Wildflower’s Wildest Finale

‘Wildflower’ is coming to an end.

Friday night will mark the finale of this top-rating ABS-CBN series. In a run that spanned 257 episodes, ‘Wildflower’ became a big hit in more ways than one.

Premiering on February 13, 2017, ‘Wildflower’ became the first ABS-CBN drama to air in the 5:50 p.m. slot since ‘We Will Survive’. From episode one, the series ran roughshod over the competition, constantly earning ratings in the 20s while occasionally hitting the 30s.

As ‘Wildflower’ continued to reign over its timeslot, the confrontations between Ivy Aguas/Lily Cruz (Maja Salvador) and Emilia Ardiente (Aiko Melendez) also became viral on social media. Various news topics were lampooned using screenshots of Ivy/Lily and Emilia either strangling, shouting or slapping each other in the face.

Throughout its run ‘Wildflower’ saw its fair share of cast members arrive and depart. While the core cast features Maja Salvador, Aiko Melendez, Joseph Marco, Tirso Cruz III, Sunshine Cruz, Christian Vasquez and RK Bagatsing, the series also received a few contributions from the likes of Roxanne Barcelo, Dawn Chang and Zsa Zsa Padilla.

Despite its lengthy run and constant ratings success, it was too unfortunate that ‘Wildflower’ will not be able to join the ‘one-year club’ that featured fellow ABS-CBN dramas ‘Ang Probinsyano’ and ‘Doble Kara’. Friday’s ending will put them two episodes short of the anniversary mark.

Even viewers of the series found it hard to accept that ABS-CBN will pull the plug on ‘Wildflower’ after such a long run. In fact, ‘Wildflower”s ‘The End is Near’ teaser last January was trending on social media, with many clamoring for an extension which was never materialized.

Still, ‘Wildflower”s accomplishments were hard to deny. The series’ presence made the early evening slot of Primetime Bida relevant again, and Maja Salvador’s portrayal of Ivy/Lily only enhanced her craft as an actress.

Veterans such as Sunshine Cruz, Tirso Cruz III and Aiko Melendez were also given a second wind in their careers thanks to their portrayals of Camia, Julio and Emilia respectively. Even a cameo appearance by Zsa Zsa Padilla as Red Dragon was good enough to convince viewers that she is still a dependable actress.

Overall, ‘Wildflower’ is such a good series that reliving all 257 episodes on iWant TV would be more than enticing. Indeed, this series typified the ‘wild’ in every sense of the word, one that is unpredictable, moody and crazy to look at.

This Friday should be a wild finale for ‘Wildflower’. Enjoy the show.

FTT Year 2017 in Review: The Hot or Not Stories That Define the Year in Media (Part I)

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2018, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article looks back at some of the Hot or Not moments that define the Philippine media this year.

Here is Part I of the four-part series. These stories are arranged in no particular order.

HOT: La Luna Sangre

The tandem of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla returned to ABS-CBN Primetime Bida in June to star in ‘La Luna Sangre’, which also starred Angel Locsin (initially in a special participatory role as Lia before returning full-time as Jacintha) and another comebacking star in Richard Gutierrez. The series became an immediate hit scoring well over 30% in the nationwide ratings.

The success of ‘La Luna Sangre’ also revitalized the third slot of Primetime Bida following the lukewarm reception of predecessors ‘Magpahanggang Wakas’, ‘A Love to Last’ and ‘My Dear Heart’. But while KathNiel did not lose their magic upon returning to the small screen, the same cannot be said for another popular love team.

NOT: AlDub and More

Good news: AlDub did not need to face KathNiel as ‘Destined to Be Yours’ ended weeks before ‘La Luna Sangre’ premiered. Bad news: 63 episodes is more than enough to justify the lack of success of ‘Destined to Be Yours’, the first primetime series to star Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza together.

Things only got worse for the duo from that point on. In late November, Maine revealed on social media that she and Alden are only friends in real life and that she ‘deserves all the hate in the world’ for being a ‘coward’ and a ‘selfish little brat’.

Perhaps the pressure and the expectations are starting to take its toll on Maine. Much like her harrowing portrayal of a depressed workaholic in the ‘Eat Bulaga’ made-for-TV film ‘Love Is…’, somebody should help her overcome these stresses.

HOT: Ika-6 na Utos and Afternoon Prime

‘Ika-6 na Utos’ premiered late last year to lukewarm reviews. But thanks to some campy moments that elicit plenty of laughter from its viewers, ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ became unexpectedly popular, so much so that GMA decided to add Saturday episodes starting in April to capitalize on its success.

The series also boosted the fortunes of Afternoon Prime which had been left for dead earlier in the year. By August, succeeding dramas ‘Impostora’ and ‘Haplos’ were winning over their ABS-CBN counterparts thanks in large part to ‘Ika-6 na Utos’.

