On the Verge of Lunacy

Alden Richards (left) and Maine "Yaya Dub" Mendoza (right) in their first proper onscreen date in Eat Bulaga! In the Philippine noontime show Eat Bulaga 's segment Juan for All, All for Juan a supercouple was born. AlDub is a portmanteau of the names Alden and Yaya Dub played by Alden himself and Maine Mendoza, respectively. For those not familiar with Filipino television shows, Eat Bulaga! is a noontime variety show that has been running for 36 years as of this writing. It features contests, comedy segments, and various entertainment portions. One such segment is Juan for All, All for Juan . Before their accidental pairing became an overnight sensation, Richards has been an actor since 2010 (I wrote a review in my blog of Ilustrado where he played the lead role). He was invited to become a host in the noontime show. Mendoza on the other hand became an Internet celebrity through her Dubsmash videos where she lip syncs audio clips, thus her nickname Dubsmash ...

The life of Filipino hero Jose Rizal may be well documented and studied at most schools and several adaptations have been made as well, but most of these material failed to show Rizal as a person almost everyone can relate to. Because he is the national hero, most people put him on a different level and view him with awe and wonder but usually without the camaraderie and compassion we reserve for those we think are so like ourselves. In this 20-episode historical drama, Pepe is more human than any other movie or documentary which talked about his life. Although he was gifted with extraordinary skills, had a slightly better status than most of his fellowmen, and an understanding of things which put his ideas ahead of his time, he was also once a boy, an overseas student and a worker who struggled with homesickness and poverty, and a young man who fell in love. Jose Rizal during his execution; played by Alden Richards GMA Network already proved it can deliver when it ...

Set in the Philippine Revolution, this eight-part series shows the rise and fall of Katipunan's founder and  the father of the revolution, Andres Bonifacio. Katipunan follows two main story lines. A young woman's death opens a series of atrocities committed by a new cleric in a small town. Pacquing and Sebastian, Teresa's friends, want retribution for her death but they are powerless. They had to flee and along the way met Andres Bonifacio, who became a friend and mentor to the two young men. Andres Bonifacio When Jose Rizal was arrested and later exiled to Dapitan, Bonifacio and colleagues decided to organize the Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Katipunan). The recruitment process alone was tedious. Katipunan was hard-put in convincing some of the ilustrados to support them; some people also snubbed them thinking the revolution will never succeed. The Spanish colonizers are too powerful; while the Filipinos lack the arms ...

Ryusuke Tsukumo  used to be just a chick magnet until he had an accident. After his brain operation he became a different man. In order to understand more about himself he pursued neuroscience and became foremost in that specialty. He was offered a job at the National Research Institute of Police Science. His resourcefulness and analytic skills were put to the test as he goes head to head with the most baffling cases. This 8-episode series is a must-watch. I got hooked right away in the first episode. Tsukumo's brilliant skills in putting together puzzle pieces of a case that don't exactly fit at first glance is intriguing and fun to watch. Add to that his antics with co-worker Kazune Yuri and the police/investigators Hayashida and Tanbara he continuously annoys and helps in the investigations.   It's a good mix of comedy, mystery, and drama. There are plenty of funny scenes but the more emotional scenes were delivered expertly. Viewers can also...

Ken Iwase is the most miserable man in his best friend's wedding. Rei Yoshida is getting married to Tetsuya Tada, their former student teacher, and Ken cannot do anything about it. For years he has always loved his best friend but never got the chance to tell her his feelings. As Ken watches the newlyweds he is filled with regret for all the missed opportunities and misunderstandings with Rei over the years. During the slide show  in the wedding reception, he became even more despondent. Looking at the pictures reminded him of his happy days with Rei. Luckily for him, a fairy or yosei noticed his despair and offered help. From left: Eri, Mikio, Rei, Ken, and Tsurumi Ken was given several chances to travel back in time to change the events leading to each picture on the slide show. As the story progressed and more pictures were shown, Ken realized that he had wasted so much time and so many opportunities all the while thinking he was secured that Rei would be b...

Xiao Zhuang (JJ Lin) discovers that even "his good looks" is not enough to win the school beauty Xu Xin Ting's heart. What's more Xu Xin Ting or Cindy told him he's ugly. For years he believed that he's handsome because everyone tells him that he is. More than just comedy, this series shows that there's more to romance than dating a good-looking person and sharing happy times. Xiao Zhuang discovers more things about Cindy other than her pleasant face. The friendship and the memories they created together strengthened their relationship. Through Cindy's tears and sorrow, Xiao Zhuang later realized that making her happy is enough and that to keep chasing her would be futile. He learned that he can never replace Dr. Duan Zhao Wei, Cindy's deceased sister's boyfriend, in her heart. Although it wasn't fully explored in the series, the viewer might question Cindy's feelings for Dr. Duan. Was feeling guilty over her sister's death b...

This epic of a binukot (princess) turned babaylan (priestess) and bagani (warrior) made history as it showcased Southern Filipino culture in a primetime TV series. I was particularly impressed with the use of straight Filipino in the dialogues, the beautiful costumes and the fight scenes. A great deal of research and preparation were made for this. The main character Amaya can be likened to most epic heroes. She had an unusual birth (had a twin snake) and had to face many challenges as she journeyed to fulfilled her destiny (tagna) to kill the then-reigning Rajah (king) Mangubat. Add to that the constant trials set by her father's wife, Dian Lamitan. But despite the oppositions she was still able to find allies, human and divine. The main antagonist Lamitan was impressive too. Smart and cunning, she was able to manipulate people around her including her relatives to get where she wants. Essentially, she and Amaya were the same. Both women sought to change the prevalent be...

While trying to arrange my our meagre collection of TV series, I came across one that was very special to me. My sisters watched it again and even after so many years it still has the same effect on me. Call me jologs or whatever but I love Meteor Garden ( Liúxīng Huāyuán), and I mean it in every sense of the word. There is not other Asian series, or even non-Asian for that matter, has had the same influence on me. Koreans remade it but the cast look so ugly. Even the Japanese tried to make their live-action version but it was still not as kilig as the Taiwanese series. I have to congratulate Yokio Kamio for coming up with the manga, Hana Yori Dango. I remember the first time I watched it on free TV. I was in my last year in high school when I saw the middle part of the series. Live-action Asian TV series at that time weren't as popular as they are now. I have to mention 'live-action' because anime used to be popular during primetime. I usually go home early. Curiosity dr...