Pusong Ligaw to End Disappointing Run Friday

One of ABS-CBN’s underachievers for 2017 will mercifully end their run this week.

This Friday, the 188-episode run* of ‘Pusong Ligaw’ will come to a conclusion. While the series has had a long run typical of more recent ABS-CBN drama series, it had a rather up-and-down performance in the ratings.

‘Pusong Ligaw’ premiered on April 24, 2017 as the replacement to ‘The Greatest Love’. But instead of airing the series on the latter’s vacated timeslot, ABS-CBN made the decision to air ‘Pusong Ligaw’ as the leadoff drama on Kapamilya Gold, demoting ‘The Better Half’ to the second slot.

Initially, ‘Pusong Ligaw’ performed particularly well, averaging around 17-18% in the ratings during its first few weeks. However, the series’ ratings declined to around 15% by June, and after that it fluctuated between 12 and 15% for the remainder of its run.

One glaring reason for the decline of ‘Pusong Ligaw’ is the emergence of ‘Impostora’, the GMA Afternoon Prime series that premiered last July 3. By August, the latter overtook the former as the second highest-rated afternoon drama in the country, and while ‘Pusong Ligaw’ has had occasional moments of brilliance, ‘Impostora’ essentially dominated the matchup the rest of the way.

It also didn’t help that viewers grew tired of the ‘kabitserye’ formula that ABS-CBN emphasized of late. Let’s face it, the formula is becoming too stale and predictable, and having witnessed a few other successful ABS-CBN dramas that utilized a similar plotline, it was clear that ‘Pusong Ligaw’ simply lacked the punch and ‘it’ factor of previous series.

Nevertheless, despite all these deficiencies and concerns regarding quality, 188 episodes was still quite an achievement for ‘Pusong Ligaw’. For an unproven cast that starred Beauty Gonzalez, Bianca King, Raymond Bagatsing, Joem Bascon, Diego Loyzaga and Sofia Andres, making it through a long series is definitely an experience for a lifetime.

The last five episodes of ‘Pusong Ligaw’ should be one to remember. Amid these disappointments and criticisms, ABS-CBN should remain proud of how this series turned out.

*One episode of ‘Pusong Ligaw’ was reaired due to technical problems, while another episode was preempted due to the State of the Nation Address.

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ABS-CBN Reairs Prior Episode of Pusong Ligaw Due to Technical Issues

Talk about a technical issue.

Many viewers were stunned Thursday afternoon when ABS-CBN, for some unknown reason, reaired last Wednesday’s episode of ‘Pusong Ligaw’. That episode (see videos below) featured a pair of scenes in which Caloy (Joem Bascon) offered to help Tessa/Teri (Beauty Gonzalez) in her business, and a scene where the latter remembered her lost son Rafael.

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Abangan ang #PusongLigawAgenda ngayong hapon!

A post shared by STAR CREATIVES TV (@starcreativestv) on Aug 22, 2017 at 10:48pm PDT

This was in contrast to the ‘Pusong Ligaw’ episode teaser that was shown on ABS-CBN earlier that day. Unfortunately, the intended upcoming episode failed to hit the airwaves, and despite all efforts needed to correct the mistake, ABS-CBN decided to simply push through with the replay due to time constraints.

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May plano na naman si Marga! #PusongLigawPROnly

A post shared by STAR CREATIVES TV (@starcreativestv) on Aug 23, 2017 at 11:00pm PDT

The replay episode of ‘Pusong Ligaw’ also made its way to iWant TV, the digital on-demand video service of ABS-CBN. As a result, two videos of the same episode are now uploaded within the said service (to clarify the situation, iWant TV added a disclaimer stating that the August 24 episode of ‘Pusong Ligaw’ was indeed a replay episode).

The ‘Pusong Ligaw’ gaffe was the latest in a recent string of misfortune that befell ABS-CBN’s afternoon lineup. Last month, ‘It’s Showtime’ was delayed for 45 minutes due to a technical incident that disrupted the noontime show’s live broadcast.

ABS-CBN and ‘Pusong Ligaw”s production outfit Star Creatives have yet to issue a press release or statement regarding the incident. Still, as far as the viewers are concerned, a wholehearted apology is what they wanted, since the mistake made by the network and its production team is something that is unavoidable for the most part.

