MANILA, Philippines?Last Monday, April 14, Arnell Ignacio made his renewed bid as host and quizmaster of the game show ?Gobingo,? which is making a comeback on GMA 7. The show?s ?mechanics? are easy to follow, so viewers can enjoy watching it and not have to worry about complicated steps and rules.
Arnell?s breezy hosting style also helps. And last April 14?s celebrity contestants?Eula Valdez, Glydel Mercado and Angelika dela Cruz?were similarly lively and entertaining, particularly Eula, who was so excitedly bubbly as she won round after round.
The first round featured a wide range of easy questions, with correct answers corresponding to numbers encircled on the contestants? respective bingo boards. Eula won P4,000 for topping the round?a rather modest initial prize for a big-deal game show like this.
Round 2 featured five different categories of similarly easy questions, with Eula again coming out on top. She won P8,000?a bit better, but still relatively low.
Next, the contestants answered questions fast, to completely fill up their boards. Eula?s prize for this round was P12,000, and she then moved on to the bonus round, which required her to fill up a row on the bingo board, to win the top daily prize of P70,000.
All in all, Eula won P94,000?not bad for a single guesting on the game show.
The good news is that home viewers will soon be able to play along with the studio contestants, with P150,000 at stake for each telecast.
So far, so good. However, the show is so simple that, after some weeks, it could become too predictable for its own good. To make sure this doesn?t happen, more interesting questions should be devised, and contestants as lively as Eula should be enticed to join.
From Ellen to Oprah
Charice Pempengco is one lucky young singer. After singing on Ellen DeGeneres? popular TV show, she?s just taped another guest appearance on Oprah Winfrey?s program. This, in addition to other stints in different countries, including England.
Charice regularly wins ovations with her birit (belting) singing style, and her vocal range is truly impressive, particularly for one so young. But, we wish that, after establishing her singing ?credentials,? Charice can ease up on the high-pitched, big-sound ?blitzkrieg? singing attack, and focus on variety, subtlety and contrast, as well.
Speaking of Ellen and Oprah, it?s interesting to learn, as a side bar to this piece, that some US show biz observers now feel that Oprah?s older show has been upstaged in terms of popularity by Ellen?s daily talk-variety program.
If true, this is quite an upset, because Oprah has been the talk show circuit?s ?queen? for decades.
Also noteworthy is the fact that DeGeneres has made her talk-show hosting bid without denying the fact that she?s a lesbian, and even has a female life partner. This was a risky step on her part, but American viewers must have appreciated her honesty, because they?ve embraced her and her talk show in a big group hug.
?Iron Man?
Film fans who miss seeing Gwyneth Paltrow on the big screen may be surprised to know that she?s opted to make her screen comeback, not in a heavy drama, but in the action hero comics-based ?Iron Man,? with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role (another casting surprise).
