Little Big Shots: A Kids’ Version of Pilipinas Got Talent

How about giving the kids a shot?

That is exactly what ABS-CBN will do starting this weekend when they premiere its newest franchise program. Enter ‘Little Big Shots’, the Kapamilya network’s up-and-coming reality talent show.

The ‘Little Big Shots’ franchise was created by Ellen DeGeneres and Steve Harvey and has since been adapted in 20 countries. The program is essentially a kid’s version of the ‘Got Talent’ franchise in which kids of various talents converge to show their abilities in front of a national audience.

The Philippine version will be hosted by Billy Crawford, with comedian Eric Nicolas hosting the online show. For Billy, ‘Little Big Shots’ is a relatively new experience for him. According to him,

“It’s my first time to host a talent show where I am the only person from showbiz, because I usually work with people who are already big shots. But here, you’d be surprised by how the kids carry the show, and I’m here to let their personalities shine. All I can say is the kids featured on the show are very exceptional and they really deserve to be called little big shots”.

“I grew up performing, and I know how rewarding it is to entertain people. But in ‘Little Big Shots, you wouldn’t expect what the kids can do, their wit, and they are all very charming”.

Kids aged two to twelve will be front and center on ‘Little Big Shots’. Each of these kids has some innate skill and ability waiting to be unleashed, not to mention their big personalities that will endear with the national audience.

Fresh off a successful season of ‘The Voice Teens’, the big question surrounding ‘Little Big Shots’ is whether or not they can follow up its predecessor’s popularity. Then again, considering ABS-CBN’s rich history of adapting successful franchised programs, putting ‘Little Big Shots’ on the map should not be a problem.

Expect plenty of thrills from these kids as they put their talents to the test on ‘Little Big Shots’. After all, viewers of all ages can’t help but be excited with the kids’ hidden abilities and personalities.

‘Little Big Shots’ airs every Saturday after ‘Home Sweetie Home’ and Sunday after ‘Goin’ Bulilit’ on ABS-CBN.

GMA Pulls the Plug on People vs. the Stars

‘People vs. the Stars’ is no more.

GMA effectively cancelled the game show after its most recent broadcast last Sunday. It was clear that despite its encouraging use of audience and viewer participation, ‘People vs. the Stars’ never quite clicked with the people.

‘People vs. the Stars’, hosted by Drew Arellano and Iya Villania, first aired on January 15, 2017, and was GMA’s anointed answer to the popular yet controversial ABS-CBN franchised game show ‘Family Feud’. But a shaky premiere (11.5% compared to ‘Family Feud”s 16.9% according to Kantar) soon set the tone for the remainder of ‘People vs. the Stars” run.

On average, the margin between ‘Family Feud’ and ‘People vs. the Stars’ was around 4-5%, with ‘Family Feud’ winning all of their matchups. While ‘People vs. the Stars’ was praised for bringing audience participation back to a game show, viewers doesn’t seem to care about it at all.

What also hindered ‘People vs. the Stars’ was GMA’s questionable decision to air it once a week. It would have made sense for the game show to air every Saturday and Sunday to give ‘Family Feud’ a run for its money, but alas, GMA wanted none of it as they thought their current Saturday afternoon lineup is strong on paper (too bad it’s not).

In the end, ‘People vs. the Stars’ join a select list of GMA game shows that did not quite make it big. With only 14 episodes to its credit, it will surely make the ‘most forgotten game shows in the Philippines’ list if there is one.

So what is the next plan of action for GMA in the game show department? Considering their recent misfortune in the said genre, they may not have the motivation to make another one for a long period of time.

It’s a shame, since GMA prides itself in doing things ‘locally’ for the most part (unlike ABS-CBN which has depended more on franchised programs). With that, viewers can only hope for the best in GMA’s future endeavors.

I Can Do That: ABS-CBN’s Latest Foreign Franchised Show

Franchised shows and ABS-CBN continue to be inseparable.

This weekend will be no exception, as the Kapamilya network premieres its latest acquisition. Enter ‘I Can Do That’, ABS-CBN’s newest talent reality show where celebrities perform the riskiest and most imaginative of acts in order to entertain the audience.

‘I Can Do That’ originated in Israel under the watchful eyes of Armoza Formats. Twenty countries, including the United States, have put their own spin on the franchise.

The Philippine franchise of ‘I Can Do That’ will be hosted by Robi Domingo and Alex Gonzaga. The show will be headlined by eight actors known as the I CANdidates: Cristine Reyes, Arci Muñoz, Pokwang, Sue Ramirez, JC Santos, Gab Valenciano, Wacky Kiray and Daniel Matsunaga.

Via ABS-CBN PR, here is how ‘I Can Do That’ is played:

Every week, the I CANdidates will perform extraordinary acts in pairs. The fun begins when different groups of professional performers demonstrate a variety of acts that I CANdidates have never done before.

