Allan K all set to host The Weakest Link

With Edu Manzano bowing out of The Weakest Link (which is sad because he is really very good there), the game show’s local franchise-holder, Viva TV, is readying Allan K. to take his place in the program, now aired on Channel 13 from Monday to Wednesday. The standup comic, however, has yet to go through the formality of signing a contract with Viva TV and finalizing other matters with the production company before he starts taping his first season with the program.

From Allan K.’s end, he is also trying to finish his other showbiz commitments (although he stays as a regular in Eat Bulaga) before immersing himself in the tapings of The Weakest Link, which are now held in the new Viva TV studios in Marikina. Today in his native Bacolod, he is also burying his mother who died last week.

Clearing the air

The air should now clear between Kaye Torres, only daughter of slain actress Nida Blanca on one side and Carlo Caparas and Donna Villa on the other after all those interviews on television and print (including one in Funfare last Saturday). As a backgrounder, Torres was obviously given the wrong impression that Caparas and Villa were already concretizing a plan to do a film based on Blanca’s life story.

Well, I can understand Torres’ rather violent reaction to this supposed plan. She is still in mourning and – to make matters worse – the investigation of the case is dragging oh-so-slowly in spite of last week’s developments.

But then, it turned out that Carlo Caparas and Donna Villa aren’t doing the Nida Blanca story on film after all – at least, not without permission from Kaye Torres. Sure, they’d be willing to do the project – what filmmaker wouldn’t want that? (After all, Ms. Blanca’s life story – if transported into film – would make a very good movie even without the gruesome ending.) But Caparas and Villa would only issue such statements during freewheeling discussions or whenever asked by the press. In reality, however, they haven’t done any move yet to begin such a project.

In fairness to Carlo Caparas and Donna Villa, they’ve never been known to have shady dealings in the movie business.

At the height of public sentiment in favor of Flor Contemplacion in 1985, they tried to get the rights to put on film the life story of this hapless domestic helper hanged in Singapore. Unfortunately for them, Viva Films beat them to that and made a killing at the box office.

Caparas and Villa, however, didn’t give up that easily. What they did was go to the relatives of Delia Maga, the domestic helper supposedly strangled by Contemplacion, and bought the rights to her story. Surely, that was a clever move, but still within legal bounds.

Knowing Carlo Caparas and Donna Villa, even if they’re already itching to do Nida Blanca’s life on film, they won’t start the project without asking permission first from Kaye Torres – and certainly without checking first the legal angles of the case.

Besides, at this point, I don’t know of anyone who would still want to inflict further pain on Torres. The entire nation mourns with her and would try to do anything possible to alleviate whatever suffering she’s going through at the moment. And we’re doing this not only for her, but especially for her dear mother, whom we all loved dearly.

Readers’ feedback

My nostalgia pieces in this column the other week elicited a lot of reactions from readers here and abroad. Minnie Galindez, presently based in San Diego, California, wrote to say that she still remembers Sylvia la Torre telling the viewers at home, "Colored kami ngayon!" Well, Ms. Galindez was still a kid back then and she kept wondering why the images she saw on screen were still in black and white. Of course, as she grew up, she realized the reason why: Their TV set at home was really just black and white.

From Rey V. Why not come up with a TV show on nostalgia? Maybe they can call the show Time Travel Time or T Cube – or even Flux Capacitor. An hour of old TV commercials, perhaps? I want to see again those old Dari Creme taste tests. Or even Pancho Magalona endorsing Pancho Pantera chocolate drink. I wonder if copies of these old TV ads still exist.

Like you, Rey, I’ve always wanted to see on television a show featuring nothing but old clips – like old TV ads, for instance. Unfortunately, there really isn’t a big market for that since there are very few of us nostalgia buffs. As for the copies of the old TV commercials, I doubt very much if the Pancho Pantera ad still exists because that was way back in 1966. But I do know that some of the Lux TV commercials (in black and white) with Amalia Fuentes still exist.

A resident of Sto. Domingo in Albay province who wants to remain anonymous wants to send this message to Ariel Rivera and Gelli de Belen:

I wrote you because I know that through your column, the people of Sto. Domingo in Albay would be able to extend their gratitude to Ariel Rivera and Gelli de Belen. They stood as ninong and ninang for one of our kababayans here. I admire their humility and sincerity. They really made us very happy with that one visit (June 17). We thank them for their kindness and thoughtfulness.