:KaBlooog!

Alam ko matalino at creative ang mga Pinoy, pero ano ba naman yang GMA, panay basura halos lahat ang ipinapalabas sa primetime TV (di lang masagap ng TV namin kaya di ko maokray sa ngayon ang ABS-CBN, sa susunod na lang hehe ;-P)? Okey yung mga documentaries at mga current event-themed na shows ng GMA, pero pano nila maijujustify ang Darna, Lupin, Captain Barbell, Asian Treasures, Super Twins, Mari Mar, Zaido, at kung anu-ano pang mga pinoproduce nila sa TV? Wala na ba tayong mga artista na marunong umarte at ang mga tulad nina Angel Locsin, Richard Gutierrez, Rhian Ramos, Katrina Halili, ang ipinipilit nilang ipalabas sa TV. I’m not a professional critic, but I do know (along with millions of Filipinos) good acting when I see one.

    Utang na loob sa mga TV producers, sana itigil nyo na yang pagbili ng foreign franchises. Balita ko nga, binili na daw ng GMA ang rights para sa Mexican telenovela ‘Rosalinda’ na pinagbidahan noon ni Thalia. Woe is Philippine television. Puro na lang rip-off ang napapanood natin. Buti kung okey yung istorya at acting, e bulok na bulok! Take the case of Captain Barbell, kitang-kita mula sa trailer na rip-off lang ng Smallville yung ginawa nila. Palagay ko nga roon, masyado silang nag-abala sa special effects at costumes na nakalimutan nilang kailangan pala ng MAAYOS NA KWENTO ng isang TV show. Kung wala silang mabayad para sa matinong story, e di lahat ng shows gawin na lang na laglagan-style ala Lagot Ka Isusumbong Kita.

   Yung Darna, okey sana yung konsepto na iserialize yung gawa ni Mars Ravelo. Pero sana naman (para na akong sirang plaka) maghanap sila ng artista na marunong umarte, pati na rin writer na makakagawa ng matinong script. Hindi lang basta yung bida nakatwo-piece, okey na. Para naman they can do justice sa mga nilikha ni Ravelo. Kahit kulang-kulang sa special effects, mapapalampas pa naman ito dahil alam nating huling-huli ang Pilipinas sa aspetong ito. Pero at least nakikita nating nag-iimprove kahit papaano.

   Kung magririp-off na lang sila ng mga istorya para sa drama, bakit kaya hindi yung mga critically-acclaimed na mga istorya. Sigurado akong hindi sila kukulangin dito. Basta matino lang ang script at utang na loob wag naman super-melodramatic at sana yung marurunong umarte na artista, sigurado akong bebenta pa rin ito. At least quality di ba? At malay natin pwede pa itong iexport ala Jumong at Jewel in the Palace.

   Halimbawa, yung Noli Me Tangere ni Jose Rizal, bakit hindi nila gawan ng TV series ito? Gastusan nila ng husto. Mga marurunong umarte lang ang kunin nila. Kung masyadong mahal ang talent fees, e di magpaaudition at gawing nationwide ang scope. At pwede bang huwag gawing StarStruck yung audition na yan. Siguro naman alam na natin sa ngayon ang mga kalidad ng mga nananalo dito. O kaya kumuha sila sa mga theater artists, or better yet yung audition nila parang pangtheater o yung judges nila e mga involved sa theater. Bitin kasi kung gawing pelikula yung Noli at El Filibusterismo kaya mas mainam na TV series na lang. O kaya movie series parang Band of Brothers ang dating.

   Yung mga novels ni F. Sionil Jose napakaganda ring iadapt yun. Yung Rosales saga (yung Po-on pa lang yung nababasa ko, but I loved it, and I promised myself to read the rest of the series once I’m done with my current reading list) ang ganda nun. From Spanish to Marcos era ang span nun, depende na sa kanila kung paano ang diskarte nila doon.

   Kung gagawa sila nito, sana gawin nilang export quality. Kahit sa Southeast  Asia muna, tapos East Asia. Para naman makaganti tayo sa Korea, Japan at Taiwan. Tapos pagnakapasok na tayo sa market nila, saka natin sila tambakan ng mga palabas nila Mark Herras, Rainier Castillo, Katrina Halili, Angel Locsin et al (catch my drift? hehe). Saka na sa Mexico kasi iginanti na naman tayo ni Manny Pacquiao kaya makakapaghintay pa yun.

   Seriously though, I think GMA should think about making quality shows. Sana wag puro ratings ang tingnan nila. Kasi naman kahit ano ipalabas nila siguradong mataas na ratings ang magrereflect kasi sila lang naman ng ABS-CBN talaga ang magkaribal. Anong channel pa ba ang tatapat sa kanila? ABC? PBA lang ang pambato nun e. RPN? Buhay pa pala yung channel na yun. Sana naman, please lang, utang na loob, pakiusap lang, sana matitinong  palabas naman ang gawin nyo.

   Yung ABS-CBN next time na lang pag may bago na kong TV

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Attack of the Romulan (liveblogging the Senate hearing)

I really don’t know what to make of our senators here. I guess I found them most of them irritatingly funny… which is really no fun at all.

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I decided to put my blogging in hiatus but today’s events made it hard to resist not writing anything down.

Just a while ago I heard someone on tv say something like "ang verdict na ito ay makakapekto sa taong bayan," or something to that effect (I can’t remember his exact words). I beg to disagree. Call me cynical or pessimistic or apathetic, but tomorrow, when all have been said and done about the trial, the poor will still be poor, the hungry will still be hungry, and (hopefully) we will still go back to work. Short of some freak miracle, I don’t expect our rollercoaster economy to change for the better anytime soon. So for those rooting for a guilty verdict, don’t expect something radically good to happen from an economic standpoint.

While some people say that a guilty verdict will give Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo some solid ground with regards to the legitimacy of her office, I do not think that is the case. Proving Estrada’s guilt will give justification to the Filipino people’s desire to remove a President who is not only corrupt, but is also ineffective in the performance of his mandate. Arroyo’s ascension to the presidency in 2001 was just a result of the Filipino people’s decision to assert that will, an action which was subsequently affirmed by the Supreme Court.

In effect, the Arroyo administration’s legitimacy issues will linger on until each and every one of the controversies it is facing is addressed, especially the cheating in the last 2004 elections. This victory is not of Arroyo, this is a victory for the Filipino people. So for political pundits painting this as a battle between Arroyo and Estrada, that is not true. This is the battle of the people against corruption and bad governance. And it is a battle that is yet to be won.

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