The MTV Punk’d-inspired reality show featured big local celebrities getting pranked the wildest and funniest way possible.
Anybody who remembers the popular MTV show MTV Punk’d, or any other similar show that preceded it, surely also remembers the ABS-CBN reality show, Victim. The show premiered on the Network’s Saturday primetime block, on November 22, 2003, replacing the barkada series, Buttercup.
The series starred then ABS-CBN’s most popular young stars, including Claudine Barretto, Diether Ocampo, Angelu de Leon, Piolo Pascual, and Assunta de Rossi. Incidentally and interestingly, Carlos Agassi, host of Victim, was also a cast member of Buttercup.
Victim was dubbed as ‘reality TV show ng mga sikat’, hence the various big stars who guested the show. For its pilot episode, the reality program had Angelika de la Cruz, Dennis Padilla, Jericho Rosales, John Prats, Marvin Agustin, and Kristine Hermosa as its guests a.k.a. ‘victims’.
The main idea of the show is that secretly hidden cameras are installed at specific locations to monitor the movements and behaviors of targeted guests. Agassi plays the main prankster, but he gets help from several accomplices. The unassuming guests are ambushed with a scripted situation—a reporter going epileptic during an interview, for example—and are caught off-guard with their authentic reactions.
With the nature of the show, it was anticipated that some of the guests would have unwanted reactions. Agassi, himself, admitted that they were ready to receive the ire of their guests.
He shared in an interview ‘Kunyari napikon, syempre right nila `yon. Pero, ang gagawin namin, ie-edit namin `yon, at kung paano namin gustong mai-air `yon, tapos ipadadala namin `yung tape sa kanila, at kung magugustuhan nila, ipalalabas namin sa kanila.
“Pero kung hindi, it’s their right, `di ba? Kasi, kung magagalit dito, hindi lang sila sa akin magagalit, kundi pati sa ABS-CBN, kasi sila ang magi-air, `di ba?
“So, nandu`n `yung responsibility nun.“
That said, the show mostly generated a favorable impression in viewers and also their guests. The show also pranked the likes of Regine Velasquez, Nora Aunor, Luis Manzano, and Rica Peralejo, and the response are largely positive.
The 22% rating of the pilot episode, according to AC Nielsen, was also a strong indication that the show was well-received.
The show underwent a few reformatting before going off the air in October 2004. The show was called Victim Undercover, in its last season, which viewers said was a copycat of its rival show on GMA Network, Extra Challenge.
Do you still remember the show? What are your fondest memories about it? Don’t forget to share them in the comment section.
