Telenovelas Return Anew with TV5’s La Reina del Sur

The checkered recent history of the telenovela on Philippine television continues.

On Monday, August 22, TV5 will gamble on a Latin American drama to fill in the network’s sore spots. Enter ‘La Reina del Sur’, a hit 2011 telenovela which starred Kate del Castillo, Humberto Zurita, Rafael Amaya, Iván Sánchez, and Cristina Urgel.

‘La Reina del Sur’ was based on a novel written by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. The telenovela tells the story of a young Mexican woman who rose to become Southern Spain’s most notorious drug trafficker.

With a production budget of over $10 million, ‘La Reina del Sur’ was considered by home network Telemundo as its second most expensive telenovela ever produced. Despite the heavy costs, the series became a hit in the United States, dominating even some of the other programs on English-language networks, and went on to air 63 episodes.

In the Philippines, ‘La Reina del Sur’ will be the country’s first telenovela in over a year and a half. The most recent telenovela to air in the country was ‘Corazon Indomable’, which was aired on GMA early last year.

Considering the problems that faced more recent telenovelas, TV5 will be under pressure to air the entire 63-episode slate of ‘La Reina del Sur’. That said, barring any unnecessary edits to the series, telenovela fans can only hope that TV5 can stay committed to ‘La Reina del Sur’ for the duration of its run.

Otherwise, it will be another disgraceful exit for a genre that has seen better days in the Philippines. Good luck with that.

‘La Reina del Sur’ airs every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 5:15 p.m. on TV5.

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In 150 Words: The Walking Dead Arrives on TV5

It was only appropriate that ‘The Walking Dead’ will come to TV5.

The hit American suspense series, which also airs on FOX Asia and in Filipino on FOX Filipino, will make its free TV debut this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. on the Kapatid network. And to make it more interesting, people dressed as zombies made their way to various Metro Manila hotspots to promote the upcoming series.

Zombie Apocalypse: HAPPENING RIGHT NOW at the MRT Ayala Station 💀 #TWDonTV5

The Walking Dead, premieres Aug 18! pic.twitter.com/LQ2FBC815H

— TV5 (@TV5manila) August 8, 2016

The entry of ‘The Walking Dead’ seems fitting for TV5, since most of its programming now consists of TV shopping blocks, canned American shows and foreign movies. Still, don’t expect ‘The Walking Dead’ to air the same way it did on FOX Asia, as stringent MTRCB rules regarding violence and horror will come into play.

Hopefully ‘The Walking Dead’ will not be a one-timer on TV5 the same way sister show ‘Outcast’ did. If they can make it beyond week 1, that may help boost its confidence.

 

Is ‘Medyo Late Night’ Returning to TV5?

Signs of ‘The Medyo Late Night Show with Jojo A.”s return to TV5 were first revealed on the show’s Facebook account. (Photo credit: The Medyo Late Night Show with Jojo A. Official Facebook)

It’s been awhile since ‘The Medyo Late Night Show with Jojo A.’ went on air.

Jojo Alejar’s late-night show was last seen on GMA in December of last year, before taking its supposed periodical season hiatus. However, GMA decided not to renew its blocktime deal with JojoATV Productions, producers of the said show, without giving any reason behind it.

The departure of ‘Medyo Late Night’ from GMA leaves ‘The Tim Yap Show’ as the only remaining late-night weekday talk show of the network (the latter also airs on a seasonal basis). Meanwhile, the whereabouts of ‘Medyo Late Night”s new home were being revealed early this month.

On the Facebook page of ‘The Medyo Late Night Show with Jojo A.’, clues regarding the show’s possible return to TV5 were given in the cover photo. Hints of a red necktie and the word ‘Kapatid’ suggest that TV5 may once again play host to Jojo Alejar’s talk show.

The possibility of a return to TV5 was also fueled by the fact that Alejar continues to appear on the said network’s shows despite ‘Medyo Late Night”s brief stint with GMA. Alejar currently appears on the sitcom ‘Mac and Chiz’.

If it’s true that ‘Medyo Late Night’ will return to TV5 this year, the development should help the network’s programming a lot. The former Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon (KBO) block has been airing reruns for the past several months, and with irrelevance and repetition creeping over TV5’s late-night slot, it is time for a change of direction.

Replacing the defunct KBO block with ‘Medyo Late Night’ may be the tonic TV5 desperately needed in order to improve its shallow late-night lineup. And it should benefit them.

It remains to be seen if ‘Medyo Late Night’ will indeed rejoin TV5, but for a network so desperate to get rid of something irrelevant, this is the way to do it.

Remembering My MVP on TV5

The short-lived reality series ‘My MVP’ aired on TV5 from August to November 2008. (Photo credit: Glen Sibonga)

There was a time when TV5’s ‘MVP’ doesn’t stand for businessman Manny V. Pangilinan.

