Iskul Bukol

Iskul Bukol is a Philippine situational comedy show that aired on the IBC-13 network from 1977 to 1990. It starred Filipino comedians Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon. The show centered on their lives as students of the fictional Wanbol University, parodying its real life counterpart, Arellano University. The show's theme song, also titled "Iskul Bukol", is sung to the tune of Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up."

Main characters

 * Joselito "Tito" Escalera (Tito Sotto) - One half of the Escalera brothers, who plots harebrained schemes in every episode.
 * Josemari "Joey" Escalera (Joey De Leon) - The other Escalera sibling. Miss Tapia has a crush on him.
 * Victorio "Vic" Ungasis (Vic Sotto) - the good-looking and smart teacher's pet with a chick-magnet personality. The Escaleras often pick on him during class. Later became a professor of Wanbol University.
 * Liwayway Gawgaw Tapia aka Miss Tapia (Mely Tagasa) - Wanbol University's resident professor who often gets on the Escalera brothers' nerves. Although she admires Joey, Miss Tapia was romantically connected with Mang Temi.Her favorite student is Victorio Ungasis
 * Artemis Batongbuhay aka Mang Temi (Bing Angeles)† - the dark-complexioned operator of the university's cafeteria. His name is a play on the Filipino word "itim" (black or dark), rearranged the 70's Filipino way, "Tim-i" or "Tem-i," in the same manner as words in the vernacular are rearranged. Example: bath = ligo = go-li.
 * Tonette Macho (Anthony Roquel) - the gay student who plays as best friend of the fairest girl in class. He is also the nemesis of the Escalera Brothers.
 * Inang or Aling Jacoba (Dely Atay-Atayan)† - Vic's mother from the town of Tiaong, Quezon. Famous for her term of endearment "Bunsooyy!" whenever addressing Vic. The root word "bunso" is Tagalog for youngest child.
 * Sharon Escalera (Sharon Cuneta) - Tito and Joey's younger sister.
 * Viviana "Bibeth" Belibet (Bibeth Orteza) - Vic's female roommate and fellow student.
 * Ritchie "Kabayo" (Richard Reyes aka Ritchie D'Horsie)† - another fellow student who always copies homeworks from Vic & Bibeth. He is also an accomplice to the Escalera's comedic pranks.
 * Joey Anson (Joey Albert) - a student whom Vic likes.
 * Redford (Redford White)† - Mang Temi's houseboy and the cafeteria's waiter.
 * Jimmy "Big J" (Jimmy Santos) - replaced Redford as Mang Temi's cafeteria waiter.
 * Perfecto "Pekto" Pangkista (Ariel Villasanta) - a fellow Wanbol student and part-time waiter at Mang Temi's canteen who dresses like a 70s punk rocker.
 * Mr. Escalera (Rod Navarro)†- The father of the Escalera siblings.

Back to Iskul Bukol
Back to Iskul Bukol is the 1999 TV sequel to the original Iskul Bukol series also formerly aired on IBC-13 and in cooperation with Viva Television, Corp.. De Leon is the only member of the original cast to return. He plays an English literature professor who decides to go back to his old school to teach and wreak havoc like in the old days. Things could not get any worse when he finds out that one of his students, Ludwig von Tapia (Jeffrey Tam), is actually Miss Tapia's love child. The series also starred Val Sotto, Marissa Sanchez, Ruby Rodriguez, Patricia Javier, Gian Sotto (as Jigs), Mausi Wohlfarth (as Mumai), Maui Taylor, and Katya Santos. It also featured cameo roles by Bing Angeles (as Mang Temy) and Mely Tagasa (as Miss Tapia). The show ran for two seasons.

Its canonicity in the official Iskul Bukol timeline is in question despite the appearance of Gian Sotto and Jeffrey Tam in Iskul Bukol 20 Years After.

Iskul Bukol's Influence
In the GMA-7 documentary show I-Witness, presenter Jay Taruc revisited Iskul Bukol and the Philippines’ comedy trio (Tito, Vic, and Joey) in a 2007 retrospective episode titled "Wanbol University" and discovered that TVJ merchandise was still a hit.

Iskul Bukol 20 Years After (Ungasis and Escaleras Adventure)
Iskul Bukol 20 Years After (Ungasis and Escaleras Adventure) is a 2008 Philippine comedy movie that depicts the characters 20 years after the end of the original television series. It is the third of the series of Iskul Bukol films. The first three films were 1978's Iskul Bukol the Movie, 1980's Iskul Bukol Freshmen, and The Best of Iskul Bukol: The Movie in 1987.

Iskul Bukol Mini-Reunion in 2007
A Iskul Bukol mini-reunion was celebrated on June 30, 2007 in the GMA-7 show Eat Bulaga!'s Bulagaan portion. Mely Tagasa, Tito Sotto, Joey de Leon and Vic Sotto appeared, reprising their roles from Iskul Bukol.

Iskul Bukol (TV5 remake)
On December 3, 2010, TV5 executive Percy Intalan announced that Iskul Bukol will be remade as a joint project with APT Entertainment. Fred Lo, Sam YG, and Alwin Uytingco will play the three main characters, with Erika Padilla and Regine Angeles in supporting roles. However, Joey de Leon's son Keempee, who also appeared with his father in the original series, said the new show will not feature any of the original characters nor anyone related to them, although it will still be set in Wanbol University. He added that the series will have partial influences from Glee and How I Met Your Mother.