The digital screen rules

By Arlo Custodio

October 11, 2018

TV remains pop culture’s most powerful medium

Pop (from the word popular) culture permeates all aspects of the contemporary Filipino social life. Shaped by the interaction among people as they go about their daily activities, local pop culture develops and manifests itself in fashion, music, print media, cyberspace, sports, slang words, greeting rituals, food, drinks, advertising and heroes, whether real or fiction. This is all propagated by the mass media, the most powerful platform of which is television.

From komiks, Mars Ravelo’s ‘Darna’ had been incarnated to the screen, both wide and small, with Marian Rivera (left) and Angel Locsin (right) essaying the role of the local superheroine on.

In today’s highly technological world, these aspects rapidly change. Even commercial brands like shoes and fastfood can attain pop iconic status, but the same may fall out of grace from the young generation’s attention. Think of the strength of Jollibee, Darna, Manny Pacquiao, Miss Universe through the years and the flash-in-the-pan popularity of Pokemon Go.

Author Tim Delaney, in his treatise a decade ago, said that popular culture appeals to people because it provides opportunities for both individual happiness and communal bonding.

Noontime shows

Besides movies, noontime television shows are Filipinos’ main source of entertainment.

A precursor of the popular genre was “Student Canteen,” which started as radio show in 1958. It took on the name for television when it became a hit to students until 1965. The show ran aground for 10 years, and got resurrected in 1975 on GMA Radio-Television Arts still with original hosts Eddie Ilarde, Pepe Pimentel and Bobby Ledesman with new co-hosts Helen Vela and Coney Reyes. It stayed in the network until 1986.

Pinch-hitters for Student Canteen brothers Tito and Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon — called TVJ who gained fame on GMA’s “Discorama” — were given a show on Radio Philippines Network (RPN) with Chiqui Hollman as lone female co-host.

Premiering on July 30, 1979, the title “Eat Bulaga” (EB) was coined by de Leon with “Eat” representing lunchtime and “Bulaga” meaning to surprise. In short, the show runs on the concept of surprises at lunchtime. De Leon also coined the slogan “Hanggang may bata, may Eat Bulaga.” It overtook Student Canteen in the ratings the following year.

In 1989, EB moved to ABS-CBN. At the end of EB’s contract in 1994, the Lopez-owned station wanted to buy its airing rights of the popular noontime show but the producers did not accede, leading to the non-renewal of the contract and saw the show’s move to GMA Network in 1995. ABS-CBN meanwhile turned the Sunday show, “Sa Linggo nAPO Sila” of the Apo Hiking Society triumvirate of Danny Javier, Jim Paredes and Buboy Garovillo into a daily show, “Sang Linggo nAPO Sila,” to clash head on with EB.

Prior to its move to GMA Network, the station tried to topple it with several shows on the timeslot — “Lunch Date” (which replaced Student Canteen) and “SST: Salo-Salo Together.” Meanwhile, the Apo daily show ended, replaced by “Magandang Tanghali Bayan” (MTB) on ABS-CBN. MTB’s “Pera O Bayong” segment topped the ratings for two years, but EB regained upperhand with its “Meron O Wala” then “Laban O Bawi” in late 2000 with the formation and regular fixtures of the Sex Bomb Dancers.

MTB ended and was replaced by “Wowowee,” hosted mainly by Willie Revillame, which continued until July 2010 despite the tragedy on February 4, 2006 that killed at least 73 people on the show’s first anniversary at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Wowowee was succeeded by “Pilipinas Win na Win” with Kris Aquino and Robin Padilla as main hosts (2010), followed by “Happy Yipee Yehey!” Due to low ratings HYY stopped, and the late morning programming “Showtime” was reformatted as “It’s Showtime” to take on the slot.

‘Eat Bulaga’ — airing continuously for 39 years — has set records both in ratings and on Twitterverse with its ‘Kalyeserye’ segment starring Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, known as AlDub.

EB’s popularity, meanwhile, spawned into an Indonesian franchise. On its 36th year in 2015, its ratings dramatically increased with the formation of AlDub, the accidental love team of co-host Alden Richards and Yaya Dub.

The phenomenal public reception to the love team developed into “Kalyeserye” built around them with Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola and Paolo Ballesteros as the lolas. #AlDub became the top daily trending topic on Twitter not only in the Philippines but around the world as well, with fans creating the AlDub Nation on social media.

The craze about the love team has helped the careers of Richards and Maine Mendoza (Yaya Dub’s real name), and bringing triple ratings to the show.

EB’s special show, “Sa Tamang Panahon” AlDub concert at the full 55,000-seating capacity Philippine Arena for the benefit of Typhoon Lando victims on October 24, 2015, shattered all records with its over 50 percent ratings in its live airing, setting a Twitter record for the hashtag #AlDubEBTamangPanahon hashtag 41 million tweets.

