Return of the TV ‘motor mouths’

Sometimes, wishful thinking pays off: Recently, we publicly wished that Martin Nievera would revive his late-night TV talk show. Well, what do you know? We’ve gotten word that exactly that felicitous turn of events will transpire on TV early next year!

If Martin is here, can Edu Manzano be far behind? As we also publicly wished recently, Edu should also be given another gab fest by his own mother network, because he’s a “motor mouth” in his own right. Enough of game shows that don’t really showcase him at his best as an on-cam entertainer!

Our hope is that, with both Martin and Edu hosting new TV gab fests next year, talk shows will become trendy again. Should that happen, other deserving talents can host their own talk-variety programs, bringing back the loquacious days and nights when the vividly soluble likes of Elvira Manahan, Joey Lardizabal, Maribel Cacho, June Keithley, Johnny Litton, Eddie Mercado and Maan Hontiveros reigned supreme.

Who could those other new talk show hosts be? We’re plugging for Mitch Valdes, because she’s a feisty talker—and thinker. Tessie Tomas and Ali Sotto could chat up a sensational storm, and the Ogie Alcasid-Regine Velasquez tandem could more than pass muster as talk show comperes, now that Mrs. Alcasid has learned to speak her mind.

Notice that most of the names we’ve mentioned come from the ranks of comedians in general, and stand-up comedians in particular. We aren’t being very original here, since that’s the way it’s always been in the “talk TV” trade, ever since Johnny Carson launched his decade-long talkathon.

The formula must work, because most of today’s top talk-show hosts on TV—Jay Leno, David Letterman, Ellen DeGeneres—come from stand-up. The only recent exception to that golden rule is “Survivor” host Jeff Probst, who’s reinvented himself as the host of a new daily chat fest.

It would be really great, however, if some new local talk shows next year are hosted by younger talents. Is there anyone out there who qualifies?

Alas, most young stars and starlets don’t really speak and think on their feet all that well, and have to be fully scripted to within an inch of their insecure and inarticulate lives to sound passably intelligent on-cam.

But there could be exceptions—like, we’d like to see the day when half-siblings Epy and Vandolph Quizon will be given their own comedy-variety talk fest! They did really well as a team in the recent tribute special for their dad, Dolphy, so hopes are high that their sibling synergy can be harnessed again next year.

Other stars who could be able to think and talk without the benefit and crutch of scripting include Billy Crawford, Arnell Ignacio, Giselle Sanchez and Jericho Rosales.