Startalk (Philippine TV series)

Startalk, stylized as Startalk: The Only Showbiz Authority and formerly Startalk TX was a weekly entertainment news and talk show in the Philippines. It premiered on October 8, 1995, and was the longest-running weekly entertainment news and talk show in Philippine television started airing Sunday afternoons then transitioned to Saturday on GMA Network and simulcast over Super Radyo DZBB. After 2 decades of bringing showbiz-oriented commentary news, the show officially ended on September 12, 2015, which its ending early speculated on tabloids. The show will be replaced by the new comedy-oriented talk show CelebriTV a week later, September 19. ^[1]

History

Old title card from April–October 2010

Startalk: Beginnings (1995)

Startalk premiered on October 8, 1995 and was first taped at the Fernandina Suites, on a late Sunday afternoon timeslot as GMA Network's answer to ABS-CBN's top-rating Sunday showbiz talk show Showbiz Lingo and serves as a companion show to another showbiz-oriented talk show Show & Tell. Its original hosts of the show were Boy Abunda (who was also host of Show & Tell, together with Gretchen Barretto and Ai-Ai delas Alas), Kris Aquino and Lolit Solis.

Despite criticisms on its initial telecasts, "Startalk" continued its run by featuring entertainment stories and reports, for example, Gabby Concepcion and Jenny Syquia's separation, Mel Tiangco and Jay Sonza's sentiments against ABS-CBN and the Hilda Koronel - Dr. Minguita Padilla feud, among others. One explosive story after another, Startalk finally earned its tagline "The Showbiz Authority" and in October 1996, Startalk won its first award in the 10th PMPC Star Awards for Television as Best Showbiz Oriented Talk Show.

Triumvate of The Showbiz Authority (1996-1997)

Startalk said goodbye to Aquino in 1996, after her contract with Viva Entertainment expired and the network dropped her and transferred to rival network ABS-CBN and was given several shows, and so actress Dawn Zulueta came in to fill the vacant slot as host.

During the show's second year, it slowly gained significant loyal following and considerable commercial load. Unfortunately, Zulueta didn't last long and so she left the show in 1997 for her upcoming marriage to Davao businessman Anton Lagdameo. With this, Sexy star Rosanna Roces was named as the new host as the permanent replacement of Zulueta and immediately blended with Abunda and Solis.

Although Abunda became famous for his Mahiwagang Salamin (Magic Mirror) when he grills controversial showbiz figures in the show and Solis (also called Manay Lolit) for her never-ending greetings, Rosanna proved that she can be a crowd-drawer with her tactless remarks and flimsy gowns which became the most anticipated moments in the show, thus earning the ire of MTRCB.

Aside from Rosanna (or Osang), "Startalk" also gave a big break to a trio of newcomers anonymously known as Steve, Fayatollah and Pepita. The new loud segment hosts handled "Startalk"'s tabloid segment "T! The Tigbak Authority" where they criticize the senseless headlines printed on tabloid and the fashion statements of the movie/TV stars during awards night. Fayatollah later on became a regular fixture in other GMA shows while Pepita posed for FHM magazine last August 2003. Steve has become the regular voice-over of the show since his inclusion.

From Sunday to Saturday, B.L.O. Triumvate (1998–2001)

On June 6, 1998, the GMA management decided to move "Startalk" to an early Saturday afternoon slot right after the noontime show Eat Bulaga! and unwittingly pioneered a "seamless" patch segment at the start of its show where the Master Rapper and TV Host Francis Magalona would shout out from the top of his lungs and cry out: "Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao... SEAMLESS NA!". Always brimming with energy, Magalona was given the task of turning over for a smooth transition the concluding portion of Eat Bulaga!’s Saturday edition to Startalk. The Startalk hosts would pick it up from there and the mainstays of both shows exchange on-air banter for a couple of minutes, punctuated with a lot of friendly jeers, private jokes and ribbing. After Magalona died on March 6, 2009, the "Eat Bulaga!" and "Startalk" hosts continued with the seamless tradition until it was stopped in the later part of the year, switching timeslots between S-Files, another showbiz talk show first hosted by Lyn Ching and Paolo Bediones. The move was due to the reason that it never gained headway against its rival show Showbiz Lingo.

The move favored Boy, Lolit, Osang and the staff of "Startalk" (led by Floy Quintos) since they can dish out more exclusive showbiz news earlier in the weekend. The show's popularity rose to new heights as new portions such as Da Who and Startalk True Stories were introduced. Solis also earned a portion entitled Alok Bati (Offer a Greeting) suitable for her never-ending greetings.

"Startalk" reigned in the Saturday afternoon ratings where drama shows from ABS-CBN used to dominate the slot. On June 5, 1999, the show had to say goodbye to one of its pioneer hosts, Abunda, after he got an offer from ABS-CBN to host the new Sunday talk show "The Buzz" as the network's answer to S-Files after Showbiz Lingo ended on June 6, and was given several shows. Former "Showbiz Lingo" host Butch Francisco (who just came fresh from his migration to America) replaced Abunda in the show.

