Well, it's Halloween and I guess I decided to write an article I wanted to write years ago. I just finished watching Zombie Detective on Netflix. Meanwhile, I was remembering some of the supernatural K-Drama series that ABiaS-CBN aired such as Forbidden Love, Gu Family Book, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, and Black (on the Kapamilya Channel).
I haven't watched these series in full though I could remember this dumb comment from Get Real Philippines some time ago from a certain Bongsky ahem Bobosky...
I still laugh reading at this comment (and I'm laughing at how Benign0 of Get Real Philippines still keeps feeding the trolls) with the guy's taste. I'm still laughing at how this Bobosky thinks that La Luna Sangre is a much better show than Twilight or Vampire Diaries. Now, to really talk about how ABiaS-CBN has NO EXCUSE to do what they did with the Moonstone Trilogy because they aired some K-Drama along the way. Are they just simply airing K-Dramas to keep themselves alive? I really wonder why they haven't decided to even change most of the teleserye formulas?
A good example is Forbidden Love vs. Lobo for a start
I think the best comparison would be Lobo and Forbidden Love. Forbidden Love was aired in South Korea in 2004 and 2006 in the Philippines. That would be some time before ABiaS-CBN (the same station that aired it) would create Lobo which aired a total of 118 episodes. Forbidden Love only aired for 16 episodes with a definite beginning and an end. I wouldn't talk too much ideas copied from Forbidden Love since K-Dramas aren't so original either. Forbidden Love obviously copies from Western sources and Anime such as the Gumiho. The problem isn't the lack of "completely original" ideas BUT the problem of the implementation.
Lobo spun and spun things around. Some Pinoy fans can argue that Lobo had a happy ending compared to Forbidden Love. Forbidden Love obviously would have a tragic ending based on the international distribution title. Noah and Lyka in Lobo ended together while Min Woo and Shi Yeon obviously didn't end together. Both Angel Locsin Colmenares-Arce and Kim Tae Hee are attractive females. I used to have a crush on Angel though I ended up secretly wanting to marry Tae Hee even more.
Both stories involved attractive "aswangs" falling for human men and genuinely loving them. I don't deny Angel has her training her martial arts otherwise she can't do Darna back when she was on GMA-7. However, Tae Hee has had more graceful fight scenes to which her good looks are but a bonus. It seemed that Lobo was trying to capitalize on Angel's good looks more than Forbidden Love did with Tae Hee. Forbidden Love focused on trying to get the star-crossed romance to where it was intended - a forbidden love. Lobo just spun things around to much for the sake on fanboys and fangirls of Piolo and Angel.
Remembering ABiaS-CBN's The Haunted which showed the network could change the formula IF they wanted to
I remembered trying to give ABiaS-CBN's The Haunted which only showed DURING THE WEEKENDS from December 8, 2019, to February 8, 2020. I was able to finish this MERCIFULLY SHORT teleserye which only lasted for 10 episodes. I was able to watch it on Youtube (proving ABiaS-CBN is far from shut down in spite of its loss of franchise). Okay, it's kinda stupid (really) that I decided to watch it for Shaina Garcia Magdayao even if I think that her role as Roxanne in Ang Probinsyano to be laughable.
Watching it for 10 episodes had me engaged. It shows that ABiaS-CBN has the ability to produce world-class shows. However, most of the time, they simply choose to stick to the same formula even after they've made hideous localized versions of foreign drama by adding too many fillers. The show had not too many fillers. I finished it and said, "Seriously, why hasn't ABias-CBN really changed its formula when it could?" It's not because ABiaS-CBN had no ability but they simply choose NOT TO DO SO. A good example is how Ang Probinsyano is already becoming the most pointless teleserye. It should've ended YEARS AGO. Instead, it goes on and on and I wonder if Coconuts Martin will ever grow old with the same project over and over again.
This series could be a good start to change the formula. Introduce other stuff to replace the teleseryes aired. Be creative. ABiaS-CBN losing its franchise means it's now forced to compete in the digital world even harder. Can its shows really, truly, survive on digital platforms like Netflix? That's what they need to ask themselves ever since the loss of the franchise.
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