The show has a light, infectious vibe coursing through it. Ellen’s monologue that ends in a dance always manages to pick me up! Yeah! Shake that booty! The fact that her humor is self-deprecating and that she shows genuine love for her momma add so much to the charm of the show.

Now, if only the one doing the voice over for etc second avenue can get the pronunciation of “Degeneres” right.
——————–
Ellen is shown on etc 2nd avenue, Monday to Friday, 8pm.

Watching Greene, Carter, Benton, Corday, Luka, Abby, Chen, Malucci and even Weaver and Romano brings me back to the time when I was obssessed with the show. I remember they started showing the first season on newly-minted ABC 5 back in my last year of high school. The day after it showed, some of my friends and I would get together and talk about Peter, Doug, Mark and Carter like they were our friends.

er was fast-paced and packed yet with all the human emotion that makes for a satisfying hour of television. I don’t buy into the thinking that ensemble, procedural dramas like this show should not delve into the personal lives and loves of its characters. That look into their characters’ lives brings a lot of texture to the things that happen in the show.
———-
er is shown on etc 2nd avenue, Monday to Friday, 11pm. Channel 53 on SkyCable.

Sugo turns the concepts of good and evil on its head. The concept and its associated themes have a lot of intricate and complex layers. It’s not clearly deliniated white and black, good and evil.

The main story is a centuries long tribal war between the Karag-ayans and the Binhi-lans. According to lore, the Binhi-lan’s dark lord, Apo Abukay is in a state of inanimation and can only be awakened by the offering of a lass from their tribe – the Alay. Apo Abukay is the incarnation of all that is evil and bringing him back to life subjects the world to that kind of evil. The first born female of every generation is the designated Alay and she has to be killed upon reaching her 18th year to give life to Apo Abukay. The Alay’s blood burns up as soon as it is shed.

On the other side, the Karag-ayan’s have their chosen one – the Sugo. This is the first born male of every generation. His mission is to kill the Alay before she is offered to reanimate the dark lord. The Sugo is trained to use the “force” (Yes, they really call it pwersa), to fight at the ultimate level since the road to killing the Alay is full of danger. Monsters guard the body of Apo Abukay and the Binhi-lans go to all lengths to keep their offering safe. The Sugo’s blood also burns when shed.

In the current generation, the Karag-ayan’s Miguel is blind so his cousin Adan disputes Miguel’s ability to become the Sugo. This is one layer, jealousy and dethronements within the tribe. This theme is also explored with the power struggle between Samuel and Yayo Aguila’s character on the Binhi-lan’s side. Miguel is then dispatched to Father Francis, also a Karag-ayan, and the good padre becomes his teacher in the fighting ways.

The thing is, Miguel is actually a twin. His twin Amante falls in the hands of the Binhi-lans. (Don’t you just love this device of the twins being switched in melodramas?) Miguel doesn’t really take to heart his mission to kill while Amante is trained and learned to protect the Alay. Here we see the theme of the reluctant hero.

Turns out the Alay also gets switched. Rebecca is brought up to be the Alay but it turns out that the real Alay, Isabel got separated from her mother in an accident on board a ship. Isabel is brought up by her grandmother who thinks that she is her own granddaughter. She meets Miguel as a child and they strike a friendship. This friendship turns out to be true love. What they didn’t know was that theire love goes against what destiny has in store for them because of the blood that runs through their veins. Miguel is fated to kill Isabel to keep the peace and stop evil from spreading. Still following the story?

So what do we know at this point? From the story they have us believing that Miguel and the Karag-ayans are the “good” guys and that they are here to preserve the peace for mankind. Amante and the Binhi-lans on the other hand are “evil” as they groom the Alay for her destiny to bring back to life the source of all evil. Miguel, the supposed good twin is tasked to kill, while Amante the supposed bad twin is tasked to protect.

One of Father Francis’s lines go something like, “tungkulin nating mapanatili ang kaayusan sa mundo.” (”It’s our duty to maintain order in the world”) And how do they do that? By killing. Remember, they are supposed to be the good guys but their mission is to kill. How much more ironic can you get? To think that the Alay is actually someone innocent whose only fault is to be born to the tribe at the time that she came into the world.

Each tribe already carries the label of being “good” and “evil” yet if you take a look at the individuals that make up each group, you’ll still have characters that can go opposite of what they are perceived to be in the general order of things.

At times, the episodes get utterly fantastic which common sense tells you does not actually happen in the real world. But then, it is a telefantasya and they have the liberty to play around with astounding and supernatural feats. When you watch Sugo, keep an open mind and remember that this is not reality that they are portraying but rather a hyper reality that two tribes hold the forces of good and evil in their hands.

The effects are still cheesy showing that despite many good ideas, we are still a little behind when it comes to actually executing them. The story is so rich and leaves a lot of things that can still be explored. I have barely scratched the surface of the possibilities of the story with what I have narrated above. I can see endless fan fiction possibilities on the theme as it is a mythology that can be further explored.

