As part of the application process to be part of the editorial staff of the campus newspaper back in high school, I was asked to write an essay on the subject “Filipinos Are Great Imitators”. I honestly couldn’t remember what I wrote exactly in response to that, but I did get the position of features editor after submitting my piece.
But come to think of it, when it comes to TV shows, we seem to have little or no respect at all for originality. When I commute I get to occasionally ride air-conditioned busses that has television on board. And having seen some of our local shows, I am amazed at the extent we have copied US shows.
I’ve made a brief list of some old and new local shows we have patterned or totally ripped off from the states. Off the top of my head:
- Buddy N’ Sol. Late eighties sitcom that features city dweller Eric Quizon and promdi (that’s short for “from the province”) Redford White. Obviously copied from “Perfect Strangers”. As if that wasn’t enough, I’ve actually seen how they rip off entire episodes from the original as well.
- MAD (Martin After Dark). Martin Nievera may think he got away with it, but we know better that he was trying to emulate gags from The Late Show with David Letterman. I wouldn’t be surprised if at one point they even asked Louie Ocampo if he could shave his head bald to look more like Paul Shaffer.
- Tabing Ilog. Yup, you’ve guessed it, “Dawson’s Creek”. Stars a bunch of teenybopper actors and actresses whose names are too trivial for me to even remember.
- Game K N B. Game show hosted by the ever-irritating Kris Aquino. An offshoot of the popular US quiz show, “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”. Poor Ninoy must be spinning in his grave.
- Jojo A... All The Way. Super low budget talk show hosted by the lame Jojo Alejar. He rips off comedy genius Conan O’Brien, going as far as copying that bit where Conan pretends to have dialogues with celebrities on TV. You know, those pictures where only the lips move. It’s sad to see how he thinks he’s even close to being funny.
- Diretsahan. Where Amy Perez does a female version of Jerry Springer. I personally haven’t seen this show. But I’ve seen previews that were enough to extinguish my curiosity. Say bye bye to your career Amy.
- Extra Challenge. Sex scandal star and loud-mouth Ethel “How else can I humiliate myself” Booba and the annoying Paulo “Look at me I’m so cute” Bediones does a combo rip off on Fear Factor and the Amazing Race, with lame cartoonish special effects ala Blind Date and The Fifth Wheel. The special effects however are not as pathetic as Paulo’s witless side comments on the challenges.
- Star Circle Quest and Star Struck. You have to be a fool not to realize these are the Filipino acting versions of American Idol. Here, star actor and actress wannabes are subjected to all sorts of stupid challenges that have little or absolutely nothing to do with acting.
- Victim Extreme. If you are entertained by the antics of this Carlos Agassi clown, then you seriously need medical attention. I NEVER thought television could be so irritating until I’ve seen this schmuck host a show. I don’t know which hidden camera show this was ripped off from, probably MTV’s Punk’d. But if Carlos Agassi is Aston Kutcher, then my ass is Tom Cruise.
It’s amusing how they openly adapt show formats and actually try to pass it off as their own. But you know what’s even funnier? Heck, even television stations rip off shows from each other. We’ve all seen how ABS CBN 2 and GMA 7 have been trying to out whip each other butts. One does a show in this format; the other does another version of it. A show creates a segment that hits; the other creates a similar one. They air a show at a particular time slot, the other responds.
I don’t understand why we have evolved to become the copycats that we are today. As children didn’t we used to tease our playmates when they ask their parents to buy the same toy we had or did the same things we do? We’d say, “Ay, gaya-gaya! Puto maya!” (“Ah, a copycat!” That’s the nearest I could think of. The meaning would be lost if literally translated to English). Have we all outgrown that?
I honestly refrained from watching local TV, not because its just imitates foreign shows, but because it is simply not entertaining. The same goes for local movies. I chuckled when I heard how the local film industry made a huge fuss about Henry Sy’s policy to restrict showing sexy movies in all of his SM Mall theaters because he wants his malls to be known as a family place. Movie producers pleaded saying it would kill the already dying local film industry, as if to admit that there is nothing else they can produce besides sexy movies. Don’t you think it’s a little sad how we have to actually stop showing foreign movies during Manila Film Festivals just so that people who want to watch movies have no other option but to see the entries for the festival?
If Filipinos are as talented as we say we are then why are we contented by the sub standard crap we produce? If we are as creative as we say we are then why do we have to blatantly imitate others to the point of embarrassment?
I refuse to believe that we are where we are because we are third world poor. You don’t need a huge budget to come up with a good original TV show. I laugh myself silly when I watch Tado and Erning in UNTV’s Strange Brew, and if you’ve seen their show, you’d realize how tight of a budget these guys are working with. We have an army of good and talented writers. Fresh young minds just waiting to get a break. Classic and Contemporary Philippine Literature is rich with great stories waiting to be adapted on television and the big screen.
We have saturated our viewers with mindless shows and movies long enough. Our problem is constantly trying to please the masses, giving them what they want rather than what they need. We only have a few local channels, and we’ve already proven how people will watch almost anything. Do you think the masses have that much choice if we all show them something more substantial now?