Eat Bulaga Creates Another Made-for-TV Movie

Never mind that ‘Eat Bulaga’ is no longer a ratings juggernaut as they were in years past.

The now 40-year-old variety show (technically 39 but the number is considered unlucky for them) is content with what they do best: to make viewers happy. In fact, for the past two years, they even ventured into filmmaking with 2017’s ‘Love Is…’ and this year’s offering.

On Saturday, July 28, ‘Eat Bulaga’ will premiere the mini-movie ‘Pamana’, starring Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola, Paolo Ballesteros and Maine Mendoza as the Pamilya Nunal from ‘The Barangay Jokers’ series. The show’s other hosts and some unnamed special guests will also play bit roles in this upcoming film.

‘Pamana’, a suspense/comedy thriller, will also mark the directorial debut of Ariel Manalo (birth name of Jose Manalo). Yes, you heard that right: Jose himself directed the film.

For viewers who have watched ‘Eat Bulaga’ for years, going into made-for-TV film territory is something unusual for the long-running variety show even on a normal day. The only times the show dropped its typical segments (e.g. Juan for All) is when it airs its annual Lenten drama specials.

But a show like ‘Eat Bulaga’ is definitely not content in visiting barangays and giving the audience an opportunity to win prizes on a regular basis. Going above and beyond the basics is something the show has long desired to do for years.

Which is why last year’s ‘Love Is…’ and this year’s ‘Pamana’ is a refreshing break from the norm. After all, no one wants to get bored with the same old formula over and over again.

Good luck, ‘Eat Bulaga’. May ‘Pamana’ be worth the price of admission to your viewers.

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In 100 Words: With All Due Respect, Joey

Joey de Leon is actually trending, but for the wrong reason.

Last Thursday’s episode of ‘Eat Bulaga’ saw a ‘Juan for All, All for Juan’ winner discuss about her mother’s long battle with depression. What happens next proved to be sensitive for even the most concerned of viewers.

Within minutes, people started talking about this segment. Many praised Maine Mendoza for taking the issue seriously while at the same time criticized Joey de Leon for mocking said condition.

‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘Juan for All, All for Juan’ segment is no stranger to tackling real-life issues among its winners. And while some portions of the segment feature the usual sense of humor among its hosts, reality continues to be the focal point, something that the show should always take seriously.

GMA Tries Again with Bossing & Ai + The Lolas’ Beautiful Show

‘Never stop trying!’

It has been the motto for GMA these past several years. The odds have not always been great for the network, but give them credit for continuing to compete despite these insurmountable obstacles.

Remember the time when ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ was so unbeatable that GMA had no choice but to stop competing against it? For years, the ABS-CBN late-night variety show proved to be GMA’s Achilles heel, and each time GMA tried to answer with a show of their own, ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ always shoves them out of the door.

But it seems like ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ has seen better days of late due to the presence of ABS-CBN’s reality and talent shows (e.g. ‘Pinoy Big Brother’). Sensing that the show’s ratings is on a downward trend, GMA decided to create a new show in ‘Bossing & Ai’ in an attempt to finally bring down ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ from its perch.

‘Bossing & Ai’ premiered last night and is a game show starring Vic Sotto and Ai-ai delas Alas as leaders of two groups of contestants. They are joined by Jose Manalo, Tart Carlos and game master Oyo Sotto.

In essence, ‘Bossing & Ai”s competition with ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ is an extension of the ‘Eat Bulaga’-‘It’s Showtime’ rivalry, of which Vic Sotto and Vice Ganda are the respective hosts. Still, it remains to be seen if ‘Bossing & Ai’ will live up to its promise of taking down ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ for good.

Speaking of ‘Eat Bulaga’, the d’Explorer sisters of ‘Kalyeserye’ will have a talk show of their own. Beginning today at 11:30 a.m., Jose Manalo (as Lola Tinidora), Paolo Ballesteros (as Lola Tidora) and Wally Bayola (as Lola Nidora) will host ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’.

The new talk show will replace ‘TROPS’, the coming-of-age drama series starring ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘BAES’ (Kenneth Medrano, Kim Last, Jon Timmons, Tommy Penaflor, Miggy Tolentino, and Joel Palencia). ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’ will mark TAPE’s first venture into the talk show genre since ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’ from 2013-15.

But unlike ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’, ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’ will be pre-taped as Jose, Paolo and Wally also serve as on-location hosts of ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘Juan for All, All for Juan’ segment. This means there will be no live transition from one show to the next.

‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’ would have been a perfect show to compete against the ABS-CBN morning talk show ‘Magandang Buhay’, especially now that GMA’s slate of animes are declining in popularity. Instead, the talk show will be placed as part of TAPE’s mandated 11:30-2:30 p.m. block and will go up against ‘Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin’.

Whether or not ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’ will be a factor in the game remains to be seen. But as far as GMA, M-ZET and TAPE are concerned, there’s nothing wrong about continuing to try despite the odds.

Kalyeserye Now an Independent Segment of Eat Bulaga

A subtle change took place this week on ‘Eat Bulaga’.

Last Friday, viewers took notice of a new Kalyeserye opening billboard. That’s right, for the first time ever, Kalyeserye is credited with its own segment and in the process, no longer considers itself a sub-segment of Juan for All, All for Juan.

The change became official in time for the ‘wedding’ special the following day. After that, the independence continued once the storyline shifts into the married lives of Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards’ characters.

During Kalyeserye’s initial run, ‘Eat Bulaga’ credited the skit under the Juan for All, All for Juan name, despite the fact that it was an entirely different segment with its own logo. At first, Kalyeserye took place in the beginning and end of the Juan for All, All for Juan segment, before it was given its own spot in the show.

Although Kalyeserye became a separate portion of the show, the Juan for All, All for Juan opening billboard remained in use. This confused viewers for the most part, since the Juan for All, All for Juan segment refers entirely to the ‘sugod-bahay’ and ‘bayanihan’ portions of it.

The confusion continued once Kalyeserye was revived with the ‘marriage’ storyline. Again, ‘Eat Bulaga’ credited the skit under the Juan for All, All for Juan name, and in its initial episodes, Kalyeserye was slotted at the beginning of the skit; only this time, there is no break for the ‘sugod-bahay’ and ‘bayanihan’ portions, which air afterwards.

In the end, upon realizing the chaos that they were presenting, ‘Eat Bulaga’ finally relented and gave Kalyeserye it own opening billboard. Afterwards, it was placed in the second part of the show, leaving Juan for All, All for Juan to occupy the final portion.

The change also enabled Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola and Paolo Ballesteros to play the roles of Tinidora, Nidora and Tidora during Kalyeserye, and then change into their regular selves for Juan for All, All for Juan. Pretty clever indeed.

With Kalyeserye now an independent production of ‘Eat Bulaga’, one can only hope that this setup will continue as long as the viewers love it. After all, the show is about ‘bayanihan’, and putting things in orderly fashion is a perfect way to satisfy the viewers’ demands.