1. Ikaw Sana (GMA)
A story of love amidst the turmoil, deception and betrayal. GMA madeits return to the traditional drama hour of the 6pm timeslot with its first set of soaps, All My Life and the follow up soap, Ikaw Sana. Nice to see Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras paired on screen again after quite a long time. Their acting have definetly improved since they started in the biz more than 6 years ago. Nice to see Pauleen Luna as well on the mix. Add to that is their supporting cast which provides much of the drama for the three major characters which Herras, Mercado and Luna portray.
2. May Bukas Pa (ABS-CBN)
A breather from the usual Philippine soap, MBP tells about a boy who is gifted with power of touching people's lives at a time of lost hope and sadness.
Similar in a way with an earlier series, "Mga Mata ni Anghelita", it has the same types of characters: the evil mayor, the gossiping kumares and the unbelieving townsfolk. What sets it apart is that the show takes on an episodic format with Santino, with the help of his father-figuring monk family as well as "Bro" helping a person in need. It also made a great display of human nature, how cruel and uncaring people can be but at the same time how willing they are to change for the better.
The show, still running for almost a year now is already reaching its saturation point. Hopefully, it will finally end its run in March 2010 giving a much needed break to the lead actor who portrays Santino.
3. Tayong Dalawa (ABS-CBN)
Tayong Dalawa, a show about paternal twin Amerasian brothers who were separated by birth, brought together by destiny and divided by their love over a single woman. Drama at its finest, the show is supported by an able-bodied cast from Cherry Pie Picache to Gina Pareno.
What I hate though was how the network promoted the series: using its supporting cast's achievements in their field of expertise. it kinda takes away the attention from what viewers should really focus on: The characters of JR and Dave, played by Gerald Anderson and Jake Cuenca respectively. The acting is superb, the writing is powerful and the execution admirable.
One thing that came out definitely was the hate of Kim Chiu's character, Audrey. Being the source of division between the brothers, some fans showed rejoice over her death on the second-to-the last episode of the series. Bad of them to do that but it became clear that TD ended on a very high note with one major cliffhanger that will most likely never going to explore.
Another cause of concern was its constant continuity errors with the characters' age. JR and Dave were born onscreen on 1992 in the series, but on the final episode where there was a scene showing Audrey's gravestone, it says she was born on 1984. That moment may have meant that the writers imposed SORAS (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome) to JR, Dave, Audrey, and the other younger characters, aging them by about 5 years.
Imagine JR and Dave, both finished military school, enlisted in the Army and made wedding vows to Audrey at the tender age of 17.
4. Stairway to Heaven (GMA)
Stairway to Heaven is the local adaptation of a popular Korean drama series. A story about love lost that was later found until it was too late. Starring Dingdong Dantes and Rhian Santos, the show made good of not depending too much on the premise of the original for which STH was based upon. Although I wasn't able to watch this show religiously, I keep myself updated through recaps. I could safely say that the show's ending best highlighted itself as a whole.
One thing bothers me though is that I'm a bit unsure of whether Dantes is actually good on playing the piano. His character's original portrayer, Kwon Sang Woo was actually seen playing the piano himself onscreen.
I doubt GMA's choice of casting Rhian Ramos as Jodi because I can't exactly see her as Jodi, especially with the age gap she has with Dingdong but she proved that she could portray any character with ease.
5. Only You (ABS-CBN)
Another series based on a Korean drama, Only You focuses on the life and cooking ambitions of the main character, Jillian (Angel Locsin), as she faces the spices of life with the support of her family and best friend, Jonathan (Diether Ocampo). Along the way, she met the love of her life, TJ (Sam Milby). That love bore fruit a son that Jillian solely took responsibility as a single mother, things of which went unknown to TJ until years later.
I like the fact that the show didn't exactly follow the same set of events from the original series, instead passing itself as something distinct, different and essentially Filipino and they passed it off with flying colors, much to viewers' delight. Only You for the most part, the unremake-ish of all the past remade soaps from any of the two major networks.
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Here's hoping that the networks produce more original drama, and take the risk of not using the tried-and-tested formula of storytelling since viewers want more than just the same old-same old. Lessen the remakes, improve the sitcoms and put an end to this ridiculous network war.
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