Is it all #PBBScripted?

May 2, 2014 Showbiz News PBB

Why is a Twitter hashtag #PBBScripted trending worldwide, presumably at a scale similar to such hashtags as #YolandaPH, #labanpilipinas, or #phvote?

After a controversial season opener of ABS-CBN’s Pinoy Big Brother: All-In last Sunday, people instantly got into intense

discussion about the show, in living rooms, offices, everywhere—especially on social media networking sites, such as Twitter, wherein the #PBBScripted hashtag became a top trending topic.

People’s observations

Why the outcry? It seemed people were aghast when this season’s housemates were introduced one by one, and they noticed a glaring trend— most, if not all of the chosen participants in the famed reality show seemed to have been already “groomed” to join from the very start.

Like, the producers had already picked them out beforehand, and those mass auditions in massive arenas or venues, like the Smart Araneta Coliseum only seemed like “part of the show” to make it appear that they had an exhaustive search for housemates.

Who wouldn’t notice it, especially if you see such names as Nichole Baranda, Michelle Gumabao, Fourth and Fifth Pagotan, or even Alex Gonzaga (belatedly presented as a ‘surprise’ addition) in this year’s official lineup, apart from those dashing , well-built males, and pristine-skinned, gorgeous females marching into the doors of Bahay Ni Kuya?

Part of a show

I myself couldn’t imagine them going through a whole day standing in those kilometric lines or suffering from the sweltering heat of record- high temperatures. Was it really all a show? Indeed, #PBBScripted?

In my view, it really is all part of a show, and ABS-CBN designed and cradled it as a platform to introduce and further test the appeal, talent, winnability and charisma of new talents they discover, whether they found them through those arduous auditions, or through a call from a friendly talent manager or current talent with a son, daughter, or kid brother or sister who wants to break into showbiz or get a career boost.

Yes, it’s a reality show within the boundaries of the program’s telecast and format, where these housemates are exposed to challenging tasks and made to do daring feats—aside from the occasional romantic bonds, shocking twists, or feisty clashes. However, the manner of choosing who will go to Bahay Ni Kuya is surely not how we think it is—the delusion that the network has to literally go through hundreds of thousands of auditionees and really pick the housemate. It is definitely not an iron-clad guarantee.

Call to responsibility

Yes, the network will choose and if they hold a grand audition, we can participate with the hope of being chosen. But it is beyond our power, or even right to dictate what goes on in the real selection process. It is their call.

Whether the show sinks or swims, the network will have to be responsible. But in the spirit of fair play, the network should be clear about its selection. It should have a sort of transparency we expect from everyone—something the network says it espouses in its numerous advocacies against corruption.

The network should also be clear on the process, like what we see in such shows as American Idol, where we witness Carrie Underwood audition, and journey towards winning the title.

We very much understand the demands of the business, broadcasting on primetime TV, and facing an ugly network war, but the network should be true to its viewers and not let even a funny, loaded hashtag get out of hand.

After a controversial season opener of ABS-CBN’s Pinoy Big Brother: All-In last Sunday, people instantly got into intense