SiS (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Sis


caption =
genre = Talk show
camera = multicamera setup
picture_format = 480i SDTV
audio_format =
format = showbiz talk show
runtime = 1 hour
creator = GMA Entertainment TV Group
developer = GMA Entertainment TV Group
producer = Louie Ignacio
director = Louie Ignacio
executive_producer = Wilma Galvante
starring = Gelli De Belen
Janice De Belen
Carmina Villaroel
voices = Sonny Hernandez
narrated = Sonny Hernandez
theme_music_composer = M2H
opentheme = SiS Theme Song
endtheme =
country = flagicon|Philippines Philippines
location =
language = Filipino, English, Tagalog
network = GMA Network
first_aired = July 2 2001
last_aired = present
num_series =
num_episodes = 1,709 episodes (as of February 8, 2008)
list_episodes =
preceded_by = D Day!
followed_by =
related = Katok mga Misis
website =
imdb_id =
tv_com_id =

Sis (formerly "SiS: Janice & Gelli") is the morning talk show of GMA Network.It is hosted by Gelli De Belen (Anna Gianelli de Belen), Janice De Belen (Catherine Janice de Belen), and Carmina Villaroel (Maria Carmina Villaroel).

Overview

The show was conceptualized by GMA executives in 2001 who wanted a different approach to typical morning talk shows seen on TV. At that time, the 10:30 to 11:30 am slot was lorded over by rival network ABS-CBN which had produced top-rating morning talk shows like Mel & Jay,Today with Kris Aquino,Talk TV and HomeBoy. At that time, GMA was catching up on ABS-CBN through Show and Tell, Katok mga Misis!, Partners Mel and Jay, Brunch with Bing and Michelle, and D! Day

When the concept was given to director Louie Ignacio, it was decided right there and then that real-life sisters and actresses Janice de Belen and Gelli de Belen will headline the show which was titled "Sis", an abbreviated term for "sisters". Janice and Gelli were chosen because of their accomplishments in their chosen fields in the entertainment industry. Janice was "Flordeluna" to most Filipino viewers in the '80s who later metamorphosed into a serious actress and mother of five. Gelli on the other hand, had the '90s generation of the viewing public rollicking into laughter when she portrayed different kooky characters on TV and movies before developing to a serious actress via the movie "Sarah Jane Salazar" which garnered her an Urian award.

"Sis" premiered in July 2 2001 as a replacement to D! Day. The early episodes showed Janice and Gelli visiting the house of popular guests from Monday to Thursday while holding a show before a live audience on Fridays. After the first season, which saw the show taking away considerable audience share from its competitor, "Sis" held taped shows before a live audience on a daily basis, going live on air every Wednesdays and Thursdays. The shows are broadcasted from Studio 3 of the GMA Network Center.

is vs. Morning Girls/Kris & Korina

In 2002, "Sis" finally took over the Number 1 spot in the 10:00 am-12:00 pm slot from its rival show, ABS-CBN's Talk TV. The next development showed ABS-CBN scrambling to topple down the already established morning talk show. They started to bring back "Morning Talk Show Queen" Kris Aquino and teamed her up with real-life bestfriends Pops Fernandez and Zsa Zsa Padilla. "Morning Girls" then premiered in July 2002 to be pitted against "Sis". However, the tandem of Janice and Gelli proved to be too strong in the ratings against the so-called "Power Girl Trio" who also put in Carmina Villaroel to replace Kris after she quit the show.

The year 2003 proved to be the darkest moments for "Sis" when Kris Aquino went back to the reformatted "Morning Girls" and teamed up with broadcaster Korina Sanchez. The Kris-Korina tandem was able to beat "Sis" consistently in the ratings in the early part of the year. However "Morning Girls with Kris and Korina" appeared resting on its laurels when "Sis" proved to be more formidable after they reinvented the show's content. The show also added Carmina Villaroel from ABS-CBN (also Gelli's real-life best friend) and transformed the show to talk-variety format. At the end of 2003, "Sis" was up there in the daytime ratings with "Eat Bulaga", "Unang Hirit" and "Daisy Siete" and catapulted GMA Network to the No. 1 spot in the over-all daytime slots.

Easy competition

Year 2004 saw the show easily coasting through the ratings after "Morning Girls with Kris and Korina" folded up and was replaced with "Good Morning Kris" and "Morning Star" in succession. Aside from Janice, Gelli and Carmina, "Sis" also made household names out of Raging Divas, an all-gay group, Saver the "wonder dog", and Tessbomb Marañon. Year 2005 saw the show competing against Boy Abunda's morning talk show "Homeboy" and Roderick Paulate and Amy Perez's variety show "Most Requested Show (MRS)" on ABS-CBN, and "Chowtime Na!" on IBC-13. However, "Sis" was still the preferred morning talk show of most Filipino viewers, as they clobbered the competition in the ratings. Both "MRS" and "Chowtime Na!" has since folded up and "Homeboy" was left to slug it out with "Sis" in the ratings.

The show owes its success to its creative staff who has never ceased to think of ways to make the TV show interesting to audiences. Although there were claims that "Sis" has lost its luster following competing show "Homeboy"'s critical and commercial acclaim, all of it was put into rest following the latter show's cancellation. As of July 2007, "Sis" now faces stiff competition from ABS-CBN's "Boy & Kris" featuring Boy Abunda (from Homeboy) and Kris Aquino.

Limited coverage

Although "Sis" enjoyed high ratings, the show suddenly lost significant viewership in key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao, specifically in Iloilo, Cebu and Davao due to GMA's decision to air re-runs of "Kakabakaboo" and "Ang Mahiwagang Baul" in the 10:30-11:30 am timeslot. However, the show is still seen in Mega Manila and Luzon, and through GMA Pinoy TV in the US, Middle East, Malaysia and Japan.

On March 3, 2008, "Sis" began airing again on GMA's regional stations in Iloilo, Cebu and Davao.

Awards

"Sis" got the much-needed boost when it was awarded as Best Celebrity Talk Show in the recent 2007 PMPC Star Awards for Television. The said award was long overdue for six years since the show was nominated in the said award-giving entertainment body.