till my next installment.

Willing Willie First Impressions, Reactions, Review

This page is to be filled with my first impressions and reactions on Willie Revillame's and TV5's new primetime show "Willing Willie." Catch it on its pilot episode tonight at TV5 (Ch5 non-cable, Ch10 Global Destiny) 6:30PM.

Update:

Exactly like Wowowee.

Willie Revillame, the former host of the now defunct Wowowee, started the pilot episode of his new show "Willing Willie" at his new home network TV5 this Saturday. It was a fun and energetic pilot episode, with little to no mistake or confusion at all. It was a highly anticipated evening, especially when lawsuits are being thrown here and there to stop the airing of the said program.

Like I expected, Willie Revillame and company laid their cards properly on the table. Willing Willie's initial episode was as vivacious as any other Wowowee episode: There was lots of good ruckus, properly executed sound bits, good lights, and of course Willie Revillame's trademark hosting. What I could say was lacking though was the introduction numbers they used to have at Wowowee e.g. the Boom Tarat Tarat intro portion Wowowee would've have been doing if it still existed (the Boom Tarat Tarat number was sang when the Christmas season was nearing). It also lacked the dance portions of the sponsors sponsoring Willie Revillame previously, at least I think it was.

Then there's the contests. I think Willing Willie's new contests have been planned to near perfection because I didn't observe any major mistake done during the run of the program, especially the way Willie commandeered instructions to the people in the establishment. The only part I disliked about the last contest (forgot the what it was called, the wheel looks like it was from "The Wheel of Fortune" in my opinion) was the show of obvious greediness by the leader of a pack of old women. She wasn't "game." She took whatever amount Willie Revillame threw at her. At the end, Willie, even though he could've gave the smaller amount, and seeing how dedicated the lead old lady was to taking any amount of money home, decided to give away an unchallenged P500,000.

On the other hosts, there's Mo Twister, formerly from GMA 7. Man, his voice sounds so tiny compared to his morning radio program on Magic 89.9. If a weener can talk, I think it would probably sound like Twister's squeaky voice. Anyway, there's also DJ Coki which stood loyally by Revillame's side. Count the back-up dancers in too, albeit they're fewer in number now than they were before, I think. I didn't see Luningning, Milagring, Congratulations and Palakpakan in the show.

Okay, so on the negative. I loathe at how the camera angles were shot at the pilot episode. There's this horrible top view which shows the highest point of the 20ft background screen and there's this irrational spinning view from about 50 to 60ft away. I mean, who does that? It would destroy the show. Nobody likes spinning camera angles for the simple fact that it makes it difficult to process what you're watching, especially at the evening where people are beginning to ease up from a hard day's work. So you Willing Willie camera dudes, DON'T SPIN THE CAMERA or else I'll sue you for destruction of a hopeful program.

I also have a bone to pick on how uncommandeered the audience were during pre-commercial transitions. The audience were just sitting there like they would on a classroom listening to a professor. It could be that they were starstruck on how Willie Revillame was able to make a return this grand or it could be that they were dumbfounded on how Willie Revillame was able to make a return this grand. Well, let's just say Willie Revillame is a lucky man. Imagine, after committing all the sins he had made, he's still able to do what he loves to do. I hope the floor manager fixes this problem soon.

I expect more supporting hosts to come as the show seems somewhat dry when compared to the diversity of people present in Wowowee. Willing Willie needs female hosts. Willie needs a Pokwang and a Valerie Concepcion imitation. He built Willing Willie on the same format as Wowowee, why stop with the hosts?

Now I'll discuss the genius time slot placement of Willing Willie. If you'll notice, Willing Willie wasn't placed at the afternoon time slot, the traditional slot for variety shows and whatnot. One reason is because Eat Bulaga regained dominance in the afternoon hours during the long hiatus of Wowowee. Before the Jobert Sucaldito rant of Revillame, ABS-CBN and GMA were duking it out on ratings. Well, we can't say the same for Pilipinas Win na Win which still remains a craptacular failure. At least it's picking up. Pokwang and Rico Puno are carrying the weight of the show.

