A Summary of TV5’s New Blocktimer Shows

TV5 is soldiering on with the help of blocktimers.

Over the next two days, three new programs will make their way into TV5’s lineup. They are:

Travel 360

A new travel show to be hosted by Kim Sarreal, Carla de Castro and Bien de la Paz, ‘Travel 360’ will highlight various places of interest while giving prospective travelers tips on how to enjoy one’s vacation to the fullest.

Bloggers TV

Hosted by Adele David, ‘Bloggers TV’ is a lifestyle program that is dedicated to the passion of blogging. It will take a look at the latest events and happenings that every blogger should love.

Both programs will be produced by Style International Company. The up-and-coming group is known for three things: event promotion, marketing and advertising.

Meanwhile, a third program will be a co-production of TV5 and Coca-Cola Philippines. ‘Coke Studio PH’ will feature live performances from some of the country’s up-and-coming and highly recognizable musicians.

Some of the confirmed performers on the show include Reese Lansangan, Jensen and the Flips, BP Valenzuela, Autotelic, Gracenote, Ransom Collective, Franco, Sandwich, Ebe Dancel, Noel Cabangon, Moonstar 88, Abra, Gabby Alipe, Raimund Marasigan, Curtismith and Buddy Zabala. ‘Coke Studio PH’ will also be streamed live on YouTube.

At this point, the short term is becoming apparent when it comes to TV5’s local fare. With the network still reeling from last year’s disaster, the best that they can do at this point is to hook up with blocktimers to produce quality content that should satisfy even the most hardcore of Kapatids.

With that, good luck to the three shows that will air on TV5 this weekend. It may be short and sweet, but the effort should be worth it.

Advertisement

Time’s Up: Luchi Cruz-Valdes Must Retire The Mic

No one is as hard-working and determined as Luchi Cruz-Valdes.

The head of News5 is a do-it-all woman. Behind the scenes, she supervises the overall operations of the department, and on-screen, she anchors important programs and newscasts to occasionally critical acclaim.

Unfortunately for LCV, the ongoing situation within News5 is unbearable. Many of the department’s mainstays have departed for either greener pastures or a life of privacy, and the inability to find immediate replacements both within and outside the organization has put tremendous pressure on Luchi herself.

To make matters worse, Luchi was placed in the hot seat herself a number of times. There were rumors that she would step down as the head of News5, and yet these were put to rest.

And coming off recent surgery, Luchi’s on-camera work was significantly reduced of late. For all intents and purposes, she has relinquished her hosting job on ‘Relasyon’ in favor of the former head of Radyo5 Gladys Lana-Lucas, and her appearances on ‘Aksyon Prime’ and ‘ReAksyon’ were increasingly infrequent.

Still, TV5 has trust on Luchi Cruz-Valdes as far as on-screen roles are concerned. Which is why starting this Saturday, they gave the head of News5 a weekly debate series called ‘Manindigan’.

Airing every Saturday at 7:30 p.m., ‘Manindigan’ is an hour-long series that will tackle some of the issues that affect the country today. The series is essentially ‘ReAksyon’ in a forum format.

While ‘Manindigan’ will only be aired for a short period of time, it is clear that the on-air side of Luchi Cruz-Valdes is waning in significance. Last Monday, she anchored TV5’s coverage of the State of the Nation Address, but working the coverage by herself (with a little help from Ed Lingao) is career suicide considering her age and increased pressure of her job.

Perhaps the time has finally come for Luchi to retire the microphone and leave the anchor’s chair altogether. It would be better for her to focus on behind-the-scenes work full-time, something that contemporaries Ging Reyes, Marissa Flores and Armie Jarin-Bennett pride on doing.

No offense, but with News5 in must-improve or else mode, Luchi should focus on being the head of News5 instead of doubling as an on-screen talent at the same time. A commitment to restore News5 to its former glory is a must for her at this point.

Stepping aside may be the hardest thing to do, but for Luchi Cruz-Valdes, the time has finally come. Time to hand the reins over to younger journalists who are willing to gain experience in every way possible.

In 100 Words: Lakbai on TV5

The son of President Rodrigo Duterte will have a TV show of his own.

Starting this Sunday, TV5 will air the travel special ‘Lakbai’, headlined by presidential son Sebastian ‘Baste’ Duterte. Joining him on the ride are good friends Atty. Alexis Lumbatan, Sboi Malicay, Andrei Apostol, and YouTube sensation Bogart the Explorer.

Over the next two months, the boys of ‘Lakbai’ (short for ‘Laktaw ta Bai’) will go to various picturesque spots in the country to not only explore the unknown, but also to join in on some fun activities that will deepen their bond together. The show will be showcased in Tagalog and Bisaya dialects.

‘Lakbai’ airs starting this Sunday after the PBA on TV5.

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.

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.

 

Happy Truck Becomes Happinas Happy Hour

‘Happy Truck’ No More: TV5 will relaunch ‘Happy Truck HAPPinas’ as a gag show entitled ‘Happinas Happy Hour’. (Logo courtesy of TV5)

‘Happy Truck HAPPinas’ has a new format and a new name.

Starting tonight, the one-time Sunday afternoon variety show will be relaunched as a gag show entitled ‘Happinas Happy Hour’. Taped as live, it will air every Friday at 9:00 p.m. after the PBA games.

‘Happinas Happy Hour’ will feature virtually the same cast as its predecessor, led by Ogie Alcasid and Janno Gibbs. Other cast members include Gelli de Belen, Tuesday Vargas, Mark Neumann, Eula Caballero, Ella Cruz, Kim Idol and Alwyn Uytingco.

 

In contrast to ‘Happy Truck”s ‘Eat Bulaga’-like approach, ‘Happinas Happy Hour’ will employ a setting similar to ABS-CBN’s ‘Banana Sundae’. This means that the presentation of the show will be made in front of a live audience, similar to those seen in comedy bars and on live stand-up comedy concerts.

‘Happinas Happy Hour’ will be TV5’s first gag show since’ Tropa Mo Ko Unli’, and the first under the VIVA regime. It is expected to draw comparisons with GMA’s ‘Bubble Gang’, but neither show will directly compete with each other (‘Bubble Gang”s first 20-30 minutes will be up against ‘Happinas Happy Hour”s final 20-30 minutes).

While ‘Happy Truck Happinas’ (and its predecessor ‘Happy Truck ng Bayan’) was not bad of a variety show, it still suffered due to the intense two-way battle between ABS-CBN’s ‘ASAP’ and GMA’s ‘Sunday PinaSaya’. As a result, TV5 and VIVA decided to play it safe and converted ‘Happy Truck’ into a gag show, along with a change of timeslot so as not to directly with compete with programs of similar genres.

It will be interesting to see how ‘Happinas Happy Hour’ can become a viable alternative to the teleseryes of ABS-CBN and GMA. But even if the viewers fall in love with ‘Happinas Happy Hour’, it is still up to TV5 on whether or not they will be able to sustain the show, considering their penchant for cutting promising shows short.