TV5's Hush Hush

Bruno Folster, from Brazil, cites the Philippines' "character" which makes him feel at home and connected with the country and its people. "I feel very much at home here. And there is so much to see in this country. Would you believe that I don't get bothered by the traffic here? It's one of the reasons why I stay because there's so much character in this country." Bruno is one of the cast members of TV5's Hush Hush.

TV5 Reflects Reality, 'Shake Mo TV Mo'

by R. Arce

Before heading back to California, I've been 'shaking my tv ko' as TV5 has been encouraging us all to do, and I'm really happy that I have, because this is a breakthrough in Philippine television.

TV5's shows are great. They're filmed in a realistic style that mirrors independent cinema, 'indie films', and that is so refreshing, because I hardly ever watch new shows on the other two networks past the first and last episodes for the simple reason that it's no longer entertaining when you see the same plot lines and devices over and over again, even in supposedly "new stories", it's not really that new since it's the same formula of 'boy meets girl, something bad happens, a lot of crying in between with irrelevant characters inserted for comedic relief, more crying, then boy ends up with girl in the end'. And TV5's shows break this formula and really are entertaining and fun to watch.

TV5 offers something different than the other two networks since it follows the TV timeframe found in other countries, where a show is ordered by the network based on seasons, and instead of airing every day like teleseryes, one hour long episode is aired per week until the season ends. And this is refreshing for Philippine TV, because it gets so tiring watching the same 4 shows everyday from 7-11 pm.

Here's the guide for TV5, all the hot new shows are on at 7pm every day of the week.
Midnight DJ - Monday
Paolo Contis stars as the host of a radio program about the supernatural. I love this show, it's so great. It's a weekly horror series, the only thing is it feels real. Make no mistake, it's not a "horrorserye" like the baduy one with Kris Aquino, it's got style and the way the dialogue is written is amazing. I like the funny things that pop out of Paolo's character's mouth, and the banter between Paolo and his hot boss played by Jenny Miller is hilarious.
Have Baby, Will Date - Tuesday
TJ Trinidad stars, and the good thing about this is the cast is small, which is great if you're smart enough to realize it, because that means there aren't a lot of extra storylines that aren't relevant to the main plot and main characters like in teleseryes.
Hush, Hush - Wednesday
Bernard Palanca and Bruno Folster among others star in this show that shows the other side of showbiz that only a select few know about, which is what happens behind closed doors among actors, directors, and casting agents once the camera stops rolling. I love the idea, and I think it's smart and funny, and we really need this on Philippine TV, since a lot of what the masses, especially the C-D, see on TV that they think is real - really isn't. It's marketing, it's love team nonsense, it's manufactered kilig as a way to make money. And people in showbiz know that, but only a select educated few outside Philippine showbiz do, and this show reflects that, and I never miss it.
Rakista - Thursday
Carlo Aquino stars as a band member who gets involved in the art world, and the dialogue on this show is hilarious. And again, it feels like an indie film, which is so great, and it's so fun to watch. It's never depressing, nobody's ever crying crying crying for no reason.
Batang X - Friday
This show seems to cater to kids, so I never watch it, but again, the way it's filmed sets it apart from all the other kids action shows on the networks, since it's filmed in widescreen and the motion picture filtering effect makes it look like an actual TV show. And the good thing is that even though it's catered to kids, the dialogue isn't the typical cry cry cry of some poor kid, can't stand that about the kids shows on the other networks, it's annoying enough hearing kids throw tantrums and cry over toys and their siblings, we don't need to watch it on TV either, hehe. And that's what's good about this show, because it doesn't do that.

And the comedy shows are great too, with Ariana and Daiana, they're so great those girls, and Juicy is the most fun I've ever had watching a Filipino entertainment show ever. It's light and funny, Alex Gonzaga is hilarious, isn't she? The funniest things pop out of her mouth. But as far as Shall We Dance, I liked the previous format better that followed the Dancing With The Stars format because it just felt classier and the dancing was more tight, but it's still fun to watch and the always beautiful Lucy Torres looks amazing with the new style and pony tail.

Daily crying is what is annoying about the teleseryes on the other networks, because isn't real life and love depressing enough, why do we need to watch shows to make us feel worse? And that's basically what's good about TV5 - the shows are cool, they're of higher quality, they're filmed in widescreen, the casts are smaller which means more detail is paid to actual good acting, and they feel like indie films. And everybody knows that Filipino indie films are way better than Filipino mainstream films, since they reflect real life better than Filipino mainstream films that tend to paint unrealistic pictures of life that never feel real.

TV5 is what I would call independent television. And I applaud them, because it's the best thing to ever happen to Philippine TV. We needed this, desperately, and it came at the right time.