Another reason is, maybe, just maybe, the people involved in making Willing Willie saw that the period of 5:30 to 7:30 in GMA and ABS-CBN have very little entertaining shows at all. This is the time slot for Korean dramas, Kokey, and the evening news. Adults don't watch these shows, they don't watch Korean dramas, they just watch the news. Now, adults arriving home from work could just filter out all those shows - especially the evening news where all they air is negativity and animosity - and switch to Willing Willie where it is lively and fun. This way not only does Willing Willie avoid direct competition with the rock-solid Eat Bulaga, they would also gain more viewers because there are more people at  their home during the evening i.e. coming home from work, school, long trips and the like. In short, placing Willing Willie in this time slot would result in a very favorable viewership gain. The show will also monopolize and change the primetime slot.

I would not be surprised at all if TFC subscribers would willingly cancel their subscriptions and instead tune in to TV5. Besides, it looks like TFC's popularity is decreasing. ABS-CBN would give you a chance to win a house and lot if you would refer your family members to subscribe to TFC, and they always plug it in during the morning. A sign of desperation perhaps?

All in all, the show looks promising. It looks like it'll click. There's this umph factor I saw in the initial episode of Willing Willie that was absolutely absent in Pilipinas Win na Win, not that I'm a Willie Revillame nut hugger. This experimental time slot of theirs could literally make or break the show.

Either way, I've no problem with Willie Revillame's selling power. The dude has charisma like no other. I just hope he won't commit the same mistakes as he did in his previous show. Once is enough. Two is too much. Three would bury you down to the ground.

Willie, clean up your act. I'll be the first one to blast you if you don't. Now go sing your Boom Tarat Tarat.

'Till my next installment.

iDOL is a Big Flop

I just arrived home today when I saw the commercial at ABS-CBN essentially saying that Sarah Geronimo's iDOL is getting axed due to its deeper-than-Earth ratings (Look for the commercial "iDOL: Mga huling araw na!). Okay, straight to the point. iDOL is a big flop, was a big flop by the time the show is axed. The first time I saw it on the commercials, I immediately thought it would never sell. It never will. Well, it never did. Poor Sarah. And to think that the ABS-CBN promoted the show that bad, they really thought it would sell. Too bad.

I'll point out the obvious here, at least this is what I think:

1. iDOL was supposed to be ABS-CBN's white knight against Glee's Charice Pempengco, or at least the show hoped that Glee watchers would get captivated by it and watch Sarah Geronimo and Coco Martin instead. Put simply, iDOL was a ripoff of Glee (just like most ABS-CBN soap operas mind you e.g. Imortal [Twilight?]).

2. Programs that involve the periodic singing of dialogues never sell, at least here in the Philippines. Most people think that it's too corny or mushy or whatever. And let's face it: Most of the songs they've used in iDOL weren't even iDOL originals. They just made their own rendition of existing songs, sometimes even uglier than the original, which people can play in the internet over and over and over again without the need of watching the program.

3. iDOL is too soft. By that I mean there's no gore, no blood, no bullets, no vampire. No vampire? No wait. Wrong program. Anyway, Filipinos love underdogs that's always brutalized and shortchanged in all aspects of life. Sarah Geronimo, although an underdog, didn't effectively play the part. She was a sweetheart. She's an angel. She's pure. That image of hers will never change in the eyes of the Filipino audience. And that's another reason why iDOL flopped. Maybe Sarah didn't sell as much as she used to. Maybe she lost her magic. Maybe she just didn't fit the underdog criteria well.

4. iDOL shipped out at the wrong time. We could effectively say that iDOL was too early or too late a show for this Filipino generation. The time frame is obviously not that great though. I mean, iDOL could've sold if it was aired a few months earlier than the first Glee. We can never say for sure. The concept of iDOL is great. It's just that the company publishing it is too greedy.

 
In the end, I pity Sarah Geronimo. This was her bounceback program. This would've proved her resiliency. Unfortunately, it failed. Sam Milby and Coco Martin will always be there though. They would always be needed as fillers or leads, but not Sarah. Maybe she'll remain an ASAP regular after all.

Again, it could've sold man. It could've sold.


'Till my next installment.

P.S. If you want to check out my earlier post about iDOL, go HERE.

