Precious Hearts Revival Series Continues with Los Bastardos

From ‘Araw Gabi’ to ‘Los Bastardos’.

On Monday, the revived ‘Precious Hearts Romances’ series will continue with a second pocketbook adaptation in ‘Los Bastardos’. And much like its predecessor ‘Araw Gabi’, ‘Los Bastardos’ will showcase mature and sensual themes that is typical of the ‘Precious Hearts Romances’ franchise.

‘Araw Gabi’, which starred JM de Guzman, Barbie Imperial, Phoebe Walker, Jane Oineza, Vina Morales, Rita Avila, and Raymond Bagatsing among others, premiered on April 30 and will air its 119th and final episode later today. The series enjoyed a decent run with an average of around 15% in the ratings.

‘Araw Gabi”s satisfactory performance prompted ABS-CBN to continue with the ‘Precious Hearts Romances’ adaptations. This time, five of the Kapamilya network’s male heartthrobs will grace the small screen with ‘Los Bastardos’.

‘Los Bastardos’ will be led by Jake Cuenca, Diego Loyzaga, Marco Gumabao, Albie Casiño, and Joshua Colet, who will play five brothers born and raised by one father (Ronaldo Valdez) and five different women who fell in love with him. The series will look at how these five half-brothers discover their origins and fight for the right and power of his family.

Based on the Precious Hearts Romances pocketbook ‘Cardinal Bastards’, ‘Los Bastardos’ tells the story of Don Roman (Ronaldo), a rich man who lived a happy life with a small family. But a severe tragedy forces him to make love with four different woman which will bear him four different sons to go along with a fifth from his own family.

The five brothers are Isagani (Jake), his long-lost son from his first love; Joaquin (Diego), the only son who will grow up under his care; Marco (Matteo), who will grow up alongside Don Roman’s rival family; Connor (Joshua), a conman hellbent on destroying Don Ramon’s wealth; and Lucas (Albie), who grows up not knowing about the man he serves is his own father.

Also part of ‘Los Bastardos’ are Marijoy Apostol, Mica Javier, Jane Oineza, Maxine Medina, Ritz Azul, and Kylie Verzosa. Completing the supporting cast are Perla Bautista, Ana Abad Santos, Joyce Ann Burton, Pinky Amador, Jeffrey Santos, Isabel Rivas, Lito Pimentel, Rosanna Roces and Bert Reyes.

For what it’s worth, ‘Los Bastardos’ will have its hands full following up the success of ‘Araw Gabi’. But if there is any indication about Kapamilya Gold’s recent streak of good fortune, expect this series to do just fine.

‘Los Bastardos’ airs weekdays after ‘Kadenang Ginto’ on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold.

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A History of Vic Sotto Sitcoms (Part 1)

The cast of ‘Okay Ka, Fairy Ko’ nearly 30 years after it first aired. Tweetie de Leon was the second actress to play the role of Faye. (Photo credit: Allan K Official Instagram)

It has been nearly 30 years since Vic Sotto left the shadows of TVJ and became a star himself.

On Sunday, June 19, his newest sitcom ‘Hay, Bahay!’ will officially premiere on GMA. This will mark Vic Sotto’s eighth sitcom as a solo artist, and ninth overall.

While he was better known as 1/3 of the fabled trio TVJ alongside Tito Sotto and Joey de Leon, and the host of ‘Eat Bulaga’, it was his individual comedic brilliance on television and film that cemented his legacy. Without further ado, let’s look back at his solo sitcoms over the years (in chronological order), starting with the first four on the list.

1. Okay Ka, Fairy Ko! (1987-97)

Aired on: IBC-13 (1987-89), ABS-CBN (1989-95), GMA (1995-97)

Notable co-stars: Aiza Seguerra, Alice Dixson, Tweetie de Leon, Dawn Zulueta, Charito Solis, Jinky Oda, Ruby Rodriguez, Larry Silva

The sitcom that started it all, ‘Okay Ka, Fairy Ko’ introduced viewers to Enteng Kabisote, the mechanic-turned-husband of the fairy Faye. The character then went on to star in nine box-office hit movies based on the sitcom.

