Eat Bulaga!

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Eat Bulaga!

Present logo of Eat Bulaga!
Format Variety show
Created by Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc.
Starring Tito Sotto
Vic Sotto
Joey de Leon
and others
Jack Nicholson
Country of origin Flag of the Philippines Philippines
Language(s) Tagalog and English
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Antonio P. Tuviera
Malou Choa-Fagar
Camera setup Multiple-camera setup
Running time Approx. 2.5 hours (Monday - Friday)
2.5 hours (Saturdays)
Broadcast
Original channel Radio Philippines Network
Picture format 480i SDTV
Original run July 30, 1979 – present
Chronology
Preceded by KalatOg! Pinggan (ABS-CBN)
Salo-Salo Together (SST) (GMA Network)
Followed by Student Canteen (RPN)
'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila (ABS-CBN)
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
Filipino noontime television shows edit
ABS-CBN ASAP '08
Pilipinas, Game KNB?
Wowowee
GMA SOP Rules
Da Big Show
Takeshi's Castle
Eat Bulaga!

Eat Bulaga! is a local noon-time variety show in the Philippines produced by the Television And Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE) of Malou Fagar and Tony Tuviera. The program is the longest-running variety show on Philippine television. It also holds the Philippine record of all-time number of live TV episodes. (Bulaga means "surprise" in Tagalog, although it should not be taken as the literal translation of the word surprise; its closest English equivalent is Peek-a-boo!. Eat is the transliteration of It!, the Tagalog game-slang for "lost (in the game)" and Eat was chosen because the show plays at lunch time) The show is aired on GMA Network at 12pm on Weekdays and on Saturdays. The show is broadcast from TAPE Studios at the Broadway Centrum in Quezon City.

Contents

[edit] History

Eat Bulaga premiered on July 30, 1979 on Radio Philippines Network at Broadcast City, Diliman, Quezon City.

RPN outsourced the idea to TAPE. At that time, comic troika Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon were the most popular movie comedians. They were hired together with Chiqui Hollman and Richie Reyes (a.k.a. Richie d' Horsie) as co-hosts.

The TV program innovated numerous concepts on Philippine television which were later copied by rival TV programs. The show has maintained . Moreover, it is consistently recognized with awards from the local and foreign press and other organizations.

In 1989 due to the sequestration of RPN, the show moved to ABS-CBN along with other TAPE-produced shows Agila, Coney Reyes on Camera and Okay Ka Fairy Ko (from IBC) and helped strengthen the network's programming. The premiere telecast of Eat Bulaga at their new home was on February 18, 1989 and for this momentous event, the show was staged at the Araneta Coliseum.

In 1992, Tito Sotto left the show after he ran successfully for a Senate seat. He became the topnotch senator during the May elections, which saw Fidel V. Ramos winning the presidency. However, despite leaving the show, he still managed to appear on special occasions. Sotto was able to serve 2 terms in the Senate, from 1992–1998, and 1998–2004. In his last year at the Senate, he went back to Bulaga on a weekly basis (usually on Saturdays).

The show once again moved to another network, this time on GMA Network because ABS-CBN wanted to buy the airing rights of Eat Bulaga from TAPE, Inc. When the group led by Tony Tuviera and Malou Choa-Fagar reneged on the proposed deal, ABS-CBN kicked Bulaga and its sister shows Valiente and Okay Ka, Fairy Ko from its roster of shows and decided to reformat its Sunday-only show Sa Linggo nAPO Sila into a week-long show, 'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila. Eat Bulaga premiered on GMA on January 21, 1995, again at the Araneta Coliseum.

Eat Bulaga! celebrated its 25th year on television in October 2004 at the Expo Amphitheater in Clarkfield, Angeles City, Pampanga, making it the longest-running television show in the Philippines. The television special was attended by an estimated 60,000 spectators and enjoyed the highest daytime TV rating in the Philippines. The special was cited as winner in the Asian Television Awards in Singapore on December 1, 2005. The said event was also hailed as the most successful television event on Philippine TV and was narrowly matched only by the 1st Starstruck Final Judgement.

In December 2004, GMA signed a 5-year contract extension to keep the show on their network until December 29, 2009. After celebrating 25th anniversary, it was incidentally the 10th anniversary of Eat Bulaga's start in GMA the next year.

