Filipino TV Shows: What is Happening!?

 Let me just ask you a simple question, what do you remember or what do you imagine when you see this picture below? 

Victor Magtanggol from librengnood.com

How about the picture below? Do you have any opinions about it?  

Ang Probinsyano from wikipedia.com

These pictures are the TV shows "Victor Magtanggol" (the first picture) from the TV network GMA and "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano" from the TV network ABS-CBN (the second picture). Both shows are aired on Philippine television and on the span of different timelines, both series received moderate criticisms from Filipino viewers and fans of the aforementioned TV networks. Why moderate criticisms, you may ask? Well, there are many reasons why people have a slight disdain for these shows, and in this blog post, although I admit I am a bit late, we will go back to those criticisms and I will also try to give my opinion about them. I know that I don't watch TV now more often, but in recent months, I have watched a glimpse of these shows. So, if you are ready, let's do this right now.

Victor Magtanggol: The Misadventures of Hammerman 

Victor Magtanggol title card from victor-magtanggol.wikia.com

Over the past couple of months, Victor Magtanggol (we will call it VM from here on) has been the target of many memes on social media and also Filipino YouTube commentary channels (Nico David, PaoLUL, etc.). The memes and the YouTube videos, share one common criticism about the show, the CGI was really, really bad. What's funny is, the show was reported to have a big budget! (Watch here for the news report, yes, this happened). But that's not only the reason why the show was criticized. According to netizens, it is apparent that it also had a similarity (but not entirely, VM had its own storyline) from the movie series Thor. Sadly, VM ended its stint on November 16, 2018, which also received mixed reactions from different people.

The viral 'fan-made poster' that copied the Thor poster from balita.net.ph 

So, what is my opinion about this? To be honest, I kind of agree with the really bad CGI. I mean, you can really see how bad it was. I think one of the main reasons that the CGI was bashed and criticized is because of the statement that they (the creators of the show) made before airing VM. According to them, VM has a big budget and will have visual effects that are 'Hollywood' level. The issue here is just expectation vs. reality, they hyped up the show too much, resulting in many shattered expectations. I also think that because of VM's timeslot (1 episode per day, 5 days a week), the visual artists of the show did not have much time to polish everything up. They are always rushed into making CGI over the past months and that did not help the show at all.

I know it's really easy to make fun of VM, but we must try to appreciate the creators and the visual effects artist's efforts in making the show. We cannot compare our CGI with Hollywood yet, but we can always try, right? The right time will come where the Philippines will have a CGI-heavy show that we can now be truly proud of,  for now, let's just make VM a lesson that we can all learn from.  

FPJ's Ang Probinsyano: "We are now on our 500th year!" 

Ang Probinsyano poster from facebook.com

Ah yes, the infamous TV show 'Ang Probinsyano'. Filipino fans and television watchers labeled the show as the 'longest TV series' ever (sarcasm, I think?) because it has been on the airwaves for 4 years now. Like VM, Ang Probinsyano (we will call it AP from here on) also received various memes and criticisms from different social media platforms. One of which is the 'longest TV show ever' tagline. Netizens also made memes about the show's lead actor, Coco Martin (who plays the lead protagonist Cardo Dalisay), telling everyone that his character never dies in the show, and because of that, AP will continue on as long as he (Cardo Dalisay) lives. 

Another issue that AP faced is a bit more controversial than VM. The issue involves the Philippine National Police, or PNP, where they are withdrawing their support for AP because they believe that the show is painting a bad light to Philippine's police force (you can read more of this on this article). That concern was raised by the PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde himself! So, you know, it is really worry-some for the creators of the show. But don't worry anymore, because they have settled their differences now. Win-win, right? 

PNP chief Albayalde vs. Ang Probinsyano from news.mb.com.ph

Now let's move on with my opinion, what do I think with AP? To be honest, I don't find the show as bad as everyone tells it to be. The problem here is just repetition. Some people find the show boring now because the show almost seems to have the same plot every episode. I admit that I can't argue with that criticism, in today's modern world, people are always searching for more TV series and movies to watch, and if your show can't stand up with different competition, then your show will not be kept long enough for everyone to watch. BUT that's just my opinion because as you can see, AP experiences the opposite of what I just said. They are still going strong despite all the memes, criticisms, and controversies. So, can we just appreciate that, please?

That's it! If you have reached this part, then thank you for reading the entire post! I truly appreciate it! How about you? Do you have any opinions about these shows? What are your opinions on Philippine TV shows? Do you agree with anything that I have said?  Tell it all in the comments, we'll talk about it. See you in the next post! :D 

COMING SOON (PH TV Shows): 

Image from gmanetwork.com

Kara Mia (GMA)

Image from wikipedia.com

The General's Daughter (ABS-CBN)

Looks familiar, doesn't it?