A new-look GMA Telebabad premieres this week, while ABS-CBN says goodbye to one of their hits.
The ‘bayani-serye’ ‘Ilustrado’ will make its much-anticipated premiere later tonight. The series will be led by Alden Richards as Jose Rizal and Kylie Padilla as Leonor Rivera, with supporting roles by Solenn Heussaff, Max Collins, Eula Valdez, Jaclyn Jose, Polo Ravales, Ricardo Cepeda, Freddie Webb and Mailes Kanapi.
‘Ilustrado’ will focus less on Rizal’s struggles for Philippine independence and his work on ‘Noli Me Tangere’ and ‘El Filibusterismo’. Instead, it will feature a more human side in the life of the national hero and his fellow reformists, from their relationships to their day-to-day struggles with ordinary citizens.
The premiere of ‘Ilustrado’ should be an interesting one, as it will go up against ‘Two Wives’. The latter series has been on a roll since it debuted last week, and should pose a challenge to the more qualitative and informative ‘Ilustrado’.
Meanwhile, the still-struggling ‘Hiram na Alaala’ will be moved to an earlier timeslot, opposite an ABS-CBN Primetime Bida teleserye that is about to end this week.
‘Ikaw Lamang’, the period drama that started last March, will bid goodbye on October 24. The series will have two chapters and 162 episodes at the end of its run.
Initially starring Kim Chiu (as Isabelle) Julia Montes (as Mona), Coco Martin (as Samuel) and Jake Cuenca (as Franco), Montes’ character was killed off just as Book 1 was winding down. When Book 2 got underway, Chiu and Martin were now assigned to portray the roles of Gabriel and Andrea, respectively.
Book 2 also featured Amy Austria, Joel Torre and Christopher de Leon as the older Isabelle, Samuel and Franco, while KC Concepcion took on the role of Natalia, daughter of Isabelle and Franco.
‘Ikaw Lamang’ was one of ABS-CBN’s highly-rated teleseryes throughout its run. The show even outlasted its main arch-rival ‘My Destiny’, whose run from June 30 to October 17 came just as the former was at the peak of its success.
That said, it should be interesting to see how ‘Ikaw Lamang’ will fare in its final week against ‘Hiram na Alaala’. Expect the conclusion of this series to be a highly-anticipated one.
‘Ikaw Lamang’ will be replaced by ‘Forevermore’, starring Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano.
From the Tube 
With this, GMA7 is going back to its strategy in the mid-2000s where it offered out-of-the-box offerings and ditched the traditional storylines of baby-switching, adultery and too lengthy and unsustainable stories (Hello BCWMH). It’s good that GMA7 has allowed its GMA Public Affairs division to create its own full-length primetime program (Ilustrado is for one season.). If you would observe, the GMA Public Affairs group is far better than the Entertainment TV group (ETV) in terms of storytelling, publicity and branding. Ms. Rasonable has not really done well when she assumed the post of ETV Head. I just hope that Ilustrado will air at an earlier timeslot since this is educational in a sense and is a gem among the trashes GMA ETV is offering at present (Strawberry Lane and Hiram na Alaala). This year, only My Destiny and Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real gave the ETV a quite good result in terms of viewership impact and quality.
I agree. Ilustrado should have aired at an earlier timeslot. That would somehow help its performance. Unfortunately, the ETV guys decided otherwise.
Thing is, Hiram na Alaala is so low-rated that GMA decided to move it to an earlier timeslot just to salvage whatever pride it has left. Problem is, they’re up against Ikaw Lamang, another of ABS’ stronger offerings, which is on its final week, and then a younger love team in Forevermore.
Bad call for GMA, they should pitted Ilustrado against Forevermore. Hiram na Alaala will surely loose against Forevermore and might be impossible to recover since it is Cathy Garcia Molina’s teleserye. Dpat minatch na nila sa Ikaw Lamang ang Ilustrado. I dont know the logic of GMA for their new line up, bka na pulitika since Ilustrado is under the news department which is an insult by the way to their entertainment dept.