TV5's Hush Hush: Filipino Showbiz' Illusion

TV5's Hush Hush starring Bernard Palanca, Bruno Folster, and the rest of the cast whose names I don't know, hehe, is an amazing show, with an amazing concept. But this is how I view show business:

Filipino Showbiz
by R. Arce, Filipino Cultured

Many viewers of Philippine TV sort of watch their TV screens blindly, because they don't realize that there are certain aspects of Filipino showbiz that are real, but there's a lot of it that is illusion. And this show's concept talks about an aspect of Philippine showbiz that I've noticed for a long time, but to see it in a show is fascinating.

This is showbiz, and trust me, I've seen it with my own two eyes: The leading man hunk that is portrayed as a womanizer in the media and that all the girls fawn for - travels overseas to visit his boyfriend in the States. The girl who is the country's sweetheart and is portrayed by the media as the sweetest girl on earth - is the rudest person to those who work for her, and to the people around her. The actor and actress who are part of one of the hottest love team in the country, smile and swoon and sing to each other on camera, but once the cameras stop rolling, can't stand each other in real life.

But that's something that the "masses" as they say, many times are not aware of. It's a publicity machine meant to capitalize on money. And the added aspect of Philippine clanism, you have to side with one network or the other, and if you move to another network, you're forced by social pressure to cut off your friends on the other network. The fanaticism for one network over another starts out as social pressure, until it becomes reality for the actors as they continue to work for their current network and feel indebted to them for the career opportunities. But that's when it also becomes delicado, because if that person switched sides, we've all seen what happens.

The concept of love teams is another unique thing that one can't find in any other country in the world. In the Philippines, the network forces, I don't want to say the word force, but to be truthful, that's exactly what they're doing, the network forces an actor and actress to be together, create kilig, create a movie, a tv series together, and at the end of the day - provide profits for the network and the actors. They aren't forced negatively, this is the Philippines, people force other people to do things with a smile, and the social pressure to do it is so strong - as an actor of the network, you either flirt and make kilig with your love team, or you go back to living in poverty if you don't do what the network expects you to - to be part of a love team that the public adores.

This is something that people who are critical thinkers will see clearly, but to be realistic, a lot of viewers don't. And in the Philippines, the illusion of showbiz, kilig, and love teams is a means for the masses to endure their own daily struggles, even if at the end of the day, it's an illusion. But the masses don't know it's an illusion, and it provides them joy, and giving joy to people, even if it is manufactured, can only be a good thing, especially in the Philippines where life is hard.

But there are certain aspects of Philippine showbiz that are real, an actress' emotions regarding the intrigues that are thrown at them, the feeling of accomplishment actors feel after finishing a challenging product, the feeling of comraderie with your fellow actors and actresses. But again, there's a lot of it that really is illusion. The other side of it is it's a publicity machine to make money. The masses get kilig on love teams, spend their money on movies, tv, and music to support their favorite love teams, and the networks and the actors generate the income, from advertisers on a high rating TV show, and from merchandise bought by the fans.

The actors know it's a machine (as do the press who are secretly paid by the networks themselves to create a buzz about their talent) but that's why they're actors, they pretend like it's not, that's their job, and that's what they're getting paid to do, to make kilig with their love team, and please the audiences, or else the illusion is cracked. It's either that, or go back to living in poverty, and that's why they do it, because who wants to go back to struggling to make money in life and taking a jeepney, when if you pretend to fall in love with your love team partner, you're driven around everywhere and living in a nice penthouse. Sometimes, the love team becomes real, but regardless of whether it becomes real, the way a love team starts is always a network decision which the actors follow due to social pressure for their careers to survive.

The only thing is, what the public doesn't know sometimes is that the social pressure in Philippine showbiz is so strong, which I think has it's roots in our culture, the social pressure of pakikisama, they often sacrifice a part of themselves, and reality is blurred, and sometimes the actors and actresses lose themselves, and the essence of themselves in the end. How far will they go in the end for success? Is success worth sacrificing who you are, or for the many, many, many Filipino actors with a special secret, is your public persona, money, and showbiz career worth sacrificing love? For many, it is.

But that's just the way it is, and it will never change, because it's a formula that works. That's why it's called show business. It's a business at the end of the day. And it's a show, because a lot of it is not real.

And I know it's not real. But at the end of the day, I just view it as a toy. You play with it, it entertains you, showbiz is fun. The glitz and the glamour is an illusion, but it's an illusion that people welcome into their lives.

Eat Bulaga's Daiana Menezes gets a tattoo

Eat Bulaga's Daiana Menezes gets a tattoo on her foot, and is laughing the whole time and barely flinches. She rocks. Her friend is joking around with her that Daiana enjoys the pain, hehe, and that it's a very memorable moment in her life because she would never do something like getting a tattoo while in Brazil. Don't miss TV5's Ogags hosted by Daiana and Ariana every Wednesday at 10pm! Watch Ogags Video Promo!
Download FREE Daiana and Ariana Wallpapers
The two images above can be used as a really cool desktop wallpaper, just set it as your desktop, then go to Control Panel > Display > Desktop and choose 'Tile', and it looks really hot.