Maine Takes LOA from Eat Bulaga; Pastillas Girl Resurfaces on FHM

Remember the infamous yet short-lived rivalry between “Yaya Dub” Maine Mendoza and “Pastillas Girl” Angelica Yap?

Last week, the two noontime ladies were in the headlines anew for various reasons. First off, the most obvious one.

I got myself, I will catch myself, and I will pick myself up pic.twitter.com/VoU5kFuReQ

— Maine Mendoza (@mainedcm) November 26, 2017

‘Eat Bulaga’ co-host Maine Mendoza recently posted an open letter thanking her fans for all the support. She then clarified that she and on-screen partner Alden Richards were just friends in real life and not in a relationship.

The open letter elicited some negative responses from other netizens. Soon after, Maine posted this tweet.

You are all right. I deserve all the hate in the world because I am such a coward and a selfish little brat. I get it and I understand..

— Maine Mendoza (@mainedcm) November 27, 2017

Maine was last seen on ‘Eat Bulaga’ on November 27, and has apparently left the show in the wake of her social media outrage. Netizens were quick to speculate regarding her future in entertainment, with some even going as far as spreading rumors that she would transfer to ABS-CBN.

Regardless, some fans still kept the faith, and they showed that by staging a “white rally” outside Broadway Centrum last November 30. However, with ‘Eat Bulaga’ currently struggling behind ‘It’s Showtime’ in the ratings and support for the AlDub tandem continuing to wane, how will the show be affected by Maine’s absence?

Speaking of noontime, “Pastillas Girl” Angelica Yap resurfaces with a new name and a new image. The bubbly girl that was a fixture of ‘It’s Showtime”s ‘Nasaan Ka, Mr. Pastillas’ segment two years ago is now sexier and stronger than ever.

A little christmas gift to fire up your December and to end the year right with @itsmedebbiee and me 🔥 Grab your copies now! I'm 1/2 of the cover 😉 (then tag me & debbie who's naughty & nice 🙇🏻‍♀️) #fhmAngel #fhmDebbie pic.twitter.com/a6Eqr9w6ah

— Angelica Yap (@angelicaj__) December 2, 2017

FHM released its December 2017 issue featuring Yap and model Debbie Garcia. Like most FHM covers, these two women are photographed in lingerie and other revealing attire.

Yap first gained notoriety through the ‘Nasaan Ka, Mr. Pastillas’ segment (mostly forgotten now due to ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’), where ‘It’s Showtime’ hosts tried to find a man that would help her move on from a break-up. She has since reconciled with the man who broke up with her and are now engaged.

In the years leading up to her FHM cover debut, Yap gradually shed her innocent image by posting sexy and provocative images on social media. Though out of the limelight for some time, Yap signed up with Viva Entertainment and she even started a YouTube account with her fiance.

Perhaps posing for FHM is just the tonic Angelica Yap needs to restart her career. One can only hope that the former “Pastillas Girl” will embrace the small screen and possibly the big screen in the near future.

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Wish I May Ends Tomorrow

‘Wish I May’ is down to its final episode.

The GMA Afternoon Prime series, whose story focuses on a rare genetic disorder called ‘chimerism’, will conclude tomorrow afternoon after a run of 88 episodes. It will be replaced by ‘Magkaibang Mundo’, starring Louise delos Reyes and Juancho Triviño.

Named after a hit song by fellow Kapuso star Alden Richards, ‘Wish I May’ starred Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix, along with Camille Prats, Mark Anthony Fernandez and Rochelle Pangilinan, among others. It was co-directed by Neal del Rosario and Mark Sicat de la Cruz.

‘Wish I May’ was originally announced in October of last year to coincide with the AlDub phenomenon, but the premiere of the highly-anticipated series was delayed by a three-month extension of its eventual predecessor ‘The Half-Sisters’. It finally hit the airwaves on January 18, however, the long wait took its toll.

Not only did ‘Wish I May’ fail to make an impact, but its low ratings came at the same time as the decline of AlDub’s popularity. By the time the series aired, viewers were once again switching to ABS-CBN’s ‘It’s Showtime’ to watch the revival of ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ instead of ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘Kalyeserye’.

