Kumunity Season 10: Best PBB Yet?

My early favorites lost Pinoy Big Brother again. This is the tenth season of the show and I have failed to guess the Big Winner again. Slater stays as my bet to win PBB Unlimited in 2012.

Probably, my instinct for Pinoy Big Brother is weak. I have more luck in Survivor, which is a reality competition show in America. Seven of my early favorites of its 42 seasons won.

Enough of my sentiments already. Pinoy Big Brother has improved a lot since its inception in 2005. It is the longest running reality competition show here in the Philippines and without getting biased, its tenth season might be their best season yet.

Housemate Quotable Quote: “Natatalo lang pag walang natutunan (You only lost when you never learn something good).” – Alyssa Valdez, 28

One. The season’s new format is more memorable than its previous seasons. Kumunity Season 10 is divided into three editions. It began with the celebrity edition.

Seventeen celebrities entered the house starting in October 2021. Each week, one celebrity was evicted until only two were left. These were Alyssa and Anji. The Top 2 Celebs exited the house to give way for the Adults. Sixteen regular housemates from around the world (Philippines, US, Italy and Uzbekistan) began the adventure of a lifetime inside the house.

After a series of double evictions each week, Isabel and Nathan were hailed as the Top 2. My all-time favorite housemate, Zach, almost made it. His public votes to save were consistently high every time he was nominated but he came a little short against Nathan with 1.5 percentage of votes.

Housemate Quotable Quote: “I don’t f***g care. That’s the real me.” – Zach Guerrero, 22

A new set of 13 teenagers were introduced as Isabel and Nathan exited the house. Rob was the realest, humblest and rarest teen housemate in the group considering his words and feelings were not filtered. He was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age too.

Another personal favorite was Maxine. Unlike Rob, Maxine was well-loved by her housemates. She could get along with them easily. She was not nominated for eviction until the Final 5. High public votes helped Rob sail into the Top 2 first. Maxine was expected to come second but by winning Kuya’s Diamond Challenge, it was Gabb who made it through.

The Top 2 of each edition returned to the house. Alyssa needed to prioritize her volleyball tasks in SEA Games; therefore, her spot was replaced by Samantha. Sam came third in public voting when Alyssa and Anji were declared as Celebrity Top 2.

To add a new layer in the plot, wildcards were asked to return too. Madam Inutz and Brenda for Celebs, Michael Ver and Zach for Adults, and, Maxine and Stephanie for Teens. A set of these wildcards needed to win the public voting to officially become the Biga-10 housemates with Rob, Gabb, Isabel, Nathan, Anji and Samantha.

Michael Ver and Zach won. This means, Maxine and Stephanie had to face against each other on a duel. Stephanie as the sole housemate to survive every eviction won vs Maxine. Brenda completed the circle of Biga-10 Housemates by defeating Madam Inutz.

There were three Kumunity Tests waiting for the three Celebs, four Adults and three Teens in Biga-10. Teens earned a total of 75 points for winning the first two tests (25 + 50) while the Celebs won the third, which was worth 75 points too. This means these two groups would have to win a tiebreak to guarantee the three spots for the Big 5.

Housemate Quotable Quote: “Tagumpay ang plano (The plan is a success).” – Brenda Mage, 32

Anji, Samantha and Brenda earn a spot for themselves. The rest of the Biga-10 needed to face public voting to earn 4th and 5th. The consistency of the past votes stayed the same. Isabel won by a landslide to represent Adults while Rob was the last man standing for the Teens.

Big Night happened. The Celebs proved they have power and big reputation in public voting. They made use of their connections outside the house. If not for the BBE votes, Anji and Samantha were the Big Winner and 2nd Big Placer respectively.

Second reason why this season might be the best is the timeslot. I am glad the PBB Management changes it to an earlier primetime slot before TV Patrol on weekdays and after TV Patrol Weekends on Saturdays and Sundays.