2. 1 For 3 (1997-2001)

Aired on: GMA

Notable co-stars: Ai-ai delas Alas, Charlene Gonzales, Rosanna Roces, Nanette Inventor, Imee Marcos, Allan K, Mickey Ferriols

Believe it or not, ‘Hay, Bahay’ is not the first sitcom to star both Vic Sotto and Ai-ai delas Alas. When Charlene Gonzales left ‘1 For 3’ to host ABS-CBN’s ‘Keep on Dancing’, Ai-ai was introduced in the sitcom as one of Gene’s (Vic) housemates.

3. Daddy Di Do Du (2001-07)

Aired on: GMA

Notable co-stars: Danica Sotto, Maxene Magalona, Isabelle de Leon, Cindy Kurleto, Redford White, Ruby Rodriguez, Joonee Gamboa, Jose Manalo, Paolo Ballesteros, Nida Blanca

The first sitcom to feature Vic and daughter Danica, ‘Daddy Di Do Du’ was the second in Vic’s sitcom filmography to feature a mystical theme. Unfortunately, just a few months into the sitcom’s run, Nida Blanca was murdered, and her character was written off afterwards.

4. Ful Haus (2007-09)

Aired on: GMA

Notable co-stars: Pia Guanio, Jose Manalo, BJ Forbes, Joonee Gamboa, Marissa Delgado, Mitoy Yonting, Sugar Mercado

Based on the Koreanovela ‘Full House’, ‘Ful Haus’ marked the debut of child star BJ Forbes, whose claim to fame was via the Tide detergent commercials as ‘Tolits’. This was also the first project for Mitoy Yonting prior to winning season 1 of ‘The Voice of the Philippines’ several years later.

For Part 2 of A History of Vic Sotto sitcoms, click here.

Note: ‘Hay, Bahay!’ will air every Sunday after ’24 Oras Weekend’ on GMA. All of his sitcoms are property of M-Zet Productions.

1995 Flashback: Startalk Takes a Bow

1995 was a memorable year in Philippine television. As part of a year-long special, From the Tube will look back at a year full of historical debuts, unforgettable moments, and celebrated feats in the history of television in the country.

The final episode of ‘Startalk’ will air tomorrow afternoon.

After nearly 20 years of leading the showbiz talk show circuit, GMA realized that the time has come. Like ABS-CBN did when ‘The Buzz’ went off the air last April, GMA knows that the changing needs of its audience (e.g. social media, internet) would become a huge factor, and as result, they finally decided to let go of an institution that has served them well.

‘Startalk’ debuted on October 8, 1995 as a Sunday afternoon talk show, with Boy Abunda, Lolit Solis and Kris Aquino as its hosts. For the next three years, the show competed against ‘Showbiz Lingo’, but it became clear that ‘Startalk’ would never make its presence felt if it were to face another showbiz talk show.

Thus, in June 1998, ‘Startalk’ moved to Saturday afternoons (after ‘Eat Bulaga’), and it would remain that way for nearly 16 years. By then Kris Aquino left for ABS-CBN, and after Dawn Zulueta briefly filled in, ‘Startalk’ hired sexy star Rosanna Roces, and with her controversial antics, the show finally won the hearts of viewers nationwide.

‘Startalk’ suffered a slight dip in its audience when, in May 1999, Boy Abunda joined Kris Aquino at ABS-CBN to host another long-running showbiz talk show in ‘The Buzz’. They quickly recovered, however, when Butch Francisco replaced Boy, and for the next five years, the trio of Butch, Lolit and Osang would lead ‘Startalk’ to unprecedented heights.

Osang’s tenure came to an end in June 2004 after a series of controversies that culminated in a well-publicized feud with co-host Lolit Solis and Dra. Vicki Belo. After that, Butch and Lolit would be joined by the likes of Lorna Tolentino, Joey de Leon, Ricky Lo and Heart Evangelista for the remainder of the show’s run.