It remains to be seen if the unaired episode of ‘Pusong Ligaw’ will finally launch later this afternoon. But one thing is certain: producers should always be prepared in advance and find ways to minimize problems.

Legally Blind Concludes This Friday

So long, ‘Legally Blind’.

The finale of this tension-filled GMA Afternoon Prime drama will air tomorrow afternoon, 83 episodes after the story of blind lawyer Grace (Janine Gutierrez) began. But while its episode total is more than enough by typical teleserye standards, ‘Legally Blind’ proved to be anything but a success.

When ‘Legally Blind’ first premiered, it had to face stiff competition against ABS-CBN’s ‘The Better Half’, an equally dramatic series starring Shaina Magdayao, Carlo Aquino, JC de Vera and Denise Laurel. While the former earned some victories against the latter, on average, ‘The Better Half’ scored 15%, 2-3% better than ‘Legally Blind’.

On April 24, 2017, ABS-CBN premiered another kabitserye in ‘Pusong Ligaw’, which stars Beauty Gonzalez, Bianca King, Joem Bascon and Raymond Bagatsing. But instead of replacing ‘The Greatest Love’ in its vacated timeslot, the network decided to place ‘Pusong Ligaw’ opposite ‘Legally Blind’.

As it turned out, ‘Pusong Ligaw’ became even more dominant than ‘The Better Half’ was in its original timeslot. A new opponent spelled doom for ‘Legally Blind’, as ‘Pusong Ligaw”s 18% average ratings were 4-5% better than the former.

It also didn’t help that viewers who watch the surprisingly successful lead-in drama ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ failed to turn out in droves to support ‘Legally Blind’ on a majority of occasions. Such is the cruel fate for GMA’s teleseryes.

Still, for Janine Gutierrez, ‘Legally Blind’ turned out to be a much better outing for her than the short-lived series ‘Once Again’. Notwithstanding its shortcomings in the ratings, its 83-episode run was nothing to be ashamed of.

The finale of ‘Legally Blind’ should be a very gripping one. Now that Grace (Janine) has regained her sight, will justice finally prevail, or will she end up behind bars?

Viewers can only hope that this impending finale will make a lasting impression. This is ‘Legally Blind”s last chance to stand out, and they look to go out with a bang.

UPDATE: For some unknown reason, GMA extended ‘Legally Blind’ for another two weeks. Thus its finale will now be aired on Friday, June 30.

One Week In, A New Opponent for D’Originals

‘D’Originals’ faces a new challenge starting next week.

The recently-premiered GMA comedy-drama series got its baptism of fire when it aired opposite ABS-CBN’s ‘The Greatest Love’. Sadly, the debut week of ‘D’Originals’ coincided with the gripping final episodes of ‘The Greatest Love’, and as a result, the series did not have enough time to prove themselves against one of ABS-CBN’s top-raters.

As ‘D’Originals’ enters its second week, they find themselves with a different animal. In contrast to ‘The Greatest Love”s family and health-oriented storyline, this new Kapamilya series should be familiar to many critics and viewers alike.

Once again, ABS-CBN is producing a ‘kabitserye’ in the afternoon slot. Enter ‘Pusong Ligaw’.

The latest in a series of infidelity-laced dramas, ‘Pusong Ligaw’ will be led by Kapamilya stars Diego Loyzaga, Sofia Andres, Enzo Pineda, Beauty Gonzales, Bianca King, Joem Bascon and Raymund Bagatsing. The complicated story of ‘Pusong Ligaw’ is as follows:

• Fashion designer Tessa (Beauty) and beauty queen Marga (Bianca) were best friends with big aspirations, until Marga betrays Tessa after sleeping with her boyfriend Caloy (Joem)
• Tessa gives birth and raises her son Rafael until he is stolen by an unknown woman. She then meets Jaime (Raymund) whom he helped along with her struggles and they adopt a son named Rafa (Enz0)
• Rafael was adopted by the Policarpio family and pursued his studies as Potpot (Diego). He met Vida (Sofia), Marga’s daughter who opted to pursue a career as a fashion designer like Tessa, by then known as Terry.