Boy's farewell from "Startalk" left Lolit Solis as the sole pioneer host from the show. The show's ratings slightly suffered after Boy left the show. However, the quality of the show's entertainment news content and no-nonsense reporting became the main attraction among the viewers, regardless of the hosting changes. Butch, Lolit and Osang's new found chemistry was evident as the show was provided a fearless trio that can facilitate, comment and report the latest entertainment news when it happens, where it happens.

The 2 pm to 4 pm weekend time slot was widely regarded as a "dead time slot" primarily because no advertiser would place their spots where fewer people are watching television, but GMA Network brought life to it by airing showbiz talk shows starting in the late 1980s with Startalk as the fourth showbiz talk show to air on that slot starting in 1998, preceded by "Movie Magazine" (hosted by then Showbiz Lingo host Cristy Fermin who would later host The Buzz and S2: Showbiz Sabado), "Channel S" and "ETChing".

Osang's Controversies (2002–2004)

"Startalk" also pioneered the no-nonsense segment, "Walang Takot Sasabihin (WTS)", where the show speaks out its opinion about the week's biggest showbiz news. It usually starts by giving a blow-by-blow account on what really happened, and why did it happen. At the end of the segment, the show gives an unsolicited advise to the persons involved in the controversy and the show's final stand to it. Overall, the segment serves as a mouthpiece of the show to praise, crucify, criticize, and open the eyes of the Filipino public to awareness.

Through the viewers, viewers have observed Osang as too frank with her comments and occasionally displays her lewd conduct in front of her guests. The MTRCB even issued a warning against Osang for wearing gowns that are too provocative, two of them when she hosted the 12th PMPC Star Awards for Television in 1998 where she just wore a body paint to cover one of her breasts, and one where she wore an all-black nun costume with a silver cross at the front, with a see through satin at the back, revealing her buttocks.

A very emotional Osang later on appeared in the show a week after the awards night wearing a black T-shirt that printed "Down with Hypocrisy" as her response to MTRCB's warning. She stressed that MTRCB should not single her out and instead look after the slew of sex movies that came out in theatres almost weekly.

Another controversy that put Osang in hot water was her statement regarding the stories surrounding the mysterious death of matinee idol Rico Yan in 2002. Yan died from acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis (or more popularly known in Filipino parlance as bangungot) but Osang claimed on the air that he died of drug overdose and that Rico's friend Dominic Ochoa is also into it as well.

Osang's controversial statement drew irate reactions from Rico's legion of fans and threatened to boycott Startalk for as long as she is there. As a result, Osang was suspended for a month.

The Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) was also one of the governing bodies that censured Osang in 2003, together with newscaster Mike Enriquez. It triggered GMA's withdrawal of its membership from the said group.

In 2004, Osang had a widely publicized feud with close friend and dermatologist Dra. Vicki Belo. The said feud had something to do with Osang allegedly violating the contract she signed with Belo's company, Forever Flawless, where she was the main endorser. As a result, Osang was replaced by Lorna Tolentino and Katya Santos. Osang retaliated the move by not acknowledging Forever Flawless on-air (which she was supposed to do as part of the exchange deal) and instead started to acknowledge Dra. Belo's rivals in the dermatology industry, Drs. Manny and Pie Calayan. She also revealed on air that her liposuction sessions with Dra. Belo was not something she was really proud of and called Dra. Belo just a gym instructor.

When Osang jointly celebrated her birthday with co-host and manager Lolit Solis during a special episode of "Startalk" during May, not too many people knew that it would be her last live appearance on the show. A week later after the joint birthday celebration, she was a no-show during "Startalk"'s regular live telecast and instead had a phone patch with co-host Butch Francisco (who was alone at the studio when the episode happened).

During the on-air phone patch, she called Lolit various names and threatened to boycott the show as long as Lolit is there. It was reported that after the said phone interview, GMA management tried to pacify Osang and Lolit's feud by calling the two for a meeting. But the two warring hosts declined. The Startalk staff also reportedly sided with Lolit and threatened to leave the show if GMA decided to side with Osang.

On June 5, 2004, Osang finally bade goodbye to "Startalk", by appearing on GMA's other talk show S-Files and declared that she was out of the show. After her farewell with GMA, Osang appeared at The Buzz (for which the hosts were the 2 original hosts of Startalk: Aquino & Abunda) where she revealed her issues with Vicky Belo and Lolit Solis.

Despite the issues made by Osang, Startalk proved its consistent dominance in the Saturday afternoon timeslot thereafter prompted rival network ABS-CBN to do away with producing weekly dramas in 2003 and instead, put another showbiz talk show to compete with "Startalk". The show has survived competition from five Saturday showbiz talk shows that were produced by ABS-CBN from 2003 up to 2013. These were S2: Showbiz Sabado, EK Channel, ETK: Entertainment Konek, Entertainment Live and Showbiz Inside Report.

First Decade of The Showbiz Authority (2005-2009)

After Osang's farewell, GMA Network took in several celebrities to join Lolit and Butch on board. Grandslam actress Lorna Tolentino was later on taken in as guest co-host and went on to appear in the show as such for three months, until she was named as Osang's permanent replacement in the show which duplicated with Joey de Leon wherein it became his second home after he was suspended in Eat Bulaga! in 2004 and became its guest host in several occasions.^[2]

His funny repartee with Lolit (who happened to be his classmate in elementary school) and his biting wit and sarcasm served as an attraction to the viewers. Even when he returned to "Eat Bulaga!" later on, Joey continued to appear on the show until he was named as the fourth co-host of the show.

