Making It Fun in the Philippines

Surprise or not? I wrote an article discussing how Taskforce Firewall hasn't learned its lesson . Right now, to no surprise, I found out that Taskforce Firewall has introduced the EXTENDED ADULTERY PLOT. Yes, it turns out that Isa's husband Martin (Luis Hontiveros) has been having a secret affair with Leila (Cheska Fausto). In fact, it was in EPISODE 26 and it's now an ONGOING PLOT that Martin has been cheating behind Leila's back. Taskforce Firewall is SUPPOSED to be about cracking down CYBERCRIME. Instead, we have Isa who's husband is cheating on her as the current ongoing plot. It was already BAD ENOUGH that there's too many fillers during Isa's introduction. Now, we must face the adultery part of the series with unnecessary fillers. It's like reading through an infidelity report that describes the hours that happened during the day, or during the week, creating an absurdly long case that a lawyer might vomit reading it. A typical TV drama has time sk...

Personally, I don't watch TV anymore, compared to using the TV set to view YouTube videos or digital subscriptions. It's crazy, but ABS-CBN and GMA-7 still follow the TELESERYE AHEM TELEBASURA FORMULA. It's quite inexcusable because if you look at GMA-7's foreign programming schedule -- they certainly HAD a lot ot learn from. For example: The 2000s had GMA-7 air IRIS  and Love Story in Harvard (which actually HAD legal drama in it) for a start. GMA-7 competing with ABS-CBN meant it would air other K-Drama crime shows, like Innocent Defendant (a very grim frame-up drama), Yong Pal, Suspicious Partner, and One Ordinary Day later on in its K-Drama lineup.  In short, GMA-7 had a lot of TEMPLATES to follow from. GMA-7 could've actually started restructuring stuff. Taskforce Firewall's premise is interesting because the problem is COMMON in the Philippines. The pedophilic cybersex den where foreigners predate on preteen girls is a REALITY. However, we end up spending ...

It can be easy to condemn South Korean entertainment due to some crazy stuff that happened. It's not like as if the Filipino entertainment atmosphere is SO PURE EITHER! I watched this video of Liza Soberano in South Korea. Some say she resembles half-white, half-Korean actress Nancy McDonnie. I see the resemblance BUT I think she looks closer to Japanese actress Meisa Kuroki -- an actress I said, "Risa Hontivirus ikaw ba yan?"  It's easy to blame the actress over poor performance in teleseryes. However, there are times when OA is basically SCRIPTED OA. I had issues with the way Liza talked during her interview for Trese . Was Liza encouraged to talk in such a way? I found it irritating to the point I actually SKIPPED IT. However, I watched Liza's VLog Liza in Korea and found a much different Liza. It's like, "Risa esta Liza ikaw ba yan?"  It's nice to know that Liza's gone beyond those Legacy Virus Days . It was easy to bash ABiaS-CBN actors ...

The final two weeks are here and it's been a LONG trip. THE OG drama only had 28 episodes and doesn't try to overexaggerate. Sure, Shining Inheritance or  Brilliant Legacy was meant to be makjang. However, there are dimensions of the character of KDrama Charlie and KDrama Lanie (I'm just using the dub names here) in the OG. Charlie was just concerned about Jin Sung Foods' future if a total stranger should inherit it. Lanie may be a wicked stepmother but she has her standards. The Pinoy remake makes Charlie and Lanie a lot more monstrous than their KDrama counterparts.  I looked into the trailer and we get another scene NOT in the KDrama. Why has Teleserye Charlie suddenly become a crime drama villain? Why has Teleserye Lanie become more than the average Wicked Stepmother? KDrama Lanie wasn't all exactly too evil. The fraudulent sales up to the bombing is this -- was GMA-7 trying to fit Vincenzo into the mix or what? Michael Sager has an upcoming afternoon drama call...

