Ogie brings comedic touch to game show

MANILA, Philippines - When Ogie Alcasid moved to TV5 (from GMA 7) last year, he lost no time in doing shows, some of which he even helped conceptualize. He teamed up with Sharon Cuneta in the weekly musical, The Mega and the Songwriter. He also starred with Alice Dixson in the comedy series, Confessions of a Torpe.

Reliving his Tropang Trumpo days, he started the weekly gag show, Tropa Mo Ko Unli, reuniting with former regulars Gelli de Belen and Caloy Alde. They are joined by Ritz Azul, Eula Caballero, Edgar Allan Guzman, Empoy Marquez, Long Mejia, Valeen Montenegro, Wendell Ramos, Tuesday Vargas and Alwyn Uytingco.

Ogie’s latest assignment is the game show, Let’s Ask Pilipinas, now on its third season airing daily at 11:15 a.m. He took over from Aga Muhlach, the original host of the game show, which was formerly on the early evening timeslot.

Ogie is simply thankful he was given the opportunity to host another game show. Let’s Ask Pilipinas brings contestants from all parts of the country together. From Cagayan de Oro to Cebu, from Camiguin to Cainta, four players are easily brought together through video streaming. They are given the chance to try their luck and win money right in the comfort of their own homes.

The comedian in Ogie works to his advantage in hosting Let’s Ask Pilipinas. He can easily crack jokes with the players or the audience. “Ano daw ang madalas sabihin sa ‘yo kapag nagpunta ka sa Camiguin? Eh di, ‘Come again’ (Camiguin),” he teased.

The singer in Ogie is also a plus factor in his hosting. There are days when a player croons a song, more often than not singing one of Ogie’s hits. So Ogie also obliges to singing a line or two of any of his hit songs.

The show’s mechanics remain the same. Four players try to compete via webcam and they choose what majority of the respondents will answer. All the answers are survey-based, so there are no right or wrong answers in the choices.

The Agad-Agad challenge is a scavenger’s hunt race executed by two players in case there’s a tie at the end of a particular round. The loser gets eliminated and the winner advances to the next round. The challenge was retained for this season.

This new season of Let’s Ask Pilipinas, which kicked off the third quarter salvo of TV5, gives lower prize money. Every round has three questions and each question gives corresponding prize money — from P2,000 to P15,000.

While the show gave as much as P500,000 before in the jackpot round, the biggest amount that a contestant can presently win has been reduced to P300,000. If the contestant successfully wins all the rounds, he can choose to bet all of his money or wager part of it to play in the jackpot round and get a bigger cash prize.

Ogie’s effort in keeping the show lively and upbeat in its late morning time slot is commendable. He interacts well with the players, the studio audience and even with the viewers.