The hosts of the show are also tested, just like the housemates. Main long-time host Toni Gonzaga volunteered to step down right in the middle of the Adult Edition due to political reasons. Bianca Gonzales and idol-Robi Domingo were the immediate replacements for Toni.

Shoutout to idol-Robi for reading my real-time messages on PBB YouTube Channel’s Chat Box during Gap Shows. He mentioned my name twice, once during the Adult Edition and once during Teens.

Housemate Quotable Quote: “Once you give up and succumb to it, you lost.” – Rob Blackburn, 19

Overall, PBB Kumunity Season 10 is PBB Otso that gone better. It is a season that is filled with twists and is a longer season than PBB Connect without getting too ambitious. The momentum never stops. Every day has a nice, good or sweet story to tell especially when the housemates get to meet their dads.

The iconic episode of the season is when Zach celebrated his birthday inside the house with the other six housemates and two Houseplayers testing their patience. Tension and confrontations are high. Self-righteous toxic positivity-filled conversations are out the window.

The quality of diverse Celebs, Teens and Regular adults have improved as well. Each has strong personality no matter how introverted he or she is. It also makes me proud to watch these competitive housemates win challenges to make donations with various charities.

Doc Randy Dellosa is the resident psychiatrist of the show. His airtimes are also my favorite. I learn a lot just by listening to what he says but it makes me wonder why he only appeared during the celebrity edition.

Photo Courtesy of: PBB Twitter

9 Reasons Why I Love PBB Connect

Let’s cut to the chase. Shall we?

ONE: PBB Connect is the ninth season of Pinoy Big Brother and is the ever-first season aired during a pandemic. A history made when aspirants just submitted their video applications via KUMU – a local streaming video-sharing mobile app.

Upon final selection, accepted housemates took the risk, followed the meticulous health protocols and flew via plane to enter the most famous colorful house here in the country, Bahay Ni Kuya.

TWO: It was my first time to see BNK without a full renovation. During the few days in December 2020, it felt like these new housemates were only the sixth batch of PBB Otso.

I get used to it though. The look and feel of the house was completely forgotten as the characters start to develop to stir the plot.

THREE: There is no stopping for ABS-CBN. The media giant stays resilient even with a franchise denial and a worldwide crisis. PBB Connect was given a green light. It officially became the first season streamed via Kapamilya Online Live on YouTube.

This new set-up is advantageous. It is easier for me to watch the Primetime Show after a busy day at work.

FOUR: Hosting was done remotely. Amazingly, three of the main hosts namely Toni Gonzaga, Bianca Gonzales and Robi Domingo found a proactive way to continue hosting even with the strict rules of the New Normal.

Toni hosted mostly in her house. While Robi and Bianca conducted a mini-talk show during the break. These two discussed their insights about the episode.

Robi and Bianca were amazing together. They did not sound safe and expected. Robi seemed analytical with his reasoning, fairly the same as mine, while Bianca could balance what Robi says.

FIVE: This was my first time watching a group of Millennial and Gen-Z housemates. Not even one was born in early or late 80’s. Regardless, it was still a diverse cast considering they came from various lifestyles all over the world.

Below were the Original 12 who entered BNK in Day 1. Crismar, Mika and Justin were the early evictees who I wished have stayed longer to elevate the drama.

Just like me, Mika took up psychology. I expected more of her, unluckily; her edits came short. Her most unforgettable moment was when she said Pabalang to Ella during her confrontation with Aizyl.

It surprised me that I could not understand what it meant. I thought I was a Pilipino since birth but it took me more than 30 years to hear a Filipino word like it. It made me laugh at myself while watching this episode. Then, I started googling.

Ralph left his mom and brother in Paris just to join the show; that’s why, he entered the house late. Alyssa quit her job in Australia. Gail traveled from New York but required to recover from COVID-19, before she could finally join the other housemates.

Special mention to the one who is neither a housemate nor a host but he gets my immediate attention every time he appears in an episode.

