BACKBLOG - RAMBLINGS FROM A GAME SHOW COUCH CONTESTANT
Sometimes I write my blogs offline, and forget to post it. I was thinking about what to blog this lazy Sunday, and I came across this. Medyo little outdated na. I mean, "The Weakest Link" is already a certified hit. At least among my workmates, haha... It has even found its way to the text messages already. And Game K N B? has since changed its format to a more participant-friendly one. On top of that, another primetime game show joined the bandwagon. "Korek na Korek Ka Diyan" must be the most "pang-masa" one. The questions in this game are the easiest, and the contestants are given a preview of what the next question is going to be before they decide to move on to the next round (with bigger prize money, of course). Suddenly, the TV war is all about game shows now! Anyway, here's my backblog:

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“Walled City!”, I shouted, like the TV contestant could hear me. Christopher de Leon, host to the Philippine version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” asked what Intramuros meant. Any Pinoy should know that, right? But the contestant was beseeched by uncertainty after Christopher’s intimidating “Sure? Final Answer?”, so he asked to use his lifeline. I quickly switched the channel and watched Kris Aquino shriek “And you are ---- correct!” to the studio contestant. I dunno, despite being overly irritated by her shrill voice, I find myself still watching GAME K N B?. It’s refreshing to see celebrities displaying some sense of intelligence and a little bit of heart as well. The questions are simple enough that any couch contestant could potentially sweep the face-off round. Anybody who was growing up in the 80’s would know that He-Man’s magician sidekick was called Orco, right? And that Demi Moore was Esmeralda’s voice in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. (Who doesn’t say, “Duh!” every time the contestant gets it wrong? Who doesn’t feel he/she should be the one on TV instead to win the coveted 1M peso prize if not for the money, for the one moment of gloating on air as if to say “Boy, I’m smart!” Aminin! :P )

Yes, I confess, I am one of the probable thousands of couch contestants during game show nights. I blame it on my insomnia. For lack of better things to do, I’d rather shriek my answers as I while my night away. Or it may be my high school frustration of never making it to the finals of “The Most Well-Informed Student”. Or is it just a way of affirming that yes, I do know stuff other than yield losses and product health indicator degradation. Whatever it is, it’s also fun as you discuss with your friends and officemates how contestants made a fool of themselves using a lifeline to a question that’s very kindergarten. Outlet ng kayabangan ba… :D

Anyway, I’ve discovered this new game show called the “Weakest Link”, also another American show piloted in Phil. TV, hosted by Edu Manzano. And that’s the one I enjoy best. The format is by far the most unique, very “un-Filipino” daw, accdg to one newspaper columnist (who, btw, predicted that this show wouldn’t catch on). Walang showcases for charity or a less-privileged loved one. Walang iyakan on TV or Christopher de Leon handing you a check to give you a chance to win some good money if you are in great doubt. No waiting for you to make up your mind, using lifelines or changing answers. This time you compete with 7 other contestants using not only wit but street-mart (wais) tactics, almost cunningly evil. But, heck! This is exactly what we love to see on television. This is exactly what glued us to our seats watching Erap’s trials, or Rosebud’s testimonies while our politicians bicker with each other, fighting the survival of the fittest game. Ironically, the contestants in the last episode I watched were local politicians like Dennis Padilla, Kim Atienza and the like. But they were more politically correct than the showbiz contestants na talagang nag-iipitan. I see that everyday in the operations meetings at work. Everyone in the room is out to save their own a**es. Hay naku, hangga’t wala pa akong nakikitang tunay na pagbabago sa mga Pilipino, I wouldn’t buy this un-Filipino argument, kasi, di ko man gusting aminin, eh ganyan na tayo ngayon. Magbago muna tayo bago natin sabihin yan, di ba?

Grabe, I just lost my train of thought here. I guess I just got carried away. Don’t get me wrong, I still have not lost faith in the Filipino. I’m still proud to be Pinoy! And I will always be. So that would mean I should endorse Game K N B. Not only is this an original Filipino conceptualization, it has all the elements of the “Dating Pinoy” na gusto na nating gawing “Bagong Pinoy: Makatao, Makabayan, Maka-Diyos”.

Ang tanong ko na lang, Game K N B? Eh kung hindi, then you are the weakest link. Goodbye! ;-)

Leave ur thoughts. :-)