In 100 Words: Drama Flicks on Jeepney TV

Drama films are not on CineMo’s vocabulary.

So when Jeepney TV was finally included on ABS-CBN TVPlus last week, there was some solace for viewers who were handcuffed by CineMo’s limited film selection. Not only does Jeepney TV air a selection of classic ABS-CBN programs, they also have a vintage movie block called ‘Pasada Pelikula’ every Saturday.

Last Saturday Jeepney TV aired ‘Bituin Walang Ningning’ which is infamous for Cherie Gil’s ‘You’re nothing but a second-rate, trying hard copycat’ catchphrase. Such a tearjerking film will not fit well into CineMo’s style but luckily for viewers, Jeepney TV has it all covered.

This Saturday, ‘Pasada Pelikula’ will air ‘Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin’ which also starred Sharon Cuneta. If ABS-CBN were to decide on Jeepney TV’s fate on TVPlus come 2019, retaining it should do wonders.

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Gina Lopez’s G Diaries This Sunday on ABS-CBN

Gina Lopez has come home.

After a controversial 10-month run as environment secretary, Lopez embarks on a new role, that of a television personality. Her 13-episode series, ‘G Diaries’, serves as a platform of her past experience, as she dives deep into the country’s most scenic locations while continuing to advocate environmental protection.

As previously mentioned, ‘G Diaries’ is a homecoming of sorts for Lopez. Prior to her stint as environment secretary, Lopez served a variety of roles within the ABS-CBN family, most notably as managing director of the Lingkod Kapamilya foundation.

In ‘G Diaries’, Lopez pays a visit into some of the country’s must-see attractions, and along the way she will meet new friends and talk about preserving the environment. According to Lopez herself,

“‘G Diaries’ seeks not only to entertain viewers and promote the Philippines as a majestic travel destination but also to inform and incite action, for everyone to be part of the collective effort to preserve the environment and bequeath it in its healthiest state to the next generation.”

All 13 episodes of ‘G Diaries’ will be directed by esteemed Hollywood director, producer and writer Wil Harper. The series will kick off with a signature prelude film featuring celebrities such as Sharon Cuneta, Eddie Garcia and Charo Santos-Concio.

While ‘G Diaries’ may be just another travel program, there is one aspect of the show that is worth looking at. Not only will viewers see some new destinations, but they will also look at the environmental and aesthetic aspect that each locale presents.

That said, awareness of one’s surroundings is put to a premium in this series. And for those who want to become environmentalists someday, this show is worth watching.

The premiere episode of ‘G Diaries’ will air this Sunday before ‘ASAP’, after which it will air every Saturday at 8:00 a.m. on ABS-CBN. The series will also be seen on Lifestyle Network and the ABS-CBN News Channel.

Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids Finale This Sunday, Plus The Voice Teens Next Week

Palm and Easter Sunday will have a respective finale and a premiere of two hit ABS-CBN talent shows.

On Palm Sunday weekend, ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ will officially close the curtain on its first season. The finale will see all eight celebrity kids duke it out one last time for a chance to become this season’s grand winner.

Premiering on January 7, 2017, ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ became the latest in a series of hit talent shows on the Kapamilya network. Much of its success has to do with the eight celebrity kids and their uncanny ability to replicate the mannerisms of the artists they imitate.

Whether they cheer for AC Bonifacio, Awra Briguela, Justin Alva, Alonzo Muhlach, Elha Nympha, Lyca Gairanod, Sam Shoaf or Xia Vigor, they were rewarded with memorable performances that are both astonishing and unreal. It is these visual images which made ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids’ a hit to all audiences.

Come this Sunday, only one of them will win it all. That said, good luck to the eight celebrity kids in their quest to become the grand winner.

Then on Easter Sunday, ‘The Voice Teens’ Philippines (only the second in the franchise after Colombia) premieres on ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar”s vacated slot. This latest season of ‘The Voice of the Philippines’ franchise will inherit the same team of judges that presided in Season 3 of ‘The Voice Kids’, save for one returning judge.

After not taking part in Season 3 of ‘The Voice Kids’ due to her busy performing schedule, Sarah Geronimo decided to return to the judges’ table for ‘The Voice Teens’. She will join holdovers Lea Salonga, Sharon Cuneta and Bamboo Mañalac.

As for the hosts of ‘The Voice Teens’, it will be Luis Manzano and Toni Gonzaga who will take the helm. Auditions for this new season took place earlier this year, and the first few episodes of ‘The Voice Teens’ will show some of the highlights leading up to the blind auditions.

‘The Voice Teens’ will air every Saturday after ‘Home Sweetie Home’ (the first Saturday episode will be seen on April 22), and every Sunday after ‘Goin’ Bulilit’ on ABS-CBN.

Celebrity Kids to Take Over New Season of Your Face Sounds Familiar

The kids are coming to ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ this weekend.

Season 3 of the ABS-CBN reality talent show will have a new twist, as the child stars of the Kapamilya network take center stage in one of the cutest and most entertaining seasons yet. The eight kids who will be part of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar: Kids’ are:

• AC Bonifacio – the ‘Dance Sweetheart’
• Alonzo Muhlach – the ‘Bibong Child Wonder’
• Awra Briguela – the ‘Breakout Child Star’
• Elha Nympha – the ‘Big Shot Belter’
• Justin Alva – the ‘Musikerong Charmer’
• Lyca Gairanod – the ‘Young Diva ng Masa’
• Sam Shoaf – the ‘Talented Cutie’
• Xia Vigor – the ‘Daytime Princess’

Each of these young stars will undergo serious vocal, acting and dance training, as well as a makeup transformation, in order to perform like the idol that they will imitate. Every episode will see a winner crowned via a point tally, and he/she will earn a specific cash prize, half of which goes to the charity of their choosing.