Upon losing the PBA broadcast rights to Solar Sports in 2008, they immediately conceived a show that would appease basketball fans to stay tuned to the network. And in August of that year, the ‘Ka-Shake’ network (they were not called the Kapatid network until Pangilinan’s purchase two years later) premiered the reality show ‘My MVP’.

Hosted by comedian Bayani Agbayani and former PBA player Jason Webb, ‘My MVP’ (MVP stands for Most Valuable Pinoy) featured amateur basketball players who were aspiring to make it to the professional ranks. PBA champion coach Norman Black supervised the ‘My MVP’ training camp.

From the nearly 3000 aspirants who auditioned, only twelve remained for the finale. They were: Luis Palaganas, Robby David, Alwin Elinon, Adrian Pellejera, Raymond Montaniel, Reneboy Banzali, Galen Cacha, Julio Magbanua, Jerry Orera, James Patrick Abugan, Leemore Boliver, and Gemar Isorena.

The ‘Final 12’, as they were known, comprised the My MVP team coached by Norman Black. They faced the PBA Legends of coach Ed Cordero in the series finale held at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City in November 2008.

The close battle saw the My MVP team narrowly beat the PBA Legends 109-101. Luis Palaganas was named the ‘My MVP’ winner while he joined Robby David, Alwin Elinon, Julio Magbanua and Leemore Boliver in the Mythical Five.

Unfortunately for ‘My MVP’, neither of the final 12 aspirants made it to the pro ranks. Winner Luis Palaganas did apply for the 2009 PBA Rookie Draft, but went undrafted and never played professionally.

There was no second season either, as TV5 elected to concentrate more on entertainment than sports programming for the remainder of the Tonyboy Cojuangco era. Bayani Agbayani returned to acting, Jason Webb resumed his role as a commentator for the PBA, while Norman Black devoted his energies to the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

It would have been interesting for TV5 under Manny V. Pangilinan to revive ‘My MVP’, considering that the network has renewed their ties to the PBA and have been fully devoted to the national team’s cause. But that is just a dream, at least for now.

In the end, ‘My MVP’ will be remembered for its unfulfilled promises. It was not a bad attempt, but it still didn’t deliver on its intended mission: to find the next great basketball star.

The End of TV5’s KBO, As We Know It

Since January 2015, reruns are now dominating what was once the ‘Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon’ block on TV5. The said block debuted in October 2013, but was deemphasized the following year. (Screenshot courtesy of TV5)

The ‘Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon’ block on TV5 is now a distant memory.

These days, the remnants of the KBO block, consisting of ‘Demolition Job’, ‘Numero’, ‘History with Lourd’, ‘Unang Tikim’, and ‘Astig’, air reruns of past episodes at 11:30 p.m., a far cry from the block’s early days. It is safe to say that the KBO block has run its course, and with it, comes the clear fact that the said block has become more irrelevant than ever.

Debuting in October 2013 as part of a new programming strategy of the Kapatid network, KBO is originally composed of the following programs:

• Demolition Job – hosted by Paolo Bediones
• Numero – hosted by Cheryl Cosim
• History with Lourd – hosted by Lourd de Veyra
• Dayo – hosted by Atty. Theresa Licaros
• Astig – hosted by Paolo Bediones

Upon the departure of Atty. Licaros from the network, ‘Dayo’ was replaced by ‘Bigtime’, hosted by Twink Macaraig, in February 2014. The original incarnation of KBO aired their last episodes in May 2014.

In September 2014, a new incarnation of KBO debuted, as ‘Demolition Job’ and ‘History with Lourd’ returned for their second season. A new program, ‘Unang Tikim’, premiered on the said block, with chef Jeremy Favia as host, while ‘Numero’ and ‘Astig’ continued to air old episodes.

At this point, however, TV5 deemphasized the KBO name on air, but for reference purposes From the Tube will continue to use the KBO name when referring to TV5’s current 11:30 p.m. block.

The KBO block was also simulcast on TV5’s sister UHF network AksyonTV. But on the second incarnation of the said block, ‘Unang Tikim’ was not included on the simulcast, and ‘Bigtime’ continued to air instead.

By January 2015,  reruns are dominating the entire KBO block. The last new episodes of ‘Demolition Job’, ‘History with Lourd’ and ‘Unang Tikim’ were aired two months earlier, and upon checking the Facebook pages of each program, no mention of new episodes were posted.

What was once a very promising news block is now riddled with irrelevance, a lack of freshness and creativity, and a sense of exhaustion. The KBO block is now a shell of its former self, and News5 paid dearly for not maintaining it.

It remains to be seen if News5 finally wakes up to their senses and replace these overly repetitive programs. But in the eyes of the observers, the ‘Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon’ block is essentially over, never to be seen again.