Even worse for ‘Wish I May’ is the impressive performance of rival series ‘Doble Kara’. Ratings for both series consistently favor the latter, and as ‘Wish I May’ continued to fall short of expectations, it came to a point that GMA decided to lessen the promotion of the series by early April.

Suffice to say, it’s a decision that justified ‘Wish I May”s inability to succeed. The series whose premiere had been long overdue to begin with is about to end with a whimper.

‘Wish I May’ may be unique thanks to its focus on ‘chimerism’, but its long-delayed premiere will forever be remembered for all the wrong reasons. That said, it’s going to be a long day at the office for GMA management, wondering what might have happened if ‘Wish I May’ premiered as originally scheduled.

Is ‘Wish I May’ Too Late the Hero?

‘Wish I May’ has been given the go-signal by GMA.

After a long and tenuous delay, the series, named after a popular song by Alden Richards, will finally make its debut. The question is, will ‘Wish I May’ be worth the wait?

The journey of ‘Wish I May’ began in October of last year, when GMA released a pair of short teasers for the series. Regularly played during commercial breaks, many thought the series would premiere within that month, given its release at the height of the AlDub phenomenon.

Unfortunately, it never materialized. Already penciled in as a lead-out program to ‘Eat Bulaga’ (whose Kalyeserye featured the AlDub tandem), ‘Wish I May”s premiere was postponed when its eventual predecessor ‘The Half-Sisters’ was given a three-month extension.

The series was also considered for Telebabad, but GMA chose to air ‘Little Nanay’ and ‘Because of You’ instead. Eventually, GMA revealed the premiere date of ‘Wish I May’ in the teaser video below, which premiered before the end of 2015.

Which leads to today’s long-awaited premiere. ‘Wish I May’, although named after Alden’s hit song, will not feature Alden himself nor his Kalyeserye partner Maine Mendoza, for obvious reasons.

Instead, the lead stars of the series will be Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix, popularly known as the BiGuel tandem. The premise of the series will involve two teens (Bianca and Miguel) falling in love with each other amid tumultuous circumstances involving their families, brought about by the genetic disorder called ‘chimerism’.

Also starring in ‘Wish I May’ are Camille Prats, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Glydel Mercado, Rochelle Pangilinan, Mark Herras, Alessandra de Rossi, Neil Ryan Sese, Juan Rodrigo, Marni Lapuz, Ash Ortega, Sancho delas Alas and Prince Villanueva. Neal del Rosario and Mark Sicat de la Cruz will direct the series.

The premiere of ‘Wish I May’ comes at a time when the AlDub phenomenon was presumed to have winded down. While ‘Eat Bulaga”s Kalyeserye continues to rack up millions of tweets with each episode, ratings for the show were on the decline, as viewers find the skit boring, repetitive and uninspiring of late.

Although GMA was able to capitalize on AlDub’s success by placing ‘Wish I May’ after ‘Eat Bulaga’, having endured a lengthy delay may not help the show’s cause at all. Had it premiered during the height of AlDub’s popularity (‘Sa Tamang Panahon’ presentation, to be specific), they may have had a chance to succeed.

Still, GMA’s hopes were on ‘Wish I May’ to flourish in the same way its predecessor ‘The Half-Sisters’ did. However, it remains to be seen if the series will be worth watching after several months of hype.

‘Wish I May’ airs weekdays at 2:35 p.m. on GMA’s Afternoon Prime.

FTT’s Opening Salvo for 2016

It will be a very busy 2016 for media networks in the Philippines.

This year is an election year, and this one will decide the fate of the presidency of the Philippines. ABS-CBN, TV5 and GMA, along with several minor players, will be on hand to cover the five-month period of conviction and decision, leading to the national elections on May 9, and finally to the inauguration on June 30.

The question is, will CNN Philippines, GMA News TV and AksyonTV be busy enough for the grind of the elections? The three news networks have had a rough outing last year, with only ANC and DZMM TeleRadyo continuing to showcase their usual journalistic excellence, and unless they prove the critics wrong on election day, they will endure yet another showering of boos.