At almost the same time, ABS-CBN tried to counter ‘Startalk’ with a variety of showbiz talk shows on Saturday afternoons, none of which were able to win. It became clear that a rivalry between ‘Startalk’ and ‘The Buzz’ was something viewers would like to see, and in January 2014, ‘Startalk’ moved back to Sunday afternoons in order to face ‘The Buzz’ (albeit under the name of ‘Buzz ng Bayan’).

The experiment was a disaster, however, and after ‘Buzz ng Bayan’ reverted to ‘The Buzz’ name in May 2014, ‘Startalk’ moved back to Saturday afternoons, this time cutting the show’s duration by 45 minutes.. The declining ratings would only continue from there, and GMA realized the end was near.

On September 12, GMA announced that ‘Startalk’ will air its final episode. The said episode will feature a list of 20 questions submitted by netizens on ‘Startalk”s official Facebook, during which the hosts will answer each of them throughout the show.

‘Startalk’ will always be remembered as ‘The Only Showbiz Authority’, as well as the longest-running showbiz talk show in the country. But with the show finally taking a bow, it marked the end of an era, for ‘Startalk’ was the benchmark in which all other showbiz talk shows were measured.

A new era beckons in the showbiz industry. Thanks for the memories, ‘Startalk’.

Sundays Need Startalk Again

GMA 7‘s ‘Startalk‘ is currently the longest-running showbiz talk show in the Philippines today, but one must wonder why they do not air anymore on Sundays? It has been debated many times over the years, and it still continues today. With GMA 7’s late Sunday afternoon timeslot vacated after the cancellation of ‘HOT TV‘, I have to wonder if ‘Startalk’ needed to return to a Sunday timeslot. Before going to this discussion, here’s how the show started.

‘Startalk’ debuted on GMA 7 in 1995. The program originally competed head-on with ABS-CBN’s ‘Showbiz Lingo’ on a Sunday timeslot. That’s right, Startalk started their run on a Sunday. It soon gained a reputation for its explosive and hard-hitting reports on the lives of Filipino celebrities, that it gained the title “The Only Showbiz Authority”. But while it gained a significant fanbase and a controversial yet popular host in Rosanna Roces, in 1998 GMA 7 decided to move the show to a Saturday timeslot after Eat Bulaga, upon realizing they couldn’t beat ‘Showbiz Lingo’ on its timeslot. The move to Saturdays effectively killed off ABS-CBN’s efforts of airing a weekly drama series opposite ‘Startalk’. A year later however, ‘The Buzz‘ debuted as a replacement of ‘Showbiz Lingo’, and their first recruit turned out to be one of the original hosts of ‘Startalk’ in Boy Abunda.

From then on both ‘Startalk’ and ‘The Buzz’ dominated their respective timeslots, and along the way several competitors came and went, such as GMA 7’s ‘S-Files‘, ‘Showbiz Central‘ and ‘HOT TV’, and ABS-CBN’s ‘Showbiz Sabado’ ‘EK Channel’, ‘Entertainment Konek‘, ‘Entertainment Live‘, and TV5’s ‘Juicy’ and ‘Paparazzi’, neither of which were able to equal or surpass the viewing audience of ‘Startalk’ and ‘The Buzz’. Today the only other weekend showbiz talk show aside from the two is ABS-CBN’s ‘Showbiz Inside Report‘.

Soon after GMA 7’s cancellation of ‘HOT TV’, they have stayed away from producing a replacement showbiz talk show, instead airing Filipino-dubbed American films on the timeslot against ‘The Buzz’. GMA 7’s lack of effort replacing ‘HOT TV’ gave ‘The Buzz’ further headway in the ratings. With ‘The Buzz’ dominating, it may just be a matter of time before ‘Startalk’ returns to Sundays and start competing with ‘The Buzz’.  After all, the only showbiz talk show that can rival ‘The Buzz’ is ‘Startalk’ itself.

I think moving ‘Startalk’ to Sundays is the right deal. And moving it to an earlier timeslot after ‘Sunday All Stars’ will help showbiz aficionados get their fix earlier than what ‘The Buzz’ offers. I would rather see teen-oriented shows like ‘Teen Gen’ on a Saturday because it benefits teenagers more during their downtime. So moving ‘Startalk’ to Sundays should be good for GMA 7, and for the television audience as a whole.