The Comeback Bossing: Vic Sotto and Maine Mendoza Star in Daddy’s Gurl

Remember when Vic Sotto used to star in various sitcoms almost every week for an eternity?

For over 30 years, the Philippines’ favorite ‘Bossing’ did just that. In fact, From the Tube chronicled the history of sitcoms starring Vic Sotto in a two-part series, beginning with ‘Okay Ka Fairy Ko’ all the way to ‘Hay, Bahay!’.

Unfortunately his last sitcom, ‘Hay, Bahay!’ proved to be a forgettable one as it did not last for more than a year and was essentially considered a flop. As a result, ‘Bossing’ decided to change course and hosted the late-night talk show ‘Bossing & Ai’ with Ai-Ai delas Alas which was also short-lived.

Now Vic Sotto is back at it again, this time with a new partner. Does Maine Mendoza still ring a bell to viewers?

The last time Maine was seen on a non-‘Eat Bulaga’ project was 2017’s ‘Destined to Be Yours’ alongside on-screen partner Alden Richards (this does not include a guest part in ‘Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko’). Fast forward to now and Maine is looking to redeem herself, this time in the world of comedy.

The project that Maine and ‘Bossing’ will take part of is ‘Daddy’s Gurl’ which will premiere this Saturday. And unlike Vic Sotto’s past sitcoms which were studio-based, ‘Daddy’s Gurl’ was shot on location in Manila and Batangas.

‘Daddy’s Gurl’ will tell the story of Barak (Vic) and Stacy (Maine). In the sitcom, Stacy, a modern-day millennial living in a plush condominium unit, is visited by her father Barak, a promdi widower who decides to join her in Manila.

From there, the two will find themselves at odds over their contrasting styles of living. As Barak grapples with the reality of living in the city’s high-rise district, Stacy will look to feed her father into the social media age.

Confirmed to be a part of the sitcom are Wally Bayola, Oyo Sotto, Angelika dela Cruz, Kevin Santos, Jelson Bay, Jessa Chichirita, Chamyto and Benjie Paras. Chris Martinez will be the director and like all of Vic Sotto’s past sitcoms, his production company M-ZET Productions will co-produce the program alongside APT Entertainment and GMA Network.

‘Daddy’s Gurl’ should offer a different spin unlike previous Vic Sotto sitcoms. But it remains to be seen if this program will put ‘Bossing’ and Maine back on track.

For what it’s worth, ‘Daddy’s Gurl’ could be the last stand for Vic Sotto in the sitcom genre. One can only hope that it will be the beginning of a renaissance for this seemingly archaic comedy veteran.

And as for Maine Mendoza, good luck in silencing the doubters. Maybe comedy will suit her better.

‘Daddy’s Gurl’ airs every Saturday after ‘Pepito Manaloto’ on GMA.

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Snubbed: 24 Oras Does Not Mention Coco Martin in Chika Minute Report on MMFF

It is obvious that GMA wants no part of Coco Martin.

The ‘Ang Probinsyano’ star will have an official entry into the upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival starring alongside Vic Sotto and Maine Mendoza. But in Wednesday’s news report from ’24 Oras’, Coco was not mentioned at all during the clip.

Also during that night, ‘TV Patrol’ aired a similar report about Coco’s upcoming film. Unlike GMA, however, ABS-CBN showed some respect to its rival by including the names of Vic Sotto and Maine Mendoza in the clip.

#TVPatrol @mainedcm, makakasama nina Vic Sotto at Coco Martin sa kanilang MMFF entry | @mariovdumaual pic.twitter.com/YnOzuJBULB

— TV Patrol (@TVPatrol) July 25, 2018

Talk about getting humiliated. After all, when ‘The Cure’ ends later tonight, ‘Ang Probinsyano’ will have conquered past nine different GMA teleseryes in a span of nearly three years.

But this is not about a rivalry between two of the Philippines’ top networks. It is about a collaboration between Kapuso (or Dabarkads in the case of Vic and Maine) and Kapamilya stars in a future MMFF entry.

Unfortunately for GMA, they failed to keep the peace or the friendly rivalry in order (at least for this clip). Their blatant disrespect for Coco Martin made it clear that the network is desperate to conquer its older and more accomplished rival at all costs.

Any mere mention of Coco’s name on GMA News reports would mean that Kapuso viewers may switch to Channel 2 just to see Cardo in action. That said, GMA is simply avoiding this predicament for the purpose of improving its ratings (which unfortunately hasn’t been in their favor for a long time now).

But what if Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes suddenly collaborates with, let’s say, Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla in a future MMFF film? Would GMA also be willing not to mention KathNiel in a news report?

Or what if some of its young talent like Barbie Forteza and Jak Roberto join forces with the likes of Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano? Would GMA likewise not give LizQuen the proper treatment?

Perhaps GMA should change that notion and give its regards to a perennial adversary. There is nothing wrong with mentioning actors from another network as long as it is done with proper respect.