By the end of this season, the grand winner will join Melai Cantiveros and Denise Laurel in the winner’s circle. Overall, the format of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ remains the same, save for the ages of the contestants.

The new season of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ will also have a new face in the panel of judges. Enter Ogie Alcasid, the recently-acquired Kapamilya talent who has long been renowned for his musical prowess.

Ogie will join holdovers Sharon Cuneta and Gary Valenciano in the judges’ table. As for the presenter of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’, it will still be Billy Crawford.

The first two seasons of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ proved to be runaway hits thanks to the unique approach that the show took. As the kids take center stage this weekend, one can only hope that the third season will be just as exciting and entertaining as the first two.

‘Your Face Sounds Familiar: Kids’ airs every Saturday after ‘Home Sweetie Home’, and every Sunday after ‘Goin’ Bulilit’.

ABS-CBN, GMA Christmas Station IDs Premiere Tonight

Once again, ABS-CBN and GMA have something in store for the holidays.

Tonight at around 8:00 p.m., the two broadcast giants will premiere their annual Christmas station IDs on a near-simultaneous basis. As it has been customary in past years, celebrities and news personalities will star in this short-form video.

The slogan for ABS-CBN’s 2016 Christmas station ID will be ‘Isang Pamilya Tayo Ngayong Pasko’. On the other hand, GMA’s slogan for their Christmas station ID will be ‘Maniwala sa Magic ng Pasko’.

ABS-CBN’s preparations have been in full swing since mid-October. The network released a five-minute recording video of their Christmas station ID on YouTube, which garnered over a million views on YouTube and became a constant trending topic on social media.

The video starred ‘The Voice Kids’ judges Lea Salonga, Sarah Geronimo, Bamboo, and Sharon Cuneta, and former finalists Joshua Oliveros, Lyca Gairanod, Elha Nympha, and Antonnette Tismo. All of them are expected to appear in the actual Christmas station ID later tonight.

Meanwhile, GMA decided to make their preparations for this year’s Christmas station ID as low-key as possible. Last year, Alden Richards sang their Christmas theme; this year it will be Julie Ann San Jose who will lead the way.

GMA will also use 3D-computerized animation for their station ID, a first in Philippine television. But it remains to be seen if GMA’s celebrities and news personalities will be present for the occasion.

The contrasting preparations of the two networks should give the viewers an idea as to who’s Christmas station ID will make the biggest noise. Obviously, with GMA’s low-key approach to their Christmas station ID, ABS-CBN should have an advantage.

Nevertheless, come 7:00 p.m. later tonight, both ABS-CBN and GMA should put out a show for everyone. After all, this is a season of giving.

ABS-CBN’s Christmas station ID will be shown simultaneously on ABS-CBN Channel 2 and its affiliate free TV, digital and cable channels. GMA’s Christmas station ID, on the other hand, will air on both Channel 7 and GMA News TV.

TV5 A Wreck Under the MVP Ownership

Manny V. Pangilinan’s ambitious ventures turned out to be disastrous for TV5, and the network is now on an identity crisis. (Photo credit: Philstar.com)

Any improvement on TV5 is now an impossible dream.

In just two weeks, TV5 went from being a promising station to a shell of its former self. Even sister station AksyonTV is feeling the sting of TV5’s seeming downfall.

Much of the blame is centered on its owner, Manny V. Pangilinan. The businessman known as MVP purchased TV5 back in 2010 and was promised to improve the station in a few years’ time.

But instead of upgrading its signal strength and nationwide reach (a weakness of the then-ABC 5 during the ownership of Tonyboy Cojuangco), Pangilinan chose to revamp TV5’s programming and facilities in order to better compete with ABS-CBN and GMA. Unfortunately, MVP’s ambitious moves did not result in immediate success, and TV5 soon encountered turbulence.

TV5 first tried to form its own stable of artists (mostly veterans like Sharon Cuneta and Willie Revillame), and produced some programs that could have given ABS-CBN and GMA a run for their money. It failed, and not even the intervention of Vic del Rosario and VIVA Entertainment made a difference.

The Kapatid network then acquired the broadcast rights to some big-name sporting events (e.g. PBA, Olympics, FIBA World Cup) and even managed to strike a blocktime deal with IBC-13 (named AKTV) to aid in his quest. However, AKTV was a financial failure, and Sports5 had no choice but to air them on TV5 and AksyonTV, which proved to be detrimental to both networks.

Next in TV5’s agenda was the improvement of its news division, thus the establishment of AksyonTV and Radyo5 92.3 News FM. Despite the numerous awards given to them, News5 was criticized for its overemphasis on tabloid-style news reporting, as well as mismanagement from within.

Finally, TV5 invested in the satellite subscription service Cignal, and by 2015, it reached its target of 1 million subscribers. Still, its channel lineup remains paltry in comparison to its older cable competitor SkyCable.

Overall, the attempt to turn TV5 into a broadcast giant in the mold of ABS-CBN and GMA turned out to be a failure. Today, their programming as a whole is back to what the Cojuangco-era ABC 5 used to air, with a lot of TV shopping blocks, imported programming and movies, and in the case of Radyo5 92.3 News FM, too many vacant slots.

Now that TV5 is back to where they started, what will be the next move for MVP? Having wasted a lot of money making some ambitious yet unsuccessful ventures, it’s about time for his network to tear down and start over, or else the inevitability of bankruptcy or sale will soon hang over his head.

The next move starts now, MVP. Do the right thing and save TV5 from collapse.