I remember watching Power Rangers Megaforce for the females. I learned the hard way that a show with all form and little substance is a terrible, TERRIBLE SHOW. Shining Inheritance's KDrama version only had 28 episodes (each an hour long) and the Chinese remake had 38 episodes (each less than an hour long). The recent adaptation has already reached 78 episodes and it's STILL NOT OVER. It reminds me of why Buntis Faib Legacy was just plain awful with its pacing. The same goes for the weekday schedule of the Pinoy adaptation. I'm not going to deny that I find Kate Valdez prettier than Han Hyo Joo, Roxie Smith prettier than Moon Chae Won, and Michael Sager more handsome than Lee Seung Gi. However, the show has been spinning around the bush. Sure, some subplots were added like Inna's great-grandmother Rosario or why Joanna resents her paternal grandmother Aurea. However, we must look into the pacing and characterization problems. It really piles up one after the other! Is t...

I watched the Korean version of Shining Inheritance (or Brilliant Legacy ) on GMA-7 -- all before seeing the Korean original audio. I wasn't surprised at the turn of events that this drama is GOING ON and it's episode 60+. Like WUT? The original drama only had 28 episodes worth 1 hour and 10 minutes (at most) on Korean time. GMA-7 managed to air more episodes by cutting down screen time to suit the weekday schedule. I decided to check it out and my goodness -- I'd choose to rewatch American localizations of Japanese shows over the GARBAGE that GMA-7 created! That's why I titled it to Not-So-Shining Inheritance . Maybe, even call it Dull Inheritance . I'll talk more about the SCRIPT than the cast. I can't truly critique acting except based on my personal preferences. I can see Coney Reyes acting as a powerful head of a big-time company. I can see the twin siblings (although the original didn't write them as such) as obnoxious brats. Half-breed Michael Sager c...

I don't even know why I bothered watching that ABOMINATION called Voltes V Legacy -- which some joke is called Buntis Faib Legacy. I was surprised to hear that Japan would dub it. However, this detail from Orends Range made me LMAO to huge levels: The official Japanese Voltes V Legacy website announced that the series will finally make its Japanese TV premiere on TOKYO MX this November, but there's a catch. The series, which originally ran for 90 episodes in the Philippines, will have a special Japanese TV cut called "Ultra Electromagnetic Respect TV Version" in which the show's 90 episodes gets boldly re-edited into 20 episodes. Yes, you read it right. Buntis Faib Legacy isn't going to get all of its 90 episodes aired. Instead, Toei would be editing them to become JUST 20 episodes! The show has been slowed down to super painful levels . Watching the love triangle (or square, because Eva lusts after Steve) makes me raise Chojin Sentai Jetman's love polygon...

I normally don't write about teleseryes. Batang Quiapo has become another overextended mess like Ang Probinsyano . Currently, Batang Quiapo has 380+ episodes and it will reach 400 episodes. It might even reach 1,000+ episodes like Coconuts Martin's "hit show" Ang Probinsyano . Kim Domingo's addition to Batang Quiapo as Madonna made me think, "Okay, we're just getting random eye candy, aren't we?" Kim was part of GMA-7. Is she becoming a freelancer or is she going to be part of Kapamilya? I couldn't care less. I don't deny that I find Kim pretty. However, her addition to Batang Quiapo seems like random eye candy to me. It's because of  Batang Quiapo's  pacing. What can you expect when a show has a WEEKNIGHT SCHEDULE and it goes on and on? I can't expect people to have a well-defined plot if they're forced to keep writing without quality control!  Kim's addition reminds me of Shaina Magdayao's addition to Ang Probins...

Last year, I wrote about Shaina Garcia Magdayao going to the Busan International Film Festival. What I missed yesterday was that Shaina herself got chosen to be part of the New York Asia Film Festival at New York .  Filipina actress Shaina Magdayao represented the Philippines at the New York Asia Film Festival (NYAFF) as part of the Uncaged Competition with esteemed jury members. Joining her are Tony Bui (Vietnamese-US director, "Three Seasons"), Shao-yi Chen (Taiwan Screenworks Asia producer, Screenworks Asia), Felix Tsang (Hong Kong’s Golden Scene sales & acquisitions manager), Nonkul Chanon Santinatornkul (Thai star of box office hit "Bad Genius"), and Aliza Ma (Head of Programming, the Criterion Channel). NYAFF also announced that the recipient of this year’s Screen International Star Asia Award will be Nicholas Tse, a Hong Kong actor, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and TV chef. It's very easy to scream Penoy Prayd whenever a Filipino makes it big abro...

