Encantadia 2016: A Threat or an Afterthought

The returning ‘Encantadia’ will have their hands full against ‘Ang Probinsyano’ when it premieres this Monday. (Logo courtesy of GMA Network)

It will be the Sang’gres of ‘Encantadia’ against Cardo (Coco Martin) of ‘Ang Probinsyano’.

A lot has been said about the impressive ratings of ABS-CBN’s ‘Ang Probinsyano’. After all, this TV adaptation of the classic Fernando Poe, Jr. flick has been reaching the 40% mark of late, blowing out its embarrassed competitor (GMA’s ‘Poor Señorita’) in the dust.

But as ‘Encantadia’ gets underway this Monday, ‘Ang Probinsyano”s momentum could be in doubt. And GMA is going all out in this costly venture of theirs.

The 2016 version of ‘Encantadia’ will be headlined by the four Sang’gres, portrayed by Glaiza de Castro (as Pirena), Kylie Padilla (as Amihan), Gabbi Garcia (as Alena), and Sanya Lopez (as Danaya). Other notable cast members include Marian Rivera, Rocco Nacino, Solenn Heussaff, Ruru Madrid, John Arcilla and Dingdong Dantes.

Director Mark Reyes will breathe new life into this iconic fantaserye. Once again, computer-generated imagery (CGI) will be used extensively, but for this version, updated editing software will be used, along with various other technologies.

But the biggest question surrounding ‘Encantadia’ is whether or not GMA will finally embrace the 16:9 widescreen high definition format. Considering GMA’s continued unwillingness to use the new format (even with the use of HD cameras), it is clear that their old-school mentality may hurt ‘Encantadia”s quality and appeal.

Which is why the Encantadia Saga Facebook fan page went as far as writing an open letter to GMA management. They claimed that using the 16:9 format will bring a full viewing experience to an epic program such as ‘Encantadia’, as opposed to 4:3 which cuts some of the details.

Still, the biggest question surrounding ‘Encantadia’ is whether or not it will be able to overcome ‘Ang Probinsyano’. That said, the first week of the new ‘Encantadia’ will be very crucial, as they try to make an impact against an extremely formidable opponent.

Come this Monday, it will be ‘Encantadia’ against the world. Will they come out on top, or become the latest victim of ‘Ang Probinsyano”s dominance?

Find out starting July 18.

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Poor Señorita’s Awful Ending

‘Poor Señorita’ will officially close its book this Friday. The series was doomed from the start, getting blown out on a regular basis by ABS-CBN’s ‘Ang Probinsyano’. (Publicity photo courtesy of GMA Network)

Poor Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, literally.

It has been a difficult and painful four months for Asia’s Songbird. Once again, she tried to once again convince people that she is more than just an accomplished singer, and true enough, she did her best as an actress, but not in a way that would result into high ratings.

Which is exactly what happened to ‘Poor Señorita’. From the moment it premiered on March 28, it was clear that it would live up to its ‘poor’ reputation, both literally and figuratively.

The series’ national ratings overall were a wreck, as it got blown out on a regular basis by a cop-playing Coco Martin, sometimes by margins of over 30%. ‘Ang Probinsyano”s constantly high ratings proved to be a huge burden for Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, and ‘Poor Señorita’ soon became a target of ridicule by many tabloids.

To make matters worse, GMA decided not to actively promote ‘Poor Señorita’ from the beginning of April onwards, resulting in the lack of any episode teasers. The fact that GMA gave up quickly on ‘Poor Señorita’ was reflected on its atrocious performance.

That said, GMA should feel relieved now that ‘Poor Señorita”s uninspiring 79-episode run will come to an end this Friday. It was obvious from the start that they were unable to endure the sight of Regine Velasquez-Alcasid playing a riches-to-rags role in this series.

Perhaps GMA should have not thrown the word ‘actress’ in Regine Velasquez-Alcasid’s repertoire. After all, she is known better as a singer, not an actress.

So what’s next for Regine Velasquez-Alcasid? Following the conclusion of ‘Poor Señorita’, she will continue to host her Saturday morning cooking show ‘Sarap Diva’, but other than that, parental commitments with her son Nathan will be her priority for now.

As for ‘Poor Señorita’, it will be all over come this Friday. It was a hell of a ride, but sadly, it was a wrecked one to say the least.