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Alien
Ang Dating Doon (
English: The Formerly There) is a popular recurring segment on
GMA Network's gag show
Bubble Gang from
1998 to
1999. It was briefly revived in
2001 and
2005. The show experienced a resurfacing in the late
2011 and is broadcast once a month. It is a parody of the religious television program
Ang Dating Daan (English:
The Old Path), which is produced by the
Members Church of God International. At first, the nursery rhyme "
Row Row Row Your Boat" was the opening and closing theme used from 1998 to 1999. Comically beginning in 2001, it uses the opening theme of the anime
TV series Chōdenji Machine Voltes V,"
Voltes V no Uta", as both its opening and closing song. It was of perfect timing, since it was a way of promoting Voltes V for the network back then. The sketch was headlined by the show's writers,
Isko Salvador (as
Brod Pete, a play on the name of actor
Brad Pitt and also a parody of
Bro. Eli Soriano, host of Ang Dating Daan),
Cesar Cosme (as
Brother Willy, parody of Bro. Willy
Santiago) and Chito
Francisco (as Brother Jocel, parody of Bro. Jocel Mallari). The recent popularity of
the religious program Ang Dating Daan and its sister program,
Itanong Mo kay Soriano, Bibliya ang Sasagot (
Ask Soriano, and the
Bible Will
Answer), inspired the segment. Because of its popularity, their characters became their nicknames. They are sometimes referred to, or credited as
Isko "Brod Pete"
Salvador, Cesar "Brother Willy" Cosme and Chito "Brother Jocel" Francisco. The segment would commonly begin and end with the Voltes V theme as the theme song; after it, various members of the audience would come up and present various questions to Brod Pete who then has Brother Willy read various extracts from
Nursery Rhymes or
Folk songs, and recently on the 2011 revival, various song lyrics. Brod Pete will then interpret the "passage" to answer the question presented.
Instead of using the Bible, they used dictionary, phone directory, or any books
. In the 2011 revival, they now use Macbook Pros and iPads as reference materials, which leads to its new title, Ang Bagong Dating
Doon (
The New Old There), meaning "Ang Dating Doon" with the power of technology.
Various exclamations such as "Alien!" or
Raise the Roof! would also be used (as a parody of the common exclamations
Amen and
Praise the Lord).
A running gag in the show is that Brother Jocel sleeps during the segment proper (he is often seen with his head resting on his arms on the desk, though this has not been the case on some episodes). In the 2011 revival and onwards, he is sometimes seen playing games with his iPad, most notably, according to him, is
Temple Run, or checking his "
Facebook account" for status updates (while often seen still resting his head on the desk).
Copyright GMA Entertainment TV 1999-2016
- published: 12 Jun 2016
- views: 3