If the I CANdidates think they can do a certain act, they will make their way down the stairs towards the performers. The first to reach the fourth and last step will be locked in to perform the act and will get to choose the I CANdidate who he or she believes will help him or her give a winning performance.

Given only one week to practice, the I CANdidates should be able to perform their assigned act and entertain the audience.

The weekly winner will be determined based on the combined scores culled from the scores given individually by the iCANdidates and the extra points granted to the winner of the audience vote.

With ‘I Can Do That’ bordering towards improvisation and danger, expect lots of pain and exhaustion from the I CANdidates and the professional performers. This show is definitely not for the weak at heart.

Still, despite the death-defying acts, expect no shortage of entertainment and laughter among the eight I CANdidates. After all, ‘I Can Do That’ is about captivating the audience with every move they make.

‘I Can Do That’ airs Saturdays after ‘MMK’ and Sundays after ‘Rated K’ on ABS-CBN.

Thoughts on Jodi Sta. Maria Winning P1 Million on Minute to Win It

Remember the topic about ABS-CBN game shows’ overdependence on celebrities as contestants?

Last night on ‘Minute to Win It: Last Man Standing’, Kapamilya actress Jodi Sta. Maria became a millionaire by completing the ‘Mouth to Mouth’ final challenge. She bested fellow finalist (and Kapamilya resident comedian) Pooh, in the process bagging a total of P1,070,000.

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Jodi became the second celebrity to win a million on ‘Minute to Win It: Last Man Standing’. Last July, another Kapamilya actress in Meg Imperial also won P1 million.

It’s a shame to see ABS-CBN win in an unfair manner. Although ‘Minute to Win It: Last Man Standing’ maintains a consistent lead over GMA’s ‘Wowowin’ in the ratings, it is obvious that the good nature of Willie Revillame’s show is making a fool out of Luis Manzano.

Let’s face it, Luis is a great host, no doubt. But he’s no Willie Revillame, whose willingness to give away prizes to deserving and hard-luck individuals despite his past brushes with controversy make him an icon in Philippine game shows today.

The selfish nature of ABS-CBN game shows continue to overshadow its success in general. Looking at Jodi Sta. Maria’s victory last night, two options could be in the offing for her.

These options are:

1. Keep the P1 million prize to herself (a selfish move)
2. Give away the P1 million prize to charitable causes (a selfless move)

To be honest, the second option makes sense. After all, ABS-CBN prides itself in the corporate slogan ‘In the Service of the Filipino’, so why not give it away in order to contribute to society.

Still, it doesn’t change the fact that ABS-CBN is shutting out the Filipino people as far as participation in game shows are concerned. Unless their perception changes, this action will only serve to disrespect the network’s corporate brass.

ABS-CBN Game Shows a Celebrity Overkill

Since its premiere, ABS-CBN’s version of ‘Family Feud’ has been criticized for relying too much on celebrities, a trend that was previously established in the network’s other game shows. (Screenshot courtesy of ABS-CBN Entertainment Official YouTube)

What happened to the phrase ‘In the Service of the Filipino’?

For many years, ABS-CBN has been able to live up to its iconic slogan by delivering quality programs and services to all Filipinos, both in the Philippines and abroad. However, not all programs are fulfilling its vision.

ABS-CBN’s recent game shows, in particular, are defying the standards that the network set in the early 1990s. Just ask ‘Family Feud’.

Ever since the franchised game show made a well-publicized comeback in early April, ABS-CBN made numerous changes that did not sit well with the loyal viewers from the ABC 5 and GMA days. The most radical of these changes were that of the teams involved, where instead of family members, celebrities from a particular show or group would participate.

With all these revisions in the game’s format, one would rather consider ABS-CBN’s version of ‘Family Feud’ as more of a spinoff rather than a true franchise. Perhaps the name ‘Celebrity Family Feud’ could be more appropriate.

This is not the first time that ABS-CBN frequently used its celebrities in their game shows. Recently, ‘The Singing Bee’, ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal’ and ‘Celebrity Playtime’ were known to utilize celebrities more often than not.

With that being said, the Kapamilya network’s regular use of celebrities in their game shows is an insult to what the network stood for. Yes they may be convincing Filipinos to buy a TVPlus digibox or be admired with their love teams such as KathNiel or LizQuen, but an opportunity for them to play games for cash prizes is not in their vocabulary.

While they do give chances to ordinary people in their talent shows (e.g. ‘It’s Showtime’, ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’), it’s not quite the same as giving a jackpot prize to a deserving game show winner. It’s a shame that despite all the revenue they have in their pocket, they don’t seem to share it unless a major calamity happens.

ABS-CBN may be called the Kapamilya network, but this act is not a family-friendly one. Too bad.

It remains to be seen if ABS-CBN will be able to give their loyal viewers a chance to play for cash prizes on ‘Family Feud’ and future game shows. Until then, the best course of action is for the viewers to tune out if it continues to favor celebrities.