Sometimes watching Philippine entertainment programs is as infuriating as watching news about Malacañang . The characters are laughable. The performances are terrible. And the script? Let's just say ABS-CBN, GMA 7, and Malacañang all deserve a refund.
As you may have already figured out, I am not the biggest fan of Philippine television. And the current crop of shows are not about to win me over. I am in the minority though. This year, a Philippine TV show got a viewership share of 50%. Most prime time shows meanwhile attract at least a fifth of viewers. Given these figures, it would be very hard to convince network honchos they are doing things wrong. Arguing against shows that are dumb but deliver high numbers is pointless in an industry that puts premium on ratings.
Despite these figures, I feel that there are lots of room for improvement. Take last night's episode of Palos, ABS-CBN's new show which they presented as an action-thriller with a little bit of romance and some comedy thrown in for good measure. Stupid would have been a better description from what I saw.
In that episode, the show's protagonist, Gian Carlo, found out that the spy agency he works for wants him dead. They even used his girlfriend to try kill him. (I will be using Gian Carlo repeatedly in this post to find out if reading it over and over is as irritating as hearing it again and again. He's a super spy people. Couldn't you have given him a cooler name?) Naturally, Gian Carlo gets angry. As super spy, I expected Gian Carlo to prepare an elaborate plan to find out who wants him dead. But no. Super spies think differently. Gian Carlo goes straight to their agency and confronts the guy he feels responsible for the plot. Suspecting that the bad guy has taken over the agency, Gian Carlo walks out of the building to board his car and leave.
Fine and dandy then. Just drive away and prepare the elaborate plan super spy. Again no. I guess, I really am not cut for the super spy business. Gian Carlo just gets in his car to change his white shirt to a black one. I don't know how this helps him but I guess super spies think better in a black shirt. While changing his top, Gian Carlo also calls Palos and another agent to inform them of his suspicions. Meanwhile, the bad guy has given his goons the go signal to take out Gian Carlo.
Gian Carlo anticipated that move. He readies his pistol and appears ready for a gun fight. All he has to do now is drive away for some cool chase scenes. But no! Super spies don't roll like that. Gian Carlo steps out of his car and runs! Yes people Gian Carlo ran! Maybe the car was out of gas. Maybe Gian Carlo forgot the keys. Maybe the batteries are dead. Maybe the tires are flat. I can give a number of reasons all of which I am not sure are correct but I have to resort to speculation because the show did not explain why Gian Carlo had to run when he was perfectly set for a get away in his car! Doesn't Super Spy 101 teach that stupidity gets you killed?
Good thing the villains after Gian Carlo were just as moronic. You see, they were actually riding a van when they spotted Gian Carlo's vehicle. When Gian Carlo went out of his car to escape, they also came out of their vehicle to give chase! In that scene, there was no traffic and the road was wide enough to accommodate a number of vehicles.
But it gets worse. One of the bad guys chasing Gian Carlo actually picked up a piece of wood and attempted whack him on the head! Damn! Those guys are supposed to be chasing an elite spy and they don't even have guns? Come on!
Gian Carlo though doesn't use his gun. He walks on the wall and delivers a nasty kick on the face of the piece-of-wood-wielding bad guy. I turned off the TV after that. I can only handle so much crap in one day.
Every night, people are bombarded by images as ridiculous as that. What's sad is that local networks can do better. But we have to put up with their crap because their primary concern is lining their pockets with ad revenues. They justify those shows saying that it is impossible to produce a show that is entertaining and intelligent at the same time.
Give your staff a chance. They just might surprise you with what they can do.
They have also argued that Filipinos don't watch those types of shows. Really? Have they tried? That's insulting. They're saying that Filipinos are not sophisticated enough for more intellectual programs. Sure, the audience watch the "tear-jerkers" they produce but I think it is only for lack of choices. Give people better content and they would watch those too. They don't even have to produce extremely sophisticated and intellectual shows shows. Logical is fine with me.
Filipinos should no longer be satisfied with TV here living up to its other name-the idiot box. It's about time we demand better content from the networks. As a friend said, stage a rally if we have to. Who's with us?
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5 comments:
I only watch local TV for the news and for some PBA fix. Other than that, I'd rather sleep. :D
I wonder why local TV shows today are either ripoffs from foreign shows or just idiotically made. The Filipino scriptwriters can do so much better. Maybe they're being ill-advised by the rating-monger producers.Or maybe it's all about making crap and getting the money afterwards for them.
Sigh.
Onga eh. Kaka-depress lalo kapag nakakapanood ng mga magagandang mga shows sa US. Di naman dapat maganda yung effects. Basta ok yung script tsaka yung acting ayus na.
Naisip ko yung West Wing eh. Pwedeng gumawa ng Philippine version nun. Parang papakita nila yung political dynamics ng isang third world government. Sa dami ng experience sa Pinas Kahit tatlong taon yung tapos weekly lang pwede na.
Yun nga lang baka yung lead actor dun tumakbo sa eleksyon. Lagot na naman tayo. Pero at least kung maganda yung script meron silang better undertsnading of politics.
Baka basa na ng pawis 'yung white t-shirt ni Gian Carlo kaya siya ngpalit ng itim. Nagkakapulmonya rin siguro ang mga super spy.
Hahaha. Onga naman. Tsaka para na rin siguro hindi madumihan kapag nakipaghabulan sya dun sa mga kontrabida.
You hit the nail right on the head: ratings over quality talaga. You noticed what I love(?) to call the "pwede-na-yan" syndrome. Who cares about writing quality scripts that make sense when writing moronic scripts get all Pinoys watching anyway? 'Sus, pwede na 'yan!
Make a realistic drama about what our law enforcers actually go through? Would make good watching and might even win a few overseas awards. Pero, 'sus, magreresearch ka pa! Magsusulat ka pa ng script! 'Eto naman, meron naman tayong pwedeng i-rehash na takbuhan at barilan, 'sus! Pwede na 'yan!
You made what some Pinoys think is the cardinal error, however: comparing US shows (oh noes, the mapanakop na dayuhan again!) with local ones. They would say that you get what you pay for, that all these US shows are quality because they have bigger budgets and are paid in dollars pa.
They, of course, ignore that some of the best movies were done on a low-budget (and, I would add, they would rather that our artistas are paid relatively higher fees to deliver ham acting).
I believe that kaya naman ng Pinoy, eh. I've watched a lot of Repertory Philippines show great actors. GREAT ACTORS! But, as you said, we'd rather have cheap and plentiful, than learn to deliver quality programming.
K'se nga naman, if you do want to watch quality programming, just watch what the dayuhan gives us... in the meantime, patriots cheer on our most mediocre for a job well done.
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