'Famili 100' still finding out what the survey says
'Famili 100' still finding out what the survey says
Famili 100; Host: Sonny Tulung; Indosiar, 5 p.m.
Monday-Friday; 6:30 p.m. Saturday 5:30 p.m. Sunday
JAKARTA (JP): It must be something about short male TV game
show hosts: pint-sized, boyish Sonny Tulung follows in the
diminutive but successful footsteps of Richard Dawson and the
late Ray Krebs who hosted Family Feud, the U.S. money-spinner
which has spun off into localized versions around the globe.
Sonny has been with the show from its outset five years ago on
ANteve through its transfer to Indosiar a couple of years ago.
Inevitably, he has become inextricably identified with the show
for loyal viewers; it's hard to imagine another celebrity looking
up to the board and declaring "the survey says" the way Sonny
does.
Although various guest celebrity hosts were tried during the
show's anniversary celebration earlier this year, they all came
across as pretenders to the throne. It was a relief when Sonny
finally returned to show them the way things should be done.
His style veers between an impish bashfulness and a sometimes
biting, occasionally risque wit. He toys with his guests,
skewering answers which are way off the mark with a bit of good-
humored banter. His humor sometimes descends into the Benny Hill
genre of double entendres, but he pulls off the insinuations
without causing lasting offense.
Sonny may be one of the few celebrities who can come away
unscathed from an off-color aside that "chocolate milk is also
tasty", a play on the Indonesian word for breast and milk, before
an audience of both young and old.
For those who might have existed in a cocoon for the past
decade, the half-hour shows feature families squaring off against
each other to find the top answers from a survey of the general
public. The cash prizes are not grand if compared to the prizes
on foreign versions (the pot is carried over every show until
there is a winner) and the format does not carry any surprises,
but still Famili 100 is a winner with many who do not fail to
tune in every day.
Much of the attraction comes from the family interactions made
before the unforgiving lens of the TV cameras. There is the pushy
older sister who corrals her weaker siblings into taking her
answer, only for the resounding boom of a big zero to cut her
down to size; or the father who is so edgy he has to be gently
reminded by Sonny to keep his hand on the monitor in the initial
face-off (the greetings of the opposing family members at the
board are always of interest -- will they or will they not shake
hands?).
The celebrity show every Saturday offers its own attractions,
particularly the opportunity to take a peek at the regular
siblings and parents of the stars. The celebrities, thrown out of
their traditional stomping grounds, can be a revelation, such as
when veteran actress Yati Octavia dissolved into giggles and
slips of the tongue as she fumbled her way through the final
answer round. Sonny seems looser and more at ease during these
shows, no doubt freed from concerns of leaving a trail of bruised
egos if he oversteps the mark.
As the show goes on, there is the increasing tendency for
family contestants to show a bit of their homespun talents at the
outset of the show, particularly by warbling a tune (the real
"winners" are when the families have composed tunes themselves in
honor of the show and its leading man). Sonny goes along with the
performances, acting as a conductor of sorts, but sometimes they
can be a squirming embarrassment. Many viewers would wish instead
for Sonny to get on with the show. (Bruce Emond)