Survivor: Philippines General Discussion

Paolo Bediones considers hosting "Survivor Philippines" his 'dream job'

Erwin Santiago

Thursday, September 11, 2008
10:17 AM
Award-winning TV host Paolo Bediones is so excited while
talking about what he calls his "dream job" during the pocket interview for
Survivor Philippines held yesterday, September 10, at GMA Network Center.



For many, Paolo is the obvious choice to host Survivor
Philippines having hosted the hit reality series Extra Challenge on GMA-7, which set a
trend in reality TV in the Philippines. Paolo also admitted that he really hoped to get this hosting job.



"December [2007] pa lang, there were talks that we might get
[the franchise of] Survivor. Basically, I just said, ‘Sana, sana ako, sana
ako.' But then I also heard that they were short listing like 20 people—that's
pretty long short list. And I was like, ‘Okay. So I guess huwag muna nating
asahan ito.'



"I remember I got the call at around 11 o' clock, I was
taping Tok! Tok! Tok! [his Sunday night game show] at that time, around February. It was very simple, it was
just a few words. Ang sabi, ‘O, you got it. It's yours na.' Yun lang, yun na
‘yon. Parang tuliro ako," narrates a darker Paolo to select members of the press,
including PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal).



Paolo admitted though that he did not audition to get the
hosting job for Survivor Philippines. He explains, "In terms of Castaway Productions [franchise owner
of Survivor] naman, they gave the free reign to the network. And of course they
wanted to see some footage, so they showed footage of me in Extra Challenge
doing the challenge or conducting the challenge. And they're like, ‘Yeah, it
looks like you got a good person here.'



"It was never something na I expected," he continues,
"‘cause I knew that if I expected this, I'd probably set myself up for
disappointment considering that they want... ‘Andaling sabihin ng network na,
‘Let's explore other people.' Parang this might look too much like Extra Challenge.
And that was my goal, to not make it look like anything I've done before in
terms of my disposition...



"I'm very strict here, I hardly smile. It was hard for
because there was some things that I'd ask them [castaways] to do or some
consequence that they have to perform, and people can end up being really mad
at me. Parang, ‘Ang sama mo naman, pinalangoy mo ng one kilometer!' Survivor,
e, di ba? So ngayon n'yo lang ako nakikitang ngumingiti, but if you watch the
next three months, I'd hardly smile."



SHOOTING IN DEVIL'S ISLAND. Paolo says shooting Survivor Philippines for more than 40 days was not what he
expected.



"Before I left, sabi ko nga, e, I don't think there's any
way to prepare myself physically, mentally, truly for what's gonna happen. In a
very good way, it wasn't what I expected, it is much worse. Look at my color,
if I took off my shirt, you can see na may nakabakat dito na sando... But when I
say much worst, ang ibig lang sabihin nun, e, the work is much harder, pero
since yung level ng fulfillment mo and satisfaction mo so high, okay lang.



"Marami sa amin ang physically napagod. Ang isang tao lang
na hindi puwedeng magkasakit, ako, kasi every day may trabaho ‘yan, e. Every day
you're supposed to do a challenge or a tribal council. Pero ang nakakatawa, e,
45 days ako dun sa isla hindi ako nagkasakit, kahapon [September 9], binagyo
lang ako, nag-rapel lang ako, ‘yan may sakit na ako!" reveals Paolo.



Along with the 18 castaways, more than 120 production staff
flew to Koh Tarutao island in Thailand, near Malaysia, for the grueling shoot
of Survivor Philippines. The team includes
the carpenters, art department, technical department (which has about 8
camera crews, challenge team, reality team, the Sandugo to take care of the
rigging in all of the challenges, the management team (three executive
producers and the program manager.



"We were one big happy family!" quips Paolo. "Malaking bagay
talaga yung nag-bonding lahat kami, yung nandun kayo mismo sa mga area kung
saan talagang naghihirap kayo... Kumbaga, nakikilala mo yung ugali ng tao, e. You
really push each other, ‘Sige, let's do better.'



"Nandun yung mga alitan. I always get into conflict with
some of the teams, kasi I feel like either hindi safe yung challenge, or may
mga nuances o mga parameters that weren't covered. Sometimes naman yung mga
tinatawag na twist ng show, dini-discuss namin lagi ‘yon," relates the TV host.



PAOLO SURVIVED. What were the things that Paolo
survived while he was on the island?



"Number one, I didn't get sick,"
he begins. "Not a single day that I get sick. There are times that I'd feel
really weak, kasi at times the Tribal Council [voting-out session] will end at
2 a.m., then we have to do a challenge like at 7 a.m. because of the tide. May
mga conditions na ganun, e... Kasi yung tide dun grabe, magpapalit in a span of
two hours!



"Every single day without fail,
dump truck ang sinasakyan namin! Aam mo yun sa umpisa parang fun and, after a
while, sobrang sanay na, nakaupo sa dump truck ‘tapos uulan ng malakas, wala
namang bubong ‘yon! We survived the storms.



"We survived eating just three
small meals a day. Na-survive namin yung gutom, malayong lakad... Alam mo there
are times that we have to walk about a kilometer from the shore or to get to
the shore kasi ang baba ng tide, buhat-buhat mo yung equipment... It was just a
group effort.



"There were times naman in the
early part na I was testing all the challenges to make sure na safe sila
[castaways]. I had to because responsibility ko rin as a host to make sure
that... Although hindi mo tinatanggal yung lahat ng mga danger aspects of a challenge,
kailangan masasagot mo yung question na, ‘What if?' There are so many things
that are going on in your head habang ginagawa mo yung whole thing, e.



