We recently monitored ‘’Tara Let’s’’ (yes, that’s the title and the purists among DepEd officials are likely cringing in horror) as part of our work with Anak TV. We were pleasantly surprised because the OBB editing and music were noteworthy. Finally, a local children’s program that looked efficiently edited and one that bravely and imaginatively employed original music along indigenous patterns.
Joey Ayala’s signature was all over the background. He even makes a cameo appearance. If only for those attributes, ‘’Tara Let’s’’ deserves kudos.
When we noticed the message flashed onscreen that the show was also being seen via Mabuhay satellite in Japan, US and Canada, two of our jurors had a hard time pulling back their eyebrows to earth. Prayerfully, that was not inserted in jest or as empty boast.
The pluses of the shows far outweigh the blemishes, thank heavens, but there were too many flies in the ointment that deserve serious mention.
Just after precocious child mainstays Lyra, John Dave and Dessa were introduced and soon after the episode title was presented, the producers could not resist the siren call of economics: A slew of announcements, and commercials came on one after the other.
We braced ourselves for a confused format: adult messages in a children’s TV show?
With the car battery supporter, at least there was an effort to go soft. The public service messages (PSA) couched the otherwise hard sell strategy for such product. However, the PSAs were addressed to parents, not kids! These were better aired in newscasts, variety shows, telenovelas or cooking programs.
The program itself was not a problem. The script was a product of creative minds, the researchers performed creditably and the entire show, independent of the advertising adjuncts, fell into place neatly. No quarrel about that, says one juror. What muddled the arrangement were the commercial messages that were woven in, sometimes rather obtrusively. For instance, a condo unit was on rush sale it had to air thrice (Has the world changed overnight? Are there child buyers of real estate now?) Then a concert for breast cancer victims with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra among others.
Not content with that, the "For ad placements, call 12345" notice was flashed every so often. Could Richie Rich be one of the viewers and wishes to part with his advertising money through the program? Juror 1 naughtily remarks: "It’s beamed by satellite to the US, mind!"
What took the cake was this: Asia Link! Some thingamagig that was so out of place like a camel in the middle of an ocean and which certainly did not mean anything to children! (And much later, poor viewers had to text in answers to the quiz portion! So what happens to about 95 percent of Pinoy kiddie viewers who have no access to handy phones? Nag their parents about joining?)
Strangely, the trio of kids was always in a food environment wherever they went in Antipolo! And they made social pilgrimages to quite a number of resorts in the name of the travelogue genre that we wonder how kiddie audiences would take to such display of gluttony.
We should ask the director, Flora Malong, who also could not resist showcasing her award winning Civil Sevice ad, never mind if it stuck like a sore thumb in a children’s program, is ‘’Tara Let’s’’ really meant for kids?
