Bursting the 'Bubble'

By Bayani San Diego Jr. Inquirer MANILA, Philippines--Dressed in matching tankinis, Michael V. and Ogie Alcasid prepare to parody a TV commercial starring Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo. Bitoy (as Michael is known in show biz) shares with Ogie some ideas on how to c ap the sketch, deftly slipping into a jazz routine to stress a point. Ogie takes it all in, wordlessly. But when the camera starts grinding, both he and Michael are transformed into 1970s dance duo Aldeguer Sisters! Welcome to a typical working day on the set of GMA 7âs âBubble Gang.â * * * âBitoy and Ogie [work perfectly together] because they never upstage one anothe r,â co-star Rufa Mae Quinto explains the secret of the gag show thatâs celebrat ing its 12th anniversary this month. âThereâs give-and-take.â Ogie agrees: âFor us, what is important is the scene, not our personal triumphs as comedians. In any case, roles are distributed well.â Egos are set aside -- if not altogether shredded to bits. He thinks nothing of being Panchito to Bitoyâs Dolphy. Bitoy, who is also the showâs creative director, quotes British comic Matt Luca s of âLittle Britainâ fame: âThereâs no vanity in comedy.â To illustrate, he sa ys, âIf you have to look ugly to make people laugh⦠so be it.â Even the female cast members, all sexy stars, are routinely deglamorized. Co-star Ara Mina points out that she often plays mom to Ogie and Bitoy here -- something she wouldnât do just now on the big screen. On occasion, she has even donned a gray wig as Armida Siguion-Reyna. Ogie recalls that when he first dressed in drag as the Pia Guanio clone, Papaya Guano, he looked like a gorilla. âRegine (Velasquez, his girlfriend) said we s hould work harder on my makeup,â Ogie recounts. He admits that the objects of their spoofs are not stingy with feedback. âPia t exted me one night: âMga walanghiya kayo!â [Youâre shameless!]â Bitoy relates that Mike Enriquez, Piaâs co-anchor on the newscast â24 Oras,â of fered constructive criticism for his Michael Ricketts character. âHe wanted me to copy everything about him.â Rufa Mae says Mel Tiangco isnât offended by her Bel Tiongco act. âTita Mel gree ted me on my birthday last year on âSOP.ââ She watches all of Melâs shows, Rufa Mae brags. âI used to have a sketch called âMagpa K Man Lang.ââ Clearly, there are no sacred cows for the âBubbleâ crew. Cast members donât fret when they become targets, Ogie insists. âSometimes, on âChaka Minute,â I joke about myself. We hit many people. Why should I be spared ?â Not everyone is laughing, though. Bitoy says at least one celebrity has complained. â[Singer] LA Lopez sued us. N othing happened to the case.â âWeâve been doing spoofs of commercials since the early days,â Bitoy recalls. âWe had to stop for a while after a coffee company complained. But then âIspup â on ABC 5 was freely doing ad spoofs [from 2000 to 2004].â Bitoy and company fought to have the segment back. âWe made our ad spoofs bigge r and better.â Executive producer Camille Hermoso says âcreative independenceâ is valued on th e show. âOnly the creative team decides which commercials will be parodied.â âA sponsor once asked us to spoof its commercial,â Bitoy recounts. Naturally, t he sponsor interfered in the process. âLots of punch lines were disapproved. Th atâs why we decided to maintain creative control over our material.â Hermoso says Jet Liâs beer commercial has been the most challenging spoof mater ial so far. âIt took us almost six hours -- to think, the segmentâs running tim e was only one minute and thirty seconds.â âThatâs because we try to copy the material frame by frame every time,â Bitoy e xplains. Bitoy and Ogieâs tandem first made its mark on the ABC 5 gag show âTropang Trum po.â It took a lot of convincing for the duo to make the big move to GMA 7 in 1995, recalls Marivin Arayata, program manager and vice president for Entertainment T V. âBitoy was difficult to track down,â she remembers. Apart from the money, it was the prospect of having more âcreative controlâ tha t attracted Bitoy and Ogie. âWe were liberated from oppression,â Bitoy jests. Ogie looks back: âI told Bitoy: Weâve hit the big time. But it was also make-or -break for usâa painful decision.â Adding to the backstage drama, ABS-CBN made a counter-offer. âSaling pusa lang kami noon sa ABS-CBN,â Bitoy says. (Apart from the ABC 5 gag show, they had minor hosting gigs at the time on ABS-CBN.) Unfortunately, the Kapamilya offer was limited to the financial aspect. âI was a bit disappointed,â Bitoy says. On top of creative freedom, the Kapuso network also offered premium exposure. âWe were replacing âVilmaâ in the Friday night prime time slot,â says Bitoy. âB ut that also meant that the pressure was on.â It was a tough climb to the top, to be sure, but by the late 1990s, it became e vident that they were on the right track. ââDating Doonâ (spoof of the religious show âAng Dating Daanâ) put this show on the map,â Ogie opines. Bitoy relates that bright ideas can come from anyone. âAra suggested that we sp oof Ricky Reyesâ shampoo ads. Antonio Aquitania thought up Sex Balls, our spoof of the Sex Bomb Dancers.â âWhen we get text jokes, we share them with the writers,â says Ara. âFrancine [Prieto] never runs out of text jokes. Sometimes she texts us in the early morning hours. Thatâs why everyone hates her,â Bitoy jests. Director Uro de la Cruz says âBubbleâ is not afraid to embrace new technologies . âTexting has democratized comedy. Now, everyone can be a comedian. As gag sho w writers, we shouldnât be threatened. We should always be aware of the latest. â He points out that the show has churned out spoofs of everything, from MTV (Mus ic Tagalog Version) to YouTube (IyoTube). But there is also a need to go back to basics, Uro asserts. âI always tell my w riters to hang out in public markets, ride jeepneys, go to Quiapo and Sta. Cruz to see what Filipinos are laughing at.â Thereâs a science to their craft, says head writer Cesar Cosme. Each episode is a product of regular brainstorming, relates Cosme, more popular ly known as Bro. Willy, sidekick of Brod Pete in âDating Doon.â âI meet with Bitoy and seven other writers once a week over lunch in a restaura nt,â he says. âWe spend hours just shooting the breeze, and get down to busines s only in the last 30 minutes.â The showâs 12th anniversary special, âBubble Gang the Movie for TV,â is the pro duct of one such meeting. âWe came up with an action-musical,â Bitoy quips, âwith a gay man as lead.â Bitoy wrote 11 songs for the two-part special, airing on the last two Fridays o f October. âBut I left room for Ogieâs suggestions,â he says. âI heard the songs in the recording studio,â adds Ogie. âI even sang backup on some of the tracks.â Itâs apparent that Ogie has checked in his ego at the door. âItâs all about making the show better,â Ogie affirms. Yes, indeed, thereâs no vanity in comedy.