Just some observations about the local teleseryes and soaps featuring SECOND CHANCES and THE HALF SISTERS

Disclaimer:  These are just my observations as an ordinary televiewer.  Nobody paid me to say these things. 

I also updated this by removing some of the stuff I copy -pasted because they "sounded" weird. 😊

Random musings

Thank goodness, our stories have evolved from being baduy to becoming world class.  A lot of our stories have been retold or dubbed and showed in other countries, appreciated by hundreds of thousands of viewers or millions even.  They shoot on location, and the actors even have seminars and workshops so that they would be able to portray their roles as real as real could be.  You could say that we have gone a long, long way from being trapped in studio lots(hey, our studio lots are not like Universal Studios and the like), et cetera.  

Whenever I have the time or whenever I need some "noise" while I research or write something, I watch and/or just listen to the dear old telly.  

More often than not, I watch our local soaps or teleseryes(television drama series)/telenovelas.  

When I was super loyal to ABS-CBN soaps and teleseryes(we still watched other channels for other types of shows or programs then), I wondered why almost every soap or teleserye had to have a kidnapping scene or something to that effect, like it was expected by the viewer or whatever.  So I changed channels, but  I noticed that even if GMA 7 seemed to be have more family oriented TV series promoting good values et cetera, they turn out to be more psychologically damaging to the viewers and the cast.  They also have kidnappings and even more traumatic scenes.  Thank goodness Strawberry Lane had more kilig moments than those traumatic scenes compared to the one currently being shown, YAGIT (Bea Binene is a guest in Yagit).  Yes, there are probably psychologists around, but I think, even with all the good morals and lessons being taught, they are overpowered by all the evil things the kids have to suffer, most especially little Elisa/Eliza.  Ms.Gina Alajar is a great director, there's no doubt about that, but these things that are being shown in broad daylight are too much for a little girl to handle.  There's too much evil, and even if these things do happen in real life, they should not be given too much air time.  It should be balanced per episode.  Good thing Ms. Raquel Villavicencio is back as Eliza's lola(she really looks very young in person). It's somehow balanced and feels lighter, at the very least.  

The Cast of Strawberry Lane

(From left) Rita de Guzman, Kim Rodriguez, Bea

Binene, Joyce Ching, Joanna Marie Tan, (standing)

Kiko Estrada, Jake Vargas, and Jeric Gonzales

Source

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Hiram na Alaala's story is beautiful and the cast was well chosen, but I just found it unfair that because Otep came home as a physically and psychologically wounded military officer, and his trauma was magnified, they made him seem so evil.  Yes, these things really happen and...  I guess I am just biased because of my being a military brat.  Nasaan ang hustisiya, Jo Wa Pao?  

The more balanced afternoon series:

The cast of Ang Lihim ni Annasandra: Pancho Magno, Andrea Torres, Mikael Daez and Cris Villonco
(source)

Thanks to modern technology I was able to watch most of the episodes online.  Ang Lihim ni Annasandra is very balanced.  Even if there is evil, love is shown.  The antagonists are not pure evil.  They have struggles and their feelings of dejection were sort of justified, but what they did about their dejection and rejection was the sad part.

I did not expect it to end that way. It was bittersweet, but at least, it was sort of unpredictable. I would have wanted Annasandra to end up with Enrico because I thought Lorraine and William would just fix their relationship, but of course, I respect the decision of the writers and their creative consultant, Jun Lana.

I liked the fact that I learned about the awok and I was impressed with both the villainesses: Rochelle Pangilinan and Cris Villonco, who shed off her sweet image for this role.  This makes me so excited to see how she would portray Lavinia Arguelles in BITUING WALANG NINGNING:THE MUSICAL

SECOND CHANCES(recently ended) AND THE HALF SISTERS(Still being aired)

"Secondchancestitlecard" by Source (WP:NFCC#4). Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

We started being hooked with SECOND CHANCES in the evening, and THE HALF SISTERS in the afternoon earlier this year.  At first, it was only mom who was watching THE HALF SISTERS and she was half-wishing that Benjie would end up with Ysabel, but Ysabel lost her mind because of her obsession with Benjie.  I actually saw some of the earlier episodes, but only sporadically, but when Ysabel(gorgeous and super versatile Eula Valdes), entered the scene, I became hooked too(I watched the other episodes online).  Mom even let me write the director(Mark A Reyes V) to tell him that we were enjoying the show. 

Sigh.

