‘Enabling’ mom supports her son’s risk-taking show —to extreme lengths

“50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy”

Our recent mention of the “arresting” TV program title, “50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy,” has elicited requests for more details about the reality program from “concerned” readers.

Were its featured physical challenges really that risky for the host’s “enabling” mom to experience? Happy to oblige:

In the reality challenge, host Baz Ashmawy got his ever-loving mother, Nancy, who’s already in her 70s, to engage in “daredevil” adventures with him.

Aside from the thrill of it all, the show connected with the viewers because it showed to what “extreme” lengths Nancy would go, just to help her beloved son come up with a hit TV show.

In addition, her doting and ditzy presence on the program gave it a lighthearted and even funny quality of its own, as viewers found themselves giggling at Nancy’s reactions—while skyjumping with her son!

Other giggle- and laughter-inducing mother-son antics included leaping over waterfalls and down cliffs, engaging in dangerous sports, etc.
Later, to keep the show from becoming predictable, another season added other similarly daring moms, and went on for several profitable TV seasons more.

Other readers weigh in on different topics and issues we’ve raised: Some agree with our observation that the trend of casting “real-looking” Pinoy kids in TV dramas instead of the usual tisoy types should be encouraged.

But, it’s been noted that there are now too many of them in shows like “Ang Probinsyano”—so, curb your enthusiasm, OK?

As for the cutesy-wootsy tisoy kids out there, not to fret, because many other TV programs have not been jumping on the native or ethnic bandwagon.
It takes more than just a couple of shows to mitigate a “colonial” problem and preference that’s been festering for many decades.

Still, it’s a good and necessary start, if we want our TV characters to look like the people who are watching them, for better believability and empathy’s sake.

Another aspect of juvenile acting on TV has proven even harder to counteract: the lazy tendency of scriptwriters to come up with overly flowery, “poetic” and insightful dialogue for child characters on drama series.

We thought that the problem had been effectively and successfully licked on “Ningning” some seasons ago, but it’s come back to bite us all in the irritated ear.

Yes, it’s really difficult to make kids talk like the unsophisticated juveniles they are, but it must be done, because too wise children spouting all sorts of “profound” verbiage on the tube—are a major turn-off!

Finally, on the “I Can Do That” finals, our wrap-up review got mixed reactions from readers.

Some agreed that Cristine Reyes should have been “it,” but others approved of Wacky Kiray’s victory—and even Daniel Matsunaga had his enthusiastic boosters. Guess we’ll just have to (agreeably) agree to disagree!