Going, going, gong
Jhong Hilario and Karla Estrada in “It’s Showtime”
After successfully staging its “kiddie” edition on “It’s Showtime” without its dreaded, signature “gong,” Tawag ng Tanghalan is prepping up another adult competition—alas, with the feared “killer” elimination method. They never learn, do they?
Our hasty hope is that now that the singing tilt has been proven to work just fine without its cruel eliminator, wiser heads will prevail and nix the gong for the talent search’s new edition, as well.
Why should only kids’ feelings be spared the humiliation of being publicly found not good enough for the competition? We’ve watched the show often enough to see that too many adult contestants feel shamed, and even held up for inadvertent ridicule, for the antediluvian practice to persist in these allegedly more sensitive and caring times.
No, the right way is for the singing tilt to raise its audition standards high enough so that only certifiedly good singers get through.
Playing the shame game is so insensitive and old that the gong should be left dead and buried, like other hoary show biz clichés that have long ceased to be relevant and apt. Whatever happened to “Have a Heart”?
Another item on our wish list this season is a “definitive” movie project starring Jericho Rosales and Bea Alonzo. They are “officially” the best adult actors we have now, so it would be really great and logical if they could combine their combustible talents and screen charisma in a must-see production. What are they waiting for?
Bea’s career is going great guns this year, but Jericho needs to energize his stellar prospects once again. Nothing like a take-no-prisoners Jericho-Bea project to do that—because it will bring out the best in both of them.
It will also show up many popular stars today as less than real competition for them, so we hope that their reunion project will be as challenging as it should be, and push them past their already impressive limits.
We also wish that the recently announced reunion film of Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin will similarly end up as a must-see production, because the hit screen tandem’s decades of professional and personal involvement deserve nothing less.
Stop focusing on “kilig value,” they’re too mature and “evolved” for that. They’ve both really become good and insightful actors, so they should be given a drama for mature viewers, to stretch their limits.
Marvin, in particular, became a really good actor after the late, great Marilou Diaz-Abaya mentored him in some rigorous religious drama, so Jolina will have to work harder to keep up with him.
That’s all to the good, because actors’ continuing education and evolution is a lifelong process. So, certified Jolina-Marvin fans will be thrilled to see how far their maturing faves have come along!