It was one of the highlights of this season when Dr. Randy Dellossa explained Aizyl’s misinterpreted habit of always borrowing things.

SIX: There were less airtimes for love teams. Thank you, TV Editors! You are all the best! Keep improving!

Way back in Otso, it felt infertile to watch the love teams in every batch. Love teams were fun to watch, but when it’s done excessively, the season became unnaturally unrealistic.

In this season, the overall storyboard gave more value to personal character development – roughly 55% on who they were before they joined the show and 45% on who they were during their stay inside the house.

Various coined love teams were circulated around social media. The KODREA was a talk of the town but this hype began to sink since Kobie’s revelation that he was seeing a special someone before PBB.

Andrea and Kobie made The Final Big 4 but I saw a pair who were just friends. What I saw was an Andrea who proved to herself that she could trust herself more, in an aim to defend her spot against a challenger who’s her good friend.

I saw a Kobie who stayed focused and competitive to ace the Big Challenge just like the moment he won the Game of Hearts.

Supposed to be, this is the Big Brother as the show. It needs to focus on a group of strangers inside a house – learning to manage a new lifestyle with others while playing and winning the challenges for their immunity and weekly food budget, respectively.

Romance and love teams belong in the other shows such as The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.

Just that, there were times a certain housemate was given too much airtime. This housemate was either dragged along into the story or this housemate was mentioned a lot during confessionals.

Before her eviction, Ella was heavily edited as the Public Enemy No. 1 since her group won the Jump Rope Task in Week 4. Ella was a ‘surprise’ challenge-threat too.

For this, the housemates nominated her for eviction five consecutive times, but she received the highest percentage of votes from fans to stay.

There’s no forever. Amanda’s overwhelming support dethroned Ella on Day 85.

Chico was a camera favorite. His edit gave him the label as an experienced athlete of the house. For this, I was rooting for him to win.

Athletes are inspiring. I love their proactive mindsets whatever sports they play. In Otso, I rooted for Gino for being a tennis player. However, it looked like 80% of his edit was about his romance with Kiara until his eviction.

Chico might appear as the triple-threat but he showed a number of qualities an authentic man needs to have.

One, Chico stayed best friends with Kobie until the day Kobie outplayed him for the last spot in Big 4. Their best friendship was unbreakable and this was something rare nowadays. I used to have a best friend. We were exactly like Chico & Kobie. I was older than him by a year and I trusted him like a brother. Until 2017 came, he stabbed me on the back.

. . .Back to the show!

Chico stayed humble when it mattered too. He admitted that his apology was never enough when he confronted Alyssa for his demeaning words he said behind her back.

There are times saying sorry means nothing, especially when the situation is traumatic. The best forgiveness is to forgive yourself and the act of forgiving others is another thing. It is either up to you how and when to do the latter or never do it at all.

All my respect for Alyssa. No matter how emotional and expressive she was, she made a choice to forgive Chico and both moved on. This was Good TV.

Lastly, Chico proved to himself that others mattered more than himself. During the second challenge for the Big 4, he gave Jie-Ann the early advantage. Not seeing her as a threat, Jie-Ann won the first part of the challenge effortlessly.

SEVEN: Challenges were better. My most favorite was the Football Weekly Task led by Chico and Kobie. This type of task was a first in history!

Second on my list was the Boss Weekly Task.

Quincy and Gail were the two female KUMU-favorite housemates who entered the house late but their leadership and eloquence immediately outshone others. These two women could express their thoughts and feelings with drive and confidence.

Yet, a business is a game. It is about the numbers at the end of the day. In terms of sales, Quicy won this task by a landslide.

As for the ‘LigTask‘ challenge, the second Game of Hearts ranked first in my list. This was purely a strategic game that needed light hands, proper timing and concentration while eyeing a rolling ball on various layers until it bounced inside a basket.

It was surprising Kobie finished this challenge in less than a minute. He played it like he already practiced every moment in his mind. While playing, he found the momentum on the get-go and controlled the rolling ball with finesse. Kudos to you, Kobie Brown!!!