Basically sinasalvage nila yung pride ng HnA, dahil sobrang talunan ito sa ratings in its old timeslot. Iniisip nila mas makinang pa raw sila Dennis Trillo and Kris Bernal, when in fact they’re in big trouble dahil sa sobrang hype kila Enrique Gil at Liza Soberano.
The younger faces at ABS were definitely lifting Primetime Bida’s performance, habang yung GMA, palala nang palala kapag beterano ang leading stars.
Agreed at first I thought ABS is ib trouble due to Ilustrado, but GMA keeps messing up. I dont know why pero they are screwed big time. The light story of forevermore will be the nail in the coffin at mag ra runway winner na ang ABS for 2014. I honestly thought makaka iskor na sila sa last quarter,but its a bad call. Now they are screwed again.
Hindi mahihirapan ang Forevermore, now I can even expect mag number 1 ito sa primetime since npaka weak ng HnA.
Definitely. No-contest ang HnA against Forevermore.
I watched the initial telecast of Ilustrado and I must say that it is superb and in terms of quality, the best of all primetime series in Philippine TV this year. It deserves the timeslot after 24 Oras so it could cater to a larger audience. As for the other Telebabad series, I believe it is high time to implement some changes in the Rasonable-helmed ETV group. While Hiram na Alaala is really experimental, the storyline is still commendable as it is not a cliched one. However, what GMA lacks is the proper branding and advertising, of which ABS-CBN is an expert. Both GMA and ABS-CBN have had a fair share of flop series this year (It actually hurts more if a Kapamilya show flops since most of these are well budgeted, like the Bea Alonzo-starrer.). What I still cannot understand is why ABS-CBN keeps on extending its programs (like Ikaw Lamang) to the point that the story gets less fascinating, or ridiculous at the very least. I mean, they may be rating well but that should not be a reason for a program to last for like 7 or 8 months (which was the case in the years 2005-2008). The viewers deserve more from the largest broadcast network in the country. Besides, it has a long bench of actors who remain unutilized in favor of the likes of Coco Martin and Paulo Avelino. Finally, ABS-CBN still suffers and fails to keep the momentum in its Kapamilya Gold (a change in name is a must. Gold for a movie-founded time block?).
KGold has been in ruins since Moon of Desire ended and that overload of movies and foreign series, not to mention a game show, took over. They should bring back the Hapontastic name since their current afternoon programming doesn’t make sense.
And yes, extending a teleserye beyond the minimum four or five months takes its toll on the writers. Todo-ubusan ng creative juice ang mangyayari dito. Just ask Be Careful with My Heart, whose best days are now behind them and are being threatened by a little kid host.
And I agree with your points. Both GMA and ABS should change their old ways, as the quality of teleseryes are beginning to decline. ABS may be winning the battles, but there is still some room to improve.
Lahat kasi ng bankable stars ng ABS, busy sa other commitments such as shows abroad at endorsements kaya nadedelay ang production. Ung iba nman hilaw pa at nde pa pdeng isalang. Pero once ABS gets the ball rolling nothing can stop them. GMA, should make smarter choices this time. Tsaka ung mahabang series gnun din nman ang ginagawa ng GMA ngaun sa Half Sisters, it is extended upto 2015, i think 8 months is a good run, ang importante nde lumaylay ung story.
Indeed. Patagalan talaga sa creativity and positive reaction ang magiging basehan ng matagal na teleserye. As long as more viewers are becoming happy with the storyline, the expectations will only increase.
As for ABS, pwede naman silang mag-take time. Wait before they unleash something out of their pocket.
A big part of why they are extending is money. These series might be dragging already, but the more the series is extended the more the stars become profitable in the form of album soundtracks, concerts, commercials and other stuff such as magazines and novelty items. Clearly its compromising the integrity of the show but it keeps fuel to the production budget. Ilustrado is fresh because it comes from a new department, pero news unit nito and knowing GMA, nde rin ito magtatagal since may politics involve sa GMA. Syempre sampal sa ETV ng GMA kpag binigay ung timeslot sa Iluatrado.
Indeed. A better relationship with every GMA department is needed just to keep it going, otherwise expect it to be short. Pag nag-away away ito, lagot na.