It’s Showtime held on single digit ratings for long until interest on AlDub waned. The ABS-CBN noontime show eventually caught up with its rival via “Tawag Ng Tanghalan Sa Showtime” and starting last year, “Miss Q&A.”

Noontime shows cemented the careers of many actors and actresses and also launched the TV and movie careers of singers, models, and sports personalities but influenced the thinking and attitude of viewers as well. Most of all, they mirror what modern Filipino culture is all about.

Filipino TV viewing habits drastically changed in 1996 when the government-owned station RPN aired the Mexican telenovela, ‘Marimar.’

Teleseryes

Filipino TV viewing habit drastically changed in 1996 when the government-owned station, RPN, aired the Mexican telenovela, “Marimar,” two years after it premiered in Mexico via Televisa.

The tangible effect of Marimar on local television was that it opened doors for other foreign telenovelas to be given exposure. In the wake of its success, other Mexican and Latino telenovelas sprouted in all the channels.

Critics argued that too many foreign soaps deprived local artists of their livelihood and talents were hindered their own mark in coming up with originals.

Several years later in 2003, TV viewing landscape shifted with the Taiwanese soap “Meteor Garden.” The new generation was as crazy as the previous one that got hooked to Marimar in the ‘90s.

Marimar was to be localized 13 years later on GMA Network, with Marian Rivera playing the lead and Dingdong Dantes became the swashbuckling hero, and Katrina Halili as the villainess. The Filipino version made Rivera the primetime queen with her subequent shows and started her off-cam relationship to Dantes that ended in marriage.

In 2015, GMA came out yet again with a version starring Miss World 2013 Megan Young as Marimar.

At ABS-CBN, the translated Colombian “Betty La Fea” (October 25, 1999 to May 8, 2001) became localized in 2008 with Bea Alonzo playing the lead, opposite John Lloyd Cruz. It ran until May 28, 2010.

Fantaseryes and telefantasias

Original fantaseryes (ABS-CBN term) and telefantasyas (GMA term) also became the trend in mid-2000s. “Marina” starring Claudine Barretto had audiences glued as she swam as mermaid and walked as human.

'Fantasy reigned supreme on television for years with ‘Mulawin’ as the most watched and anticipated series. Richard Gutierrez played the role of Aguiluz, the messenger of the half-bird half-human beings, helped by the goddesses of ‘Encantadia’ which became another series by itself.'

Mulawin” became the audience’s favorite with its half-human half-bird creatures. The group of enchanted creatures from “Encantadia” became a separate show by itself with the four Sang’gres — Amihan, Alena, Dayana and Pirena — became a byword, even putting new words in the vocabulary like “pashnea” (expression of anger to call somebody “animal” or “beast”); “avisala” (expression of greeting like “hello”); and “ssheda” (meaning halt or stop).

The series extended until 2006 with different chapters. It was to be given a different life with a younger set of stars in 2016 to 2017.

Rivera, by the way, breathed to Mars Ravelo’s iconic heroine “Darna” in August 2009 until February 2010. This after Angel Locsin reprised the role in 2005.

K-Pop

The success of Korean telenovelas, starting with “Jewel In The Palace” on GMA in 2005 also brought in K-Pop to the Philippines, which a year earlier saw Sandara Park making it to the finals of ABS-CBN’s “Star Circle Quest.” Other Koreans who became part of Philippine entertainment include Ryan Bang on It’s Showtime, DJ Grace Lee and host Sam Oh.

TV landscape shifted with the Taiwanese soap ‘Meteor Garden’ in 2003 paving the way to Asianovela and K-Pop craze.

All major stations now are dotted with Koreanovelas, with GMA even importing Thai dramas. Philippine shows, however, have also captured the hearts of televiewers in Vietnam, Thailand and other Asian countries as far as the African continent.

Microcosm of society

Filipinos’ love for teleseryes made Ateneo de Manila University offer a course dedicated solely to the study of Pinoy soap operas for the simple reason that teleseryes are a microcosm of the Filipino society.

Ateneo pop culture professor Louie Sanchez said that Filipinos are drawn to teleseryes mainly because they can relate to the personal, social and political issues repeated so often in the genre.

Sociologist Ricky Abad likewise gave a reason why Filipinos love teleseryes: The Philippines is a country that simply loves good storytelling.

There is of course reality TV, which some quarters say it’s not really real because everything is scripted — from selection of participants — like in “Star Circle Quest,” “StarStruck,” “Pinoy Big Brotther” and “Survivor” — to the proclamation of winners.

Besides television, video-sharing platform YouTube has also been a powerful medium, making a post go viral overnight and creating stars out of the ordinary people who catch the imagination of the digital universe. Networks also post on YouTube episodes and editions of their shows and people catch up without tuning in to TV any longer.