One time, Senator Unggoy Estrada nearly got into hot water for his dumb proposal (which he later recanted) namely banning K-Dramas . What teleseryes need is COMPETITION with other TV dramas - not more protectionism. Whether we want to admit it or not - local Philippine TV networks are KEPT ALIVE through badly dubbed imported TV dramas. A recent update is that Vagabond Seaosn 2 will film in the Philippines . I'm either surprised (or not). Suzy Bae has a couple of shows that made it big in the Philippines such as Uncontrollably Fond on GMA-7 and Dream High on ABiaS-CBN. Lee Seung Gi is remembered not just for a couple of K-Dramas such as Shining Inheritance and My Girlfriend is a Gumiho . Seung Gi is also remembered for being Gong Cha's endorser for some time. Many Filipinos probably still remember those shows. A possible cause of the delays was the Legacy Virus pandemic. I could imagine that Koreans were treated like the mutants in the X-Men: The Animated Series "Time Fugit...

During the pandemic, I wrote a blog entry about whether or not Filipino leftist lawmakers will pass a law obliging Filipinos to support lousy local media . Sure, pandemic life was boring but it didn't stop me from writing silly stuff. It was also because of the ABiaS-CBN issue which leftist lawmakers were defending. At that time, Sarah Jane Elgago was still more active as a representative for Kayabangan Partylist. Take note that leftist lawmakers were defending ABiaS-CBN the hardest!  A recent report from North Korea a few days ago made me LMAO and cringe. It's a report where North Korean teens were sentenced to 12 years hard labor by Emperor Kim Jong Un . Their offense? The video was in 2022 but the leak came out a few days ago: BBC reports that the video appeared to be filmed in 2022. The two teenagers can be seen being restrained with handcuffs in front of a large crowd of students at an open-air stadium. K-drama is short for ‘Korean drama’ which pertains to television serie...

  The Asia Artist Awards 2023 was held in the Philippines. I didn't want to write anything until I realized My Demon is currently Top 2 in Netflix Philippines. Sure, Yu Yu Hakusho is nostalgic among Filipinos. However, K-Dramas have been pretty strong in the Asian market thanks to strong market fundamentals. I just hope that Japan will stop being too exclusive and let more of its shows out. Last time, I remembered writing about Lucifer thinking that ABiaS-CBN entertainment is a match for foreign shows . Right now, there are some Pinoy Netflix originals going on and they can be good. However, I'm going to think about it if he's talking about ABiaS-CBN shows with the DEFAULT teleserye formula - he's got to be deluded! I end up thinking that he's having some kind of delusion from within.  I think Lucifer watches K-Drama thinking that he's seeing ABiaS-CBN celebrities instead of the actual celebrities. Right now, I imagine that Lucifer is watching My Demon thinking...

After breaking into some trolling with that idiot Benign0 (who should've learned from Australia to talk how Filipinos can improve) - I'm looking at this update. It's ABiaS-CBN joining the Busan International Film Festival 2023. It's because Lav Diaz has his film Essentials of the Lake which was in 2023. The film is most likely ABiaS-CBN being vindictive. Is Diaz trying to make the same move with the movie A Dangerous Life (and I bet he might end up directing A Dangerous Life 2 which might end up getting rated COMEDY ). There was a 2022 film called When the Waves Are Gone which had Shaina Garcia Magdayao's ex-boyfriend John Lloyd Cruz (resulting in those lockdown jokes again).  Yes, events are back again as the Legacy Virus has become endemic. Some people still advise to wear masks in enclosed spaces. Now, we have the star-studded cast which has various South Korean celebrities . There was participation also last October 10, 2022 , which is also Suzy Bae's birthd...

Before reading this review, be ready for some of my big biases. It's already known that I dislike Power Rangers  though I have a much bigger beef with Zaido: Pulis Pangkagagohan . I managed to watch every episode. It was planned to have 80 episodes but 10 more episodes were added. One can make the excuse that Mazinger Z had 92 episodes or Science Ninja Team Gatchaman had 104 episodes Those were the times when a show tried to maximize its popularity. Now, it's time for me to share what I felt went wrong with Buntis Faib Legacy . I did try to watch some of the episodes of Himitsu Sentai Goranger which was worth 84 episodes. The First Kamen Rider was worth 98 episodes. Still, I was looking at the problem with Buntis Faib Legacy has to be slowing things down to SUPER PAINFUL LEVELS OF SLOW .  Watching a TWO-WEEK FINALE NEVER MADE SENSE!  Eva Sanchez herself should've been arrested much earlier. How bad is the intelligence at Camp Big Falcon anyway? I was laughing at how the ...