NOT: The Entire Kapamilya Gold Post-Doble Kara

Led by back-to-back ‘kabitseryes’ in ‘Pusong Ligaw’ and ‘The Better Half’, Kapamilya Gold lost ground to Afternoon Prime that by the late third quarter of 2017, it was the latter that stood tall. Not even ‘The Greatest Love”s critically-acclaimed run saved the block from its sudden fall from grace.

The end of ‘Doble Kara”s year-long run in February foreshadowed a decline in Kapamilya Gold’s performance. Soon after, Afternoon Prime closed the gap and overtook Kapamilya Gold in the ratings for the rest of the year, much to the dismay of Kapamilya viewers everywhere.

HOT: Wildflower

Also in February, ‘Wildflower’ premiered on Primetime Bida’s pre-newscast slot. It didn’t take long for the series to make an impact as it constantly registered ratings of over 20 to 25%, putting it among the top five programs in the country.

The success of ‘Wildflower’ also spawned numerous memes on social media, some of which depict the various confrontations between Ivy/Lily (Maja Salvador) and Emilia (Aiko Melendez). With that kind of impact, ‘Wildflower’ truly turned viewers’ heads upside down whenever these two go at it.

NOT: Kapamilya Game Shows

The slogan ‘In the Service of the Filipino’ does not apply to ABS-CBN game shows. That said, ‘Minute to Win It’, ‘Family Feud’ and ‘Bet on Your Baby’ continued to alienate audiences by utilizing celebrities more often than ordinary people throughout their runs this year.

Luckily all three shows’ seasons came to an end this year: ‘Minute to Win It’ in February, ‘Family Feud’ in May and ‘Bet on Your Baby’ in September. Perhaps ABS-CBN should stop producing game shows and defer these to ‘It’s Showtime’ since they do not even have a clue how to utilize the power of the viewing public.

Part II of this four-part series is coming up tomorrow. Stay tuned.

TV Remake of ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ to Air Starting This Monday

Big things are indeed coming for Rhian Ramos.

The beginning of July saw Rhian make her debut as a cover girl for FHM. Then came the series that could make or break her, ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’.

Much like her first-ever sexy pictorial on FHM, ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ will portray a more mature and serious Rhian. Her role as Clara is simple: she was abused by a womanizer in Roman (Rafael Rosell), then ended up falling in love to Jason (Kiko Estrada), who is not happy with his marriage to Hannah (Jazz Ocampo).

Clara and Jason’s love affair was soon exposed, however. And as the series rolls on, that revelation could pose a severe threat to their own lives.

Also joining the cast of ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ are Michael de Mesa, Glydel Mercado, Cheska Diaz, Sherilyn Reyes, Stephanie Sol, Gee Canlas, JC Tiuseco, and Gab de Leon. The series will be directed by Ricky Davao.

‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ the drama series is a remake of the 1992 hit film directed by Maryo J. Delos Reyes. The film was headlined by Vilma Santos, Gabby Concepcion, Aga Muhlach, and Aiko Melendez.

But if the film version was a blockbuster, what chances will the TV remake have in store? As far as the entire nation is concerned, all eyes are on Julia Montes and ‘Doble Kara’ every weekday afternoon, and its domination of the 3:15 p.m. slot has not been a good sight for a Kapuso fan everywhere.

Indeed, GMA is wasting time producing these dramas without any sufficient promotion. Just look at the series ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ will replace, ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli’, which at the beginning was heavily promoted by the network only to cease further support after the first week of airing.

With ABS-CBN’s ‘Doble Kara’ nearing its one-year anniversary this August, it will be interesting to see if ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ can fare well against this afternoon juggernaut. Yes, Rhian Ramos is about to take the next step in her evolution as an actress, but will this translate to impressive ratings?

Find out starting this Monday, as ‘Sinungaling Mong Puso’ premieres after ‘Magkaibang Mundo’.

MMK Turns 25

The longest-running drama anthology on Philippine television gets the silver treatment.

For older viewers, it is still known as ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, but for the younger generation, it is now simply known as ‘MMK’. Regardless, the program that touched the lives of Filipinos here and around the world is still going strong, and just recently, it celebrated its 25th anniversary.

The very first episode of ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ was aired on May 15, 1991. The first episode, ‘Rubber Shoes’, starred Romnick Sarmenta, Vina Morales, Robert Arevalo, Hero Bautista and Ray Ventura, and it launched a tradition of reading letters through Charo Santos-Concio and naming episode titles after various objects, people or places.

From there, ‘MMK’ took off. The anthology became popular, earning numerous awards here and abroad, and it inspired more Filipinos to write stories of their own, each depicting their trials and tribulations in life.

