Wow Mali

Wow Mali
The title card of Wow Mali: Lakas ng Tama
Genre	Comedy
Created by	TV5 Network, Inc.
Directed by	Robert Quebral
Starring	Joey de Leon Mr. Fu
Opening theme	"Wow Mali" Theme Music composed and produced by Dan Salamante
Country of origin	Philippines
Production
Running time	45 minutes
Release
Original network	TV5
Picture format	480i SDTV
Original release	ABC-5: May 25, 1996 – August 2, 2008 TV5: February 22, 2009 – June 28, 2015
Chronology
Followed by	Teka Mona!, Wow Meganon

Wow Mali is the longest-running, multi-awarded and top-rated gag show in the Philippines aired over TV5 hosted by Joey De Leon. The show was discontinued on May 2007 but some episodes still aired on Wow Mali Bites and Wow Mali Express.

On February 22, 2009, Wow Mali returned to TV5. Following the network's second reformat after Holy Week, Wow Mali was set to return on April 6, 2009, airing every Wednesday at 7:30 PM. The show was again discontinued on September 1, 2010 and was replaced by a spin-off show, Wow Meganon which lasted until April 8, 2011. Its third incarnation aired on April 11, 2011 and ended on February 26, 2012. However the management decided to return the series this late 2013 as their 4th incarnation under a new name Wow Mali Pa Rin! .

The Philippines got its first taste of unpretentious, candidly-captured-for-TV Filipino humor on May 25, 1996 from reality-based comedy show WoW Mali, hosted by feted comedian Joey De Leon. Inspired by the America's Funniest Home Videos concept, WoW Mali features a plethora of video footage featuring practical jokes, bloopers and wacky segments, as well as solicited but equally hilarious video clips from the viewers. The actual stars of the show are men on the street - individual Filipinos, caught by the candid camera in bizarre and funny situations.

From its pilot episode, the innovative program's candid camera format increasingly gained popularity among viewers of all ages, even paving the way for countless WOW Mali clones that failed to topple the original show. Soon enough, WoW Mali became a household name, even adding a gem to colloquial lingo. "WOW Mali ," or "NA-WOW-MALI AKO" is now the common expression whenever one makes a mistake or becomes the victim of a prank or a ruse.

For two years, the show was directed by Edgar "Bobot" Mortiz (a former teen matinee idol and part of the famous Going Bananas gang). Mortiz gave Joey de Leon a comic puppet co-host called Dennis Wrongman (as vivified by mime actor Totong Federez), another original touch. The taping of spiels and vignettes were usually held in the studio while candid shots, gag and tease segments were conducted on the streets by a daily roving crew, with the unsuspecting public as so-called "victims."

In August 1998, Ding Bolanos took over as director and brought Joey de Leon out of the studio to the outdoors. Hence, WoW Mali became a traveling show, capturing the Filipino brand of humor in different parts of the country, amid the colors and flavors of exotic places, exciting resorts and well-traveled tourist spots.