Buntis Faib Legacy did get its overextension by 10 episodes huh? I'm not going to lie and say that it's UNNECESSARILY PAINFUL . Sure, the filming has FINALLY WRAPPED UP but the show hasn't. The recent episodes started to make me remember a certain dead man who kept blaming a certain someone. Emperor Zambojil in Buntis Faib Legacy turns out to be an EVEN BIGGER IDIOT than the original Anime counterpart. Yesterday's scene had members of the Boazanian nobility approaching Zambojil's court. Beside Zambojil is his mother Contessa (who seems to be an Expy of Honerva from Hyajakuu Golion except she's NO WITCH). Two members of the nobility started to question the Boazanian Pride propaganda. If they were indeed the greatest race in the Universe then why haven't they take over Earth. Zambojil's favorite excuse was to blame Zardoz. One of the nobles did address that Zambojil failed to send proper reinforcements. I would agree with that since sending General Oslak a...

I was watching more of Buntis Faib Legacy and I guess I'm learning something. I did think of how I tended to write super long fan fics (and be thankful I consider them OLD SHAMES now). I just wonder why GMA-7 is even allowing Suzette Doctolero and the Filipino production crew to get away with this? Now, it's time to see another real issue is Mark Gordon. Okay, I prefer to use the name Ippei Mine but when I discuss the abomination that's Buntis Faib Legacy - I'll be using the dub names! I remembered making comparisons of several Anime characters. Heck, I even thought Gatchaman was by Toei only to find out it was by Tatsunoko. The prototypes of Gai Yuki's character from Jetman are clearly based on Joe Asakura of Gatchaman and every Anime character. Ippei from Voltes V is no different. He's a Gai Yuki prototype. I did always think of Ippei and Megumi Oka as a couple. Eventually, the Super Robot Anime series by Toei soon got phased out in favor of Super Sentai . I ...

I guess Buntis Faib Legacy   is going to be my favorite thing to bash now. I did watch a few episodes of Zaido and I dropped it. With Buntis Faib Legacy - I'm watching it to BASH IT! I did eventually watch the remaining episodes of Power Rangers Megaforce . I hate to admit it but Megaforce might be way more watchable than Buntis Faib Legacy ! I did watch Power Rangers Beast Morphers from start to end and it's WAY MORE WATCHABLE than Buntis Faib Legacy . Now, I'd like to write a random bad joke for the heck of it! I'd like to compare General Oslak to Antonio Trillanes IV! There were a few episodes where Oslak made an appearance before he was sent to Terra Erthu. After that, the show simply muddled the issue of his horns . The Anime seemed to hint that Oslak had no horns but was given a promotion. There was no way the v-shaped insignia might be his horns unless it was v-shaped horns like an impala deer. Though, Voltes V episode 28 did hint that Emperor Zambojil was willin...

I guess I can't help but criticize Buntis Faib Legacy right? I've written some bad stories in the past (with a lot of OOC moments) and I can admit that I'm just a non-professional writer. Yes, I've deleted them because I have ZERO INTENTION to ever finish anything I believe needs to be junked. With GMA-7's announcement to air the murder-mystery mixed with fantasy drama Jirisan on GMA-7 (they did air some shows starring Jeon Ji Hyun after all) - I feel like writing this one. I finished watching Jirisan and I think I want to raise up the character of Eva Sanchez. Was Eva even a necessary character or what? For extra notes, I'm going to mention some Kamen Rider series since GMA-7 did air a few of them. There was Kamen Rider Faiz , Kamen Rider Kabuto , Kamen Rider OOO , and they're currently airing Kamen Rider Zero-One . Fortunately, they didn't air  Kamen Rider Drive voiced by the cast of Tsuperhero or that'd be incredibly disastrous! I was looking at E...