Battle of the noontime shows

Then: Aug. 10, 1989 — 22 years ago

There is a lively competition going on with the entry of Student Canteen into the noontime slot already lorded over by Eat, Bulaga! and Lunch Date. The old time favorite that is Student Canteen gets the much older audience, those who have remained faithful to Eddie Ilarde and Bobby Ledesma after all these years. New hosts like Atoy Co are being taken in to get the men and the younger crowd. It will take long before Bobby and Eddie can establish their dent on the noontime viewers. This is because the two other shows, Eat, Bulaga! and Lunch Date have become a habit with noontime viewers.

So it’s going to be a tough fight. But knowing Eddie and Bobby, they’ll come up with aces on their sleeves to make the show really competitive.

Eat, Bulaga! is still the favorite. The combination of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon is unbeatable for this kind of variety show. Since they have worked together for such a long time, there is that fluid interaction that leaves no gap in their routine.

However, success can eat up a show like Eat, Bulaga! The trio has become so successful. And they are now into different fields. It seems they don’t have that much time dedicated to the show. Tito has his politics. Then Joey is the megastar of comedy, beating even Sharon herself in the box-office. He is the think-tank behind all his hit movies and is also handling the career of son Keempee. It’s a tall order and very time consuming. Then Vic, aside from his other successful TV shows like Okay Ka Fairy Ko, is also now producing for the movies.

Happy Yipee Yehey! main hosts (from left) John Estrada, Rico J. Puno and Randy Santiago

They have become too successful for the daily grind of a daily show. It is up to the small shoulders of Aiza Seguerra to get the ball rolling. But even Aiza has become so busy with her TV shows and movies that even the government agency for minors has taken notice.

Ces Quesada is still an extraneous factor and it will take a while before she can be part of the family like Coney Reyes was. It does not mean that she is not good. For she is. But the acceptance of the audience is different. There should be more to her formula to really jell.

As of this writing, Tito, Vic and Joey are in the US doing shows in L.A. As early as last week, there were already feedback that the tickets are not selling well and they have to cancel the show in San Francisco. I guess this is unfair to the three.

Let me just say something about the Filipino crowd in the West Coast. They will wait until the last minute to buy their tickets. Usually, they want to see the artists before they buy. Just wait till they see the trio at the Filipino restaurants there and you will see the long line of buyers for the show.

We are not like the Americans who plan things out in advance. Even out there, Pinoy pa rin in our ways. But I feel that the show of Tito, Vic and Joey will be a big hit.

Lunch Date is the noontime show breathing close on Eat, Bulaga’s neck. The fresh and exciting combination of Randy Santiago, Tina Revilla, Toni Rose Gayda and Lito Pimentel is getting the younger crowd. The ideas are also very innovative and their games are getting better and better.

Randy has found his medium in Lunch Date. His balagtasan on frying fish was just hilarious. He is a delightful TV host. He has such a wide range of talent and he uses it without effort. And he can sing, too. (More of Lunch Date in my next column.)

Now: Aug. 1, 2011 — 22 years after

Willie Revillame, host of TV5’s Wil Time Big Time

With all the twist and turn of noontime programming, Eat, Bulaga! is still reigning high. It has the formula that works and has the most loyal audience through the years. Tito has become a very successful politician but his appearance in the show once in a while adds spice to the trio. Vic and Joey are so comfortable as hosts that it’s hardly work for them.

The entrance of Willie Revillame in Wowowee had revolutionized the noontime slot. His control of his material and advertisers was almost absolute and his earnings were tremendous. It was also highly-publicized. But Willie is now with TV5 and in a different timeslot. He is earning more and buying more. His acquisitions have become legendary — from houses, cars, helicopters to buildings. But since he is now in the evening slot, Willie is out of the competition among noontime shows at the moment.

The vacuum left by Willie’s Wowowee was soon filled by shows like Win na Win with Kris Aquino as host. When Kris left, The Hitmakers composed of Rey Valera, Marco Sison, Nonoy Zuñiga and Rico J. Puno took over. This lasted for one season and Facebook was besieged by fans who liked their kind of music. Now the noontime ABS-CBN slot has Happy Yipee Yehey with Randy Santiago, John Estrada, Toni Gonzaga, Bentong, Pokwang, Mariel Rodriguez and Bianca Manalo. It is starting to jell especially with the addition of Rico J. Puno injecting his irreverent humor and his kind of music. This time the rating shows that the combination is right.