"Of course, nandun din yung every
Sunday, nagba-Bible study kami dun. Mahalagang-mahalaga yun because you're in a
foreign land, you're in an island na, you know, kailangan you have to cling
into something, e. A lot of us became more prayerful when we were there, a lot
of us became more open to one another. I would lead the group, I would read
scriptures," narrates Paolo.



A SIMPLE LIFE. Personally, Paolo considers his
experiences in Survivor Philippines priceless.



"It did me a lot of good for me,
personally," he says. "As an individual, dun ko na-realize na sobrang simple ng
buhay and if I could share this experience with as many people as possible, I
would. For them to realize na sobrang simple ng buhay.



"Oo, may mga problema tayo. Oo,
may mga problema ako. I call it as force stillness, e, na you're there 45 days,
you have no choice. You have issues to handle here in the country, but you
cannot take care of it there. So you're forced na pause muna ang buhay, let's
finish Survivor."



VERY PROUD OF SURVIVOR PHILIPPINES. Needless to say, epectations for Survivor
Philippines is so huge because the Survivor franchise is very popular in
different parts of the world. But will
Survivor Philippines be at par with Survivor U.S.?



"In terms of budget, no," admits
Paolo. "But the castaways did not let us down. The unpredictability of the game
is there. The stickiness factor is there, yung parang you wanna know what
happened, e. Ito yung tipo ng show na yung sa water cooler na nag-uusap-usap
yung mga officemates, ito yun. There's a little something for everybody."



He adds, "Alam mo, ang
pinaka-proud kami, aside from the short preparation time na na-pull off namin
ito lahat-lahat, nung pumunta yung Castaway Productions doon sa Thailand at
nakita kung paano kami magtrabaho.



"Number one, sobra siyang happy
with how smoothly things are going. Number two, ‘No question about the second
season, you have our vote,' parang ganun. Number three, there are innovations
that we introduced to the show that they want to introduce worldwide. Number
four, sabi niya to me personally na compared to the other [Survivor] hosts
worldwide, ako yung pinakamalapit kay Jeff [Probst of Survivor U.S.] in terms
of I'm on top of everything, I wanna know each and every nuance of the game, of
the show. For that, sobrang lahat ng pagod na mararamdaman, lahat ng insect
bites, sulit lahat!"



Is he a fan of Survivor?



"I've been a fan ever since,"
replies Paolo. "Lalong-lalo na when I found out I got this job, kasi parang ito
yung dream role mo, e, ito yung dream job mo, e. After Extra Challenge, where
else will you go, di ba? Here's something that was given to me that's much,
much bigger than that. So much bigger talaga."



Survivor Philippines will start airing on September 11
on GMA-7 after Ako Si Kim Samsoon.

Guys, here's a really good site:

http://survivorphilippines.tk

Visit the Official Website of Survivor Philippines, it is updated.

www.survivorphilippines.tv

I'm watching it. =) There's more to improve but it's okay for its first season. My current bet is Patani. hehe her name is so unique

I have read the first eliminated is Chev, a former GRO from the Visayas who married and left a child in THailand. She's now battling for the custody of their child. (,)

I like Patani Too!!!

Patani, Zita, Veronica, Nikki, JC & Jace FTW!!!

oh i thought i posted a comment here the last time I visited?
anywei reposting will do lol, patani and mommy zita are my early faves along with the dreadlock guy...i forgot his name

This show is not a let down, compare to the Idol handled by GMA, I'm glad that it's going strong and smooth. Everyday there's no dull moments, every episode will really put you on the edge of your seat. Congratulations Survivor Philippines!
for updates visit survivorphilippines.com or survivorphilippines.tv

Honestly, I'm not that disappointed with this show. hehe

But I'm sad because there is no more Patani

i like charisse. she's smart and beautiful.
also vern. she's physically fit.

i miss patani.

Welcome ikalawangaraw to EMW.

I have observed the viewers love Patani. I've seen one episode and she's a comedianne.

I love Patani...

watch Patani today on The Sweet Life on Q-11 at 6.10 PM

Patani is now a mactor hehe. She already got her "EXFOSURE".

Survivor Philippines is changing the landscape of Philippine television. It is now the highest rated show in the nation.

Survivor Philippines outplayed all other prime time programs when
it scored a back-to-back victory last Friday, November 7, and last
night, November 10.

Survivor Philippines posted a rating of 33.8 percent Friday and
a whopping 36.8 percent last night. Survivor's 36.8 percent rating last
night was its highest, so far, since the reality show's debut last
September 15.

No Pinoys in this forum would like to talk about Survivor Philippines.

Good thing I found out a live streaming site where I can watch it everytime I have time.

I pity the Naak alliance going stray at this point. I would love them to stick till the end but it did not happen because Chris and Kaye betrayed them.

And I just don't like how Kaye, marlon and Charisse are reacting while Rob is flaring up because of the Curse of the Black Pearl given to him by his brother Kiko.

So this is my order of the castaways I like the most to the least I like.

1. Zita
2. JC
3. Rob

4. Chris
5. Kaye

6. Vern
7. Charisse
8. Marlon

Oh, the taekwondo expert was voted off. It would have been better if it was Marlon.

And I am wondering why Vern gave the black pearl to her ally Charisse.

C'mmon, Pinoys. Let's talk about Philippine Survivor.

JC is the Sole Survivor!!!



With the "Boto ng Bayan," JC gets away with 7 votes against 2 for Rob. He is 3 million pesos richer tonight, add to his brand new car reward - gifted looks, kind demeanor, a fairly untarnished reputation plus a beautiful and intelligent girlfriend.. wow, some guys have all the luck indeed.

JC got a landslide win in "Boto ng Bayan" - 93% against 7% for Rob. A 'juicy' win indeed!