Controversial PBB Season to End Sunday; StarStruck to Revive Anew

Good news for the critics of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’.

‘Pinoy Big Brother: All In’, by far ranked as one of the most controversial seasons in the history of the series, will end its run by crowning a grand winner at this Sunday’s ‘Big Night’ inside Resorts World Manila. Prior to the event, however, there will be another eviction night on Saturday to determine the final four contestants, that is if Big Brother can make yet another twist.

As of August 21, only five contestants remain inside the Big Brother house. They are: Jane Oineza, Loisa Andalo, Maris Racal, Vickie Rushton, and Daniel Matsunaga.

All of the remaining contestants, save for Matsunaga, were part of the original cast of housemates that were introduced on April 27. Meanwhile, Matsunaga only entered as a housemate on May 17.

The latest season of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ will always be remembered for some of these moments:

1. Netizens’ cries of ‘scripted’ amid the selection of celebrities for ‘All In’

2. The Jayme Jalandoni nude painting task that drew the ire of the MTRCB and various women’s groups

3. Fifth Pagotan’s bisexual revelation

4. Alex Gonzaga’s journey from host to housemate and then to houseguest

5. Nichole Baranda’s controversial ‘middle finger’ photo

6. Overrealiance on houseguests (e.g. ex-housemates Robi Domingo, John Prats) for ratings purposes

7. Cess Visitacion’s forced eviction for numerous violations

Overall, the latest season of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ has controversy written all over it. Still, except more shocking twists and turns as ‘All In’ wraps up this Sunday.

Meanwhile…

GMA Plans Another Season of StarStruck

‘StarStruck’, long considered to be ‘dead’ thanks to the emergence of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’, is currently being revived by GMA Network for a sixth season.

The reality talent search series was last seen in 2010,  when the group of Sarah Lahbati, Rocco Nacino and Sef Cadayona led the way. However, that proved to be ‘StarStruck”s last season to date, as ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ and other reality shows on ABS-CBN began to gain headway over GMA’s later reality programs.

Then in August of this year, teasers for ‘StarStruck’ began to air on the network during commercials, featuring the phrase ‘DBS AGAIN’. Clearly, they are referring to ‘StarStruck”s slogan which is ‘Dream, Believe, Survive’.

Anyone who grew sick and tired of ‘Pinoy Big Brother”s antics and twists will look forward to ‘StarStruck”s return. After all, they were the original reality artista search on Philippine television. Not even PBB can attest to ‘StarStruck”s reputation in building future stars.

‘StarStruck’ is definitely a great first step in restoring the reputation of the GMA Artist Center, which has been severely rocked by numerous rumors and controversies. But first, they must restructure GMAAC’s management in order to make it run efficiently, otherwise the upcoming season of ‘StarStruck’ will be a total joke.

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The Return of Talentadong Pinoy

‘Talentadong Pinoy’, now hosted by Robin Padilla and Mariel Rodriguez, returns to TV5 this Saturday. (Logo courtesy of ABC Development Corporation)

One of TV5’s most beloved programs returns for a new season.

‘Talentadong Pinoy’, TV5’s premier talent show, will make its much-awaited comeback this Saturday. The program, which was one of the few remnants of TV5’s ‘Shake Mo TV Mo’ era, appeared to have been cancelled after airing the Worldwide Battle Royale last year. But hints of a return began to surface early this year, which was later confirmed by TV5.

The revived ‘Talentadong Pinoy’, however, will not have the services of original host Ryan Agoncillo , who signed a non-exclusive contract with GMA and is currently appearing on ‘Ismol Family’ and TAPE’s ‘Eat Bulaga’. When asked about the return of ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ and the possibility of him returning as host, Agoncillo indicated that he has no intention of returning to ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ anytime soon.

Instead, the hosting duties for ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ now fall into the hands of Robin Padilla and Mariel Rodriguez. The recently married showbiz couple were no strangers to hosting, having been a part of Willie Revillame’s noontime programs in the past.

With a new host comes a new cast of talented individuals who will try to impress the judges and the television audience. Auditions for ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ were held throughout the months of May and June, and the aforementioned talents will be revealed in the coming episodes.

That said, the expectations are high for the new hosts to deliver ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ to the similar, if not higher levels of succees enjoyed in the Ryan Agoncillo era. Whether or not they can take the show to the next level remains to be seen.

‘Talentadong Pinoy’ returns this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. on TV5.

Bet ng Bayan: A Future Flop in the Making?

Auditions for GMA’s upcoming reality talent show ‘Bet ng Bayan’ are currently ongoing. (Logo courtesy of GMA Network)

Despite the clear signs of decline on the part of the GMA Artist Center, the network remains defiant in its attempt to hone new stars.

Thus, another attempt at a reality talent show was conceptualized.

Enter ‘Bet ng Bayan’, GMA’s latest attempt at finding new artists and performers. The upcoming reality program will be hosted by Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and Alden Richards, and it will premiere either this August or September.

Auditions for ‘Bet ng Bayan’ are currently ongoing in various parts of the country, and will run until the first week of August.  The show will feature solo, duo, and group singers, dancers, and novelty performers over 15 years old.

Let’s face it, ‘Bet ng Bayan’ is essentially a copycat of ABS-CBN’s ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ and TV5’s ‘Talentadong Pinoy’. While GMA claims that ‘Bet ng Bayan’ is an original concept of theirs, it is clear that they borrowed several aspects of ‘PGT’ and ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ into their reality talent program.

It is also clear that ‘Bet ng Bayan’ is just another move by GMA to replenish their weekend lineup. Already decimated by numerous lineup changes and four movie blocks, they now hope that ‘Bet ng Bayan’ will be their saving grace to their weekend woes. But with ABS-CBN continuing to impose their will on the opposition, it will be an even tougher task for ‘Bet ng Bayan’ to achieve, considering that GMA’s previous weekend reality talent show ‘Protege’ failed to attract viewers during its two-season run.

The producers of ‘Bet ng Bayan’ are definitely under pressure to make the series work. And with GMA’s current roster of artists struggling to stay relevant, they hope that fresh blood will come with this program. However, it remains to be seen if ‘Bet ng Bayan’ can really deliver ‘the next big star’.