Glee Season 2 Trailer feat. Charice Pempengco

Here's the YouTube video of the Glee Season 2 promo featuring our very own Charice Pempengco:



Charice Pempengco will play as Sunshine Corazon, a Filipino transferee student. How cool! Anyway, Charice Pempengco looks like Charice Pempengco even in Glee Seasons 2. Why is that? I mean, Eva Longoria, without her spectacular make-up, doesn't look as beautiful when she's made. Is the magic of Hollywood beautification ineffective with Charice? Just kidding.

Well anyway, all the best for Charice. All the best for Glee too. This is going to be a nice season, especially with the introduction of new characters and featured stars like Britney Spears.

'Till my next installment.

Why Pilipinas Win na Win is failing

Pilipinas Win na Win is officially on day 21 today, and after 21 days it seems nothing has changed except for the show's down-the-drain ratings, its new 2pm time slot, and the vanishing of Robin Padilla and Mariel Rodriguez.


No match against Eat Bulaga

Like one of the commentators said in my previous Pilipinas Win na Win post, the show was transferred to a 2pm time slot, which is siesta time for most Filipinos. Pilipinas Win na Win was originally set on a 1:30pm time slot. Suddenly it was moved 30 minutes later to 2pm. 30 minutes ain't such a big deal, right? Wrong. A couple of seconds of advertisement airtime costs around five to six digits. Imagine how much money ABS-CBN will lose if they continued to air Pilipinas Win na Win at 1:30pm without having sponsors.

So, why the change of time slot then? Simple: Pilipinas Win na Win is absolutely no match against GMA's Eat Bulaga. ABS-CBN decided that it was more viable for them to bend over to Eat Bulaga's superiority rather than face it head-on with full knowledge that they don't stand a chance to win. It's laughable that the network decided that its new noontime show was Showtime. I mean seriously, 2pm to 4pm ain't the prime slot for noontime shows. ABS-CBN even copied the 10am movie formula of GMA. These sudden corporate moves just show that ABS-CBN is badly rattled from Wowowee's loss and is trying to keep up with Eat Bulaga, but to no avail.


Dead ratings

Did anyone of you see Pilipinas Win na Win's new commercial about TFC subscribers from different foreign countries commenting on how they love the show? Yeah, I don't see that commercial anymore. They probably pulled the plug on that one. The guys over at ABS-CBN may have thought it's too obvious that they're pulling legs.

That's why they transferred the show to 2pm anyway. Pilipinas Win na Win is hoping to dodge GMA's silver bullet that is Eat Bulaga, hoping to salvage what's left of the noontime show-watching population. Like I said, 3-4pm (which Pilipinas Win na Win's time slot covers) is the prime time for afternoon dramas like Daisy Siete or something. It's also a prime time for SLEEPING.

Another indicator of dead ratings is the show's sponsors. Seems like Showtime has more sponsors than Pilipinas Win na Win. Coca-Cola, one of the biggest sponsors of Wowowee, is now at Eat Bulaga. I wonder why. I think the only remaining major sponsors of Pilipinas Win na Win are Rexona and Globe (which I think were duped by ABS-CBN's sudden change of heart. Instead of relaunching Wowowee, they launched Pilipinas Win na Win instead). I bet ABS-CBN is losing more money faster than they're making it with regards on the said show. The only thing keeping them from axing Pilipinas Win na Win off their program roster is pride. Let's face it, if ABS-CBN was to ax Pilipinas Win na Win, it would be controversial news for at least 2 week plus the fact that the said network is defeated again by Eat Bulaga.


Negative feedback

As I scoured the web looking for comments regarding the show, I was not surprised to see that lots of people find the show boring. Some even feel animosity towards the said program. Most comments are hostile, some are constructive, and some are just downright senseless. Still, these comments show the feelings people have for the show.

Not all comments were negative though. Some said the show was great, that it just needed improvement. Altogether, Pilipinas Win na Win haters outnumber Pilipinas Win na Win lovers 9 to 1 - that is, for every single person that says something good about Pilipinas Win na Win, 9 persons think otherwise. You cannot blame them though. The show is really failing.

