MANILA, Philippines?As show biz prognosticators try to second-guess the trends and fads that will tickle viewers? fancy in 2009, they can take their cue from the last Metro Manila Film Festival, the top grossers of which were comedy flicks.
On TV, fun-filled formats rule the roost, too, and their popularity should build further this year. ?Blame? it on the world?s daunting economic woes.
When times are hard, people want to escape from day-to-day travails, and one of the most exhilarating ways of doing this is to laugh. The ironic thing is, cash-strapped people have to pay for the comedy flicks they view. Yet, they gladly do it, because they need the psychic boost. Laughter is still the best medicine.
It stands to reason, therefore, that TV-film producers will be bankrolling more than their usual lineup of comedy productions this year. For their ploy to succeed, however, it will have to counteract the current notion of comedy in these parts, which isn?t really funny. Call it the comedy of slapstick, gimmickry, cynicism and green and private jokes?which all leave a bad taste in the mouth.
Producers need to go back to the comedy of situation and character from which genuine and heartwarming laughter emanates. Can they return to the really funny basics? They?d better?if they want to run laughing all the way the bank!
Other side of midnight
As TV airtime increasingly becomes more valuable and expensive, many non-entertainment shows are now being telecast at midnight, or even after. Initially, this would appear to be a big problem for the programs in question, because their potential viewership would be drastically reduced. After talking to some of those ?late-late? shows? producers, however, we?ve had a change of mind, if not of heart:
Yes, the late-late shows admit, their programs are viewed by only a fraction of the general TV audience?but then TV has become such a popular and highly viewed medium that even that ?fraction? accounts for quite a number.
Another thought: A maker of TV documentaries reveals that a sizeable ?additional? audience can be reached when DVDs of his productions are made available for purchase.
Best of all, some after-midnight shows beam their relevant messages to decision makers, and they?re able to reach and influence them despite the ?graveyard? slot. Thus, producers of late-night shows count their ?blessings,? not in traditional terms like numerical viewership figures, but in the quality and influence of the viewers they do reach.
So, past midnight is a graveyard shift no more, and late-night shows? viewers are no longer limited to insomniacs, night owls, sleepwalkers, zombies and such. Ask Kuya Germs.
Feedback
From Paul R. Mortel of Marikina City: ?Through its agencies, the government protects the people?s interests and welfare. The question is, why can?t the government protect harassed and beleaguered televiewers from the irritating effects of excessive overloading of commercials on TV? Who should provide this protection, the DOTC or the NTC??
?The Secret Life of Bees?
From the best-selling novel by Sue Monk comes the inspiring drama, ?The Secret Life of Bees,? starring Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okenedo.
Set in South Carolina during the turbulent Civil Rights era, the home of the independent honey-making Boatwright sisters is suddenly thrust into upheaval with the arrival of 14-year-old Lily (Fanning).
She forms a maternal bond with the Boatwright women, whose unique gifts help reconcile her with the loss of her mother, and she comes to the realization that you sometimes have to leave home in order to find it.