The same goes with ABS-CBN, although at least they did a good job in referencing Vic and Maine. Setting aside that hatred is worth a try.

In the end, GMA only made a long-standing feud worse by disregarding an actor of Coco Martin’s stature. ‘Ang Probinsyano’ may have dominated against its Kapuso rivals, but the lack of respect that GMA showed is so uncalled for.

A Reaction to the Promotion of Sen. Tito Sotto to the Senate Presidency

Welcome to the ‘Tito Sen’ era.

Monday afternoon marked a changing of the guard at the Senate, as erstwhile Senate President Koko Pimentel relinquished his position in favor of Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III. The long-time senator/entertainer will now take on a more arduous task of leading the Senate for the next several years.

It also means that ‘Tito Sen’, as his co-hosts at ‘Eat Bulaga’ call him, will no longer join his fellow Dabarkads at the said noontime show for an indefinite time period. Given the many responsibilities of a Senate President, it was only fitting for Sotto to leave ‘Eat Bulaga’ since he would stay busy even during days without Senate sessions.

Sotto, nearing 70, has served a total of four terms as Senator. He had been elected to the Senate on four different occasions: 1992, 1998, 2010 and 2016.

The selection of Tito Sotto as Senate President earned mostly negative reactions from netizens. Most of them cite some of Sotto’s most controversial moments as both an entertainer and senator; namely the Pepsi Paloma rape scandal in the 1980s, the plagiarized RH Bill speech in 2012, and the ‘na-ano’ statement to Judy Taguiwalo in 2017.

But in the defense of some, Sotto has a track record that is more than enough to justify his ascendance atop the Senate. Aside from his four terms as Senator (this made him the longest-tenured current Senator by service time), he also served as Quezon City Vice Mayor from 1988-92, and was part of the Dangerous Drugs Board from 2008-09.

In addition, Sotto belongs to an influential family, some of whom also dabbled into politics. His grandfather, Vicente Yap Sotto, served at the Senate from 1946-50, his children Gian and Lala currently serve as Quezon City councilors, and nephew Vico (son of Vic Sotto and Coney Reyes) is currently a Pasig City councilor.

The negatives that come with Tito Sotto may be an overreaction to his recurring role as an entertainer. After all, politicians with showbiz backgrounds tend to carry greater scrutiny than those who come from other fields (see Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada).

However, in the case of Tito Sotto, these controversies were just minor bumps to an otherwise distinguished mark in public service. People may like it or not, but until another changing of the guard takes place, the Senate Presidency will belong to one Vicente Sotto III.

Still Undisputed: Gandang Gabi Vice Claims Another Victim

‘Bossing & Ai’ was cancelled by GMA after only 20 episodes and low ratings opposite ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’. (Logo courtesy of GMA Network)

Once again, no one can stop ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’.

The latest victim of this ABS-CBN Sunday night talk show was ‘Bossing & Ai’, a game show/talk show hosted by Vic Sotto and Ai-ai delas Alas. Following its last episode on February 4, GMA quietly cancelled the program without any explanation.

First premiered on September 24, ‘Bossing & Ai’ marked Vic Sotto’s first foray into late-night television after years of producing primetime sitcoms. It also became his first television project with Ai-ai delas Alas following a string of box-office films.

From the moment it first aired, however, it became clear that ‘Bossing & Ai’ was destined to fail. The program only mustered an average of 6% in the Kantar ratings whereas ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ scored around 11%.

The mismatch between ‘Bossing & Ai’ and ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ was of no surprise considering that ‘Eat Bulaga’ and ‘It’s Showtime’ are also running in the same vein in recent years. It can also be said that Vice Ganda has had Vic Sotto’s number on television unlike in the Metro Manila Film Festival where the two comedy legends seem to be evenly matched.

Overall, ‘Bossing & Ai’ only aired a total of 20 episodes. While it was still eight episodes better than ‘Pare & Pare’ and nine more than ‘Para Sa ‘Yo Ang Laban Na ‘To’, the run of ‘Bossing & Ai’ remains short by GMA’s standards.

After the cancellation of ‘Bossing & Ai’, GMA reverted back to airing ‘Sunday Night Box Office’ opposite ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ (with occasional airings of Manny Pacquiao’s drama anthology ‘Stories for the Soul’ in between). Perhaps this is their last resort considering the numerous shows that failed against Vice Ganda’s talk show.

It remains to be seen whether or not GMA will once again try to beat ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ with a program of their own. But if ‘Bossing & Ai’ is definitely the last straw, then what a way to wave the white flag of surrender and concede to an unbeatable opponent.

GMA Tries Again with Bossing & Ai + The Lolas’ Beautiful Show

‘Never stop trying!’

It has been the motto for GMA these past several years. The odds have not always been great for the network, but give them credit for continuing to compete despite these insurmountable obstacles.

