For 37 years, ‘Eat Bulaga’ was known for its innovative and groundbreaking segments.
Some of their most famous portions have become synonymous with the show; examples include Little Miss Philippines, That’s My Boy, Laban o Bawi, Pinoy Henyo and Juan for All, All for Juan. However, they recently took a further step back by introducing this ridiculous segment.
Earlier this year, ‘Eat Bulaga’ brought the game of rock-paper-scissors (or in Filipino, Jack en Poy) to the show and billed it as the ‘most serious’ game ever. Enter the infamous Jackpot En Poy segment.
In this game, four people who represent a particular color section of the audience (red, green, yellow, blue) go one-on-one in the game of rock-paper-scissors. The first round winners then face off in the finals, after which that round’s winner gets a chance to play in the jackpot round against a select team of ‘Eat Bulaga’ hosts, each with a particular prize money allotted to them.
To make the game ‘serious’, ‘Eat Bulaga’ brought in Gov Lloyd as its ‘referee’, while a guest judge takes a look at violations that took place during the segment. Initially, Jose Manalo, Paolo Ballesteros, Wally Bayola and Maine Mendoza were brought in as ‘judges’, but after only a few episodes, they were reassigned to do another segment.
While the Jackpot En Poy segment typically used regular audience members as players, the more recent episodes featured none other than guest celebrities from different fields. For instance, the March 25 installment of Jackpot En Poy saw Senators Sonny Angara, JV Ejercito, Gringo Honasan and Manny Pacquiao play the said game.
Despite its ‘serious’ yet ‘entertaining’ nature, the segment proved to be ‘Eat Bulaga”s weakest and most desperate segment yet. Let’s face it, rock-paper-scissors is a simple game, but once ‘Eat Bulaga’ added some shenanigans to make it appear like it was innovated, this act only alienated a more vocal section of the audience.
It is no secret that the ratings of ‘Eat Bulaga’ continues to fall with each episode. The fact of the matter is, this noontime show is now on the twilight of its run, and with ‘It’s Showtime”s emergence, it appears that the torch has finally been passed.
Sorry, Jackpot En Poy, but this segment does not deserve a place on ‘Eat Bulaga’ lore. Let’s just hope that it will be good riddance to this simple yet ridiculous skit.
From the Tube 