April 2008 Archives

By Candice Montenegro, Contributor INQUIRER.net YOU know how you are with a really good friend? You remember everything that re minds you of your friend. You still laugh every time you're reminded of a funny incident and your heart still aches when you think of a sad moment. It becomes all too familiar, and yet you still want to spend time with that person. That's how I feel about the show "Friends." Yep, I'm a huge fan -- always have, always will. It's safe to assume that I've seen all episodes at least twenty t imes, and I actually include "can recite lines from the show 'Friends'" in my r esume because it's really a skill that I actually do quite well. My addiction i s sometimes bordering on obsession, and I've grown so attached to the show that I clearly remember events in my life that are in one way or another related to it. I was fifteen when I saw a complete VCD box set of "Friends." I remember lookin g at the green box and seeing Brad Pittâs name on it, and I thought, well this ought to be good. I got home, popped in the first CD, and eight hours and 24 ep isodes later, I was hooked. I was in New York City, no less, the day they aired the final episode in May of 2004. I was dying to see the sights of the city I've grown to love largely bec ause of "Friends" itself, but all I wanted to do that day was to stay in my unc le's house in Jersey to watch the final episode. After much convincing (and a p romise to tape the episode), I went out and explored the city, all the while ex cited to come home and watch the bittersweet ending of the show. I remember that day in freshman year when I found out that two blockmates were as huge "Friends" fans as I was. We were hanging out at the school quad, and ou t of the blue, one of them blurted out a line from the show. And then I answere d with the next line, and the other chimed in, and it went on until we finished exchanging favorite episodes. They both turned out to be my closest college fr iends, and who would have thought Phoebe Buffay's songs would bring us together ? And of course I wouldn't forget the countless times "Friends" saved me from a b ad heartache or a really "down" day. Sometimes I'd go through hectic weeks in s chool and I'd realize that I haven't seen an episode in a long while. Then I'd watch an episode or two and it would instantly make me feel better. After some calculation, I concluded that I need to see at least three episodes a week to k eep me sane. Otherwise I'd flip out or go totally berserk. People ask me why I like the show, and I honestly do not know how to answer. Ma ybe it's because of Chandler's sarcastic humor or the endless Ross and Rachel s aga. Maybe I enjoy watching the flashbacks to Monica's fat days, or maybe I fin d Phoebe's unusual philosophies interesting. Or maybe I am drawn to Joeyâs famo us "How you doin'?" just like any other girl. Watching "Friends" is like watchi ng your friends. It's part of the show's charm, and I guess it's why "Friends" ran for ten years. It's cheesy, but "Friends" has indeed become like a friend. (Yeah, you can roll your eyes now.) It's something you can count on to cheer you up, and I don't t hink Iâll ever outgrow it; Ross' Unagi still makes me laugh my head off, and Ch andler's (or rather, Monica's) proposal still brings tears to my eyes. About a year ago, a rumor went around that a five-episode reunion was in the works. Som e people said that it might not be as funny as the original episodes, but I don 't care. To me, watching "Friends" is like catching up with really good friends you haven't seen for a while -- the encounter is a mix of different emotions, but you're just glad that they're there. And you know them so well that it's li ke they've always been there, like they never even left.

By Candice Montenegro, Contributor INQUIRER.net WHO could forget the infamous Alyssa Alano rendition of "Kiss Me?" (Or should I say, "Keys Me") The lines "strike up the band and make the fireflies dance / s ilver moon's sparkling" became something like "strike entebend end make d parfl ays dance / sleeve and mouse is barkley." You'll think, where the heck did thos e words come from, and you realize that she murmured something that sounded lik e the original lyrics. And we all laugh until our stomachs hurt, but truth is, we're all guilty of doi ng that at least once. How many times have you made up song lyrics when you did nât know the actual ones? Now thereâs a new game show that tests how well you know the words of a song. " The Singing Bee," originally an NBC game show, is now in the Philippines and is aired on ABS-CBN. Think karaoke meets spelling bee; six contestants will battle it out as they te st their knowledge of correct song lyrics. There are four elimination rounds. T he first one is "To Be Continued," where contestants have to fill in two to thr ee words of a particular line in a song. The next one is "Jumble Bee," where ju mbled song lyrics are flashed on a screen. The final two rounds are called "Sho wdown" and "Final Countdown," which are both pretty similar to the first round except contestants need to fill in longer lines in a song. Whoever's left standing in the final round will move on to play for the P1-mill ion jackpot prize. Cesar Montano hosts the show, and you'd think it's only because of his versatil ity and his inclination to music (and if it's worth mentioning, his album relea sed in 2000 called "Subok Lang"). In the first episode, he made it clear that h e's perfect for the show because his name is Buboy. Buboy-og. Bubuyog. Bee. Yea h, you get the drift. Aside from the contestants, "The Singing Bee" also showcases a live band called the Bandlebees (headed by perennial musical director Mel Villena) and a group or gyrating dancers called the Honeybees. Unlike the hundreds of singing competitions that we've seen before, "The Singin g Bee" does not require crooners or divas. In fact, even people who can't carry a tune to save their life are welcome to join. Song selections are random, and the songs range from OPM classics and recent po p hits, to foreign chart toppers and, of course, the usual singing contest song s. It's a pretty entertaining show, especially for us Pinoys who are suckers for s inging. At least this one puts a twist to the usual singing competitions we see on TV (and we won't have to sit through the nth rendition of "This is the Mome nt"). It's fun to watch contestants who are lucky enough to get a song that the y know well. Others who aren't so lucky get a really old song that they've prob ably never heard of, and the entertainment comes from watching them make an int elligent guess or pull off an Alyssa Alano.

