AMBO 3 - Another Get-Rich-and-Famous Quick Scheme or A Playground for the Talented

AMBO 3 – Doing it my way
I will do my best to watch the show daily and give my candid thoughts. Any day I miss must be due to power outage. I intend to enjoy doing this, though na for free o! So, if you know any NEPA staff – I mean PHCN, tell them to cooperate between the hours of 8 and 10 every night along the Oregun Road, Ikeja line.

FIRST OFF: I have come to "fall in love" with Aziza(t) - the first winner of AMBO. Her screen presence is magical, reminiscent of the late Marylin Monroe. She may not be as well-endowed physically, but she has the aura that makes you think: "there goes my best friend". On the strength of that, AMBO may have done the right thing. I did not really watch AMBO2, cos my friend failed to pass the auditions and I got really busy and hardly had time for television unless it was football. This time around though, after seeing Azizat in Wetin Dey and a Nollywood movie, I intend to take AMBO seriously.

DECEMBER 9, 2007

The time is 5.30am. I'm up preparing for a trip. won't be back for many adays! This means I'm going to miss the rest of AMBO3. I have not seen the show for about 3 nights now, no thanks in part to NEPA and to a hectic, traffic-jammed Lagos. you never get to your destination on time. I'm not going on vacation, so no room service, no tv, no satelllite television. Just me, and my devotion to fighting off the most dangerous mosquitoes in the world!

But I caught the show of 3 days ago, where they reenacted a scene from the Amaka Igwe classic, FOREVER. It was intimidating to have Ethel Ekpe sitting as a judge, since she starred in it years ago. The best part of the show was the 'interactive session' they had with the House Chief, Nobert Young. The guy had things to say! He should be given a platform to air his views. We need honest opinions like that from people we respect, who in turn have no qualms about political correctness. Say it like it is.

He made his feelings known about Nollywood, the practitioners who are so bent on turning mediocrity into a new standard. The guy dey vex o. Shuo! I'm not a fan of open display of wealth of even affection, so on the part of spraying money at parties, I fully agree. He is best-equipped to teach the upcoming.

Now, NEPA again did not allow me see the end of the show, so I don;t know the 5 who were nominated, and by now, I don't know who has left the show. I hope Seun is still there to take the prize, unless of course someone upped him so wonderfully. Joy, Kachi, Bharai should remain in the reckoning. Uche is my friend o! She has a wonderful screen presence. I'd love to photograph her all day. From any angle, she looks great. But on the acting part, I'm not a fan. Her national exposure ensures that her value as a model will increase a 100-fold. Though, I'd like to direct her in a movie sometime later, but the part will be where she'll just be herself, a great beauty with the men swooning shamelessly. There are ways to bring out the best in her on screen. It takes an eye for beauty to spot and exploit that.

David is one I do not understand. With his big image as an actor in a tv drama series, this has become a disadvantage as he is expected to turn on the charm and floor the others. but he has done nothing but struggle through the tasks and show us his six-pack!

Let the organisers and voters do the right thing though. The winner should be in the mould of Azizat in terms of grace, poise and talent. Luckily, Seun is not the only one in this category. May the best man/woman win!

DECEMBER 3, 2007

In the spirit of giving everyone a fair chance to fight till the end, I saved my misgivings about the show yet...concentrating fully on the contestants. I attended the screening in Lagos -not as a guest. I came to wish a friend well - , where they were picked. I have a friend who was dropped, and I met Uche Odoh same day, an hour before she was picked. so, if the judges picked from the bunch that had the guts to show up, who has the moral fiber to complain and say the show is compromised? Let's wait till the ship berths, then we see what is holds in its belly!

Monday 26th November

I missed Friday and Saturday shows, but caught a part of Sunday's show where the judges surprised them. It was great to also see Seun deliver it well. Once they get over their jitters, these bunch are good. More and more people who can do well on screen/stage now have the guts to turn up at auditions. But I caugh two minutes of a shot of Yul Brynner in The King and I. Since the producers of the show are bent on 'dealing with me' by asking them to re-enact these timeless pieces, they should be prepared for the massive failure or the unprecendented sucess that may spring at them from nowhere! I have picked SEUN and Joy so far.

Thursday, 22nd November

I almost forgot about AMBO until a boring 1-hour spell saw me “swishing” between channels. The time was almost 9pm, I landed on G65 and caught the diary Session. I saw then that it would be repeated on other stations. So, I tuned to STV – though, I must point out a delightful news item I picked up on NTA Network News. Bakassi, the Senate declared should remain a part of Nigeria. I almost yippied through the ceiling but the old fan whirring above noisily checked my ascent, then I remembered my ‘date’ with AMBO3. I caught them before they broke for breakfast, where they had a problem observing table manners. Then, they had to re-enact a scene from The Sound of Music. I caught a ‘great walk’ and ‘great talk’ from Seun. I can tell he is good already. Then, they had the chance to stage their own drama, they did well, but one person floored me, brought back memories of the days I stayed up watching TCM till the cock crowed. I’m talking about Joy. She played a blind mother, and her crying bit, with a set face and tears rolling down her face, mouth slightly parted, as if in a song. That did it for me! It was an Oscar-winning performance. Please believe me. There is a distinct over-sabi among them all. The transformation of little unknowns to household names through reality tv shows has brought out the smarts in us. Competition is even with self. I’m still watching. I hope none of those sleaze we gleaned from BBA will come to play. Reality tv should add value to our culture, not leave us with sour tastes in our mouths, scorpions in our bellies and the worst part of Jackie Collins and Harold Robbins books in our heads. The very best part of the show for me was the Dakore advert. I am her biggest fan, and she nailed the ad. Make we see how una go do this thing sha.

How will they pull off that famous scene where Al Pacino, as Michael Corleone reacted to his wife’s news of leaving him? Should be easy in this part of the world where the guys must have been dumped by at least 2 girls before the age of 20! Laters.