A sizzling weekend

Last weekend was something else (for lack of a better term because I wouldn’t know how to best describe it). Saturday at past lunch time, I woke up to the call of Dr. Vicki Belo because she and Dr. Hayden Kho were ready with their statements, which I dutifully delivered on Startalk while being grilled in-between (regarding what I know of the story) by co-host Ricky Lo.

That Saturday edition of Startalk was VTR heavy and that didn’t require much from the hosts and even from the writers on the floor because those were already packaged (but it was hell for the video editors). But for some reason, we felt like we were run over by a six-wheeler truck that time and were very tired after the program. (Fortunately, when the ratings sheets came out last Monday, we did very well, modesty aside — and knock on wood!)

I tried relaxing in the evening by watching television and was immediately cheered by the sight of Angelica Panganiban doing her Kris Aquino impression on Banana Split because she was so good at it.

Now, I’ve seen a lot of Kris Aquino impersonators — from Joy Ortega (now based in Los Angeles) to Tessie Tomas (in her Meldita series), but Angelica was the one who bowled me over. Of course, through the years, Kris changes her mannerisms and, well, quirks, and Joy was effective back then in her impersonation of the former presidential daughter now turned award-winning host and actress.

On the part of Tessie, she was a riot when she did a parody of Kris’ Lux commercial in what must have been the last edition of her Meldita series at the Rizal Theater in the late ‘80s.

But Angelica is able to ape — and with very little embellishment — the Kris Aquino of today. It must be flattering to Kris that it is Angelica who is doing the impressions. Angelica, after all, is young, pretty, very sexy and just like Kris, also has fair, smooth and flawless complexion.

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Tuning in later to GMA 7’s Cool Center, I finally saw an edition of this less than a month old late night weekend program. Very funny were the interviews of Eugene Domingo with the two Davids — Archuleta and Cook (how time flies — in less than a week, Cook had already been replaced by Kris Allen as the new American Idol). Eugene was able to get away with a lot of things with the two Davids — joking around with them and all that. (Once these two become major superstars, I doubt if their handlers would still allow interviewers to be horsing around with these talents.)

Cool Center co-host Anjo Yllana was also able to draw a lot of reaction from guest Lolit Solis in an interview done right after Startalk. During the live telecast, he also proved to be an effective host because he had always been naturally funny — even from way back.

Anjo and Eugene, however, have yet to develop an on-cam chemistry between them. But this will come in time, especially since they are both gifted with talent for comedy and gab anyway.

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In Showbiz Central the following day, Katherine Luna was interviewed regarding her sex video posted by her ex-lover (I presume that he was jilted and scorned).

From the time she was starting in the movies, I’ve always had respect for Katherine in spite of her sexy image. I did an interview with her on Startalk once and the issue was about teeth. An orthodontist supposedly worked on her chops (sorry for the term) and wanted them back after a misunderstanding. The last thing I wanted to do was get a pair of pliers and pull out each one of her teeth live on air, so I just asked Katherine to settle the issue with the orthodontist and thank him on the air for the wonderful job.

Then, Babae sa Breakwater was released and I was impressed with Katherine’s performance. I saw more of her acting jobs on ABS-CBN later and, wow, she was to the camera born.

It’s a pity that her showbiz career didn’t pick up much and now she has her own sex video. But lucky for her, this was eclipsed by the truly major one that is now making headlines.

What bothered me in that Showbiz Central Katherine Luna story was the phone patch with the ex-boyfriend. When Pia Guanio asked the ex why he did it, he said that it was out of revenge and he was happy with the outcome. Oh yeah! What a heel!

To Pia’s credit, she didn’t let him go that easily. She made him realize that what he did was wrong — very wrong — and that if he truly loves and cares for Katherine’s two children by other men (so he claims), he shouldn’t have done that. But apparently there are warped minds in this world.

Too bad, Pia didn’t have all the time in the world (I could sense that she was being asked to rush the phone interview due to lack of time) because I felt she wanted to give him a longer lecture on proper behavior. But she did her best to display what responsible reporting is all about. Thank you Pia, for having been a shining example to all of us in media.