Heard that ETV is sabotaging Ilustrado, unlike other GMA programs hindi full blast ang promo ito, it can be noticed that wala masyadong promo ito sa sister sites ng gma like pep. And hindi rin naging mganda ang ratings nito sa pilot episode
That should hurt, considering na maganda ang production at script nito. Hindi talaga maganda ang relationship ng news and entertainment ng GMA.
Ilustrado is said to have 20 episodes (for a period drama whose plot spans less than a decade).
That’s too short for a daily primetime drama. Definitely a huge risk for GMA to place Ilustrado on Telebabad.
Jenny Mercado’s second chances is slated to replace Ilustrado. The series might be a shortlived but its way better than putting movies like what they did before.
Oo naman. Kaysa sa mapunta sa wala yung programming nila.
Tapos another soap for Jen late this year. Sa tingin ko she’s more appropriate to be a kontrabida now than a bida. Based on her performance on Rhodora X may potential talaga siya maging kontrabida, lalo na sa mga baguhang talents. I’d rather see her make a sacrifice and become a villain.
Yeah you are right, but tbh wala nman tlgang sikat at magaling na artista ang GMA, na kayang mag dala ng programa. Overall this is where they fall flat even Marian’s show is not doing well. Para na silang TV5, they got no one else, to turn to. If I am someone working behind the camera, ma fufrustrate ajo dhil walang mgaling at sikat na artista ang kayang magdala ng show. I mean look at BCWMH wala nman sikat dun pero dhil sa magaling ung cast, ngaun sikat na sila. Compare mo nman sa HnA, na sikat din khit papaano ung bida pero di kayang magdala ng show. GMA’s afternoon programs are rating kasi walang better alternative. Pero if it has, naku wala silang panama. I mean kaya bang magdala ng pelikula ang bida ng Half sisters? I doubt it pero kung sa ABS yan, naku di lng pelikula, may patok na concert p sila. Look at Julie Anne San Jose, multiplatinum daw, pero di makapag concert sa araneta, flop ang pelikula at tv series. Sad walang kalaban ang ABS
That’s a sad reality indeed. GMA’s best years were when Iza and Angel were still with them, pero after they left for ABS, they couldn’t find a capable replacement.
Kung nasa ABS sana si Jen, she would have been transformed into a full-blown kontrabida to someone like Kathryn Bernardo.
“Ilustrado” indeed have a potential as one of the hits of 2014, but the length of the series itself (as Kao pointed out) and internal squabbles within GMA could ruin it
Indeed.
iba na ang tadhana ng mga drama sa gma lalo na sa primetime.
Pero Ilustrado is a short series, which won’t help their cause.
The good thing is that Ilustrado is respecting the intelligence of the primetime TV viewers (as Howie Severino pointed out), unlike the other primetime series whose plots seem to cater to the lower classes in the society (even ABS has those shows).
Indeed. Too repetitive are those other shows with too similar formulas, and it’s hurting the quality of television viewing.
At this early we might be giving GMA or the Ilustrado production too much credit for giving the Filipino Audience -Inteligent programs. I understood that its historic and symbolic but its not really a breakthrough like cookie cutter stories the spin off on the life of a hero has been done already. The weak point is you cant stretch history and if you skew even minor details then you are ruining history. Its educational but not exciting since everyone knew what will hapoen next because its History. GMA is not a history/educational channel so as their news department an entertainment group. What they are doing is a clear white flag GMA. parang lumalabas Ilustrado is the indie series on TV, but like indie films nawawalan na ito ng kabuluhan because masyado ng intellectual, that it alienates its audience. Am I saying that ABS programs are the best, NO! But their cookie cutter programs are fuelling the network’s causes- that’s smart. Similar to their movies, ABS might not be able to have the most intelligrnt programs but their successes enables them to hire more people, and at the end of the day, these TV networks are here to entertain. Its not their sole responsibility to educate and teach the Filipino people. As individuals responsibilidad natin un nde nila. Kaya i find it exaggerating about this intellegence program, eh nung nagaaral tayo ayaw mo nga yang basahin tpus nung napunuod mo breakthrough kuno. Cmon lets be realistic here Ilustrado show is preempted by mediocre programs and comes from a network that is giving us replay animes over and over again, at kpag mababa ratings nila they resort to tagalized movies. Ilustrado is commendable but lets not over react and put it on the pedestal. I will even put Nino over Ilustrado since the former is trying to show how values are important and vital. You want people to appreciate history then by all means read our history, not watch a 20 episode spinoff. You want people to remember Rizal, watch Ilustrado but question is may nakalimut b sa knya?
