An upcoming GMA fantaserye is in the headlines for both the right and wrong reasons.
When a trailer for ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ was released earlier this week, it quickly became a trending topic on social media and on various international news outlets. But instead of praises from netizens, a lot of criticisms were thrown into the mix, most of which were claims of being a ripoff of the American action series ‘Arrow’.
In fact, ‘Arrow’ lead actor Stephen Amell even shared the said teaser, which featured a ‘shocked’ emoji. Poor Dingdong Dantes.
Amid the criticisms surrounding ‘Alyas Robin Hood’, the show’s consultant Suzette Doctolero has this to say regarding its comparisons to ‘Arrow’.
LionhearTV then clarified that the poster was fan-made and not an official photo of GMA Network. In fact, some of the images used on the fan art were past photos of GMA artists and not publicity photos for ‘Alyas Robin Hood’.
Doctolero further explained that Robin Hood is an inspiration to many similar literary works, adding that every super hero in general was derived from master plots. She then pointed out that no one holds a copyright to Robin Hood (see post below).
Finally, GMA Entertainment vice president for drama Redgie Magno issued her own statement on the matter.
“Ang Alyas Robin Hood ay malayo sa plot ng Arrow. Ito ay kuwento ng isang lower-middle class lawyer na mapagbibintangan ng isang krimeng hindi niya ginawa. Sa kanyang paghahanap sa katotohanan, may mga matutulungan din siyang nangangailangan.”
“Robin Hood has had different reincarnations or versions in different countries. In Russia, there’s the short novel on Alexander Pushkin whose Robin Hood character went by the name Black Eagle. In Brazil, there’s the real life Limpaio, a true-life Robin Hood whose life is now a biography. In Japan, a Kabuki adaptation of Robin Hood was successfully mounted with the character of Nezumikozo as the name of the legendary hero. This is to name only a few. What we are now seeing here is a modern version of Robin Hood, an adaptation of a universal figure made inspirational and relevant to the Filipino audience.”
The teaser for ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ only ran for 15 seconds. In essence, the teaser was a mere hint of what is to come.
Let’s face it, it is unfair to compare ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ to ‘Arrow’ considering that the storyline of the series is yet to be revealed. Thus, the negative reaction to the former is not justified.
However, it is clear that Philippine television has a lot of flaws. The teleseryes, in particular, continue to use recycled storylines, and most intelligent viewers would be better off watching weekly American series instead.
It remains to be seen if ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ will be an epic disaster or an unexpected winner. Right now, though, viewers will have to wait for its premiere and see for themselves.
From the Tube 
Actually, Stephen Amell replied with a “blushed” not “shocked” emoji.
Alyas Robin Hood is said to be the successor of Descendants of the Sun in the timeslot come September 19 but I won’t be surprised for their defeat in Kantar report against Til I Met You, with the said publicity stunt. Aside from that reason, it has been the same treatment of talent casting that you wrote for so many months: veteran’s first, newbies last.
You probably read the status of the Ignore Rants FB page on how ridiculous our primetime programming runs with some constructive criticisms. But it’s so clear that neither GMA nor ABS will listen for the love of money.
Nevertheless, what happened to Kamuning this week is clear: bad publicity is still publicity.
And to LionhearTV — the pro-Kapamilya scoop that provides the fan art of the show — should also be accountable for the damage done.
Mrs. Doctolero and Mrs. Magno may have valid reasons for Alyas Robin Hood being very different from Arrow, but it’s clear that the recycling of plots on TV series in our country damaged the former’s reputation. It’s just another black eye in the era of Lilybeth Rasonable.
No wonder. It looks like the network execs should wake up since our writers and everything in the big networks (ABS-CBN or GMA) have no creativity or originality at all. Puro na lang recycled plots.
Back to that show, still the ol’ reliable Dingdong Dantes vs. JaDine. GMA’s logic of old guns vs. young guns must go. Kawawa na ang mga young artists ng GMA. They’re targeting the wrong audience kung palagi na lang silang ganyan.
On that teaser trailer, as of 4:52PM PHT (09/02/16), mas marami pa ang dislikes ng video na yan sa YouTube kaysa sa likes (554 dislikes vs. 61 likes) and the comments are mostly negative.
one of their teasers uses the same arrowhead logo as Arrow’s. Di ko lam kung tinaggal na nila un nasa youtube ito. They should have known the blowback ever since they used the same costume with CW’s show. Matalino na ngaun ang mga manunuood di na sapat ang mga palusot. they could have admitted the similarity which is true than being overly defensive.
Now that you say that, it’s clear that GMA is under tremendous pressure to air Alyas Robin Hood with so many criticisms. While some would support Mrs. Magno’s and Mrs. Doctolero’s statements, I think the overly negative publicity may be too much for GMA. Cancelling the show before it even aired may be their only choice now, even if it means disrupting their succession plans for Telebabad.
I would agree with that. GMA should better have a back-up plan once Alyas Robin Hood would be cancelled before it even aired, by airing another Koreanovela.
If that show cancels, IDK kung ano ang mangyayari sa talent fee ni Dingdong.
A cancellation of Alyas Robin Hood could affect Dingdong’s career. At this point, he also needs a backup plan. Kung sakaling hindi matuloy ang Alyas Robin Hood, he can either concentrate on movies (mostly with Star Cinema or Regal), find alternative projects, or just play the babysitter to his daughter Zia. That will be up to him though.
they should have admitted it n lng then move forward, mas naging nega tuloy dahil masyado silang defensive
Indeed. Reputations could be ruined kung ininsist pa nila na iba ang Alyas Robin Hood sa Arrow.
As a layman I see this as an attempt to really copy the show ‘Arrow’. The lengthy justification/explanation just shows how defensive GMA is. If they conduct a focus group with unbiased audience, people will really conclude that this is a lame attempt to imitate the american show. It could have been better for the network not to issue defensive statements because it shows their arrogance and refusal to accept constructive criticism from their dwindling supporters.
Fact is, GMA is always on the defensive ever since Rasonable took over. Yes they may still insist that they’re rating well (according to the Luzon-centric Nielsen) and earning lots of bucks, but what’s the point if they can’t accept that they are truly on the losing side in both the national and global level? The pitiful state of GMA is something Gozon and company couldn’t accept, and unlike TV5 which finally realized their shortcomings, it looks like GMA’s fall from grace will only continue in the long term if they can’t come to terms with their mediocrity.
GMA IS and WILL remain as the rich man’s IBC-13 kung tuloy pa rin ang stubbornness ng management from Gozon to Rasonable.
As for the Arrow ripoff, it will premiere on September 19 and the new season of Arrow will premiere on October 5 (Oct. 6 PH time) on CW. Come September 19, it’s time for the viewers to play the critic para malaman talaga kung ang Alyas Robin Hood ba ay direct ripoff ng Arrow o hindi.
Indeed. Debating won’t help. Manood na lang kung manood.