2005 marked the 10th year of Startalk in the Philippine TV Industry, making it the longest running showbiz-oriented talk show on Philippine TV. It released a commemorative magazine, featuring the present hosts and former hosts of the show (except for Rosanna Roces).

In 2008, "Startalk" suffered a hosting crisis when one of its hosts, Lorna Tolentino took a leave from the show to take care of her ailing husband, action star Rudy Fernandez. The show had weekly updates on the actor's battle with periampullary cancer until his recent death last June 6, 2008. After Fernandez's burial, it was unclear whether Lorna will stay on as host of the show. More than a month after her husband Fernandez's death, Lorna appeared live for the last time on "Startalk" as a special guest.

In her last guesting appearance, she told stories about her recent trip to Jerusalem which gave her time to heal emotional wounds brought about by Daboy's death. On September 19, 2008, she finally bade goodbye to GMA executives after she decided to accept ABS-CBN's offer which included movie appearances on Star Cinema, a recording deal with Star Records and a soap opera which will feature her alongside Gabby Concepcion. Entertainment columnist Ricky Lo of The Philippine Star was taken in to replace her after he left The Buzz.

The Startalk TX Era (2010-2013)

A new and improved Startalk was introduced on April 2010 with a new set and reformat as part of the combined forces of The League of Intrigues, together with its Sunday counterpart Showbiz Central.^[3] The show was named now as Startalk TX. The four hosts: Francisco, De Leon, Solis and Lo are promising to bring Three Times (TX) more aggressive at getting the hottest and Totally Xplosive showbiz news, and three times more fun to the viewers.

Startalk TX has always been pre-empted during Black Saturdays which observed as a non-regular programming. However, the first time the network has pre-empted the show as a regular programming was during Manny Pacquiao's World Press Tour.

The longest competitor of "Startalk" in the same slot is "Entertainment Live", which premiered on August 4, 2007 after its pilot episode gained high ratings, due to its set of hosts, which happens to be former GMA talents Toni Gonzaga and Mariel Rodriguez with Bianca Gonzalez.

On October 8, 2011, it was temporarily named as Startalk TX Now. The following year, it was reformatted as "Startalk: The Only Showbiz Authority" after Entertainment Live ended and was replaced by Showbiz Inside Report which ended a year later.

In 2013, coinciding with its 18th anniversary, the show welcomed a new female main host in Heart Evangelista, who impressed viewers with her wit and candor when she appeared as guest co-host for a few weeks.

Transitions and Reformats (2014-2015)

On January 17, 2014, entertainment website Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP) reported that "Startalk" will move back to its original Sunday afternoon timeslot starting January 26, 2014 after 15 long years as a Saturday showbiz-oriented talk show as GMA Network's answer to ABS-CBN's newly reformatted The Buzz, retitled as Buzz ng Bayan which just started airing last year, hosted by former "Startalk" original male host Boy Abunda.^[4]

Buzz ng Bayan was again reformatted back to the original The Buzz, premiering on May 18, 2014 to celebrate its 15th anniversary and Startalk returned to its original Saturday timeslot last May 31, airing on a much later time slot at 4:00 pm. Consequently, the show's running time was also reduced from its usual one-and-a-half hour to just 45 minutes (including commercials). A milestone was achieved as Startalk aired its 1,000th episode on March 21, 2015.

The Only Showbiz Authority @ 20 Takes A Bow (September 12, 2015)

It started as a speculation on local tabloids that Startalk would be saying goodbye and will be replaced by a new talk show until it was confirmed on September 12, 2015 that the show's 1,024th episode would be their farewell episode. It featured a special lookback on the show with clips of the past episodes and with an interview with former host Boy Abunda and a reflection of the hosts saying that it's hard for them to accept that Startalk will be gone. The show was replaced by a new comedy-oriented showbiz talk show CelebriTV, on September 19, featuring De Leon and Solis, together with Ai-Ai delas Alas, fresh from her grand comeback on GMA. ^[5]

Cast

Final hosts

• Lolit Solis (1995-2015)
• Butch Francisco (1999-2015)
• Joey De Leon (2005-2015)
• Ricky Lo (2008-2015)
• Heart Evangelista (2013-2015)

Former hosts

Awards and recognition

PMPC Star Awards

• 1996 Winner, Best Showbiz Oriented Talk Show
• 1999 Winner, Best Showbiz Oriented Talk Show
• 1999 Winner, Best Showbiz Oriented Talk Show Host
• 2000 Winner, Best Showbiz Oriented Talk Show
• 2002 Winner, Best Showbiz Oriented Talk Show
• 2006 Winner, Best Showbiz Oriented Talk Show (Tied w/ The Buzz)
• 2013 Winner, Best Showbiz Oriented Talk Show

See also

• List of programs aired by GMA Network

References

External links

• GMA Network Site