I told Team Angas that more than Kiko Matsing and Pong Pagong, what I most vividly remember about growing up was variety shows. If you were leading lady material in the late 80s to the early 90s, it's imperative that you have your own variety show. From Vilma to Loveliness, Tonight with Dick and Carmi and TSCS, I watched them all--a blur of women in tangas striking a pose and being thrown up and down the air.
Then there were the drama anthologies. Mother Studio Presents, The Maricel Soriano Drama Special, Spotlight. And Mikee, who could forget Mikee and her horse? One of the longest running shows of the sort was Connie Reyes on Camera, which bluekessa joined in its last days as a very young writer. Bluekessa rarely showed up for meetings but would submit scripts and would come by the office to collect her fee. They must have exhausted all possible storylines for that show.
I wouldn't call it definitive, but one show fulfilled leading lady material and variety show quotient, and that was Manilyn Reynes' Young Love, Sweet Love. Each week would feature "Mane" in a story of guess what? Young love. Manilyn Reynes was the archetypal probinsyana who made good. She was part of the Triplets, along with Tina Paner and Sheryl Cruz.
More importantly, she was accorded the title "Star of the New Decade," which Jol pointed out to be self-destructive. One, it gave the star a shelf life. The 90s are over, and so the star has also faded. That's why the star-makers have wisened up and did not award any "Star of the New Millenium." While a thousand years is a long time, it still contains the much dreaded expiration date.
These days, stars have an even shorter shelf life. In a recent issue, Newsbreak explores the shoot-up-immediately-and-die cycle of today's young idols. We have glitz machines like StarStruck and Star Circle Quest, which are a televised journeys of young hopefuls who want to make it big. Mark Herras survived his Star Struck dreams last March, and yet he was immediately by Hero Angeles who was declared the Ultimate Star Struck survivor last June. Figure in that these search shows are quite easy to fund, and it's really just one big money making scheme. People want their idols, and they serve them. They are stars for a season, and then the next batch will be served right up. Star Struck will launch another search come October. There goes the quest for longevity.
I just remember all this, because I read in a news item that one of the long lost triplets has been resurrected. Sheryl Cruz, she of Bihagin ang Dalagang Ito fame, is back in town, supposedly to take a part abandoned by Judy Ann Santos in the third installment of Mano Po. It's been a while since we've seen this girl, and she's coming into a movie franchise cold from years and years of working as a math teacher, wife and mother. I wonder if The Sheryl Cruz Fans Club knows about this already.
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