“Happy Yipee Yehey” Finally Says Goodbye

Philippines – ABS-CBN TV2 has finally ended its show “Happy Yipee Yehey”, February 4, 2012. Rico Puno, one of the hosts, summed it up by saying, “Lahat ng shows ay may katapusan.” (All shows have an end.)

Apparently, the show has not captured the hearts and minds of Filipinos particularly the unfortunate ones who are the driving force of noon time shows.

Although ABS-CBN crowded the Happy Yipee Yehey with talented hosts and stars, the show failed to connect with the people.  I think the show wasn’t the problem but the hosts themselves.  They were out of touch with the reality on the street.  Their hosting style displayed the poise and personality of the upper echelon of rich and famous.  They’re simply bereft of charisma.

In contrast, Willie Revillame, the host of ABS-CBN’s previously cancelled show Wowowwe, embodies the so-called “Makamasa” or “Pro-People” personality.  Forget his bad temper and  attitude, we all have that to some degree.  The real deal was his ability to turn a segment of Wowowee show into hilarious or emotionally painful moment in parallel to daily life of people in the lowest rung of society.  He could basically relate the show with them.  The best part was, he had not been pretending or faking the emotional scene (okay, perhaps some).  You could tell it’s a raw and genuine emotion, garnered from his experience cruising the hardship of life.  Yes, at some point, he had been there.

After being axed by ABS-CBN, Revillame moved to ABC TV5.  Now he has been continually building up the fan base not only for his benefit but for the station itself.  It is a great boon to TV5 which, thanks to him in part, has been gaining momentum in international arena.  And it’s a disaster to ABS-CBN.

ABS-CBN should have learned  its lesson from Wowowee.  The simple ingredient of people show is nothing but the host’s  inherent charisma.

The problem is: the charismatic gem is rare to find.