THE RETURN of Mr. Shooli's television show early this year wasn't greeted with the usual show biz fanfare. Instead, the show--renamed "Toksho ni Mr. Shooli"--just sailed quietly into the sea of television programs, competing for survival if not supremacy in the ratings game.

Previously titled "Mongolian Barbecue," Mr. Shooli's show lorded it over the competition during the height of its popularity in 1992. It enjoyed favorable reviews and reception from the public. One award-giving body, confused by the show's uniqueness, cited it as Best Sitcom despite its talk show format.

However those six years of well-received airing over IBC-13 was abruptly interrupted in 1995 when Jun Urbano, the show's co-creator and the person behind the character of Mr. Shooli, took his political views too seriously. Urbano ran for a congressional seat in Quezon City.

"I tried to do in real life what we intended to accomplish on the show. I ran as an independent candidate with no party and with no other member in my ticket. It was a Quixotic quest for me," Urbano recalls. However, the ardent quest ended on a sad note: the "Don Quixote de Quezon City" lost. Worse, his personal coffers were drained.

After going back to directing television commercials, Urbano felt the urge to revive the show. "I missed it so much. We needed to go back," he declares. A few months later, Urbano and his collaborators found a new home at RPN-9 and immediately worked to regain the show's old glory.

Mr. Shooli has expanded his audience by branching out into radio. Aside from his weekly television appearances, Mr. Shooli now hosts a daily morning show at radio dzAR, "Talksilog," which covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from the trivial to the hottest issues of the day.

His TV program continues to deliver the same stinging satire it used to. His three years of inactivity have not really dulled Mr. Shooli's luster. Does "Toksho ni Mr. Shooli" offer something new? "When it comes to its political content and the social message, there really is not much of a difference," says Urbano.

Noel Balmaceda, co-creator and headwriter of the show, clarifies, "The only difference is that it presents different sets of issues, and talks about different personalities." The show's content "is shaped by changes on the political landscape. During President Aquino's time, a lot of political events happened which made the show more exciting. However, when FVR's turn came, things settled down," Balmaceda notes. With the change of administration, we can expect new issues to shape up. But whether they would tickle the imagination of the show's creative team remains to be seen.

With the show's no holds barred attitude in lampooning celebrities and officials in government, you would think the show has created a lot of enemies. But "it's so strange, nobody has ever complained," observes Balmaceda--except for a government official who sent the show's producers a letter requesting for an end to the show's mocking tirades against him. "In fact, we received notes from some of our 'targets' saying that they were amused at hindi sila napipikon."

What about brushes with the MTRCB? Urbano reveals that the only encounter they had with the board was when they spoofed a congressman infamously known for his unsanitary finger. But, nothing really serious came out of it. "Kami dito sa show, we practice self-censorship. We always consider kung libelous na ba o kung masyado nang masakit," he says. "We always remind ourselves of our limitations."

After only six months on the tube, the show has already gained quite a following, and some viewers call up to express their appreciation.

"It feels good to hear praises from viewers, especially from sectors we didn't expect to watch us," says Urbano. Praises came in different ways. On one occasion, a group of nuns approached Urbano and told him that they changed their time of prayer so they could watch the program. Then, there's the politician who, happy with the show's revival, gifted Mr. Shooli with an authentic Mongolian wardrobe after visiting Mongolia on an official government mission.

Urbano believes that the show's pioneering format of combining fiction and reality is what has endeared the show to many. The character of Mr. Shooli engaging in conversations with real personalities gives a lighter feel to the heavy issues being discussed. Serious politicians frequent the show. When mixed with the ''stupidity'' of Mr. Shooli's character, the talk rise to a different dimension, sparking humor from the ''serious'' exchange of ideas.

"The beauty is that Mr. Shooli can always get away with murder," Urbano points out. "Because he is fictional, the people he satirizes do not take his statements seriously. Otherwise they would look as stupid as Shooli." He adds, "Mr. Shooli's tactlessness disarms his interviewees, which makes the show more interesting. It brings out the humanity of those famous personalities."

Shooli's character is also effective because despite his ignorance and silliness, his views are for real. Urbano observes, "People enjoys watching Mr. Shooli because they identify with him. There are a lot of people who have many complaints against people in power, but they prefer to keep quiet. When Shooli speaks up, they find their voice in him."

How did Mr. Shooli came to existence? "Subconsciously, I was trying to link myself with my dad when I created this silly Mongolian character," Urbano relates. He revealed that Mr. Shooli is a spin-off from Juan Tamad, a character developed by Urbano's father, film director Manuel Conde. It can be recalled that the two characters appeared together in the award-winning film "Juan Tamad at Mr. Shooli" which Urbano himself directed.

Urbano was also influenced by a movie about a Mongol warrior made by his father during his prime. The film, "Genghis Khan," was bought by United Artists and was shown all over the world.

By marrying the two characters together, Urbano was able to create Mr. Shooli, who inherited Genghis Khan's appearance while getting Juan Tamad's stupidity. More than that, Shooli has also assumed Juan Tamad's role of delivering a social message to people. Urbano says, "The intention is to wake people up from inactivity and to inform them where they've made a mistake."