I grouped the programmes by genre. So the rankings don’t really matter. Ehehe. Sa batch na ‘to, yung talk shows, drama anthologies, and youth-oriented shows.
25. MAGANDANG GABI, BAYAN!
As my friend Dam-dam pointed out, there were two things that really made this show very, very interesting and enjoyable.
Halloween Special. As in. I swear, magkamatayan na tayo but I would not miss their Halloween episode. It was just sinisterly spooky. The reenactments were desperately haunting I couldn’t understand why I would always want to watch it even if I knew that I would be so totally afraid to be alone in the days to come. Tipong ihing-ihi ka na, ayaw mo pa rin mag-wiwi kasi nakakatakot. Grabe lang yung “black lady na nangangalampag ng pinto.” Hanggang ngayon she stars as the lead in my nightmares.
New Year Special. To quote Dam-dam, “yung New Year’s episode nila na pinapakita ang mga naputukan, naputulan ng kamay at tinamaan ng bala. Walang panama ang Grey’s Anatomy at ER sa masabaw na dugo na take note, walang konsepto ng blur at pixel.”
24. ALAS SINGKO Y MEDIA
“Alas singko y media na, paboritong palabas ko sa umaga. Halina’t gumising na. Tayo na’t manood ng Alas singko y media.” Hihi,
Missing alas singko y media is almost tantamount to missing my childhood. The show was a significant part of my life then — a part of my routine. Tumututok ako dito while getting ready for school. Peborit ko ang traffic report ni Aida Gonzales kahit na taga-Batangas ako at wala namang kinalaman saken kung traffic sa Maynila (eh traffic naman araw-araw pag umaga, paulit-ulit lang yung report nila.) And I would wait until Cheryl Cosim had done the weather forecast (I was in love with her) before I would finally turn the TV off and leave for school. And I witnessed the Julius-Tintin love story blossom. Yeeeh.
23. MORNING GIRLS WITH KRIS AND KORINA
What I loooved about Morning Girls with Kris and Korina was that unlike many of our talk shows back then (and even today), they actually got to talk sensibly. At first, I thought their tandem would not work. But boy was I so wrong. Kris’s chismosa-factor blended well with Korina’s ruthless criticisms, all against a Talk TV backdrop. My fave segment was K2K, where the hosts comment on the various issues that bannered most newspapers. Kung sana ganito ang mga local talk shows natin ngayon, eh di masaya manood ng TV. But noooo, just look at Sis! It’s a frakkin’ circus!
22. STAR DRAMA THEATER PRESENTS
Dito nila sino-showcase yung talent ng iba’t ibang artista. Iba-ibang roles kada Saturday. Iba-ibang artista kada month. Pero hindi nawawala sa utak ko yung “Kleptomania” episode kung saan nagsama sina Judy Ann Santos at Jolina Magdangal. Hihi.
21. MARICEL SORIANO DRAMA SPECIAL
Bilang fan ni Maricel Soriano, enjoy na enjoy ko ‘to pag Tuesday night. At gusto ko rin pag horror. Yun naman ang nakakabilib kay Maria, napaka-versatile nya. She can do drama, comedy, and horror with the same intensity and impact.
20. CALVENTO FILES
Hindi sya horror pero fraaaak, nakakatakot yung show. Mr. Tony Calvento just gave me the creeps. Screw the story. The host was scary enough.
19. FLAMES
Dapat nire-revive ng ABS-CBN ‘to para magkabuhay naman ang afternoon slot nila. Hehe. Naalala ko nun yung Kuya ko, inis na inis kasi may pasok sya pag Friday. Haha. So masisimulan nya at mapapanood Monday to Thursday tas hindi naman nya malalaman ang ending.
Yung first story nila ay si Marvin Agustin at Jolina Magdangal yata. Sila kasi yung parang Kim at Gerald noon. Tangena, ang jologs ko na naman.
18. OKATOKAT
Tuesday was my fave weekday back then because of Okatokat. Yes, I’d say “Nginiiig” is the best horror programme in the history of Philippine television both technically and creatively. Pero episodic kasi ang Nginiiig. Series ang Okatokat kaya mas nakaka-hook at mas enjoyable. Starring Agot Isidro, Ricky Davao, Rica Peralejo, Jericho Rosales, Diether Ocampo and Angelika dela Cruz. Astig pa ang theme song! (Ako’y napahiya nang makilala ko kung sino, ang nanay lang naman pala akala ko multo. Isang araw, Okatokat!)
17. TABING ILOG
Ang ganda-ganda ng Tabing Ilog nang bonggang bonggang bonggang bonggang bongga. Fine, OA na. Bonggang-bongga lang. Sinundan ko talaga ang kwento nina Eds and Rovic. (You see, I’m a true-blue John Lloyd Cruz fan, K?) Tapos ang galing din ni Jodi Sta. Maria bilang tomboyin na si George at ni Desiree del Valle bilang atribidang si Corrine. At si Baron Geisler bilang Fonzy. Tapos humabol pa si Trina Zuniga (na peborit ko sa Click dati). Tas kalaban si Mylene Dizon at si Beth Tamayo. Tas sumingit din si Rafael Rossell.
16. GIMIK
Saturdays, 4pm. Judy Ann Santos. Rico Yan. Diether Ocampo. Diego Castro. Waaaaaah. Grabe. Nakaka-miss sina Dianne, Ricky, Gina, Ese, Gary, Joey, Melanie, Carlo, etc. I never liked TGIS ever. But Gimik, oh, Gimik was looooooove. Although the quality of the show deteriorated when they introduced more and more characters until the original cast was gone and I couldn’t recognize the show anymore. I just wish Juday never left the show.