Kris is in her element on Kris and Tell -

Although she had countless movie hits in the past and was, in fact, crowned Box-Office Queen for the year 1992, I believe that Kris Aquino’s medium is really television – particularly the talk show genre.

When she used to do Today With Kris, she and Dina Bonnevie really brought a lot of life to the late morning time slot on television.

And even if The Buzz is competition to Startalk (indirectly though), I have to say that Kris and co-host Boy Abunda provide so much energy to this Sunday afternoon movie talk show.

Sadly, Balitang Kris did not work out as expected and had a very short stint on ABS-CBN. But based on what I heard, the problem with Balitang Kris was internal and did not have anything to do at all with Kris’ capacity as host.

On the air for two weeks now is Kris & Tell, a strictly showbiz-oriented program. A dialy 30-minute show, Kris & Tell begins with Kris talking about (and later reacting to) current showbiz issues culled mostly from tabloids.

Then, there is this segment where Kris visits the set of a taping in progress. Basically, this is just an ABS-CBN promo. But to the credit of Kris’ staff, they work around this portion to make it look more interesting to the viewers.

But the one segment I really look forward to is Kris’ daily one-on-one interview with a celebrity guest currently in the eye of a raging showbiz controversy. For her premiere telecast, she had Aiko Melendez talking about her separation from husband Jomari Yllana. A few days later, Kris had Jomari himself telling the world his version of the story.

She also had Pops Fernandez clearing the issue about the alleged holding hands under the table with Troy Montero in New York.

In a two-part interview, she also had the elusive Rustom Padilla baring his heart and soul about all those issues that hounded him since his marriage to Carmina Villarroel fell apart almost three years ago.

Kris is very effective in these heart-to-heart talks with celebrities because she seems genuinely concerned and interested in their problems.

But her biggest strength as a talk show host is her intelligence. And you can also add to that her being knowledgeable about a lot of things – from highbrow books to the latest trends in fashion.

It is also a delight to watch Kris because she can afford to laugh at herself – at her fumbles and foibles. She is, in fact, one of the very few broadcasters I know who easily admits to her mistakes publicly and even apologizes for her faults on the air if and when necessary.

In the past – especially when she was still doing Today With Kris – she had been harshly criticized for talking too much about herself. Actually, I saw nothing wrong with that. Kris, after all, is a major showbiz personality – the youngest daughter of a beloved former President and this great and heroic Filipino whose face appears on the P500 bill. (And do we need to mention the fact that the country’s one and only major international airport was named after her father?) Anything about her personal life is really of interest to the public. They may or may not approve of what she does or say. But the fact remains that most people still lap up anything about her. Kris therefore can talk about what she had for breakfast and I’m sure a lot of people would still sit up and listen.

Of course, every showbiz observer this side of the world is aware of the fact that Kris has learned practically everything there is to know about life – save for diplomacy and tact. So far, I haven’t fallen victim to her legendary tactlessness (knock on wood!) so I still find it cute and humorous. But really, I think she has been more careful lately. Not that there hasn’t been any incident in the past few weeks. But let’s not go back to that anymore.

The important thing is that she learns her lessons well. And since it is never her intention to harm anyone with her actions and statements anyway, she is easily forgiven for her sometimes careless remarks.

Kris may be doing very well now in her Kris & Tell show. However, I still feel a bit sad because she may be pigeonholed into showbiz-oriented types of programs for the rest of her life. You see, I believe that Kris is capable of handling a whole lot of other formats in the field of television. Limiting herself to showbiz is quite a tragedy – given her vast knowledge of other subjects.

But then, she seems happy with this new development in her TV career so I just wish her well.

And finally, even if her show is in another channel (and even if her column is in another paper), I just want to tell Kris that I’m getting quite addicted to her Kris & Tell.