With ToMiho, has ‘Showtime’ finally found the answer to AlDub?

CEBU, Philippines – “It’s Showtime” has recently launched “ToMiho: A Love Realiserye” less than a month after it concluded a controversial segment that was touted as its answer to the phenomenal #AlDub love team of rival noontime variety show, “Eat Bulaga.”

Focusing on the ongoing love story between “Pinoy Big Brother 737” grand winner Miho Nishida and first runner-up Tommy Esguerra, the title of the segment alone is already seen by many as a direct challenge to the “Kalyeserye” segment of “Eat Bulaga.”

“Kalyeserye” gave birth to AlDub. The extremely popular love team of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza a.k.a. Yaya Dub made television and social media history last October 24 with its “Tamang Panahon” TV special, which filled the 55,000-seater Philippine Arena and generated over 41 million tweets.

After the popularity of AlDub began to widen the ratings gap between “Eat Bulaga” and “It’s Showtime” as early as last July, the latter show countered with “The Funny One,” a segment of budding stand-up comedians that saw the emergence of grand winner Ryan Rems Sarita, known for his catch phrase, “Rock and roll to the world.”

Sarita then became a regular on “It’s Showtime” but his addition was still not nearly enough for the show to catch up with “Eat Bulaga,” which by August was already trending on Twitter every day with AlDub-related hashtags.

“It’s Showtime” then stumbled upon YouTube sensation Angelica Jane Yap, a recently brokenhearted girl who guested on the show’s “Madam Bertud” personal advice segment of host Vice Ganda. Yap was a hit with the show’s fans and shortly thereafter, a reality dating game portion called “Nasaan Ka Mr. Pastillas?” was created around her quest to find a new boyfriend.

But the segment also drew controversy as the show itself was accused of “exploitation of women” and “pimping” Yap by the Gabriela Women’s Party, prompting the Movie Television Review and Classification Board to summon the show’s representatives.

It also didn’t help that Yap herself had initially become known for the viral videos of her foul-mouthed rants against her ex, a lasting first impression that was too much for her and the show to overcome given the more wholesome image of Yaya Dub by comparison.

When the “Nasaan Ka Mr. Pastillas?” segment finally ended last October 17, Yap, unlike Sarita, was not brought back as a regular talent of “It’s Showtime.”

It seems like a sound idea for “It’s Showtime” to continue the blossoming romance of Miho and Tommy, which began on “PBB 737” and ultimately led to their Top 2 finish, as the two have already built a solid fanbase on social media over the course of the reality show’s run.

Compared to Pastillas Girl, Miho seems to have more in common with Maine. Raised almost single-handedly by her mother in Japan, she does not speak and understand English while her Tagalog vocabulary is limited so like Yaya Dub, she does not really talk that much. Her relatively quiet and often clueless demeanor is what endeared her to “PBB” viewers.

Based on her votes on the grand finals of the show, Miho now holds the highest winning percentage of any “PBB” grand winner to date, which reflects her high approval rating among television audiences.

But as her biography indicates, the 22-year-old single mother, who worked as a guest relations staff in Japan, also has a checkered past, a self-described former “party-goer who preferred drinking and partying over going to school.”

Like Miho, 21-year-old Tommy also has some similarities with Alden. The Filipino-German model, who was born and raised in Long Beach, California, is also known for his chivalrous and courteous ways.

The “ToMiho: A Love Realiserye” segment will take place inside the PBB House where Miho, together with her mother Mercedes and daughter Aimi, are currently staying as the house that she won as the show’s grand winner, is still under construction.

Like the other show’s “Kalyeserye,” the setting of “ToMiho” offers a myriad of possibilities for Tommy’s courtship of Miho to thrive, including a serenade number by Tommy last Saturday..

Because of their similarities, AlDub fans are already accusing “It’s Showtime” of again coming up with another variation of the “Kalyeserye” segment as the term “Realiserye” was first floated during the stint of Pastillas Girl in the show.

But “It’s Showtime” may be on to something as while ToMiho still has a long way to go before reaching AlDub level in terms of following, the love team has received mostly positive feedback and is nowhere near as controversial as the Pastillas segment that preceded it. – InterAksyon.com