On the entertainment side, this is where GMA needs to make a statement (yet again). Even though ‘Eat Bulaga’ and AlDub grabbed the headlines during the second half of 2015, the rest of GMA’s programming, talents and staff still leave a lot to be desired, and if GMA were to be competitive and financially strong, they need more than just AlDub to survive.

Over at TV5, they are making a fresh start with a new ally. Viva Entertainment head Vic del Rosario is now leading the network’s entertainment unit, and he hopes to make an impact with new shows that could reenergize the Kapatid network’s stagnant and unpredictable programming.

As for ABS-CBN, there’s no need for a forecast. Barring any possibility of overconfidence and complacency, this should be another successful year for the Kapamilya network, with new shows featuring both established and rising stars on the menu.

Sports programming suffered a big blow when ABS-CBN-operated Balls signed off for good last year. That said, there will be big shoes to fill for the remaining sports networks in the country, particularly TV5’s Hyper and ABS-CBN Sports+Action, as they scramble for rights to some of the events that Balls covered.

FM’s 90.7 Love Radio remained dominant last year, as are DZMM and DZBB on the AM band. Closing in on the top radio stations will once again be a very tough act for the rest of the field this year, especially with the possibility of a rebrand and a change in personnel looming for those who couldn’t keep up.

And finally, as always, the endless questions of IBC-13’s planned privatization (or closure) will continue to surface this year. The question of when, who and how will once again permeate curious viewers, as the fate of the embattled station remains a mystery even with the change of administration.

This should be an interesting year ahead, and From the Tube will be there to cover every step of the way. Good luck.

In 150 Words: It’s Showtime Finally Goes Public Service

‘It’s Showtime’ has decided to help the masses.

The ABS-CBN noontime show recently joined forces with the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs team to give the latest updates on Typhoon Lando, as well as news on the evacuation and relief efforts. Reporters Jeff Canoy and Atom Araullo appeared on the show to inform the hosts and the viewers of the situation.

The rare moment of public service may have helped ‘It’s Showtime’ regain its footing, but for a show that is clearly desperate for an audience, this is not enough. ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘Juan for All, All for Juan’ segment has been helping numerous barangays and schools for over five years, and if ‘It’s Showtime’ were to be more devoted in reaching to the masses, they would have to work harder for a cause.

Perhaps it’s time for Vice Ganda and the ‘madlang pipol’ to be more charitable, just like what Tito, Vic, Joey and the Dabarkads are doing. AlDub may be helping ‘Eat Bulaga’ achieve greater heights these days, but at least they are willingly devoted to help others.

Bubble Gang Parodies Eat Bulaga’s Kalyeserye

Juancho Trivino and Denise Barbacena as Albert and Badel, aka the AlBad tandem. (Photo credit: GMA Network/Bubble Gang Official Twitter)

‘Bubble Gang”s list of parodies continue to grow.

Just recently, the long-running GMA gag show capitalized on the popularity of ‘Eat Bulaga”s Kalyeserye by creating a parody called ‘Istambay-serye’. In the skit ‘Istambay sa Looban’, Denise Barbacena and Juancho Trivino were cast as Badel and Albert, respectively, and the tandem were dubbed as AlBad.

The duo spoofed the mannerisms of the AlDub (Alden Richards and Maine ‘Yaya Dub’ Mendoza) tandem, from the ‘pabebe wave’ to the use of Dubsmash. Even Lolo Nidoro/Antoinetta (Betong), a parody of Lola Nidora (Wally Bayola), was introduced to give Badel and Albert some trouble.

Though the ‘Istambay-serye’ became the main focus of the skit, Michael V, Sef Cadayona and Antonio Aquitania continue to narrate the story via a song, with the squatters interrupting in between. This unique wrinkle helps ‘Istambay sa Looban’ maintain its unconventional style.

Within weeks, the AlBad tandem became successful, and AlDub fans gave the parody mostly positive reviews. AlBad even plans to spoof the AlDub-starred commercials in future episodes.

The skit only shows that after 20 years, ‘Bubble Gang’ continues to be the ultimate source for the best pop culture parodies. And speaking of 20 years, please stand by for a future article that will commemorate the show’s 20th anniversary.