Just as morning talk shows are a staple in American culture, so are noontime variety shows in Pinoy culture. Filipinos are such big fans of noontime shows that they not only know the its lingo by heart, they can speak it in the same intonation and phrasing as the hosts do—delivered with high energy, and of course, as if they receive a compulsory adrenaline shot right before each show, down to the exact exclamation marks.
Case in point: ‘Wag/kayong/aalis! Magbabalik. Po. Kami!!!’
Yes, Filipinos are noontime show fanatics that you can just pull aside anyone you see on the street and, chances are if you ask, they can do the Wowowee move with their arms with such unbelievable fervor and enthusiasm, you’d think they were on TV already. (Good luck in trying to stop them once you get them started though).
Wowowee, one of the noontime shows that consistently keep people glued to their TV sets, was launched in 2005 as ABSCBN’s answer to the formidable competitor, Eat Bulaga!, Wowowee gave the other channel’s show a tough competition for audience share, and Eat Bulaga hosts Joey de Leon and Vic Sotto suddenly found a worthy opponent for audience attention in Willie Revillame. And with the emergence of technology, Wowowee was shown all over the US via The Filipino Channel (TFC) as well as other countries, making it one of the most-watched shows in the world. It is so popular that it has launched a successful world tour in various locations such as San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Reno, Chicago, Honolulu, Atlantic City, San Diego and Houston in the US, as well as Sydney, Australia; Winnipeg, Canada; Guam and Dubai.
The show has also paid tribute to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) on several occasions, proving that entertainment do not have to be devoid of social significance in these times. Balikbayans everywhere make sure to include watching the show live at ABS-CBN Studio 3 in their list of things to do when they go home for a visit in the country, as if their trip won’t be complete without watching Wowowee.
This was exactly the case for the several balikbayans we encountered when we got the chance to watch the show live last March 11 courtesy of Ms. Cory Vidanes, Managing Director of ABS-CBN Entertainment and her executive secretary Weng Quijano. Rolando Constantino and his wife Elizabeth, who owns her own dental clinic at West Covina, California, are solid fans of the show. The couple, together with their son and Elizabeth’s mother, was in the country for a month-long visit to attend reunions and spend much-missed time with their loved ones here. They were set to fly back to the US the following day but still made sure they got to watch the show live. In West Covina where they are all currently based, they watch the show everyday, with Rolando’s mother-in-law even watching it thrice a day. Even though the area they reside in is not exactly lacking in Pinoy fixtures (they have Chowking, Red Ribbon and Jollibee), watching Wowowee makes them feel they never left home at all.