EIGHT: The plot thickens every day, especially that week when there were only nine left but they were heavily punished for committing a combined total of 56 violations. Kuya said this was the first season in history with most number of violations.

Also, it annoyed me to see them crying too much, especially during Eviction Nights. It is understandable and I get the point. Just that I have a competitive paradigm. PBB is a reality-competition show; therefore, it is one less threat every time someone is evicted.

NINE: This was the shortest season in history. Just 99 days with 18 housemates. Yet, it was the most unique. The flow of the story was fast without sacrificing the substance in each housemate.

It was still an imbalance edit due to the limited scope they could show every day but it was way better than the earlier seasons.

Every week offered a certain degree of suspense. Except for the finale week, Mondays’ edit were mostly light and fun. It went heavier on Tuesdays until Saturdays.

Weekly denouement happened on Sundays. This prepared the audience for a new layer of plot and character development the next day.

In the end, Liofer wins the Virtual Big Night that takes place in front of the Bahay Ni Kuya for the first time. He receives a total vote percentage of 20.90%. Massive congratulations!

Photos Courtesy of: PBB Facebook & Rappler

10 Reasons Why I Love Bridges Of Love

1. It’s a love story like no other.

Bridges of Love is a soap opera written by ABS-CBN’s Star Creatives TV. The story began with two young brothers (Gael and JR) who left home to escape an abusive father. Unfortunately, Gael was too young to support their day-to-day needs.

An unexpected tragedy happened the night he sold JR. The young brother fell from a broken bridge.

Years passed by, JR escaped death by selling himself to a rich businessman, Lorenzo Antonio. JR became Carlos Antonio and he graduated as a construction engineer.

Gael, on the other hand, became a licensed architect despite of money problems. His life completely changed when he fell in love with Mia Sandoval, a beautiful and independent woman who worked as a star dancer in a club owned by the Antonio’s.

The story evolved around the three major characters – Gael, Mia and Carlos. Mia became Gael’s girlfriend but inevitably, they broke up when Gael left the country. Mia felt hopeless when her Tatang needed a kidney transplant. She had no one but her boss, Carlos Antonio.

Carlos took advantage of the situation. He helped Mia but in exchange of a deal. Mia should make love with his business client, Henson Lee. Carlos, however, changed his mind. He realized Mia was more than a woman for one night pleasure. She’s the one who will complete him.

Their story was troubled with hundreds of twists and turns. Gael began working with Carlos for a number of projects. Carlos discovered Gael was his long lost brother. Mia felt confused and couldn’t understand why Carlos despised Gael. She felt it’s more than a love triangle thing.

2. Superb cast. Quality acting.

Bridges of Love is an all-star soap opera. Every actor is given a significant background story and airtime. I observe there are no clear villains here.

These “perceived” bad characters such as Carlos, Lorenzo and Alexa are only victims of their tragic past who find it hard to move on and forgive.

The first major character is Gael Nakpil. He’s a hard working survivor portrayed by 2012 Gawad Urian Best Actor (Alagwa), Jericho Rosales. Paulo Avelino portrays the role of Carlos Antonio, a rich businessman who is consumed by anger, hurt and power. Avelino was a 2011 Gawad Urian Best Actor for “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa.”

Maja Salvador (2011’s Gawad Urian Best Actress for Thelma) proves to be a right fit for Mia Sandoval, the star dancer who eventually becomes a well-known accessory designer.

Other stars include Edu Manzano (Lorenzo Antonio), Carmina Villaroel (Alexa Meyers), Lito Pimentel (Manual Nakpil Sr.), William Lorenzo (Ramon Sandoval), Maureen Mauricio (Marilen Nakpil), Malou de Guzman (Manang Vida) and John Manalo (Tres Nakpil).

