"Batibot" (Pinoy 90s Children Show)

 


History

Conception and the first Batibot

Batibot was conceptualized and produced by Feny Bautista, a teacher from the Community of Learners Foundation and writer Rene Villanueva. The show was inspired by the American children's show, Sesame Street. which educates preschoolers through dance, song, and role-play educational skills through them.

First aired in 1984,Batibot debuted as Sesame!. It stars Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing which the characters were based on one of the Filipino stories, The Monkey and The The Turtle popularized by Jose Rizal. In the first year of its airing, the children's show was co-produced by the Philippine and Children's Television Foundation and Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) with the support of then First Lady Imelda Marcos. Government support did not last long, ended within 1984 and the co-production deal was cancelled. The Philippine producers went on to produce a show based on Sesame Street in February 1985.

Batibot was then done wholly in Filipino and featured stories in a Philippine context. Airing on weekdays with a time slot of 10:30 AM, the series consistently ranked in 1985 among the top 10 daytime shows in the Philippines, outdoing its performance in 1984 when it was still a co-produced series and wholly American produced Sesame Street. which first aired in the country in 1970. 

                                                                                                                     

By February 1989, Batibot was airing its sixth season. However the producers of the series were experiencing financial constraints which placed uncertainty regarding the future airing of the show.

Batibot was first aired in RPN and ABS-CBN, then it was later aired by PTV and GMA. In 1999, Batibot was relaunched as "Batang Batibot" airing on a Saturday morning timeslot. "Batibot" ceased airing in 2003.


Cast and characters

Human characters.

  • Kuya Bodjie portrayed by Bodjie Pascua
  • Ate Sienna portrayed by Sienna Olaso 
  • Kuya Ching portrayed by Ching Arellano
  • Kuya Dwight portrayed by Dwight Gaston
  • Kuya Mario*portrayed by Junix Inocian
  • Ate Isay portrayed by Isay Alvarez-Seña
  • Mang Mokyo portrayed by Soliman Cruz
  • Popoy portrayed by Alvin Froy Alemania
  • Ate Jojie portrayed by Adriana Agcaoili
  • Rap Rap portrayed by Rafael Mallanes
  • Ate Celia portrayed by Sheila Noreen Lopez Gamo

Puppets.
  • Irma Daldal*- very talkative TV Field Reporter puppet
  • Koko Kwik-Kwak*– a bird character inspired from the Philippine Eagle, based from Big Bird of Sesame Street.
  • Manang Bola*– a forgetful fortuneteller.
  • Kapitan Basa*– a character who has a magic book which he uses to answer questions from children.
  • Sitsiritsit*and AlibangBang*– a curious duo of space aliens.
  • Ningning*and Gingging*– characters based from Ernie and Bert of Sesame Street.
  • Tarsi - a Tarsier
  • Kiko Matsing*– a monkey
  • Pong Pagong*– a turtle

TRIVIA:
Batibot featured characters portrayed by puppets as well as human characters. The puppets used for the show were mostly locally made. Kiko Matsing and Pong Pagong who were among the main characters of the first Batibot were crafted in New York.


Thank you and God Bless !

To God Be The Highest Glory !

Bro. Emil Tv
BroEmilAwesomeThings








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