Viewers waking up to new breakfast TV show

Viewers waking up to new breakfast TV show

By Bruce Emond

Selamat Datang Pagi (Welcome the Morning); Hosts: Becky
Tumewu, Ferdy Hasan; RCTI, 8 a.m. Weekdays

JAKARTA (JP): It's hard to be heard amid the din of dangdut
music shows on TV in the early morning hours, but breakfast
television is finally making its appearance on local screens.

There is already Dua Jam Saja (Two Hours) on state-run TVRI,
with a mix of news, features, guests and a viewer call-in
segment. Like most of the network's locally produced shows, it
tends to the wooden and formulaic, to the extent that the hosts
are left to muddle through when things, inevitably and
frequently, do not go according to plan (that said, TVRI's
coverage of the Sydney Olympics, for all its bare-bones quality,
won hands down for true sports lovers over RCTI's glitzy but
blunder-filled programs, buried by incessant commercial breaks,
the dubious use of star power and a frustrating lack of focus).

Another foray into breakfast TV Indonesian-style is Selamat
Datang Pagi, a new RCTI show hosted by Becky Tumewu and Ferdy
Hasan. Its unusual format will come as a surprise to viewers who
have grown up with breakfast TV in England and the United States;
it's folksy, for sure, but it's not the two-hour gabfests on
everything from housewares to hemorrhoids which crowd foreign
airwaves.

Instead, Becky and Ferdy are styled as a married couple (in
real life both are married to others) who explore a new topic of
discussion every day; they range from the mundane, such as
fitness for housewives, to more serious social issues of wife
beating and the like. Guests, usually identified as their
"friends", stop by their "living room" to discuss the topic at
length and take calls from viewers.

Shows last week included one on the increase in fuel prices,
which was neatly arranged around the storyline of Ferdy running
into legislator Irwan Prayitno while out for some morning
exercise. Ferdy hurt his leg, was helped home by Irwan and an
ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver, who recounted his plan to sell his
vehicle because of the rise in fuel prices. Arguments went back
and forth on the reasons for the hike, and Irwan, who appeared a
trifle nervous at first, eventually piped up to give the usual
spiel on its necessity.

On Wednesday the focus was on the prevalent use of skin
whiteners and the dangers of using products which are not
approved by the health ministry. A "friend" of Becky's waxed on
about an outstanding new product which lightened her skin. Becky
proceeded to give her a good talking to on the use of mercury in
the lightener, and then called a dermatologist who dropped in to
discuss the subject.

It initially seems like a prescription for artificiality and
stilted exchanges, but it works, thanks to brilliant packaging
over 30 minutes. The segues are neat and seamless, and the phone
calls from viewers enliven the show (the uniform excellence of
the questions and their often frank quality fuel sneaking, if
unproven, suspicions). Much of the credit for the show's
attraction must go to Becky, whose background is as a comedic
actress and emcee, and Ferdy, a longtime disc jockey and game
show host.

Much also depends on the guests, who can help the show run
along smoothly despite its live format. Take actress and Body
Language expert Minarti Atmanegara, who did not miss a beat when
a caller asked if physical exercise improved one's sex life. Head
held characteristically high, the 40-something Minarti answered
earnestly that it did because people felt better about themselves
and their bodies.

Not such a prudent choice was actress-singer Peggy Melati
Sukma and comic Jodi for a segment on infidelity. Peggy, whose
"talents" remain a mystery to many, usually can be called on to
give her five cents' worth (and she cries easily to boot). On
this particular morning, however, she sniggered and guffawed her
way through a thankfully brief appearance -- but she succeeded in
sinking the show.