From palengke queens to forest amazons

By isah V. Red

The Sexbomb Girls continue to dominate afternoon television viewing. Today, they are still the queen of the talipapa (or wet market), but beginning Monday, Jan. 19, the sexy dancers/singers will drop their aprons and don amazon-inspired costumes in Daisy Siete?s new episode called Tarzariray (Amasonang Kikay).

Many are curious why Daisy Siete remains a staple in the afternoon block of GMA-7 (it is the only independently produced but under strict supervision of the network) and remains at the top of the ratings game.

Their existence is not anachronistic to what television, especially daytime TV, really is. Being a passive-viewing medium, Daisy Siete offers momentary relief to the housemaids or housewives after a whole morning of household chores (remember that this airs at the time when the kids have had their lunch and the maids have done the dishes and ready to have a couple of minutes break before they bounce back to prepare snacks and later dinner). This is the reason ABS-CBN airs Parekoy right after Wowowee to get a slice (and hoping it would be a bigger one) of the viewing pie on that block.

While Daisy Siete is nothing but a formulaic drama-comedy, producer Joy Cancio and Jose Ruel Ikamen make sure that the series doesn?t take the wrong turns as written by Suzette Doctolero.

Rochelle Pangilinan seems the preternatural protagonist of every Daisy Siete episode and supported by fellow dancers/singers in the group.

After cavorting with the Roco twins?Felix and Dominic?in ?Tinderella,? Rochelle gets a new leading man for this episode and it?s the favorite castaway of Survivor Philippines? John Lopez.

Aside from John, whom many gay men find really yummy, the show marks the return of Aleck Bovick. She is joined by actors Ramon Christopher, Edgar Allan Guzman, Tariq Jambogana, and Aaron Flores.

With the current economic situation, Daisy Siete was advised to cut cost at all levels, yet the production had no choice but to shoot the pilot in Subic.

For several weeks, Daisy Siete was moved to a later time slot (after Saan Darating ang Umaga) but this week it was back where it really belongs? after Eat Bulaga?and will remain there until the GMA Programming Committee says otherwise. Cancio is hopeful that the show stays in the time slot for as long as possible because the audience can?t easily change their viewing habits, she said.

A different role

Kim Chiu has proven her worth in the industry of television and now, she faces a whole new character in ABS-CBN?s newest series, Tayong Dalawa, now making waves on primetime TV.

Kim never ran out of projects, whether on TV or endorsements. She has been one of the busiest teen stars. As another project sets forth, Kim has prepared herself in her newest role on TV.

As her preparation, since tapings would require much of her time, she has her own nutritionist and dietitian to keep her healthy. She continuously attends workshops to further enhance her skills in acting.

When asked about her role, Kim enthused, ?Sa wakas, hindi naman ako masyado poor dito. May kaya na kami kahit papano.?

After My Girl and the Sunday mini-series Your Song Presents: My Only Hope, Gerald Anderson plays a military cadet in Tayong Dalawa.

Gerald has shown his versatility in the roles he has portrayed, from being a hotel president in My Girl to being an ?emo? in Your Song Presents: My Only Hope. Now, he takes on a different and more mature role in ABS-CBN?s Tayong Dalawa.

This time, he breathes life to the character of David Garcia, a man who grew up in a slum area. This is the first time that Gerald will be doing a ?less-privileged? role. Gerald even mingled with the different families in the Baseco compound (one of the major locations of Tayong Dalawa) to have a feel of his character.

When Gerald was asked on what he felt when he was offered to do this project, he enthusiastically said, ?Sobrang na-excite talaga ako kasi bagong challenge na naman ito for me.?

A cluster of respected and multi-awarded artists breathe life to different characters of the series of Tayong Dalawa: Cherry Pie Picache (the whore with a tattered heart), Gina Pare?o (a renewed Magdalene), Helen Gamboa (the ambitious mother), Agot Isidro (the efficient secretary turned dutiful wife), Mylene Dizon (the martyr wife), Ricky Davao ( a powerful man with a weak heart), Alessandra de Rossi (a scorned friend), Jiro Manio (burned son), Coco Martin (the wolf in sheep?s clothing) and Baron Geisler (head of the mafia).

Under the direction of Ruel Bayani and Trina Dayrit, witness two people with the same name, faced with different realities and one woman to love, as Tayong Dalawa embarks on the primetime airwaves on Jan. 19.

Betty becomes Belo beautiful

After a long wait, fans of the un-pretty heroine, Betty La Fea, will finally see her go from ugly duckling to beautiful swan. And who else could transform ugly Betty better than the ?Ambassadress of Beauty? herself?

In the next episodes of I Love Betty La Fea, watch as Dr. Vicki Belo works her magic on our favorite primetime darling, played by Bea Alonzo.

Starting this Thursday, the renowned beauty doctor will join the all-star cast of the show in a cameo role playing herself. Watch I Love Betty La Fea on ABS-CBN, nightly at 8:15 p.m., right after Dyosa.

Two Xs

Aurora, the controversial independent film starring Rosanna Roces, will have a special one-time screening at the UP Cine Adarna on Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m.

The film, directed by Adolfo Alix Jr., was slapped an ?X? ratings twice in a row by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) declaring it ?unfit for public viewing.?

It is Roces? first film after La Vida Rosa (2001) which gave her the Urian Best Actress award.

In Aurora, she co-stars with Sid Lucero, who won Best Actor for Selda in the Urian and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival; Kristofer King, who made waves with his acclaimed performances in Babae sa Breakwater, Tirador, Serbis and Angeli Bayani who was adjudged Best Actress in the 10th CineManila International Film Festival for Melancholia.

The film is an intimate portrait of a captor and a captive as they both struggle to survive in the depths of a jungle.

A social worker named Aurora (Rosanna Roces) is kidnapped by members of the Lost Command. After a military raid in the middle of the night, she gets lost in the forest. She walks aimlessly in the thick forest, hoping to find her way out to freedom. She is found by Fadi (Sid Lucero), one of her captors. Aurora tries every way in order to run away.