LAST week, we cited individuals on camera who personified excellence in television. Today, we focus on personalities who called the shots off-camera, individuals who blazed new trails in the medium and affected the evolution of the television industry. Our list follows, in alphabetical order:

FENY BAUTISTA

It is ironic that while a big segment of the television audience is below 12 years old, there aren't too many shows that cater specifically to children. Sure, there are many cartoons available on the air but most of them are not child-friendly. Feny Bautista and her group developed an alternative called "Batibot" that started out as a local version of "Sesame Street" and developed an identity of its own. The shows were academically-oriented and relied on a curriculum designed to put across a teaching point for each show.

Like "Sesame Street," the idea was to make learning a fun experience for the pre-school child at home. "Batibot" stayed on the air for 15 years, an outstanding feat for an educational program. The show's characters continue to attract children in live shows and merchandising materials, a sure sign that the show had a big impact on children's programming.

ADING FERNANDO

It's hard enough to write a weekly script for a comedy show and have fresh ideas each time. Ading Fernando churned out four to five scripts a week and miraculously managed to come up with funny products that entertained the fickle television viewer. This is not to say that all of his works were masterpieces. Many of them were outright junk, victims of the time pressure he was working under.

Unlike other comedy writers, however, he had more hits than misses. He was the undisputed king of comedy writers for many years. It helped, of course, that one of his main talents was Dolphy, who gave justice to Ading's scripts. "Buhay Artista" and "John en Marhsa" show Ading at his best.

BEER FLORES

Many scriptwriters depend on slapstick to tickle the funny bone of the viewer. Beer Flores was a notable exception. He was the master when it came to writing sitcoms. He depended on the plot's twists and turns to make people laugh. He was an expert when it came to weaving a complicated storylines that placed his characters in funny situations.

The best examples were from his "Sebya, Mahal Kita" and "Tang-Ta-Rang-Tang" series that starred Pugo, Sylvia la Torre, Bentot, Eddie San Jose, and many others.

He always managed to put the audience in a superior position. In short, viewers were aware of information that the show's characters were not. So while the show's cast looked lost when certain situations happened, the knowing viewer was rolling in the aisle with laughter.

His characters were quite believable. He did not rely on physical defects to get laughs, though, at times, Pugo's bald head was the subject of good-natured ribbing. His jokes were always wholesome because he was writing for family audiences.

LUPITA KASHIWAHARA

ABC-5's "Balintataw" was the show to watch when it came to intelligent drama. No other drama series highlighted Filipino literary masterpieces in the same way. As the show's TV director, Lupita Kashiwahara, aka Lupita Aquino-Concio, managed to bring Filipino literature to the attention of the masses.

Her able directing made the show viewable without destroying the original intent of the author. It was her experience in "Balintataw" that helped pave the way for her movie directing career

CHECHE LAZARO

Television is primarily a medium of entertainment and for a long time, documentaries and public affairs programs had a limited audience. Because of the poor ratings they got, advertisers shied away from these programs.

Cheche Lazaro and his people at Probe Productions changed all that. Starting with "The Probe Team," a magazine program in the mold of "60 Minutes," the group has been able to widen the audience for these specialized programs. Advertisers have become more receptive to these decidedly non-commercial programs.

The magazine format was a big help in luring audiences. There were usually three topics that ranged from very serious to light topics. Thus in the light category, the show featured entertainment topics, lifestyle and fashion. Even in discussing serious political issues, the program made a special effort to discuss the issues in terms that the audience can relate to. Recently, Probe made a wise move to use Pilipino in its programs That widened the audience even more.

GENY LOPEZ

One man played a major role in the growth of Philippine television. The Lopez group bought the first television station from Judge Antonio Quirino in 1953 and turned it into the country's largest and most influential television network today. Geny was the moving force that steered ABS-CBN into a position of leadership

This he accomplished by hiring the best people in the business and when they were working for other networks, he gave them an offer they could not refuse. While other networks dilly-dallied about going in color, Geny plunged ahead into transforming his network into a full-color station at a time when there only a few color TV sets. He widened his nationwide coverage, setting up stations in places where others were afraid to go.

When the network was shut down by President Marcos, there were those who doubted that the network would regain its position of leadership. After the Edsa revolution, Geny came home from exile to rebuild his business empire. His initial efforts to revive ABS-CBN failed. The network was at the bottom of the TV industry. It didn't take long for "El Capitan" to get his bearings and sure enough, ABS-CBN zoomed to the top and continues to be the undisputed leader today. All because of the vision of one man.

JOHNNY MANAHAN

Johnny Manahan's debuted as a TV director in ABS-CBN's production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" where the actors lipsynched the songs to the West End version of the Cameron McKintosh production. He was criticized for that show but that did not discourage him from pursuing a career in TV directing..

Many years later, he would emerge as one of the most versatile directors in the business, tackling musicals, variety shows and sitcoms. One sitcom that deserves special attention is "Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata," a political satire that skewered popular figures. With a lot of help from writer Joey Reyes, Johnny managed to create a biting commentary on the foibles of politicians, government officials and other personalities. Viewers identified with "Abangan' because it served as a release for their frustrations. The show gave them a chance to laugh at authority figures and other VIPs.

AL QUINN

Al Quinn started out in show business as a dancer and choreographer. This he put to good use when he started directing musicals and TV specials. All his shots were choreographed to get the best angle of the performers. He was specially adept when it came to dance numbers. Where other directors would be satisfied shooting the numbers like a stage production, Al made a special effort to visualize the numbers for television. His cameras were situated in strategic places to get the best views of the musical numbers.

It's a difficult task to direct live shows, like awards nights and concerts that have musical numbers. A director needs to be alert and creative at the same time since unexpected things can happen in a live coverage. Al has become the director to call on when it comes to TV specials because of his steady handling of his cameras.

TONY TECSON

For many years before martial law was declared in 1972. ABC-5's "The Big News" was the top newscast. Several factors contributed to the program's leadership. The network was tied up with The Manila Times, which was the leading newspaper at that time, so it had access to the paper's massive resources. Tri-media coverage was the name of the game then so the ABC-5/DZMT radio/Manila Times was a mighty force to reckon with.

Jose Mari Velez as newscaster made "The Big News" believable and the newscast to watch.

The third factor for the dominance of "The Big News" was the man who called the shots behind the scenes--news director Tony Tecson. Under his able hands, ABC-5's reporters managed to score quite a few scoops. His skills as a broadcast journalist shone in the area of news evaluation, deciding which stories should get a more prominent coverage. Even colleagues from rival networks conceded that "Tec," as he was fondly called, was the best of the lot.

MITOS VILLAREAL