GMA’s ‘Kambal Sirena’ Answers ABS-CBN’s ‘Dyesebel’

Louise delos Reyes will play the role of a mermaid in her newest series ‘Kambal Sirena’.

I would like to correct my previous post regarding Louise delos Reyes‘ preparations for her role as a mermaid. Delos Reyes will not appear in the upcoming GMA teleserye ‘Carmela’, starring Marian Rivera. Instead she is preparing for a more prominent role in her upcoming teleserye ‘Kambal Sirena’.

By all accounts ‘Kambal Sirena’ can be considered as GMA’s response to ABS-CBN‘s own version of ‘Dysebel’, whose previous version starring Marian Rivera aired on GMA in 2009. While the storyline has yet to be revealed, the cast members are now being revealed piece by piece. In addition to delos Reyes, Wyn Marquez is committed to play a villainous role in the series, while Mike Tan will now play delos Reyes’s love interest.

For delos Reyes, it will be her third lead role in a drama series after ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ and ‘Alakdana‘. The selection of delos Reyes to play a mermaid was not surprising, considering that her recent performance in ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ gave viewers a glimpse of her capability to be a primetime player.

This was not the first time that the Kapuso network responded with their own mermaid series. In 2004, GMA released ‘Marinara‘ in response to ABS-CBN’s ‘Marina’. ‘Marinara’, the first so-called ‘kwelanovela’, starred sexy comedienne Rufa Mae Quinto, while ‘Marina’ was played by Claudine Barretto. Despite the fact that GMA responded with their comedic parody of an ABS-CBN teleserye, it was a fantaserye in ‘Mulawin‘ that overwhelmed ‘Marina’ in the ratings, at a time when GMA’s fantaseryes were the talk of television.

‘Kambal Sirena’ is set to be released in the first quarter of 2014, as part of a new wave of teleseryes on the GMA Telebabad block that included ‘Carmela’ and ‘Rhodora X’.

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Double Serving of GMA’s New Teleseryes

 

In only three weeks, the GMA Telebabad lineup debuted three new teleseryes. That is a turnover of over a half from its previous lineup.

Just last Friday, two GMA teleseryes aired their series finales. ‘Binoy Henyo’, a story of a wonder kid with an impoverished life, finished its run with the titular character Binoy (David Remo) reuniting with his real parents Agnes (Sheena Halili) and Francis (Luis Alandy), only after Agnes was acquitted of all charges filed against her by Emily (Gwen Zamora). Likewise ‘Anna Karenina‘, a story of three girls trying to solve the mystery of the real Anna Karenina, ended its run after it was revealed that Anna (Barbie Forteza) was the real Anna Karenina.

And yesterday GMA debuted a pair of new teleseryes: the kiligserye ‘Prinsesa ng Buhay Ko’, starring the love team of Aljur Abrenica and Kris Bernal, and ‘Kahit Nasaan Ka Man’, starring Julie Ann San Jose and Kristoffer Martin. The former tells the story of Princess, an orphaned young woman who nevertheless showed determination and hard work. She eventually fell in love with Nick, but only after they cross paths once more after first meeting in an orphanage. The latter tells the story of Leandro and Pauline, born handicapped and out of poverty but eventually fell in love through music, but only after a series of family squabbles threatened their love for each other.

Air times for ‘Prinsesa ng Buhay Ko’ and ‘Kahit Nasaan Ka Man’ are currently sandwiched between GMA’s early evening newscast ’24 Oras’, occupying the slots vacated by ‘Binoy Henyo’ and ‘Anna Karenina’, respectively. GMA’s two new offerings are also aired opposite ABS-CBN’s highly-rated series ‘Annaliza’ and ‘Juan de la Cruz‘, whose ratings have remained highly consistent even as GMA continues to search for answers regarding their low ratings in the late afternoon/early evening timeslot.

After ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ ended its run and was replaced by ‘Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas’, followed by the aforementioned new teleseryes, GMA has turned over half of its ‘Telebabad’ lineup, a sign that the network is still searching for stability on primetime. Nevertheless, Kapuso fans hope that with fresh blood comes a better ratings return for the Kapuso network.

Pork Barrel References on ‘Ang Bagong Dating Doon’

Pork Barrel and Janet Napoles remain the hot topic of conversation this past week. And even the GMA gag show ‘Bubble Gang‘ took aim at the issue.