The show is a mish-mash of several influences from Shaolin movies to the iconic “The Matrix.” The crux of the story is essentially Filipino but these styles distract from this. They could have used the structure as a vehicle to introduce more elements from indigenous cultures. For example, instead of the flying wire work, how about arnis or sikaran as a fighting style.

I would recommend Sugo as good escapist fare. It has a rich concept that can be further mined for wonderful ideas. Despite it’s limitations, it takes a step in the right direction in creating a modern Filipino myth.

Sugo airs on GMA 7, weekdays after Encantadia

There’s nothing wrong with shows that are themed depending on the season. It has been done for Christmas for as long as I can remember. What I couldn’t take is that so-called news and public affairs shows ride on the theme and I really can’t see how the stories that they feature relate to the supposed format and thrust of their shows.

From what I remember, what started this trend was Magandang Gabi Bayan or MGB, a show on ABS-CBN Channel 2. This used to be VP Noli De Castro’s show and is now anchored by his daughter Katherine with Henry Omaga Diaz and Erwin Tulfo. For many years, the show’s halloween episode is guaranteed water cooler fodder for the week ahead.

It seems that people keep on tuning in to see how they can be scared of the features on the show. From what I remember in the past years, they usually have features on white ladies, kapre, tikbalang, fairy folk, ghosts and the like. I didn’t catch this year’s episode of MGB save for the CBB so I wouldn’t be able to comment on how they did on the scare factor this year.

It’s not just MGB that put on the show this year. It’s competition Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho and Imbestigador on rival network GMA 7 also had features on death, supernatural events and the afterlife.

How does an episode on otherworldly creatures fit into the plan of a program that regularly features environmental advocacy, expose on government officials and employees and investigative reports on the hottest issues of the week? In my mind, it just does not connect. Such a special brings in the ratings so they do it every year.

For Kapuso… the theme worked since this program is more of a soft feature rather than a hard-hitting news/documentary/public affairs show. But tell me how many features on columbariums, coffins and funerals can one person take in a span of 24 hours? I saw similar features on Korina Sanchez’ show Sunday.

About Korina’s show, I caught parts of it along with several other members of our household. I stood up to get something from the other room when I heard something that didn’t sound right during her voice over on her feature on Biak-na-Bato. I had to ask the people with me if Korina just said “Katipunero noong panahon ng mga Hapon.” One of my aunts started laughing and said she heard the same thing but it didn’t really register.

For the uninitiated, the Katipunan was the revolutionary army headed by Andres Bonifacio during the Spanish times in the Philippines, which ended almost 50 years before the Japanese took over the country. If Korina did say Hapon (Japanese), she and her staff better review their history lessons.

Later in the show on another segment talking about cremation and columbariums, her spiel went “sa pagsusunog ng mga abo…” (burning the ashes) during cremation. Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t it that what you burn is the corpse and that the ashes are a result of the burning process? Just making sure that I got my facts right.

I may just be nitpicking but mistakes like this can build up and give her viewers wrong facts. The purpose of the show was to educate and inform which you can’t do without getting your facts straight. A lot of people tend to believe it when they see it on television.

Shows:

Magandang Gabi Bayan, ABS-CBN Channel 2, Saturdays after TV Patrol Weekend
Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho, GMA Channel 7, Saturdays after Pinoy Pop Superstar
Imbestigador, GMA Channel 7, Saturdays after Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho

By now, you’ve probably heard that this is a Wonder Years type of show but with a pre-teen Chris in 1982 Brooklyn. Rock does the Kevin Arnold bit, narrating the show. Instead of the turbulent ’60s, Chris goes to Junior High in an Italian neighborhood where he is the only black kid. He has to deal being the eldest of three children, a younger brother who’s taller than him and the yougest girl who’s determined to get him into trouble. They have a mom who has a lot of words for whoopin’ ass (”I will slap your name out of the phone book and call Ma Bell to tell her I did it.”) and a dad who knows exactly how much is wasted on everything. (”That’s 49 cents worth of spilt milk drippin’ all over my table. Somebody’s gonna drink this milk.”)

The cast is great and props to whoever is responsible for casting Tyler James Williams in the lead plus Terry Crews (The Longest Yard) and Tichina Arnold (Big Momma’s House) as the parents.

For the premiere, the use of Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney’s Ebony and Ivory during the fight scene had me laughing out loud! Can’t wait for the next episodes! No wonder this is trouncing NBC’s flagging Joey.

Everybody hates Chris airs on UPN, Thursdays 8pm et/pt.

I have to admit that I was very fascinated by this show. Although I was not able to watch each and every show because of my schedule, I try to keep abreast of what was happening every week. I follow the rockstar blogs on MSN Spaces and make sure that I at least get to see a little bit of each week.

