Controversy-oriented TV shows go for the jugular

TOLENTINO AND FERNANDEZ. Portrayed abortionists in weekly series’ premiere episode.

The recently revived anthology drama series, “Magpakailanman,” has been telecasting for only a couple of months, but it’s already established itself as the most “controversy-“ and even “scandal-” related weekly drama show on the tube.

To attract particularly avid and rabid viewers, it has opted to tackle a series of “touchy” topics—starting with its premiere episode about a mother-and-son team of abortionists (Lorna Tolentino and her son Renz). Other “hot” topics that the show has opted to dramatize include the case of a woman with both male and female sex organs!

The weekly series’ decision to “go controversial” is perfectly understandable, given the intense competition for viewers’ attention on TV these days, as well as TV fans’ knee-jerk preference for the loud, gaudy, shocking and smelly.

Trouble is, if a show is known mainly for these envelope-pushing gambits, it could quickly get the reputation for being exploitative—and could soon run out of “hot” topics to dramatize without getting in trouble with TV regulatory agencies.

Vile depiction

This is true not just of local TV shows, but of their foreign counterparts, as well. For instance, the “Wife Swap” “reality” program has been accused of occasionally being too graphic and vile in its depiction of what happens when two very different sets of couples agree to “exchange spouses” for a couple of weeks.

The couples are intentionally selected for being radically different—so, clashes often take place that make the participants or combatants behave in vile and vicious ways.

All too often, the most violent and virulent fights are between the two wives involved, since they’re the ones mainly responsible for establishing the particular lifestyle that the other female participant finds so ridiculous or reprehensible!

Conflicts, flash points

This, of course, is what “reality TV” loves to do—provide conflicts and “flash points” for people to sneer at and get viciously ticked off about. By this exploitative yardstick, therefore, “Wife Swap” is a “hot” success!

Another “smelly” success on US TV for many years was “The Jerry Springer Show,” which brought together entire families or groups of combatants who scurrilously hit at each other both verbally and physically—in fact, beefy “bouncers” were on hand to constantly pry them apart and prevent them from killing each other!

Local versions of the show have been attempted, but they’ve tended to soften the format’s signature low blows by “balancing” the participant-combatants’ rude and nasty behavior by way of “sagacious” advice and wise counsel, which some cynical viewers find hypocritical.

What about Jerry Springer? The guy who created the “too hot to handle” program format eventually realized the bad example his shows were setting, and has since opted to resurface as the host-emcee of a talent show. It may not be as popularly combustible as his original format—but he sleeps better at night!