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A look at Sunday shows’ provincial sorties

GMA-7's Sunday noontime variety show "Party Pilipinas" celebrated its first anniversary on March 27, in a big way. Dubbed "Party Buong Pilipinas," Kapuso stars entertained crowds live in the GMA studio, Baguio, Cebu and Davao through the wonders of satellite technology. Not to be outdone, ABS-CBN aired its Sunday lunchtime program from the Queen City of the South calling it "ASAP Rocks Cebu."

In terms of live audiences, "PBP" had the edge, of course. What matters more to the networks, however, is how many watched at home. I don't have those figures. The "ASAP" oceanside crowd looked more impressive than "PBP's" audience at Fuente Osmena. In terms of star power, "ASAP" might have a slight edge with Jericho Rosales, Sarah Geronimo, Gerald Anderson, Martin Nievera, Gary V and Zsa Zsa Padilla as against "PBP's" Ogle Alcasid, Regine Velasquez, Richard Gutierrez, Heart Evangelista and Marian Rivera.

Entertainment-wise, both shows fall short. They are called variety shows but what "PBP" and "ASAP" offered was three hours of typical song and dance routines that lacked creativity and originality. There was no attempt to impart production value to the numbers. It didn't help that many of the performers need improvement as they apparently did not get enough rehearsals.

The local dance groups had more precision probably because they had been rehearsing many weeks before the live show. Those dancers provided the local touch that indicated that the two shows were being broadcast from the provinces. They only performed during the opening number so after that there were no additional indications that the shows were being aired from remote locations, except for the violators at the bottom of the screen showing the region or city. Aside from this, the hosts had to keep repeating where they were because the stages did not effectively represent the city or province the shows were beaming from.

There were so many other things the shows could have done to take advantage of the locations. Instead, they chose to stay glued to the provincial stages in Davao, Cebu and Baguio. The three cities have so many interesting visual attractions to offer but the creative people took the easy way out and depended on star value. So why go on location at all?

They could have shot pre-recorded portions in various parts of the cities, get the stars to interact with the residents, used the hidden camera to shoot stars waiting on restaurant customers or driving a jeepney, anything to get away from the endless musical numbers onstage.

The two networks used the occasion to promote their TV shows through unimaginative ways. They had the cast parading onstage while the theme songs from the series were sung. At least GMA-7 had the cast of "Captain Barbell" come in costume. It would be better, though, if Richard Gutierrez had done more than just standing motionless in his "Captain Barbell" costume. Also, they should break away from the cacophony of plugs for the show: "simula na po ang 'Captain Barbell' bukas."

Just to remind audiences that "PBP" was broadcasting from four areas, the director continually resorted to a multiscreen which didn't really help audiences at home who only had 21" TV screens. The performers all looked like midgets.

ABS-CBN's summer station ID "Bida Best sa Tagaraw" had more entertainment value. The Kapamilya stars were featured in various sports activities. Luis Manzano showed his "Karate Kid" form. Derek Ramsay caught a Frisbee. Alessandra de Rossi played soccer. Sam Milby rode a bike. Gerald Anderson scored a dunk in a basketball match. Others who were less athletic jumped on a trampoline as the camera caught them floating on air. The vocals were provided by recent Star Power winner Angeline Quinto and Vincent Bueno.

Disclaimer: The views and observations of the author do not represent the position of Yahoo! Southeast Asia on the issue or topic being discussed.