It's so failing in fact that even Mariel Rodriguez, who didn't skip a beat in Wowowee when she was rolling with Zanjo Marudo, is now on vacation with Robin Padilla. Is it because she loved Robin Padilla more than Zanjo Marudo and made her skip shows? No. I think it's not because of that. I think it's because of an over-talking, attention-grabbing co-host.


TFC subscribers canceling subscriptions due to loss of Wowowee

Let's face it. Willie Revillame's Wowowee was the only show that our TFC subscribers bought. Wowowee back then was selling like pancakes. TFC subscribers didn't care if Willie was arrogant. What they did care about is Willie's ability to touch anyone's heart - which still holds true today.

There's as much Willie lovers as there are Willie haters locally and internationally. People from both ends of the geographic spectrum are still hoping for Wowowee's return. Unfortunately though, it remains bleak. That's why lots of TFC subscribers are actually thanking ABS-CBN for launching Pilipinas Win na Win. It's allegedly because they can now cancel their expensive TFC subscriptions, jump ship to GMA's Pinoy TV, watch Eat Bulaga instead, and save money (thanks for letting us save money ABS-CBN!). That's how awful Pilipinas Win na Win is doing overseas.


The Willie Revillame contract issue

This also relates to why ABS-CBN won't free Willie Revillame of his contract. They're afraid that if they let Willie go, he'll rejoin another channel, build his own new show, and take away what's remaining of ABS-CBN's noontime traffic. If Willie Revillame is let go of his contract, no one would watch Pilipinas Win na Win anymore. That's a stone-cold fact. TFC subscribers would also follow where Willie would go, leading to more loss of income to ABS-CBN.

Also, Willie Revillame is right. ABS-CBN ain't dumb, it's playing politics right now (not politics in its ordinary sense). ABS-CBN is red taping Willie Revillame, delaying him as much as possible so that the unstable Pilipinas Win na Win could settle down and gather a fan base, a strong following if you will, which is doubtful.


The Kris Aquino

Yes, I just referred to Kris Aquino as The Kris Aquino. I know it's grammatically improper, but putting a definite article word next to her name seems just right. So, what about Kris Aquino?

As people may have noticed, Kris Aquino is an attention whore. She doesn't want anyone to outperform her. She doesn't like working with other people that could outshine her star because she wants to remain the center of attention for eternity. Like commentator Lulu said, Pilipinas Win na Win "is a confusing, boring, self-serving show that has nothing else but gossip value," relating to Kris Aquino's talk show portion.

To some people, Kris Aquino might be the best woman there is. I mean, she helped out people and gave away scholarships, right? Well, tot all people that give back to the poor are good people. Drug cartels and human traffickers build welfare organizations to pose as a front for their illicit activities. I'm not saying that Kris Aquino is a drug cartel member or a human trafficker. All I'm saying is that not all people that do good things at face value are good at intrinsic value. They all have their ulterior motives. Anyway, this is not the time to question Kris Aquino's morality as a human being. I can judge her performance but I won't judge her morality. I'd be a hypocrite if I did. And besides, who am I to judge?

In short, the show would be a somewhat better off if Kris Aquino was removed. Playing oranges and yellows on a noontime show is improper. Cutting your co-hosts' lines and airtime are also improper. Sounding off you and your ex-husband's personal life in a live national program, who does that? I mean, really.


Conclusion

All in all, Pilipinas Win na Win still remains in my mediocre shows list. I'd still give it a 2/10 like in my previous post.

The pacing of the program is slow, there are too many rough edges to be polished, and there are too many controversial issues that can't be left ignored.

And again, like in my previous post, I'm not talking in fixed terms. Pilipinas Win na Win can go up the charts to levels I would've not thought of. It might be the next Wowowee if given the proper time to incubate. When that happens, I'll tip my hat to them in approval.

'Till my next installment.

iDOL is ABS-CBN's newest Glee-capitalizing musical drama series

As expected, ABS-CBN is capitalizing again on a Western show. One word: iDOL.


Recently on ASAP XV, they unveiled Sarah Geronimo's latest project "iDOL." The show's supposedly a Glee-inspired musical drama series. The show also features Sam Milby, Coco Martin, Matteo Guidicelli, Sam Concepcion, K. Brosas, Jon Avila, and the first Pilipinas Got Talent! grand winner Jovit Baldivino.

