Boring Primetime Lineup from ABS CBN

After May Bukas Pa has ended, on a very corny note (hehe!), I did not intend to watch its successor, Agua Bendita. Regarding May Bukas Pa's ending, it has proven that Ryan Agoncillo has honed his talent in acting. He was doing a great job until the very pivotal scene wherein he saw Santino with Bro right in front of him. I did not expect him to go hysterical, but I did not like his reaction either. Yeah, he was shocked, but it really should be more than that. If I were in his position, I don't know, maybe I'd even lose consciousness. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost, that was why he opted to run away from the scene. Oh well, that's not Ryan's fault, but the director who instructed him to act that way. We were prepared to cry that night, but seeing all the ASAP performers crying while they were singing and the appearance of Charo Santos for the Virgin Mary role made my whole family laugh. Kulang na lang si Pokwang!

I did not plan to watch Agua Bendita, but my niece won't turn away from the TV, so we ended up watching its prime telecast and the next day and the next... The young Agua Bendita, Xyriel Anne Manabay, is so fun to watch. She has the potential of making it big like Zaijan Jaranilla who played Santino in MBP. It is so sad that this show is not about the young girl. Soon enough, this cute girl will grow up to become the Eigenmann girl. I just wish that the story of the young Agua Bendita would be stretched into a month or two, or better yet, let her have the whole season.

My favorite, Kimerald, or Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson, on the other hand, are stuck in a soap that lacks interesting plots. What could be the big conflict at the end of it all when the main characters are very forgiving? It could not come from Gabby because after he has learned that Albert is alive, he had chosen to give up on Kris and he did not pursue fighting for Kim when he has learned the truth. Gina Pareno keeps on becoming a wallpaper without any interesting scenes. Gerald is now the new Audrey, Kim's character in Tayong Dalawa, the story will move on to its uninteresting direction even if he's not part of it.

It would have been more interesting if Gerald got Coco's part and the story will revolve on how he will fall in love with Kim's character, whom he thought to be his half-sibling all along. This kind of love story will defy all reasons and will give justice to their peg. As of now, the story just keeps on getting boring.

Ooops, I forgot about Tanging Yaman. I was so excited to see Rowell Santiago acting again in the small screen. The roles are good, the acting, especially Erich, Jodi and, of course, Rowell, are very much okay. But the overall appeal is old. It's like bringing back a soap opera from the 80s. I hope they end this soon. Now that Melai will soon be out from the PBB house, ABS-CBN can give her this time slot for something fun, exciting and new.

I Hate Tayong Dalawa's Ending! Grrrr!

I am not that fond of watching TV, much less, local soap operas, but I do indulge every time Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson's tandem was part of the casts. I just love these two because if you have seen them since their stint on PBB, you will definitely admire the growth and improvement that they are both showcasing on their craft.

For nine months, I tuned in to Tayong Dalawa because of these two. The story started okay, it was able to highlight each and every character. This is why most of their characters have eventually become household names, the most popular being Lola Gets. The story started sagging down when they have decided to revolve everything on the character of Jake Cuenca, Dave. Everyone at the time would breathe, live and die all for Dave. That was also the time that I started avoiding the show.

I watched again after Dave let go of Audrey, Kim's character. This could have happened a bit earlier so that Audrey and JR could have explored their marital lives, and even include the common problems involved in this situation. But the creative team did not do that because like what happened on the last weeks of the show, when the focus of the story was turned to JR and Audrey, they could no longer find anything interesting plot for the Dave character. And it is very obvious that this cannot be allowed because Jake Cuenca is Jake Cuenca, hmmm, Ana Dizon wannabe? Hehe!

Tomorrow will be the last night for this soap, but I am no longer interested in seeing how it is going to be. I have a clear idea that whatever it is, it is going to be in favor of Jake. For me, the soap ended after Audrey delivered a baby and she was alive and they all lived happily ever after. It also ended after Paul shot Dave, and for me, Dave died on the spot and Ramon, who witnessed the incident, will bring his dead body to his family, will ask for their forgiveness and kill himself. Ramon's character is too bad that he really has to die.

During their promotions, they keep on saying that they will give us a very unforgettable ending. I thought that Santino would appear at the end to heal everyone. Haha! That would be a first in Philippine TV, a cross over of a popular character from May Bukas Pa to Tayong Dalawa.

It was very unfair to kill Audrey's character. She did nothing on the story but cry. When she was allowed to be happy, they have decided to kill her character. She was still crying up to her very last scene, on the video footage where she left her message for JR.

It is funny how many characters they had to kill in this story, from the two Stanley, Jr., David Garcia, Sr., Baron Geisler's character, Nico and the gang (hehe!), Mylene Dizon's character, Olivia, Greta, Mamita, Lola Gets and the unfortunate death of Audrey. Whatever happened to the supposed father of Ingrid? Did he die as well? How about Baby Robert? Now what is Baby Robert. "Tao ba 'to? Bagay? Lugar? Pangyayari?" The writers find it hard to make the boy integral to the story.

I was thinking of buying the DVDs, the start, then I'll skip the parts after Dave was rescued from the terrorists and maybe the last one, beginning at the time when JR and Audrey got married. But now, I would no longer do that because ABS CBN decided to favor the big bosses behind the soap instead of the voices of those who would love to see Audrey happy and alive.