In 1994, Star Cinema decided to produce a movie based on ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’. Released as one of the entries in that year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, it starred Richard Gomez, Aiko Melendez, Chin-Chin Gutierrez and Caridad Sanchez, among others.

In 2007, a radio program also based on ‘MMK’ began airing on DZMM, and earned similar praise as its television counterpart. Five years later, a rerun of classic ‘MMK’ episodes (titled ‘MMK Klasik’) also began to air on The Filipino Channel and on DZMM TeleRadyo.

Even though ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ has been on a roll since its first episode in 1991, rivals have tried to keep up with this long-running anthology. The most notable of these rivals was GMA’s ‘Magpakailanman’, which first aired in 2002 and has continued to air since (other than a four-year hiatus from 2008 to 2012).

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ remains an iconic program to many Filipinos. And as it turned 25, more stories are about to unfold, with each of them maintaining a tradition of inspiration and dedication to all Filipinos.

Hosted by Charo Santos-Concio, ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ airs every Saturday at 8:15 p.m*. on ABS-CBN.

*‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ has been airing every Saturday night since 2008. The show originally aired every Wednesday, Thursday and then Friday night.

KimXi Tandem Returns in The Story of Us

The love team of Kim Chiu and Xian Lim are back on the small screen.

Nearly two years after their previous series ‘Ina, Kapatid, Anak’ (with a few box-office hit movies in between), the duo returns to television via the upcoming ABS-CBN drama ‘The Story of Us’. The series debuts tonight as a replacement to the just-concluded hit series ‘On the Wings of Love’.

Kim and Xian play the roles of Tin and Macoy respectively. They were childhood friends turned lovers growing up in El Nido, Palawan with hopes of a better life for themselves and their family.

Their relationship took a huge turn when Tin decided to meet her estranged mother in the United States. Living separately from one another, their relationship grew sour, until five years later, Macoy met Tin in New York in hopes of starting over as a couple.

Still, it will not be easy for them to resume their relationship after a long time apart. It is up to them to find a second chance in love and survive amid these changes in their individual lives.

‘The Story of Us’ will also star Aiko Melendez, Gardo Versoza, Susan Africa, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Bryan Santos, Mara Lopez, Alyanna Angeles (as the young Tin), and Zaijan Jaranilla (as the young Macoy). Richard Somes will be the director of the series.

Following the footsteps of the ever-successful ‘On the Wings of Love’ will not be easy for ‘The Story of Us’. But then again, based on the KimXi tandem’s previous teleserye success, they should do just fine on this newest series.

That said, expect ‘The Story of Us’ to make a quick impression early on. And that should also cause concern to its upcoming rival in GMA’s ‘Because of You’, who failed to make an impact against ‘On the Wings of Love’ for a majority of its run.

‘The Story of Us’ airs weeknights after ‘Dolce Amore’ on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.

‘Be Careful’ Departs, ‘Give Love on Christmas’ Premieres

So long, Maya and Sir Chief.

After over two years, the ABS-CBN kiligserye ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ finally took a bow earlier today. The series finale featured a scene in Vigan where Maya (Jodi Sta. Maria) and Sir Chief (Richard Yap) reminisced the good times of their relationship, followed by Maya’s surprise 30th birthday and live farewell special.

Thus, for the first time since July 9, 2012, a new program will enter the fray in the pre-noontime slot.

Over the next six weeks, ABS-CBN will air three different stories as part of its ‘Give Love on Christmas’ specials. The first of these stories will run from December 1 to December 12, preceding ‘It’s Showtime’.

‘The Gift Giver’ will be headlined by veteran actor Eddie Garcia, with supporting roles from Aiko Melendez, Dimples Romana, Carlo Aquino, Louise Abuel, Gerald Madrid and Nadine Samonte. Alicia Alonzo will appear in a special role.

In ‘The Gift Giver’, Garcia will play Ernest, whose hope in life was to work hard and sacrifice just to have a complete and joyful family. But the death of his wife Laura (Alonzo) soon took its toll on the relationship between himself and his children, and now Ernest will try to renew ties with the rest of his family just in time for Christmas.

In addition to ‘The Gift Giver’, two other stories will be seen in the ‘Give Love on Christmas’ specials: ‘The Gift of Life’, starring Gerald Anderson and Maja Salvador, and ‘Exchange Gift’, starring Paulo Avelino and KC Concepcion. The two stories will be aired on a still-yet-to-be-determined date.

On the verge of once again earning the tag of ‘Philippines’ No. 1 station’, ABS-CBN rewarded its loyal viewers with an early Christmas bonus. ‘Give Love on Christmas’ will be the last ABS-CBN offering of the year, and it should provide a fitting conclusion to another banner year for the Mother Ignacia-based network.