Obviously this is ABS-CBN's answer to Charice Pempengco's starring on the smash US TV show Glee.

If you'll recall, Charice Pempengco performed in an obscure ABS-CBN talent show, Little Big Star, where she was dumped. ABS-CBN found out later that that very talent they let go of is now a feature of a Hollywood TV series.

ABS CBN conceptualizers really have a knack for ripping shows off. After ripping of Wowowee and renaming it to Pilipinas Win na Win!, they now have Glee ripoff, a Sharon Cuneta movie-turned-tv series called iDOL? What are the chances?

Anyway, I wish the best for this show. Surely this would sell to the Filipino masses, especially because of Sarah Geronimo and Jovit Baldivino. Ha. Maybe that's why Jovit Baldivino was signed a contract there and then at the Pilipinas Got Talent! grand stage - to avoid him being signed by other foreign music entities and be placed at iDOL.

Sarah Geronimo's iDOL is scheduled to hit your TV screen somewhere around September.

Like I said, I wish the best for this show. Who knows, maybe I'm going to watch iDOL if it's good.

'Till my next installment.

Pilipinas Win na Win first impressions, reactions

Update: Here's my latest entry with regards to this show. Click HERE.


Today was the day Pilipinas Win na Win got launched. ABS-CBN for the past few days have been even upping the ante, plugging commercials here and there for this show. But as I watched it, I was not surprised to see that it very much resembled its predecessor show - the now defunct Wowowee.

What's new with this show? Well, we have new portions, new games, a couple of new faces. But even after considering all of those, I can still see the shadow of Willie Revillame's former show.

The studio setup, it reminds me of Wowowee. Pokwang, Mariel Rodriguez, and Valerie Concepcion inevitably carry with them the Wowowee aura. My, even the font of the Pilipinas Win na Win resembles the Wowowee brand. It seems like the conceptualizers of this show are overworked and underpaid. Also, what happened to brainstorming? Is it not in the vocabulary of whoever created Pilipinas Win na Win? The show, its so mediocre. I hope I'm mistaken though. I hate to see another filler program live up to people's expectations only to find out that it has been obliterated by Eat Bulaga in a few months time.

Well, like I mentioned there are a couple of new faces in Pilipinas Win na Win. There's Kris Aquino and Robin Padilla. Personally I cringe in irritation at the sight of Kris Aquino. On the other hand, there's Robin Padilla - the expected saving grace of this show - to give balance with Aquino's antics, monologues, and irritating laughter. An added bonus of Robin Padilla being on this show is his supposed budding romance with Mariel Rodriguez. I'm sure we'll see a lot of that in the coming days of the show. Well, if that's what it takes to save the show and/or improve its ratings to the roof, I reckon the management won't even think twice to take advantage of that relationship. Anyway, here's to hoping that Kris Aquino won't wrap her legs around Robin Padilla and destroy Robin's supposed budding romance with Mariel.

Pilipinas Win na Win, it's essentially the same as its predecessor. Nothing is new. It's like the conceptualizers are trying to bring back Kris Aquino's glory days in Pilipinas Game K N B. I think that's what exactly the people behind the show are thinking. I mean, Kris Aquino in a center podium in Pilipinas Win na Win just like in Pilipinas Game K N B? That's got to be more than coincidence don't you think? They're over-estimating Kris Aquino's talent to host. Her glory days are over, especially with her recent split-up with James Yap and all. In my opinion, Pokwang can carry her own weight around the show. There's totally no need for a Kris Aquino to drive down the ailing show further into the ground.

On a side note though, The Buzz has never been better since Kris Aquino's removal from the show. No more cutting Boy Abunda's talk time, no more hour-long monologues, no more irritating laughter, no more eyeing guests from head to toe, no more mocking co-hosts, no more rude host, and most of all one less plastic person in the world.

Pilipinas Win na Win is a desperate act to struggle, that's how my brother put it. The show is boring. It has nothing new to offer. It will be eaten alive by Eat Bulaga and ABS-CBN won't see it coming. I'll give it 2/10. But like I said, let's hope I'm mistaken. I don't blame Jay Montelibano though.

'Till my next installment.