< showbiz >

   It's a good thing Mariel Rodriguez was sent home after a long-overdue stay in "Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2."  I thought this was going to be the end of watching "Wowowee" with Pokwang being forced down my throat, but nope: it seems that she's there to stay.

   I have nothing against Pokwang personally, but as a viewer, I won't put up with more of her hosting style that reminds me ever so much of late-night comedy bars: she reminds me of a female version of Joey de Leon.  True: while "Wowowee" demands a palengkera attitude (even that gravitas infected Nikki Gil and Shaina Magdayao for a while), it's something that Pokwang takes to the figurative extreme.  I don't know if "epal" captures Pokwang, as derogatory as it is, but I kind of feel that way.  "Star complex," maybe, but lest I forget, Pokwang is a star.

   Perhaps showbiz intravenous lines are few and far-between, but I need not look far: on GMA-7, they have John Lapus.  Lesser of two evils?  Nah: comedy-bar comedy has become bigger than the TV show.  Give them their own network.

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   F4 alumnus Ken Zhu is in the Philippines to promote his latest movie with Iza Calzado, entitled "Batanes."  Now I'm not the biggest fan of Taiwanese pop, but I have the feeling that Ken Zhu really let himself go.  He's a bit... well, round.  I don't know if TV does injustice to your proportions, but the same cannot be said for Marian Rivera (hubba hubba hubba) and Katrina Halili.  I can't help but make a sick joke at the back of my head that compares Dao Ming Si to a kargador, but that's the first impression I have right now.

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   "Maging Sino Ka Man: Ang Pagbabalik" is high on my priorities right now (if only for seeing Angelica Panganiban water plants in a bikini), but I have the feeling that it oozes a bit too much star power.