Lunch Date
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| Lunch Date | |
|---|---|
| Format | variety show |
| Developed by | GMA Network |
| Starring | Randy Santiago Lito Pimentel Pilita Corrales Tina Revilla Louie Heredia Sheryl Cruz Jon Santos Dennis Padilla Keno Atoy Co Willie Revillame |
| Country of origin |  Philippines |
| Language(s) | Filipino |
| No. of episodes | n/a |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | multicamera setup |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | GMA Network |
| Picture format | 480i SDTV |
| Original run | March 10, 1986 – March 6, 1993 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Student Canteen |
| Followed by | Salo-Salo Together (SST) |
Lunch Date was a Philippine noontime variety show that aired on GMA Network from March 10, 1986 to March 6, 1993.
Its original hosts were Orly Mercado, Rico J. Puno, Toni Rose Gayda and Chiqui Hollmann.
When the show was reformatted after a year, it only retained Gayda and brought in a mix of old and new faces to host the show, including Randy Santiago, Lito Pimentel, Pilita Corrales, Tina Revilla, Louie Heredia, Sheryl Cruz, Jon Santos, Dennis Padilla, Keno, Atoy Co and Willie Revillame.
On Lunch Date's last year of airing in 1993, some showbiz personalities guest-hosted, such as Manilyn Reynes, Rustom Padilla, Isabel Granada, Samantha Chavez and Ai Ai de las Alas.
Contents |
[edit] Segments
Modus Operandi - a daily comedy sketch segment, performed by the hosts and featuring a storyline that runs all week. The storylines provided were mostly spoofs on Pinoy pop culture and everyday life.
Ulat Panggulat - a twice-a-week news segment where an obnoxious reporter, Jon Baluga (a character developed by Jon Santos), goes anywhere in Metro Manila just to report about anything that is remotely newsworthy. It established Santos' popularity that he later co-starred with Joey de Leon (also of Eat Bulaga) in the movie Tangga en Chos.
Bonggang Beautician - a comedy spoof of a beauty pageant, solely dedicated to gay beauticians.
Mr. Dreamboy - inspired from Sheryl Cruz's hit single of the same title, handsome men battled it out for a chance to become a member of GMA's teen variety show That's Entertainment.
Munting Mutya Philippines - a nationwide child-star talent search, where little girls showcase their wit and talent.
Power Words - an inspirational segment usually before the end of the show, where Toni Rose Gayda gave a reflection on the day's featured Bible passage.
[edit] Ratings and Awards
Lunch Date was involved in a fierce ratings battle with ABS-CBN's Eat Bulaga, at a time when one of its hosts, Randy Santiago, became very popular, because of his trademark shades. However, after Randy-mania died down, Lunch Date lost its momentum and moved to a distant second behind Bulaga.
Despite this, however, the hosts of Lunch Date had displayed great camaraderie and friendship. The show had also won three PMPC Star Awards: two for Tina Revilla ("Best Female TV Host", 1989 and 1991) and one for Rustom Padilla ("Best New Male TV Personality", 1992).
[edit] Ending
On March 6, 1993, Lunch Date had its last episode after GMA executives decided to reformat the whole show due to the ratings downfall. Most of the hosts discontinued to host GMA's new noontime show, "Salo-Salo Together (SST)".
