Despite my hectic schedules, I always find time to make myself entertained. Although I have to say that the adrenaline rush of managing one's own business is highly entertaining for me, watching from the sideline all the happenings in the entertainment industry especially in the Philippines, is even more gratifying and even more nerve-wrenching.

Okay, so in three (3) hour's time, I will bid goodbye to 2005, and celebrate 2006 with a bang courtesy of Tagbilaran City's newest and most happening place, which is The Courtyard! But before I do that, I am compelled to make this blog posting on the Entertainment Category since I only had one posting since I started this BlogSpot thing of mine last December 16.

What is memorable in the entertainment scene in 2005? Hmmmm, isip-isip...

This is the year when ABS-CBN was finally overtaken by GMA-7 in the ratings game for the entire day in Mega Manila. Well, the erosion of Kapamilya viewers started way back in, I believe, 2000. Before that time, ABS-CBN is lording over the ratings game for all time periods against GMA-7 and other netlets (ABC-5, RPN-9, IBC-13, Studio 23, and NBN-4). Then in the year 2000, GMA-7 surged in the late-night and mid-morning time periods. It is to be noted that during this time, GMA-7 is already a formidable leader in the noon-prime time period with its ever-resilient Eat Bulaga! block-timer. Then, in 2002, GMA-7 started to infuse some hard work and maybe some fresh ideas in its other time periods. This gamble slowly ate the lead of ABS-CBN, and in late 2004 and early 2005, GMA-7 with its powerful one-two-three punch in primetime: the Extra Challenge, Mulawin and 24 Oras combination, surged to the number one spot unseating dominant player ABS-CBN. GMA-7 is currently maintaining its lead with fantaserye shows like Etheria (and previously Encantadia), Darna and Sugo.

In its bid to recapture lost glory, ABS-CBN tried, with all its might and with all its power with various formats, genre and time-schedule shifts. This year saw the largest TV network in the country gambling in a series of big-time and big-budget productions for its primetime. It started with Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin, Kampanerang Kuba, Vietnam Rose and Panday. Four-out-of-four new shows, ABS-CBN did not at all recapture back the lead. Is there still the possibility of regaining the Kapamilya Network's lost glory? I can only hope that with the coming year, the brains behind ABS-CBN will be able to outwit, out-think and out-do the brains and creativity behind GMA-7. As a consuelo to ABS-CBN, the Kapuso Network still has to prove that it has the staying power in the number one position. After all, ABS-CBN held the top spot for seventeen (17) while GMA 7 only held the position for more than a year.

If ABS-CBN was outdone with its big budget, big production primetime series that were launched in 2005, its mega-investment in the form of the Big Brother franchise paid off big time! In August of 2005, Pinoy Big Brother, a reality show franchised by the Kapamilya Network from Endemol strike the gossip-loving personality of the Filipinos making it an instant hit, and making the 13 housemates instant celebrities. ABS-CBN milked the success of the "teleserye ng totoong buhay" by coming up with more than a dozen tie-ups, ex-deals, incarnations and what-have-yous. I myself was even hooked to this phenomenon, buying the Pinoy Big Brother CD, DVD, Magazines, T-Shirt and Vote Cards. I also voted thrice for an eviction night, and many times during The Big Night. Fortunately, my bet, Nene Tamayo won the grand prize.

I have to say that Pinoy Big Brother is one of the bright spot in ABS-CBN's ever glimmering horizon. I am looking forward for the Celebrity Edition of this hit reality series. I can only imagine the clashes of personalities of the different celebrity housemates!

In the music scene, although I have to admit that I am no music lover, several of our Filipino artists have reaped platinum awards for their albums or singles. If I remember right (because I only read the report of the list of platinum record holders for 2005 two weeks ago), the achievers include among others Orange and Lemons (for the album Strike Whilst The Iron Is Hot), Hale (for the album Hale), MYMP (for the album Versions & Beyond), Parokya ni Edgar (for the album Halina Sa Parokya), Nina (for the album Nina Live), Christian Baustista (for the album Christian Bautista Limited Edition).

The local movie scene in the Philippines is not looking any better. If in the United States, Hollywood is experiencing its first slump since 1997, in the Philippines, the slump seems forever! If I am not mistaken, there were only more than a dozen local movies shown coming from the big production outfits. Let the Love Begins was a hit, D' Anothers was also another hit and Dubai was another hit. Apart from these three, the rest were so-so.

The breakthrough this year in the movies was the digital films. Cheap to produce and cheap to market, relying mainly on accolades from international film festivals and word-of-mouth from critics and viewers, these digital films tackle some of the most controversial topics in the Philippines—sex, sex and more sex! Some noteworthy and buzz-worthy digital films that I have the privilege to read its film reviews include Maxi (Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros) and Masahista.

The ongoing Metro Manila Film Festival is sadly the only event in a year where the local movie industry glitters the most. I remember back then when there used to be a June-version of this festival. Ten movies from various film outfits starring the most bankable stars of various formats and genre compete for box office supremacy as well as the critic's high honors. As of this writing, the top three movies of the ongoing festival are: Enteng Kabisote 2, Exodus and Mulawin.

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