THE HALF SISTERS

Barbie Forteza and Thea Tolentino

(source)

The series of twin sisters who are half sisters (hetero-paternal superfecundation)-

Created by Dode Cruz
Developed by Luningning Ribay
Written by
Gilda Olvidado
Jonathan Cruz
Christine Novicio
Jake Somera
Directed by
Mark A. Reyes V

Ms. Gina Alajar

When Mark A Reyes V told us(my mom, in actuality) to brace ourselves, I did not expect the gravity of the horror that we would experience.  

GMA 7 has good stories, but when they show violence, they show almost everything.  If the character has to be tortured, the audience gets tortured too.  I am not blaming Mark because I believe it's a GMA 7 trademark.  He is a very good director and he will be totally great one day, if he isn't yet.  I also believe he would be known worldwide soon because he really is talented.  

Going back to The Half Sisters, I was able to see Alfred(Ryan Eigenmann) hit Diana(Barbie Forteza) with steel knuckles and wondered if Diana could still get pregnant in the future.  There were many psychologically damaging scenes that happened to her character too, but I think, like what they did to the children in FOREST GUMP, they, Barbie F. in particular, were given pep talks etc.  I call Barbie Forteza the adjustable beauty.  She could look so innocent, and she could also look so sultry.  She is also a very good actress, and maybe that's why when her character was being tortured, we felt tortured too.

I also saw Ysabel hurt Benjie(Jomari Yllana).  Why oh why did such a kind soul need to be a mental case?  Why?  Because it's Rina's(Jean Garcia) story just because she's the mother of THE HALF SISTERS? Couldn't Rina just have another guy? Why did Ysabel have to lose her mind? Why?  Why did Benjie have to look so pathetic? Why?

I hope and pray that Ysabel would get well in the future.  Since the writer obviously wants Benjie to go back to Rina, I hope when Ysabel gets well, she would get her fair share, but please, don't give her a Doctor from a mental institution as her beau.  That's too predictable, don't you think?

In the case of SECOND CHANCES, it started off well, but I am sad for Rebecca(Camille's role). Did she have to be that evil?  I know about people with bipolar mood disorder and I know that some of them could also be violent at times, but it was too much.  It's a good thing they showed that she didn't drink her meds, that's why she became like that.  It would have been unfair to the other people with the same disorder if they did not establish that.  I know people with positive outlooks, and they just have extreme mood swings from sad to happy, happy to sad.  I even described myself as a self-proclaimed bipolar person(most of them inflict harm on themselves and not to others...but my reason was my mood swings, which I now attribute to my hormonal imbalance), so I was shocked on how Rebecca was depicted in the story.  I pity Billy, Rebecca's son.  How could he ever forgive his mother?  Did he have to undergo all those things?  I hope Joshen Bernardo was given pep talks too, at the very least.   It's hard not to be traumatized if you internalize your role so well.  I hope there was at the very least, a psychologist present.  Maybe there was at least one of them because I think they have people in that profession watching over workshops, but still... 

Until the end of the series we were trying to imagine what Rebecca's second chance could be.  True, Dustin still loves her, but...  

When we saw Laurice Guillen during the launch of the Voyage of the Balangay coffee table book, we even congratulated her because we believe people deserve to have second chances and even more. We did not know Rebecca's character was going to that extreme direction so we were not able to talk about it.  Besides, we really did not have a chance to have a long talk with her.  We were just happy to have some pictures taken because we admire her a lot.  

By the way, we like Rafael Rosell IV, but we were hoping that Lyra would end up with Bernard(Raymart Santiago).  It's a good thing that we also saw the chemistry between Lyra and Jerome.

Frencheska Farr needs to have a series with her as the main character.  After her role in EMIR, she has been getting sidekick category roles.  She deserves to be recognized.  

Even with all the traumatic and earth shaking experiences, both series are beautiful.  I just hope that the ending of THE HALF SISTERS won't be as dragging as the ending of SECOND CHANCES and I hope Ysabel, Ashley, Jackie and Alfred, won't need to be evil to the core.  I hope they would be given redeeming factors. Sigh.  I also hope Vanessa(Winwyn Marquez) would realize that her good friend is the more deserving one...she does not have to be clingy with Bradley(Andre Paras). My goodness.  She's a very beautiful woman and she has to...

Same goes with Ashley(Thea Tolentino, the equally talented and beautiful half sister of Diana, who in 3/4 of the series plays the evil twin) Ambo(Jak Roberto)loves her. Can't she see that????

Haist!

Still, that's just me.

All the best to THE HALF SISTERS cast and crew!

Right now, we are hooked again with ABS-CBN  evening telenovelas(Nathaniel, Pangako Sa 'Yo---nothing beats the original, but it's interesting too, and Bridges of Love) whenever we're home(or watch them via IWantv), but once in a while, we do check the other channels too, including GMA 7.