By Candice Montenegro, Contributor INQUIRER.net "PAUTAKAN! Pagalingan! Patatagan!" It was not exactly the direct translation of the tagline "Outwit, Outplay, Outl ast" but I knew that it only meant one thing -- "Survivor" is coming to the Phi lippines. GMA 7 got the exclusive Philippine franchise of the hit US reality show, and a lot of people are more than thrilled not only to watch the local version of the show but also to audition as a castaway. The network is currently looking for contestants, and to say that there will surely be a lot of hopefuls lining up is quite an understatement. I wouldn't say I am a very big fan of "Survivor," but I really enjoy watching t he show and seeing the contestants go through the different challenges. The con cept is pure genius; throwing a bunch of people together and making them work a s a team, while at the same time reminding them that they're there to basically be the last man (or woman) standing, is just enough entertainment to keep me g lued. And while I like the format of the US version of "Survivor," I'm a little conce rned about how they are going to make it fit the Philippine version. The concep t might have worked in other countries, but it might be a little trickier to ad apt to the Pinoy setting. The idea of the whole game is to see how the castaways will survive with minima l tools: a machete, water canister, and some matches to light a fire. These are the basics given to all contestants, and the fun comes from seeing them try to live life without the dishwasher and the double burner oven that they're used to. While this might prove to be a challenge for the other castaways, Pinoys are qu ite used to doing things mano-mano style. We can live with cooking our food over direct fire and washing out clothes by the river. Heck, we have peop le opening coconuts using their teeth! It's highly likely that the Pinoy outcas t will gnaw his way out of twisted vines and just forget about the machete alto gether -- the tools could just slow them down, you know. Another highlight in the show is watching the contestants try to eat "exotic" f ood. You think the Pinoy castaway will have a problem eating some wild animal o r duck embryo? No way! Pinoys are very inventive with their food, and it's not like it's going to be their first time to eat animal innards or something like that. As long as there are wild animals abound, thereâs plenty of adobo and kilawin to go around. Pass the improvised vinaigrette dip, pleas e. Lastly, Filipinos are very adaptable. I don't think a tribal change or merge wi ll shock the core out of a Pinoy castaway as it does other contestants in the U S editions. We are not called the most hospitable people for nothing, and I'm s ure new blood will be most welcome to stay in their makeshift nipa hut s. I'm not saying there wouldn't be some catfights and backstabbing along the w ay (if it's anything like our local telenovelas, I'm sure that would be F-U-N), but Pinoys are pretty much friendly and courteous most of the time. If anythin g, a merge in tribes will be like one happy family reunion, and we all know how much we love that. Given these, I still think that "Survivor Philippines" is going to be a hit. It "s not like all of us are still used to the rural way of living anyway. It woul d be interesting to see a high-society city dweller live in some remote island with no cable TV, no Internet access and no Starbucks coffee to drink in the mo rning. Throw in some drama and possibly Paolo Bediones extinguishing a torch, a nd I'm not touching my TV remote.

A SECOND year student at the prestigious Seisou Academy, a school where student s specializing in music are considered elite, Kahoko Hino is the typical nondes cript student studying in the general education stream. She has also never laid her hands on a single musical instrument in her life. Video provided by Animax.

CHECK out this trailer provided by Animax, and follow the adventures of twin br others Thor and Rai, who are kidnapped and abandoned on the harsh prison planet Chimaera.

By Joey Alarilla INQUIRER.net SOMEBODY help me, Sept. 15 is too long a wait to get my "Heroes" fix. Yup, the sci-fi show whose second season got gutted by a writer's strike and th e Un-Wonder Twins (damn you, Maya!) will be back for its third seas on on Sept. 15. Here's what the Sci Fi Wire story had to say:

Heroes will return to the schedule on Sept. 15 with an hou rlong clip show premiering at 8 p.m. ET/PT and a two-hour season premiere airin g at 9 p.m., its regular timeslot.

It's been too long since we've had "Heroes" on our TV screens, though it helps somewhat that NBC continued the action online with Heroes Evolutions. Anyway, to help tide us over until Sept. 15, here are "Heroes" Updates that you can also embed on your sites. Just go to the "Heroes" Updates section to grab the codes.