‘Harapin mo, Face to Face!’
Only those who were either living under the rock or were unborn yet would not know the existence of the ‘Barangay Hall On-air’.
Launched on March 22, 2010, ‘Face To Face’ broke the mold and silence, quite literally and figuratively. It was a show full of shocking stories and revelations, heated exchanges, and the most notorious of them all — catfights and flying chairs. Add that to the fact that it aired during the hottest time of the day: noontime.
Imagine how stressful that would have been for the self-proclaimed ‘sawasweros’ and ‘sawsaweras’ at home? All the more those scenes for original hosts Amy Perez, Hans Mortel, and the advisors brilliantly named Trio Tagapayo.
During the show’s original three-year run, the catfights and the occasional flying chairs had to be eventually toned down, thanks to the rules set by the MTRCB or Movie and Television Review and Classification Board. But anyhow, the show was able to withstand that with stories in each episode continuing to bring in the shock factor that it had from the very beginning.
All good things did come to end though when the original ‘Face To Face’ bowed out in October 2013. That is despite delivering consistent ratings figure throughout its run. It was replaced by ‘Face The People’ led by F2F’s temporary host between 2012 and 2013, Gelli de Belen, and Tintin Babao.
But the clamor for the show never died. During the ‘5 Network’ era, the Kapatid Network even brought back the old tapes via ‘The Best of Face To Face’, a testament to its longstanding popularity amongst the public.
Finally, in 2023, TV5 gave in to the demand and gave ‘Face To Face’ another try. This time around, they gave the show has been retitled ‘Face 2 Face’, probably indicating that it is now the second iteration of the iconic tabloid talk show. The middle seat was given to Karla Estrada and the ‘sawsawero’ hat to Alex Calleja. Out of the Trio Tagapayo, only Dr. Camille Garcia came back from the original version. Joining her are Bro. Jun Banaag as the spiritual advisor and Atty. Lorna Kapunan taking the helm as this iteration’s legal advisor.
Now let’s try watching the very first episode of ‘Face 2 Face’ that aired on Monday, May 1, 2023.
For a moment, let’s focus on the production aspect and other elements of the show.
First of, gone is the lively introduction segment, where there were dancers that entertained studio audiences while the show’s official theme song is playing. Instead, we are treated with Calleja’s generic introductory spiels. That is a double-edged sword though. While it gives a sense of urgency and seriousness to the matter that will be talked about, it may not be enough to hook the viewers at home. Still, that is in itself a development already.
One should also look clearly at the seats that they utilized for this version. Absent are the lightweight, color-coded stools that used to be the weapon of choice by the participants in the show. Instead, they elected to place heavier and same-colored grey chairs for both sides. Safety first, indeed.
In the new ‘F2F’, the ‘Marifes’ or mareng referees M1 and M2 are responsible for physically restraining the guests. A change from the previous macho men bouncers B1 and B2 employed by the OG version.
Color-coding is also noticeably absent, with no benches being called as either ‘pula’ or ‘puti’. That helps in making the show much more serious in both tone and public service aspect though, as it corrects the ‘sabong-like’ atmosphere of the past. Also, that helps in treating the guests humanely. At the end of day, they are still human-beings, just with problems that need to be sorted out.
The studio, however, could be treated as a downgrade from the set of the 2010s ‘Face To Face’ in terms of look and feel. First, there is a safety concern, as the audience members are placed in close proximity to the guests, who may not be able to control their emotions and physically smack someone seated in the opposite bench, hence leading to a high possibility that it may also directly affect a member of the crowd. The Trio Tagapayo’s stand makes the show look like it is a segment from a gag show, rather than a serious talk show that it is.
Meanwhile, replacing the placards that the audiences used to raised if they are in favor of either team is a simpler and more accurate in-studio polling, ala-‘Face The People’.
Let’s now move forward to the main event that is the issue of the day.
Like in the olden days, the host talks to the complainant first. After that, the flow remains as it was. The ‘defendant’ of the story comes in and faces-off with the accuser. So and so forth, until the audience, hosts, and advisors alike get the full picture of the problem at hand.
Speaking of issues, ‘F2F’ 2023 started with a problem involving debt, which intensified later on to the complainant herself being accused of ‘man snatching’ — which she admitted. Judging by that, it seems that F2F will retain the same path of the original version, in terms of the topics that will be discussed before them.
In terms of the overall presentation of the issue and the guests themselves, like anything else on TV, there are highlights and lowlights.
But first, let’s talk about the positives. There are some portions where the hosts do not intervene and lets the guests speak, it’s a plus as that could help get the truth straight from the horses’ mouth. Apart from that, the sawsaweros’ interaction with the guests were also given sufficient airtime, leading to even some of the lighter moments in episode 1.
Now, the negatives. The interrogation of the parties seems to be lacking, at least in this episode. Apart from that, the toss to a break while a guest is trying to answer the question thrown is a lowlight for sure. Maybe just go on a break right before a participant is introduced or just don’t ask them anything when they enter and immediately proceed to the commercial break.
It was also not made known whether the guests were given a closed-group discussion with the Trio Tagapayo, similar to what was conducted prior to the show’s last segment in the OG version. It would not hurt to at least show a few seconds of the process — aka the discussion with the Trio, should there be — on how the guests decided to make amends or otherwise in each episode.
The new ‘Face 2 Face’ banks on the nostalgia that the original version has. But even with the tweaks to the old format, the familiarity while watching the show is present. Add that to the sense of nostalgia and ‘guilty pleasure’ that would be reignited in older viewers or curiosity that will be sparked in the new audience, surely there is that recipe for success that is still currently hidden somewhere at the moment.
The room for improvement is still large, as well. The road ahead for the program could still be long and winding. After all, the success and legacy that the original ‘Face To Face’ had was not built overnight. One should also be patient for this version’s time to come.
But at the very least, this new incarnation of the original Kapatid talk show is already assured of that they will able to touch the lives of the guests and viewers, as much as what the old ‘F2F’ was able to do for theirs.
Finally, if the premiere episode of ‘Face 2 Face’ is of any indication, then the return of the iconic ‘Barangay Hall On-air’ is definitely off to a good start.
‘Face 2 Face‘ airs Monday to Friday at 11:00 am, right before ‘It’s Showtime’ on TV5. There are also primetime replays at 8:00 pm on One PH.