During last Friday’s segment of ‘Ang Bagong Dating Doon’, there were two questions that jokingly reference the word ‘whistleblower’ and ‘Pork Barrel’. But before they tackled the issue, a viewer submitted the question regarding the originality of the GMA teleserye ‘My Husband’s Lover’. Brod Pete (Isko Salvador) then answered that it was not an original series, but rather it was inspired from the 1960s pop group Peter, Paul and Mary, which he claimed that Mary was the offspring of married gay couple Peter and Paul. In reality, Peter, Paul and Mary were a folk group comprising of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers, and contrary to Brod Pete’s claim, Mary was about the same age as Peter and Paul, and gay marriage was illegal at the time.

The first reference of the Pork Barrel scam came when Mikael Daez asked a question: ‘May nasusulat po ba tungkol sa ‘whistleblower’?’ (Is there a written reference regarding the word ‘whistleblower’?) Brod Pete then gave reference to the Simon & Garfunkel song ‘The Boxer’, which Brother Willy (Caesar Cosme) then mentioned the chorus ‘lie la lie’, which he then changed to ‘luy la luy’ in reference to another Pork Barrel whistleblower Benhur Luy.

Brod Pete then answered a viewer’s question regarding words that he claims were not used correctly. This time he tackled the contents of a bio-data, during which he disagreed with the listing ‘sex’ and instead corrected it with the word ‘gender’ in the description, and then disagreeing with the description ‘salary desired’ in the bio-data. He then claimed that ‘doorbell’ is not the correct terminology, thinking that it is placed near the gates of the house, then ‘doorbell’ is not the right word, but rather ‘gatebell’. He also mentioned text lingo in the segment, thinking that it is inappropriate.

The next question was asked by Antonio Aquitania: ‘May nasusulat po ba tungkol sa ‘Pork Barrel’?’ (Is there a written reference regarding the word ‘Pork Barrel’?) Both Brod Pete and Brother Willy then referenced the song ‘Beer Barrel Polka‘, which they changed the chorus to ‘Roll Out the Barrel of Funds’ and linking it to the Million People March that occurred at the Quirino Grandstand two weeks ago.

Another ‘Bubble Gang’ segment with political references was ‘Sec. de Anim’, a joking reference to Department of Justice secretary Leila de Lima. The highlight of the segment was when the reporters (Paolo Contis, Chariz Solomon) asked questions about possible bills named after GMA teleseryes such as ‘My Husband’s Lover’, ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ and ‘Mga Basang Sisiw’. However, the highlight of a politically-charged episode of ‘Bubble Gang’ was the ‘Ang Bagong Dating Doon’ segment which referenced Pork Barrel and its related terms.

The entire ‘Ang Bagong Dating Doon’ segment can be viewed below.

Finally, a Beautiful Ending for Mundo Mo’y Akin

Last week I wrote about GMA’s ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ and the way it teased its eventual ending. They promoted teasers of the teleserye as having ‘The Beautiful Ending’ as early as July, owing to the facial transformation of the lead character Marilyn, played by Louise Delos Reyes. However, later storylines such Marilyn’s breakup with Gerald (Alden Richards) proved that the ending came too premature.

Then last Wednesday GMA announced that the series finale of ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ was slated for tomorrow, September 6, ending speculations regarding the date of ‘The Beautiful Ending’ which had teased viewers for weeks. In the prelude to tomorrow’s finale, the GMA press statement wrote:

“As the program wraps up this Friday, will Marilyn (Louise) and Jerome (Alden) find a second chance at love? Or is happiness too far to reach for these lovers? Will true love prevail?”

“After suffering a dramatic reversal of fortune, will Donya Charito (Jacklyn Jose) finally change and seek the path of forgiveness and reconciliation with Perlita (Sunshine Dizon)? Will Darlene (Lauren Young) remain evil till the very end?”

These questions will be answered once the finale airs tomorrow, at around 8:45 p.m. after ‘Anna Karenina’.

Meanwhile, promotional trailers for the upcoming GMA teleserye ‘Akin Pa Rin ang Bukas’ are being aired, and is slated to replace ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ in its timeslot on September 9. The new teleserye will reunite the tandem of Lovi Poe and Rocco Nacino, whose previous team-up was in the afternoon teleserye ‘Yesterday’s Bride‘. The series will be about an illegitimate daughter’s determination to become a rightful member of her own family, in the process exacting revenge for those who doubted her.  The new teleserye will oppose ABS-CBN’s ‘Got to Believe’ in its timeslot, which as of the moment led its competitor in the latest Kantar ratings.

 

Still No Beautiful Endings for Mundo Mo’y Akin

‘The Beautiful Ending’ gone wrong: ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ continues to air for a few more weeks despite teasing viewers that the story is about to conclude.