3. I see myself in Gael.

I felt what Gael felt for Mia. It’s the kind of love that’s infinite, selfless and unconditional even though it means he needs to let go. In my case, we’re good friends before I asked her if she could be my girlfriend. She said no.

I respected her decision. I moved on but I still felt hurt and jealous whenever I see her with my best friend or with another man. When she told me she’s getting married, I knew our story ended. It’s enough. I love her and I’m letting go of everything.

4. Every scene is a must-see.

I don’t watch soap operas. I hate it. The story is predictable. Bridges of Love, however, changes the way I see things. It becomes the first Filipino soap opera I’ve consistency looked forward to every night. I rarely missed an episode.

The scenes get better and better. Although I notice some traces of predictability, I never lost my interest. The show entertains me after a long day work.

5. It’s a story about forgiveness.

It’s expected for soap operas to tell a story filled with over-the-top drama, violence and sex. There were numerous scenes of extreme violence in Bridges of Love. Yet, beneath all those violent layers, the show was about forgiveness.

Carlos was consumed by anger. At first, I was convinced he never loved Mia. I noticed Mia was his rehabilitation center. She was his source of happiness and comfort when in reality, she’s not.

Carlos felt unsure about his love for Mia because he hated himself. There were a lot of missing pieces inside him. He doesn’t know how to find his identity. Below is a scene to prove it’s impossible to unconditionally love someone if you can’t forgive yourself.

6. Bridges of Love goes beyond sex.

Mia Sandoval was introduced in the show as the club star dancer. She became the center of attention every night. She was judged and labeled. However, Mia proved everyone wrong.

Temptations never hammered Mia. She stayed strong and she said no to offers even it’s from Carlos Antonio. Below is a scene to prove it takes grit to admit money can’t buy everything.

7. It’s a story about letting go.

Gael makes me realize nothing lasts forever. It’s my favorite scene when Gael decides to talk with Mia and admits he needs to let go. Memories don’t vanish but feelings do change. Letting go allows you to open a new chapter in life and start fresh.

8. It’s a story about acceptance

Acceptance is inevitable. It takes time but it happens naturally. Like Carlos Antonio, it took him more than 20 years to reveal how he’s deeply hurt by Gael.

The show reached its climax during the confrontation scene between Carlos, Mia and Gael. Mia remained silent all throughout but it looked like she created an invisible bridge to connect the two brothers.

9. Explosive Predictable Ending

I was disappointed with the finale edit. It looked like the scenes were merged into one episode instead of two. The opening scenes were explosive. Lorenzo tried to kill Mia but Gael and Carlos ran to save the girl they love. Unexpectedly, Gael was drenched in blood.

I expected the tone to last for a few more minutes but I wasn’t sure why the next scene was forwarded to what it seemed like a Gael after his years of hospitalization.

The tree scene between Carlos and Mia was my favorite. It’s the sincerest and most insightful talk between the two. I discovered Carlos was a complete change man. I’d never forget when he admitted his mistakes, “I know I promised the sunrise and sunsets with you for the rest of our lives. Pero hindi pala ‘yon sapat. Sa takot ko na mawala ka, tinuring kitang pagmamay-ari (ABS-CBNNews, 2015).”

Hopefully, the show ended with that scene but it’s still okay the production crew chose to close with a wedding scene with all the major and supporting characters. It showed Gael found his true love in Atty. Malaya (portrayed by Isabel Oli-Prats). Mia, on the other hand, returned from the US and continued her romance with Carlos.

10. It’s a story about friendship.

Real friendship never ends. Muloy Angeles, portrayed by Janus del Prado, summarizes how you can be a true friend. If there’s anyone in the show I want to become and be remembered for, that’s Muloy.

Despite of every thing they went through, either they agree or disagree with each other, Muloy never gave up on Carlos. He stayed patient, open-minded and supportive of Carlos’ decisions.

There’s one brave scene, however, Muloy chose to break the walls and stood for what he felt was right for his best friend.

Photo Courtesy of: ABS-CBN News