batibot!

the creator of the show i grew up with died recently. his name's rene villanueva. it was december 5 i think. to pay tribute to him, i shall dedicate a blog entry for his show.

BATIBOT CHARACTERS:

1. Koko Kwik-Kwak, or Koko for short, is a four-year-old bird-child inspired by Pag-asa, the first Philippine eagle hatched under laboratory conditions.

2. Manang Bola, (Madam Bola) the forgetful fortuneteller. Although she still relies too much on her crystal ball, she still, however, ostensibly helps children and other guests in finding answers to questions by helping themselves on their own.

3. Kapitan Basa, a superhero that loves to read. He loves to answer questions with the help of his magic book.

4. Sitsiritsit and Alibangbang, two inquisitive space aliens who take delight in discovering things, places and people around them. Inspired from Two-Headed Monster from Sesame Street and with the names being from the nursery rhyme "Sitsiritsit, Alibangbang".

5. Ningning and Gingging, the sisters. Ningning is the eldest girl, the serious type, while Gingging is younger and the playful one between the two siblings. Inspired from Ernie and Bert of Sesame Street.

6. Irma Daldal, a stage-struck, faddish, shallow and cheap actress, although she believes she is the most talented person in show business. Her name is a word play on madaldal, which is the Filipino for "talkative."

7. Sultan Parachibum, a datu or chieftain who, with the help of his grandchildren acting as his official advisers, always tries his best to solve the many problems in his sultanate known as Agamanyog.

8. Noli de Kasyo, the journalistic reporter and interviewer who because of taking himself too seriously, always ends up doing all sorts of interviews about various objects, muppets and people. Inspired from former TV anchorman and current Vice President Noli de Castro.

9. Pong Pagong, a clumsy, pink full-body turtle wearing a baseball cap.

10. Kiko Matsing, a brown monkey version of Sesame Street's Oscar.

11. Kuya Bodjie (Big Brother Bodjie), also known as Bodjie Pascua

12. Ate Sienna a.k.a Bambam (Big Sister Sienna)