Over the past month, GMA promotes its teasers for ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ as a ‘Beautiful Ending’, implying that the teleserye is in its final few weeks. Despite that, the program continues to air extensively and add more intriguing twists and turns to a story that never seems to end after all.

Before I go to the criticism of GMA’s promotion, here’s how I looked at the teleserye. ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ appears to be a sequel of a prior teleserye called ‘Bakekang‘; Sunshine Dizon played the ugly duckling in the latter, and then played the role of a mother in the former. The similarities between the two teleseryes was clear from the start: the ugly character as the protagonist getting beat up by the more beautiful antagonist, until a life-changing surgical procedure changed the protagonist’s outlook.

Young actress Louise Delos Reyes played the main protagonist Marilyn on the show, and Lauren Young played the main antagonist Darlene. Dizon played Marilyn’s mother Perlita, while Angelika dela Cruz played Darlene’s mother Giselle. Alden Richards played Gerald, the love interest of both Marilyn and Darlene. Supporting roles were provided by Jacklyn Jose, Jolina Magdangal and Gabby Eigenmann.

During the month of July, GMA began promoting ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ as having ‘The Beautiful Ending’. The teasers and subsequent episodes witnessed the physical and emotional transformation of Marilyn into a beautiful and strong individual, one that never backed down from any challenge. The way I saw it, GMA was promoting the teleserye as if it was on its final weeks. However, subsequent plot twists in later episodes, such as Marilyn’s breakup with Gerald, proved that ‘The Beautiful Ending’ isn’t about to end soon.

I think GMA’s promotion of ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ was pure alienation. Why call it a ‘beautiful ending’ when in fact the stories only continue to go back and forth? The ‘beautiful ending’ I looked at was when the main character received life-changing surgery, then gained a measure of revenge on the antagonist, before finally falling in love with the man she was cared for. However, the addition of a breakup angle, followed by the antagonist’s revenge, ensured that the teleserye continues on. 

It was a mistake that GMA management will never forget. If her transformation was a ‘beautiful ending’, why did they add more twists and turns to the story? ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ deserves a better and simpler ending than this, not one with additional storylines that only frustrates the viewers. This only underscores the fact that GMA’s teleseryes, other than ‘My Husband’s Lover’, are falling way behind from ABS-CBN’s own, viewership-wise and production-wise.

New Rival for My Husband’s Lover

‘My Husband’s Lover’ will now have new opposition in the form of ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’.

Last night, GMA’s controversial teleserye ‘My Husband’s Lover’ faced new competition in the form of ABS-CBN’s ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’. This was due to a new teleserye on the Kapamilya network called ‘Got to Believe’ (not to be confused with the 2002 Claudine Barretto–Rico Yan starrer) making its long-awaited debut, and was slotted in the 8:30 p.m. slot formerly occupied by ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’.

‘My Husband’s Lover”s former rival teleserye ‘Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala’ finished its run last Friday after two months. Kantar ratings suggest that the latter program rated higher than the former, despite its relatively short run. The series, which starred Judy Ann Santos as a battered and bruised wife, was not as controversial as ‘My Husband’s Lover’, but nevertheless gained a respectably high audience throughout its run.

‘My Husband’s Lover’ also faced ‘Apoy sa Dagat‘ in the early weeks of its run and subsequently demolished the viewership of the latter, prompting ABS-CBN to assemble its own all-star crew for ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’. The much-anticipated face-off in the same timeslot will have to wait, however.

Meanwhile ABS-CBN’s new offering ‘Got to Believe’ made its much-anticipated debut after a delay of over a month. The new teleserye was supposed to debut in mid-July, but was postponed because of the need to film more episodes. Nevertheless, the new teleserye, which starred the tandem of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, got its much-needed hype over the next few weeks, before it finally launched last night to the delight of the viewers.

The new program bumped ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’ off its original slot, and now the former faces stiff competition with ‘My Husband’s Lover’. The latter, starring Carla Abellana, Tom Rodriguez and Dennis Trillo, will now be pitted against younger lead stars Julia Montes, Enchong Dee and Enrique Gil. Asked whether the timeslot change fueled the competition between her and Bernardo, Montes simply refuted rumors of competition between them.

Simply put, the timeslot change will not even affect the high audience figures that ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’ attained in its current run. The Kantar ratings suggest that the program outperformed ‘Mundo Mo’y Akin’ in its previous timeslot, and even with the change, it is a given according to Kantar that ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’ will outperform the highly controversial ‘My Husband’s Lover’. On the contrary, Nielsen expects victory for ‘My Husband’s Lover’ ratings-wise.

With that, the much-anticipated all-star battle that ABS-CBN envisioned finally got underway.