Butch Francisco, Cristy Fermin posibleng ulitin ang ‘kasaysayan’
BIYERNES ng hapon, as Tita Cristy Fermin and I were holed up in our favorite area at TV5’s Reliance building ay bigla na lang sumulpot ang taong kapwa malapit sa aming puso: si Butch Francisco.
Tito Butch – as we’ve been used to address him kahit hindi naman niya kami pamangkin – was within the TV5 premises para i-promote ang crime series in which he starred sa papel na investigative reporter.
Yes, Tito Butch has shifted to acting (occasionally) mula sa nakasanayan na niyang pagho-host ng una, Showbiz Lingo during the early 90s; at sumunod, ng Startalk sa loob ng 16 taon.
Hosting is what Tito Butch had been very good at (in fairness), and if only for this ay mapapalampas na namin ang kanyang mga quirks which we had embraced for so long a time.
Bagama’t he had to take an anticipated exit after the first half of “Cristy Ferminute”, isang masayang kuwentuhan ng pagbabalik-tanaw ang napakinggan/napanood ng mga suki ng programa.
Ilang taon din kasing nagkasama sina Tita Cristy at Tito Butch in a talk show which revolutionized the trite look and drab feel of its predecessors.
Truly, Showbiz Lingo didn’t just make a mark, it made history.
Nang mawala na kasi si Tito Butch doon for good, he had found a nesting place in Startalk. ‘Yun ‘yung panahong kaaalis lang ni Kuya Boy Abunda who leaped to the other side.
With a totally diverse culture, hindi naging madali para kay Tito Butch na yakapin ang mga bago niyang makakatrabaho (us included). But he welcomed us as much as Startalk welcomed him with open arms.
September 12, 2015 noong magpaalam ang magtu-20 years nang Startalk sa ere. Among the then-three existing showbiz-oriented talk shows, it was the last to go.
At sa ayaw at sa gusto namin, Showbiz Police, The Buzz and Startalk faced extinction because social media has eaten us up.
Pero sa tanggapin man ng marami at hindi, not every sizzling showbiz item finds its way into cyber space.
Even the downright tawdry taltalan between starlets – which make for surefire raters – escape social media, pero hindi ng mga talk shows on TV.
Ani Tita Cristy, weder-weder lang ‘yan kung paanong nauuso sa isang panahon ang isang genre only to see its thinning audience sa pagdaan ng panahon.
If this is some beacon of hope, siguro nga’y babalik din – only God knows when – ang mga tsismis shows.
And just who knows, baka ang original tandem nina Cristy Fermin at Butch Francisco ang mag-ulit ng kasaysayan.
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