‘Pusong Ligaw’ will be under the production of Star Creatives. The series is directed by GB Sampedro, Elfren Vibar and Henry King Quitain.

If another afternoon ‘kabitserye’ in ‘The Better Half’ is not enough, now comes ‘Pusong Ligaw’ which should test the patience of viewers. While ABS-CBN has had plenty of success with these dramas, the impending premiere of ‘Pusong Ligaw’ may come to a point that they are taking this familiar storyline too far.

Then again, ‘D’Originals’ also borders within the ‘kabitserye’ genre so it’s still a matter of choosing between a serious drama and a more light-hearted one. In any case, good luck to the viewers with regards to their choices.

‘Pusong Ligaw’ airs weekdays after ‘The Better Half’ on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold.

MMFF in Challenging Position With Emphasis on Quality

Without blockbuster franchises and stars such as Vic Sotto’s ‘Enteng Kabisote’ series, the new-look MMFF faces an uphill battle this year. (Photo credit: Cebu Daily News)

This is a From the Tube special report. The views and opinions expressed in this article are that of the author and do not reflect those of the Metro Manila Film Festival.

This year’s Metro Manila Film Festival will be a different experience for moviegoers and viewers alike.

Gone are the top drawers, big-spending production outfits and movie franchises that made the MMFF an annual Christmas tradition. Instead, the eight official full-length films will feature mostly independent productions, some of which were previously screened in other film festivals around the world.

The eight entries are:

• Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2: #ForeverIsNotEnough – directed by Marlon Rivera; stars Eugene Domingo, Jericho Rosales, Kean Cipriano, Khalil Ramos, and Cai Cortez
• Die Beautiful – directed by Jun Robles Lana; stars Paolo Ballesteros, Joel Torre, Gladys Reyes, Luis Alandy, Albie Casiño, and Iza Calzado
• Kabisera – directed by Arturo San Agustin and Real Florido; stars Ms. Nora Aunor, Ricky Davao, JC De Vera, Luis Alandy, Jason Abalos, and RJ Agustin
• Oro – directed by Alvin Yapan; stars Irma Adlawan, Mercedes Cabral, and Joem Bascon
• Saving Sally – directed by Avid Liongoren; stars Rhian Ramos, and Enzo Marcos
• Seklusyon – directed by Erik Matti; stars Rhed Bustamante, Phoebe Walker, Elora Espano, Neil Ryan Sese, Ronnie Alonte, Lou Veloso, Dominique Roque, John Vic De Guzman, and JR Versales
• Sunday Beauty Queen – directed by Babyruth Villarama Gutierrez; stars Hazel Perdido, Cherrie Mae Bretana, Mylyn Jacobo, Leo Selomenio, and Rudelyn Acosta
• Vince & Kath & James – directed by Ted Boborol; stars Julia Barretto, Joshua Garcia, and Ronnie Alonte

The selections were based on the following criteria: story, audience appeal and overall impact (40%); cinematic attributes or technical expertise (40%); global appeal (10%); and Filipino sensibility (10%). In essence, the MMFF organizers wanted to feature a greater emphasis on quality rather than commercialism alone.

Even though the change in approach is crucial in providing a more even playing field, promoting these films could pose a challenge. Many of the films were produced by independent companies, while a majority of them feature second or third-tier actors, some of whom are relative unknowns.

Let’s face it, while Eugene Domingo has box-office potential (‘Ang Babae sa Septic Tank’ raked in millions during its initial run), she is no Vic Sotto or Vice Ganda. And while Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia are not a bad tandem, they are no AlDub or KathNiel in the appeal department.

The major television networks such as ABS-CBN and GMA, once major players in the MMFF, are in a similar predicament. In previous years, both played a big role in the success of MMFF entries, but with this year’s field, they may not be a factor at all.

This does not mean that all eight films are bad, however. They are still worth watching as far as moviegoers go, but it will be up to them to become seriously interested with these entries.

Come Christmas Day, all eyes will be on the eight Metro Manila Film Festival entries. Still, it remains to be seen if this year’s filmfest will be a blockbuster or a flop.