Reality-TV Marathon

Reality-TV aficionados are now feasting on new TV shows/series such as American Idol 5, Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity edition and Survivor: Panama - Exile Island.


American Idol 5 premiered last 19th of January (I'm quite uncertain of this date). It starts with the auditions, my favorite part of the show, from 7 key cities namely Chicago, Denver, Greensboro, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Austin and Boston. Unlike the last season in the auditions alone I already had favorites namely Anwar and Lindsay. They had me at Hello, blown away with their cool and melodic voice during their auditions. There are already some contestants who have established a fan base. There's Katherine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Paris Bennet, Lisa Tucker, Taylor Hicks, Jason Horn, just click the links to view their auditions. So far no one in the auditions had an impact on me but McPhee, Tucker and Bennet are promising talents. Hell week or rather Hollywood week would start this afternoon. There were "spoilers" posted on forums regarding the top 24. Some were surprised that their bets were not in the list but we all have just to wait in the following days and see if the spoiler/ rumors are true.


Due to the Wowowee Tragedy the network decided to postpone the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity edition premiere to a later date, supposedly 4th of January to the 5th. The 14 celebrity housemates were revealed in a grand production held at the Baywalk, Roxas Blvd. Manila. This also gave way to the unveiling of the new theme song Sikat ang Pinoy, performed by Toni Gonzaga and Sam Milby. The PBB celebrity edition will only last for 51 days, unlike the first Pinoy Big Brother, which lasted for 111 days.

Day one: The theme was back to basics. They entered the house expecting it to be fully furnished, fresh stock of food and amenities, ready to face Big Brothers tasks and challenges. An empty house greeted the celebrities. The first challenge was to arrange the furniture of the living and dinning area. Since the theme was "back to basics" furniture were made from native materials such as bamboo and rattan. In line with the theme, their toiletries provided were also hmm... indigenous in nature. They had tawas for deodorant, asin and abo (salt and ashes) for toothpaste, tangkay ng bayabas for toothbrushes gugo and aloe vera leaves for shampoo and conditioner, calamansi for facial wash/scrub. They would have to sleep in banigs (for men) and native beds (for women). To top all of that only 7 out of the fourteen will have the chance to claim their luggage. Watching them you could tell that some of them were not comfortable with the set-up. The PBB Celebrities pilot episode definitely toppled the first PBB pilot. There was also an interesting mix of personalities, celebrities in their own fields. Here are the names of the housemates and a brief background on each of them.

• Rudy Fernandez a multi-awarded Filipino para-athlete, who was once recognized as the fastest Filipino runner during the '70s. Dubbed as the "Iron Man of Asia," Mang Rudy is the oldest among the 14 housemates.

• Bianca Gonzalez is a model and former host on "Magandang Umaga Pilipinas" of ABS-CBN, Studio 23’s youth-oriented show "Breakfast Surpersized" and "Y Speak!"

• Angela Calina a single parent and TV personality. Dubbed as the "Wild Flower of Cebu".

• John Prats a former child actor turned teen heartthrob, recently turned to a master of the dance floor, dubbed as the "Dance Floor Dynamite".

• Rico Robles is another certified heartthrob with a cool sounding voice A former DJ of the FM radio station RX 93.1. ( I actually thought that Chico was the one entering)

• Roxane Barcelo is "Divang Kolehiya". Roxy has appeared in several teen and drama shows when she was still young. She had a short stint on RX 93.1 in "Radio One" as a student DJ. Roxy was also a finalist in ABC 5's "Hollywood Dream" but she didn't make the final 2. If I'm not mistaken she released an album last year. She hopes to make a comeback in showbiz.


• Christian Vasquez is a single parent to his two children dubbed as the "Hunk Daddy" housemate. He made his debut on PLDT's 2002 TV commercial which eventually led him to show business.

• Budoy Maraviles dubbed as the "M16 of Samar". Budoy is the vocalist of the band JR Kilat.

• Mich Dulce is the multi-awarded young fashion designer dbbed as "La Fashionista" and she has a very unique personality. The flamboyant Mich said her advocacy is to empower women with curly hair. She owns a fashion boutique, "Store for All Seasons." She is also the vocalist for the all girl bands "Death by Tampon" and "If Disco is a Crime." (So far she is my favorite among the twelve. She is spunky and definitely has talent and brains)

• Zanjoe Marudo is Bench's underwear fashion model. This 22 year-old is dubbed as the "Cover boy of Batangas" he joined the show to prove that he has more to show aside from his handsome face and sexy body.

• Gretchen Malalad is the three-time SEA games gold medalist, a black belter in karatedo. She is known as the "Karate Chick" housemate.

• Aleck Bovick is the controversial sexy star. Dubbed as the "Bombshell in Distress" got involved in a lot of showbiz scandals. Before entering Big brothe's house she posted a bail for a complaint filled by her former manager.

• Keanna Reeves has not only rocked the showbiz world but also the world of politics. I was able to catch "Kontrobersyals" episode "Escort Girls" on Keanna which followed her controversial appearance in a Senate hearing last year to expose her little black book. She earned her the title "Kilabot ng Senado."

• Rustom Padilla dubbed as the "Prodigal Son of Showbiz". He came from a famous showbiz family of the Padillas. In the 1990's, he was as one of the most popular leading men in local movies then later on left the country to pursue studies in filmmaking. He is hoping for a comeback but would prefer to be "behind the scenes". His sexuality still puzzles me... hmmm just curious.

I don't know if they will release a PBB Celebrity edition soundtrack (like the 1st one). Momentarily, you can download the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity edition theme song by clicking the active link below:

Sikat ang Pinoy - Toni Gonzaga and Sam Milby
Last February 3 Studio 23 aired the live satellite broadcast of the season premiere of Survivor season 12, Survivor Panama: Exile Island. Another set of 16 castaways with a startling new set of rules. In the show at least one castaway will be banished to a separate island miles away from the camp. Being separated from the tribe the castaways will learn that there is a hidden Immunity Idol somewhere on Exile Island. If the idol is found he or she could save an individual from being voted out at a future Tribal Council.

Castaways include a retired astronaut, an author who has appeared on teen soap "One Tree Hill", A logging sports promoted and performer who has been featured in magazines such as Sports Illustrated, a retired Navy fighter pilot, a registered nurse, a yoga instructor, a performance artist, a singer, a social worker and a high school art teacher.

I rarely watch this program... so I can't give any insights but the new twist would probably give me the motivation to watch an episode or two.

If I'm not mistaken Amazing Race 9 will have its premiere on the first week of March. The last race, family edition, wasn’t that enticing as the other races. The concept was interesting but they mainly stayed in one location hence it became dragging at the end. I hope they make up for it.

Labels: Reality TV

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