Over the years, many people have predicted that the show would move to another network every time their contract with GMA was close to expiry. But, in interviews with GMA executives led by Atty. Felipe Gozon and Jimmy Duavit - GMA expressed their desire to keep the show for as long as they can as there is no vacant timeslot in other TV station and to let its ratings rise. Joey de Leon on the other hand, is also considered as an important factor to Bulaga's stay in GMA since he has been fiercely loyal to the station and his efforts have been rewarded. He is considered as a key asset to GMA.

Eat Bulaga is considered by many as an institution - becoming a launchpad for many different Filipino comedians and showbiz newbies who have had large success on the show. Tony Tuviera identified the show as a "way of life" when they beat MTV's Tsunami Aid special at the Asian Television Awards.

In 2006, the SexBomb Girls left the show due to a dispute with the show's producers.[citation needed]

In January 2007, Gladys Guevarra left to undergo therapy. In May 2007, the casting for the show was affected when three of its hosts, Tito Sotto, Anjo Yllana and Teri Onor ran for public office. Sotto and Yllana were re-electionists for Senate and Paranaque Vice Mayor respectively. However they lost to more formidable opponents. Only Onor (real name Dexter Dominguez) won a seat as Vice Mayor of his hometown in Abucay, Bataan. Moreover, the line-up of hosts for "Bulaga" was reduced after some hosts either resigned or ended contract. Eat Bulaga has been beaten many times in the ratings games by its competitors but would later regain their lead, a strong & powerful proof of their might as an institution.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Hosts

[edit] Current co-hosts

[edit] Previous co-hosts

[edit] SexBomb Girls

Main article: SexBomb Girls

The SexBomb Girls were an all-girl group that performed dance skits. In March 2006, they were dropped from the show following a dispute between their manager and the show's producers.

[edit] SexBomb Girls Dispute

The SexBomb Girls (both dancers and singers) rebelled and stayed away from working on Eat Bulaga when one of the show's producers hired Sugar Mercado and promoted her heavily after her contract with Joy Cancio, the girl group's manager, had expired. Cancio claimed she decided to take the famous group off the show in protest of the said decision. There were even speculations that the producers had actually preplanned a way to get the SexBombs off the show, most likely due to salary issues.

As a result, media sources reported rumors that the SexBomb Girls were going to be hired by ABS-CBN to move to Wowowee, ABS-CBN's noontime Variety/Game Show, but Cancio denied the rumor and stressed that the group still has a long term contract with GMA Network, especially with regard to the hit afternoon drama show Daisy Siete.

The producer of Eat Bulaga accepted a texted apology from Cancio, but also said the time was right to move on. A return to Eat Bulaga by the SexBomb Girls was then thought to be unlikely, and they were later "replaced" by a new dance group: The EB Babes.

[edit] The EB Babes

Main article: EB Babes

With the loss of the SexBombs, the producers of Eat Bulaga decided to form a brand new in-house dance group, the EB Babes (the EB standing for "Eat Bulaga!"). The group was formed using a reality competition with open auditions. The new group officially debuted later during August 2006.

[edit] The Return of the SexBomb Girls

On December 16, 2006 the SexBomb Girls appeared on Eat Bulaga for the first time in nine months during the "Give Love on Christmas Day" segment with a song and dance number. Former SexBomb Girl Sugar Mercado rejoined the girls in the said number and some Eat Bulaga hosts were happy to see them again. On March 12, the SexBomb Girls returned as "guest dancers" once again - but only appearing during Fridays.

[edit] SexBomb vs. EB Babes

The two groups finally met each other in a "showdown" on February 3, 2007, as requested by the public, especially the fans of both groups. The episode gained a 31.2% share of the ratings for that day. Rumors later surfaced about a possible rematch between the two groups, but in a TV interview with the SexBombs, it was revealed that there would be no rematch with the EB Babes for a while, but, a couple of weeks later, they met each other for another showdown, but, it was less popular than the previous one. Right now, the SexBombs are currently seen on Fridays on a temporary basis, while the EB Babes are also seen on the rest of the week. Occasionally, the two groups can be seen together during opening numbers on Saturday episodes.

[edit] Awards

  • Winner, Best Variety Show - PMPC Star Awards for Television (1989–2007)
  • Best Entertainment Program Winner "Eat Bulaga Silver Special" - 2005 Asian Television Awards in Singapore

[edit] See also

[edit] External links
Languages