Good point. May limits talaga itong Ilustrado, hence the 20 episodes.
I mean lets be realistic here, i doubt na bawat linya na sinabi sa Ilustrado kasi wala nmang transcript ang history, so in a way it can be skewed for a bit, which is already a clear violation on the integrity of our history. Cleary this show is an attempt to remind us of Rizal, but the way to do it is thru an investigative docu similar to Ancient Aliens from History Channel, not a spin off series. Alam natin kung anung pinagusapan or epekto ng bawat eksena, pero how it happened no one was there. What we are watching is a mere interpretation but not history. Now is it intelligent, No bakit? – eh skewed history yan eh. Is it smart programming, No pa din-why? – eh walang nanunuod ibig sabihin nde sya relevant. Nagpapaka relevant ba ang Ilustrado-YES! Kaya nga sila gumawa ng Teleserye type para panuorin, kaya nilagay sa Telebabad. At least its better than tagalized movies.
Indeed.
Illustrado kasi is produced by the GMA News TV group, which also produced Sa Puso ni Dok, Titser, Bayan Ko and Katipunan. All have a limit in terms of episodes unlike an ordinary teleserye.
GMA decided to air Illustrado on daily primetime as an experiment of sorts.
Oh well. Experiment lang pala.
Personally I am glad that GMA tries something out of the box. I commend them for making Ilustrado. I am supporting it. However I doubt if it will beat Two Wives. I dont know if I should question the public’s preference – do the viewers want to get educated or simply get entertained with ABS’ dramas. If Two Wives wins the ratings game, I will definitely feel sad.
I disagree with marcus’ opinion. Tv networks are responsible too to educate the public – lalo na ang Abs. Ang lakas nilang avenue para dun. Kahit konti lang iup naman nila yun intellect at appreciation sa history ng tao. Yun attempt to at least educate the public abt history is something I like the most. Puro love team at drama na lang ba palagi? Hanggang ganito na lang ba talaga ang masa? Walang interes o appreciation sa history?
Just my opinion. Thanks.
The problem in our TV landscape today is that the teleseryes that air everyday are more generic than ever. Puro love stories, puro mga sabunutan at mga patayan, at puro mga batang nagbibida-bidahan. Kaya nagiging utak-masa na lang ang mga teleserye, walang creativity and experimentation, dahil pabilisan sila sa pag-conceive without thinking about patience and attention first.
Well what I am saying is what Ilustrado is showing is history that is interpreted, syempre ung mga dialouges during that time was not documented kaya mejo skewed ito than what exactly happened. Kaya nga sabi ko mas maganda kung investigative ung program about Rizal kung gusto tlga nilang mageducate, rather than a teleserye type.