As always, Filipino pride had me rooting for MiG Ayesa. Not that I was blind to the talents of the others. In fact during the course of the competition, I honestly thought that he would be in the bottom three or be eliminated. I wasn’t so confident of his first performance of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” However, his supporters from around the world made sure that he would only taste being in the bottom three in the last round of eliminations prior to the finale. He seems to fall victim to poor song choices. I felt disappointed that he chose “Bohemian Rhapsody” for his performance. It signals that he’s still stuck in his We Will Rock You persona which INXS have been questioning him about. He should have shown the same growing up that the other two finalists have shown.

When Marty Casey and JD Fortune debuted “Trees” and “Pretty Vegas,” I pretty much resigned myself that they will be the final 2. Both rockers showed how much they have matured and changed while the competition was ongoing. Both gave manic intial perfomances that turned me off but they progressed as intense singers with very good musical sense.

Marty’s major strength is his strong musical talent and his ability to work with the rockers. I have to echo Dave Navarro’s comment that his song, “Trees” is something that I can imagine listening to on the radio right now. He is an intense performer and it was good that he was really able to channel that intensity when he sings, allowing him to really connect with the audience.

JD was nearly eliminated first and there was tension between him and the rest of the group down the line. Many were expecting his elimination particularly when he did not practice the new INXS song they all did a recording of. He seemed to be so immature and impetuous that I so wanted him out of the competition. When he finally got his act together, he seemed to be an unstoppable performer scoring high praises for the last weeks of the competition. JD has the charisma and the appeal to get younger fans for INXS.

I’m looking forward to seeing both Marty, MiG and the other rockers (My other favorites were Ty and Suzie, self-proclaimed “Queen of the Bottom Three”) in their future projects. I’m pretty sure that with their exposure on the show, they have their own following and a chance to be big in the industry.

They are talking of having a second season of Rockstar and Mark Burnett has been quoted as looking for another band to feature. I have mixed feelings about this since what made this work out great was INXS themselves. They provided very positive feedback with the intent of making the rockers better singers and performers. They were building stars and relishing cutting people down to pieces — unlike some other shows and their wannabees.

It goes without saying that Kristen Bell as the title character carries the show with aplomb. Thorugh all the things that she has gone through and has done on the show, you cannot help but share in her emotions. She embodies the character so much that you feel attached to what is happening and what will happen next.

I love the fact that they do not characterize Veronica as an uber-good character. Her best friend Lily Kane, whose murder is the sustaining mystery of the premiere season, is a beeyotch, one you would not consider to be a role model for teens her age. They are unapologetic in dealing with topics such as rape, adultery and such with such panache that it does not appear to be vulgar and gauche. Just part of good storytelling.

Enrico Colantoni first came into attention as Elliot on Just Shoot Me. Frankly, I never bought his act on that show. In VM, I was a little skeptical about his being cast as Keith Mars, Veronica’s father and a private investigator to boot. However, after seeing the show, I couldn’t imagine anyone else being Keith Mars. The chemistry between him and Kristen is perfectly seen on screen that you just know that they have a wonderful working relationship.

The characters around the father-daughter show how the whole is so much more the sum of its parts. The characters of Logan, Weevil and Duncan are given a lot of development that works to make the stories richer and compelling. For me, just one episode was enough to make me hooked for the rest of the season.

As someone who still dreams of producing/writing a television show, I appreciate how much thoughtful planning goes into the production of this show. Pay attention to everything and there is just enough foreshadowing to tell you what will happen next. But despite all that, the direction it takes still manages to take your breath away during the reveal.

Despite pulling in modest ratings during it’s first season run, fans have been hooked to the series with niche industry people attaching their names to the show. For the second season, Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) and Kevin Smith (Dogma, Chasing Amy, Mallrats) are both slated to appear as guests. Kevin Smith has this to say about VM in his blog:

This is, hands-down, the best show on television right now, and proof that TV can be far better than cinema. The cast is pretty uniformly excellent, and the dialogue crackles. Excellent characterization – even with the day-players – makes it the most engaging new show I’ve seen since “Degrassi: The Next Generation”, but the heart and soul of the show is the relationship between Father and Daughter, Keith and Veronica Mars.

The fact that Kristen Bell and Enrico Colantoni (“Those poor people…” from the severely underrated “Galaxy Quest”) weren’t Emmy nominated proves how fucking out of touch and useless the Emmy Awards are to begin with. The tender and witty repartee between these two wonderful actors makes you want to be a better parent. And a big shout-out to Jason Dohring’s Logan Echolls – a masterfully designed and performed nemesis whose twists and turns are always credible.

All said, I’m at the edge of my seat waiting for the second season to start.

(Season 2 begins on September 28. Shown on Wednesdays, 9:00-10:00 PM on UPN. For the Philippines, VM airs on cable channel etc, Wednesdays at 8:00-9:00 PM)