Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko Brings Fantasy Back to GMA

GMA will once again go the fantasy route this Sunday night.

After fusing comedy and adventure with ‘Tsuperhero’, the network decided to take a more magical approach. This led to a new program called ‘Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko’, starring Ms. Gloria Romero, Jillian Ward, David Remo, Julius Miguel and Chlaui Malayao.

In ‘Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko’, Lola Goreng (Ms. Gloria) acts as the narrator alongside her grandchildren Alice (Jillian) and Elvis (David), an orphan named Moira (Chlaui) and another child named Jorrel (Julius). Each episode will feature value-filled and playful stories that people of all ages will enjoy.

‘Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko’ will also feature special celebrity guests during each episode. For the pilot, Marian Rivera will appear as a guest for the week.

GMA is no stranger to the world of primetime fantasy programs, with shows such as ‘Okay Ka Fairy Ko’, ‘Mga Mahiwagang Baul’ and ‘One Day Isang Araw’ among the most notable examples. If ‘Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko’ seems familiar to the average viewer, it is that they are once again using the power of an elderly woman to tell a story.

But while GMA has produced some memorable fantasy programs, the network has not been able to replicate the success of ABS-CBN’s long-running fantasy anthology ‘Wansapanatym’. After all, this show has long dominated Sunday nights for over a decade.

Even worse for GMA is the fact that they have not figured out a way to win during Sunday primetime. In the case of ‘Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko’, their potential opponents ‘The Voice Teens’ and ‘Wansapanatym’ are considered top-raters every Sunday night, thus adding to the endless expectations that the show is about to experience.

That said, GMA can only hope that ‘Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko’ will give their viewers something more relevant and enthusiastic to offer. The onus is now on this show to make an impact.

‘Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko’ airs every Sunday starting April 30 on GMA.

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FTT Year 2013 in Review: GMA

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2014, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article will focus on the GMA Network, which had a rather abysmal performance this year.

The Positives

There have been a few bright spots for the Kapuso network. ‘Bubble Gang‘, ‘Eat Bulaga‘ and ‘Startalk‘ continued to impress in the ratings on their 18th year. ‘Pepito Manaloto‘ and ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho‘ became social media stars, and ‘I-Witness’ racked up nominations on various international award-giving bodies. They even gained notoriety by unveiling eight-year-old child star Ryzza Mae Dizon as host of her eponymous talk show.

But perhaps GMA’s most important contribution of the year was ‘My Husband’s Lover’, whose same-sex relationship storyline was both praised and derided by critics during its run. The network also scored big with Megan Young‘s victory at the 2013 Miss World and Manny Pacquiao‘s win over Brandon Rios.

GMA’s other network News TV 11 branched into the teleserye genre with ‘Bayan Ko’ and ‘Titser’, with both series earning critical and commercial acclaim. Despite the fact that both programs were uncharacteristic of a typical all-news network, its political and socially conscious storylines made it an appropriate choice to air on the said network.

The Negatives

Teleseryes like the revived ‘Anna Karenina’, ‘Indio’, ‘Kahit Nasaan Ka Man’ and ‘Love & Lies’ didn’t even last at least six months, and despite the success of ‘My Husband’s Lover’, none of the other teleseryes clicked with viewers. GMA also tried to place a kiligserye (‘With a Smile’) in the morning slot, but it didn’t work out either.

On weekends, ‘Party Pilipinas‘, ‘Extra Challenge‘, ‘Teen Gen‘, ‘Dormitoryo’, ‘Hot TV’, ‘One Day Isang Araw’, and ‘Para Sa ‘Yo Ang Laban Na ‘To’ became victims of GMA’s continued purging of that slot. Eventually GMA resorted to airing four movie blocks on weekends in order to save costs. But the truth is, a majority of GMA programs have been extremely lackluster of late, and as a result of declining ratings and ad sales, its revenue declined from last year.

Worse, GMA programs ‘Bubble Gang’, ‘Unang Hirit’, ‘Party Pilipinas’ and ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’ were summoned by the MTRCB for indecent episodes. Even sister network News TV 11 suffered thanks to repetitive public affairs programs and unconventional movie blocks.

Outlook

So what’s next for GMA? They are expected to unveil a trio of new teleseryes starring Jennylyn Mercado (‘Rhodora X’), Marian Rivera (‘Carmela’) and Louise delos Reyes (‘Kambal Sirena’) in the new year. However, with its rival continuing to push the envelope thanks to its younger roster of stars and newly-acquired television franchises, GMA is again under pressure to improve its lackluster 2013 showing. And with its lack of purpose and ability to adapt and change haunting them, it looks like GMA is poised for another down year.

Ryan vs. Juday on Saturday Nights

Despite their status as a married couple, Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos have different loyalties, which will be emphasized when the two celebrities’ programs face off this Saturday night.

It’s difficult to avoid pitting celebrity couples against each other for ratings, and this couple is no exception. In case you missed the point, read this previous article about one-time dating couple Jennylyn Mercado and Luis Manzano and the programs they host opposite each other during weekday mornings.

Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos have been married for four years, but both ply their trade on opposite sides of the most heated broadcasting rivalry today. Agoncillo was bred to be a Kapuso, rising from the ranks as a host in ‘Unang Hirit‘ before earning his stripes as a mainstay of ‘Eat Bulaga‘, with several stints as a Kapamilya and Kapatid talent in between. Meanwhile Santos was groomed to be a Kapamilya, starting with a breakthrough role in ‘Mara Clara‘ until her various roles in successful primetime teleseryes earned her the tag of ‘Queen of Pinoy Soap Operas’.

Beginning this Saturday Agoncillo and Santos will be pitted against each other in the same timeslot. Juday’s current project ‘Bet on Your Baby’ has been on the air for over a month now, and is raking in high ratings since its debut. In response, GMA created their own game show with a theme capitalizing on the ‘selfie’ craze. The new show will be titled ‘Picture! Picture!’, with Ryan taking over the hosting job.

‘Picture! Picture!’ will replace the children’s fantasy program ‘One Day Isang Araw’, which unfortunately flopped against ‘Bet on Your Baby’ and previously ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal‘ in its timeslot. With ‘Picture! Picture!’ GMA now has two game shows on a Saturday night, the other being ‘Celebrity Bluff‘ hosted by Eugene Domingo, Jose Manalo and a guest host.

Despite the decision of the GMA management to pit ‘Picture! Picture!’ against ‘Bet on Your Baby’, Ryan has stated that there is no personal rivalry between him and his wife, and insisted that their shows are about ‘good competition’. And why not? Both shows have interesting formats and approaches which should keep audiences thrilled with every move.

The ratings war between ‘Picture! Picture!’ and ‘Bet on Your Baby’ should be a good one, not only because it pits a celebrity couple like Ryan and Juday, but it also raises the bar for game shows to follow.