As far as I remember nde educational channel ang ABS, general entertainment ito. Di nila main focus ang mageducate, you want educational shows may History Channel, National Geographic, Knowledge Channel. Gusto mo ng Shows na may Social Relevance, edi watch GMA NewsTV, ANC and 9News. If I will follow your line of thinking then lahat ng networks ay at fault on this, kasi anu bang natutunan natin sa Strawberry Lane, Forevermore at Hiram Na Alaala. Two Wives is rating well dhil relevant ito dhil nangyayari ito in real life. Does the show teaches people to commit adultery No! Rather it shows reaaon why people commit adultery and how to prevent it. Lhat nman ng show may value khit mababaw, you just need to have an intelligent mind to see why people are glued to it. One reason pa is that people who watch these shows in primetime came from work and as a network responsibility nila to cater to their audience, kung pagod ka galing work or school what do you want to watch? A show na pagiisipin ka or ung ipapahinga mo ung utak mo at maeentertain ka. Kasi lhat ng tao gusto maeducate edi di sana ganito ang tv landscape ntin. Its the chicken and the egg thing but people are here first before the network so I rather believe na kung may clamor tlga ang tao na di nila type ang mga gnitong programs eh babaguhin din ng networks ang programming nila
Remember that the people gave the power to the networks, they are the ones who clamor for it. Pag nde nagrate ibig sabihin ayaw ng tao un, kaya nawawala ung show. I Do is educational kaso di nagrate, kaya once a week n lng. Remember lhat ng shows may educational value khit mababaw pero general entertainment ang ABS, GMA at TV5 at mas matimbang un. Relevance ang labanan, kung di makarelate ang audience ibig sabihin nagfail ang network to engage their audience, nde na fault ng network un. Remember champions dont cry foul to the referee when the other team scores
No one is stopping GMA or other networks to produce Ilustrado type of shows, we are just explaining why nde sya pumatok.
And so far, sa Kantar, bagsak ang Ilustrado sa Two Wives ratings-wise. The Nielsen results may or may not favor the show, since GMA consistently fares well there.
Regardless, dahil 20 episodes lang ang Ilustrado, should it fail miserably in the ratings, lalong lulugi ang GMA dito since they invested heavily in this project.
Nakakatawa nga eh kinekwestiyon nila ang ABS kung bkit walang Ilustrado type of show, bat di kaya nila tanungin ang GMA kung bkit 20 episodes lng ito or bkit nde sya in full blast na promotion like their other shows.
May mga weaknesses din ang dalawa, like I said before. Kung ano ang kulang ng isa, meron din sa iba.
And many viewers don’t get sick and tired of the same old formulas for teleseryes. Money and ratings both talk.
Indeed. Walang katapusan ito.
Awan ko ba Ralph,why some are asking too much from networks kaya nga may cable channels na educational. Ang importante these networks are giving jobs that fuel families to send their kids to school. Ok lng nman magsuggest pero ung magcomment na parang demand is too much. I hope these people give such networks a break. These networks have that influence as well whenever the general public need it such as storms and calamities. Mas nauuna pa nga sila kesa govt officials, kokontra ako kung inaabuse na nila ang power nila, at the end of the day, these are businesses that need to operate, nde nman sila non profit org.
In short, kung ayaw nila sa isang programa, lipat na lang sa iba. Madami namang pagpipilian na channels, hindi lang 2, 5 o 7.
Indeed. I just dont get it why others why are others are so defensive when we compare Ilustrado to shows local and abroad that has similar goals which is to educate when they conveniently want to compare Ilustrado to shows in its timeslot. As I said before ni tinatamad nga ung iba dyan magbasa ng history books dati tpus kung maka praise ngaun wagas.
In essence, Ilustrado’s purpose is being defeated by these people na walang kaalam-alam sa history.
Yeah and like what we said before GMA ang naglagay ng Ilustrado sa late timeslot, di kasalanan ng viewers un, no one can bear watching HNA, so malamang di tlga magrerate
Sorry na lang. It’s the management that is to blame.
Yes instead of pointing figures to other networks, two wives of the viewers, GMA management ang may kasalanankung bkit di successful ang Ilustrado, if they believe in their show so much then they should have put it after 24Oras. Mahahalata mo tlga kpag fantard at sa nagiisip. Sa mga comments natin sa taas we both agreed na mali ang desisyon ng GMA, tpus lalabas tayo pa ang di nagaapreciate sa history
Dapat sisiin na si Rasonable sa mga kapalpakan ng kanyang network. Since umalis si Galvante a few years ago, nag-decline na ang GMA. And at this point it may be hard to recover.
Sorry sa typo fingers un auto correct ako, yes, hay sayang tlga Rasonable has deliberately sabotage Ilustrado’s “value” and chances in reaching a wide variety of audience. I always believe na you can only change yourself, so kung gusto mag grow ng GMA, they have to change their strategy and not blame others for their flop shows
Right. Fire those fools and restructure their personnel.