They knew what people would say if they had done poll or text voting as to whose life would you rather save at the end, Dave or Audrey. Now don't ask why until now ABS CBN still trails behind GMA 7, even if the latter has nameless and only few talented actors. They play favorites and maybe the Kimerald fans are not part of the favorite list.

Oh well, maybe they could do ending number 2 to be shown on Your Song. Name it as, Tayong Dalawa: The Real Ending, where Audrey would be saved and Dave will die or simply lose his sanity or disappear together with Baby Robert.

I hope that they are already cooking up something for Kim and Gerald where they will be the central characters. This is only inevitable after the two had given their all for Tayong Dalawa. As for Jake, I am pretty sure that there are hoards of projects lined up on his silver plate already. If only Lola Gets wasn't killed in the story, they could do a spin off like a comedy series or a sitcom where Lola Gets will get the top billing.

Oh, too much rants and all I really want to say is GRRRRRRR!

A Couch Potato's Verdict on ABS CBN's New Shows - Katorse and Dahil May Isang Ikaw

The TV is still on but nobody's really watching. We're all doing our own different tasks and it seems like we're just waiting for the one great person who would turn the TV off. The TV session started during TV Patrol, then we watched May Bukas Pa and then we never fail to tune in to Tayong Dalawa. It is a good thing that they placed the latter on an earlier timeslot.

I tried watching Jericho Rosales' new soap on ABS CBN, Dahil May Isang Ikaw. The verdict – the actors and the concept itself are old. It is boring to watch. There is no more magic to the Echo-Kristine tandem. The show is wasting lots of good actors because they have chosen to give them roles that they have played many times during the span of their has-beens careers.

Through this soap, the network could have helped the involved actors in the series to boost their careers. But all of them needed something fresh, out of the box concept that will make people interested in tuning in to the show even if they are not die hard fans of these actors. Is it already too late to redeem the show? I don't think so. They can still try to twist the story in a way that it will not rely so much on any loveteam or any pakilig scenes because I don't think that Echo and Tin can still achieve what the Kimerald team-up does best.

As for Erich Gonzales' new show, Katorse, I think that they have chosen the wrong timeslot for it. The theme of this soap is not suitable to be watched by children who are still very much awake and even manipulate the remote control at such time. Here in the house, we no longer let anyone change the channels into either the Kapuso or Kapamilya channel before the news starts to air. Both stations are showing soap operas with too many kissing scenes and adult-related themes that will not fit to be viewed by minors.

I know, people will only insinuate that this is where the Parental Guidance notice should be placed into good use. But there are really the right time for young kids to know about adult-related matters and the right venue. They are watching TV at the time in the afternoon to get entertained. It may be easy to explain why Gu Jun Pyo is kissing Jan Di softly on the lips because of love. But how would you tell them why a 14-year-old girl (who looks 25) chooses to disobey her family and started making out to another teenager? Argh! This should be moved to a later timeslot. Oh, please.

The Hits and Mistakes of ABS CBN's New and Existing Shows

Monday, March 30, ABS CBN introduced two new shows on its afternoon and primetime blocks. First up, Taiwanese drama, Hotshots, starring Jerry Yan, Show Lo and Wu Chun. Although the show can make you laugh once in a blue moon with Show Lo's antics that he has already shown with his other series, the pacing is too slow. I am not a basketball fan either, maybe it adds to the reason why I am only watching this to see more of Jerry Yan.

Pinoy Bingo Night, is boring. If not for Kris Aquino's too much effort to make the show lively, it will not do well even if they give out more prizes than its rival show. The concept itself is dragging. The rules and mechanics are very simple and predictable. There is nothing that the staff can do about it. They shouldn't have gotten this in the first place. You will only tend to watch it if you own a card and you are expecting to win, or if you are a fan of the celebrity player. There is no suspense element, like how it was with Deal or No Deal. It is boring. 1 Versus 100 will fare better than this one.

A quick note on May Bukas Pa. Yes, it is understandable that they want to stretch the story. But can't Santino be faced with situations and problems that normal children usually deal with? Why does he always get entangled with politics, broken families, poor economic condition of his locality, when in fact, he is just a child? My 4-year-old niece, who used to watch the show regularly, would now rather wrestle with me to use my PC to play the Bratz and Barbie online games.

End I Love Betty La Fea ASAP while I still regard Bea Alonzo and John Llyod Cruz with respect. The show is a trash. So it should be dumped immediately. And don't make this available on DVD. People are still waiting for the DVD release of Kim and Gerald's My Girl. It was a very good take on the original version and Kim Chui gave superior justice to the lead role. And I cannot say the same for ILBLF.

Speaking of Kim and Gerald, the story of Tayong Dalawa keeps on getting better. I am not a fan of Jake Cuenca so I am the saddest person on earth when they made it clear that his character is alive. But at least, I got to see him getting tortured like real. It was only during the time when he was able to act naturally, as if he was really scared.

As for Kim and Gerald, these two must be given a valuable movie project after this soap. Kim is very versatile but she excels in comedy. Gerald has proven in Tayong Dalawa that he can deliver quality drama performance. Such a good combination for something like Claudine-Rico starrer, Got to Believe or the Juday-Piolo hit, Till There Was You, or something even better.