Entrances, exits—and a temporary hiatus

RIVERA. Hosts weekday talk show.

TELEVISION has become such a big and dominant medium of late that major developments keep happening each month. It’s difficult to keep up with them, so specially focused attention must be paid:

For the month of May, for instance, eventful stellar entrances include Marian Rivera’s new weekday show, “Yan ang Morning,” with Boobay as her “sidekick,” on GMA 7.

The daily 10:45 a.m. show started telecasting last May 2 and is packaged as a variety-magazine program for stay-at-home women, young housewives and mothers, househelp, etc.

Just recently, ABS-CBN launched its own 7:30 a.m. women’s show, “Magandang Buhay,” cohosted by Jolina Magdangal, Melai Cantiveros and Karla Estrada. Which program will female televiewers favor? We’ll soon find out!

In the “exits” department, things have been even more eventful. Not long ago, Robin Padilla’s game show on ABS-CBN had to bid viewers adieu rather abruptly, to be replaced by a “fantasy” action-drama teleserye, “My Super D.”

Not to worry, though, Robin still has “Pilipinas Got Talent”—but, the talent tilt is already on “finals” mode, so how much longer can it stay on the tube?

Clearly, Robin’s handlers need to line up a new TV show and/or an indie comedy or actioner to keep him in the public eye. Come to think of it, this could be the right time for Robin to do his part in reviving the moribund action film type on local screens.

We’ve always believed that it can still be revived by a well-conceptualized and really exciting indie movie that’s fresh and “out of the box,” and Robin could be the star to do it—if he connects his team with the best writer-directors.

To boost the “revival” film’s chances, he could costar in it with his nephew, Daniel, to get young viewers all keyed up.

They did try to pull off a similar project years ago, but it wasn’t as original and exciting as it needed to be, so no major waves were created. A second, fresher and better attempt could do the trick!

Back to the “departure” section: Willie Revillame surprised his “Wowowin” show’s viewers last week when he announced that it was going on a temporary break. He assured them, however, that it would be back by May 15, “bigger and better,” etc.

Why the hasty hiatus? It appears that he has to go on a medical leave to attend to a physical issue that needs to be addressed and remedied while it’s still a relatively minor concern.

Get well soon, Willie. When there’s a Will, there’s a way!

Digong does a Donald

Have you noticed? As the US and Philippine campaigns for president have been unfolding, a striking “mirror image” has emerged involving US Republican aspirant Donald Trump and our own current front-runner, Digong Duterte.

Some months ago, when Trump first announced his bid to compete for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, he threw the competition for a loop with his unusually brash and in-your-face campaigning style in the states’ separate primaries.

At first, only a few of his many rivals took him seriously, but as he surged in the surveys and many fell away, the survivors realized that he wasn’t playing by the book—and the public was responding to his campaign precisely because of this.

He zeroed in on and articulated the public’s fears in a blunt and colorful way that “ordinary” Americans responded to—a response that has shaken the entrenched political establishment to its calcified roots.

Pretty much the same thing has been happening in our own electoral campaign, with Duterte shaping up as the Philippines’ resident brash and tough talker—and consequent game-changer.

Different worlds

Trump and Duterte may come from very different worlds, but they share a common touch and sixth sense for what the voting public wants and needs, including its fears related to jobs and peace and order.

Trump has become a past master at grabbing headlines and breaking-news TV reports on a practically daily basis, with candid and pugnaciously quotable attacks and retorts in both the traditional and social media.

His agenda-setting visibility and audibility have enabled him to grab most of the media’s attention, thus upstaging the competition and adding to his campaign’s dominance in the public’s consciousness.

Only later did his rivals learn to fight back with their own in-your-face attacks. Unfortunately, their comparatively amateurish efforts sometimes got them into trouble—so Trump still ruled the roost!

Duterte’s own diatribes have similarly clicked with voters here. Of late, however, they have gotten him in hot water, especially on point of gender insensitivity and crudeness, which his critics derisively dismiss as “unpresidential.”

To recover whatever ground and political capital he’s lost, Duterte can “do a Donald” once more by analyzing what Trump has done after his own periodic falls from grace:

He’s quick to apologize, realizing that one skirmish or stumble shouldn’t be allowed to fester and grievously affect the rest of his political campaign. This is a lesson that Duterte has been loath to learn. But, learn it he must—to win the “war.”