Remember the time when ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ was so unbeatable that GMA had no choice but to stop competing against it? For years, the ABS-CBN late-night variety show proved to be GMA’s Achilles heel, and each time GMA tried to answer with a show of their own, ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ always shoves them out of the door.

But it seems like ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ has seen better days of late due to the presence of ABS-CBN’s reality and talent shows (e.g. ‘Pinoy Big Brother’). Sensing that the show’s ratings is on a downward trend, GMA decided to create a new show in ‘Bossing & Ai’ in an attempt to finally bring down ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ from its perch.

‘Bossing & Ai’ premiered last night and is a game show starring Vic Sotto and Ai-ai delas Alas as leaders of two groups of contestants. They are joined by Jose Manalo, Tart Carlos and game master Oyo Sotto.

In essence, ‘Bossing & Ai”s competition with ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ is an extension of the ‘Eat Bulaga’-‘It’s Showtime’ rivalry, of which Vic Sotto and Vice Ganda are the respective hosts. Still, it remains to be seen if ‘Bossing & Ai’ will live up to its promise of taking down ‘Gandang Gabi Vice’ for good.

Speaking of ‘Eat Bulaga’, the d’Explorer sisters of ‘Kalyeserye’ will have a talk show of their own. Beginning today at 11:30 a.m., Jose Manalo (as Lola Tinidora), Paolo Ballesteros (as Lola Tidora) and Wally Bayola (as Lola Nidora) will host ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’.

The new talk show will replace ‘TROPS’, the coming-of-age drama series starring ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘BAES’ (Kenneth Medrano, Kim Last, Jon Timmons, Tommy Penaflor, Miggy Tolentino, and Joel Palencia). ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’ will mark TAPE’s first venture into the talk show genre since ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’ from 2013-15.

But unlike ‘The Ryzza Mae Show’, ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’ will be pre-taped as Jose, Paolo and Wally also serve as on-location hosts of ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘Juan for All, All for Juan’ segment. This means there will be no live transition from one show to the next.

‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’ would have been a perfect show to compete against the ABS-CBN morning talk show ‘Magandang Buhay’, especially now that GMA’s slate of animes are declining in popularity. Instead, the talk show will be placed as part of TAPE’s mandated 11:30-2:30 p.m. block and will go up against ‘Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin’.

Whether or not ‘The Lolas’ Beautiful Show’ will be a factor in the game remains to be seen. But as far as GMA, M-ZET and TAPE are concerned, there’s nothing wrong about continuing to try despite the odds.

Hay, Bahay! Ends, All-Star Videoke to Premiere This Sunday

It turns out ‘Hay, Bahay!’ did not exceed expectations.

Last Sunday, the final episode of ‘Hay, Bahay!’ was aired on GMA. But like all previous episodes, the sitcom made little noise among its viewers.

First aired on June 19, 2016, ‘Hay, Bahay!’ succeeded another Vic Sotto-starred sitcom in ‘Vampire ang Daddy Ko’. The latter’s stars Vic and son Oyo were joined by Oyo’s wife Kristine Hermosa, Ai-ai delas Alas, Jose Manalo and Wally Bayola.

Unlike ‘Vampire ang Daddy Ko’ which lasted for over three years, ‘Hay, Bahay!’ was only able to air for over a year as it had to contend with the long-running ABS-CBN gag show ‘Goin’ Bulilit’. Overall, the sitcom aired 61 episodes, joining a list of more recent Vic Sotto sitcoms that had a short run (e.g. ‘My Darling Aswang’, ‘The Jose and Wally Show Starring Vic Sotto’).

So what’s next for Vic Sotto? According to GMA, a new sitcom starring Vic and Ai-ai delas Alas is in the works, but the premiere date and the show’s title is yet to be determined.

Meanwhile, a replacement for ‘Hay, Bahay!’ is set to premiere this Sunday night. The new show will be called ‘All-Star Videoke’, and it will be hosted by Solenn Heussaff and Betong Sumaya.

The game play of ‘All-Star Videoke’ is as follows:

“The game features six celebrity contestants or Videoke stars vying to outwit one another by filling in the missing words on a song in a videoke-type of presentation.

In the event that every player correctly answered the words in each song, a pair of celebrity ‘laglagers’ will choose one player who will be out of the competition.

The two remaining contenders will proceed in the semi-final round for a chance to play in the jackpot round. The winning contestant becomes the All-Star Videoke Champ! and may bring home a cash prize of up to 100,000 pesos.

A “Super Oke” prize is also up for the win if the winner decides to continuously play in the succeeding weeks.”

In short, ‘All-Star Videoke’ shares some similarities with another long-running videoke game show ‘All-Star K’. But whether or not the former will enjoy the same success as the latter remains to be seen.

In the age of foreign franchised programs, it is good to see networks such as GMA maintain a more local approach. Still, the success of a particular program will only depend on the response of the viewers, and for ‘All-Star Videoke’, it will not be an easy task.

‘All-Star Videoke’ airs Sundays after ’24 Oras Weekend’ on GMA.