Indulgence

a slave to television

Cervantes
Can we ever have too much of a good thing?

One of the reasons why I don't watch television is because if I get hooked on it, that's it. I treat it like a religion. I try my best to never miss it and I seriously follow it.

I remember back in the day when Ally McBeal first came out in Channel 9, before it started showing on cable. I was in college then. It aired at 8pm on Tuesdays. The first season of Ally McBeal was so quirky, off-beat and surreal. I loved it. At the same time, Ally McBeal's problems regarding life and love were dealt with in a way that I understand, in a way that I could relate to. I was hooked.

I remember, every Tuesday, I had to leave La Salle Taft by 6pm to make it home by 8pm. There will be no meeting I would attend and no one was to stop me from making it to my home by Ally McBeal, otherwise I would be really, really cranky and unhelpful. At the time, cell phones weren't even text-capable so it was still pagers. No one was allowed to page me or call me until after Ally McBeal. They wouldn't be entertained.

I was that dead serious in catching every episode.

Later on, I added Buffy the Vampire Slayer to my list. I was so involved in all the pop culture references and the witty dialogue. I have always been a fan of anything related to vampires and though the vampires were sort of weak and lame in Buffy, the world of Darkness that was presented was exciting, energetic and new. And Joss Whedon was a terrific writer with incredible ideas. And yes, the witty banter and Sarah Michelle Gellar were also reasons for my continued viewing.

Afterwards, my interest in television began to wane. I started reading more and more (because of my course which was Literature) and since my instructors and professors were insisting deeply moving and thought-provoking books, I required more intellectually stimulating things from all around me. I got more attracted to movies and what I saw on television no longer engaged me as I grew older. Buffy got better and better but my aunt from the States would send us the taped episodes of the season they just finished in America, one season advanced from what they were showing on any local cable network. There was no need to catch it on television. Then as the seasons progressed, Ally McBeal just started going out of control. What was off-beat and quirky became sordid and unbecoming.

Then of course, Survivor came in and again, I was hooked to something and then Amazing Race. I love those 2 reality shows. Those shows were full of heart, excitement and drama. I was hooked; completely hooked. Other than those 2 shows, I had completely stopped watching television. And when they first came out, it was first released in AXN which had so many replays during the week, I could follow it at my schedule.

I can add a little foot note on how hooked I was on 6 Feet Under as well, I followed every episode of the first season religiously. I found the show to be clever and deep, funny and moving all at the same time. The characters were universal and the themes of life and death were absolutely riveting. Again, during 6 Feet Under no one was to disturb me. I refused contact with the outside world for an hour. Then I missed the final episode of the first season and I never could get back on. It was unbelievable. I had work and had to go out of town for the finale episode and after all that faithful following of the show, I didn't know how it ended. Watching the 2nd season without knowing how the first ended seemed pointless so I never jumped back ship.

When I moved out, seeing as I didn't have much shows to follow, it was never that important to me to get my own television. So, I stopped following Survivor and Amazing Race and can safely say I haven't been watching television for the better part of 2 years. I haven't been watching television for 6 years if you include the exception of Survivor and Amazing Race.

I've been a free man from the boob tube, finding all my intellectual stimulation and entertainment through books, movies and the company of friends.

How ironic considering that for 2 years now, I've been working in the industry I do not patronize. Ha Ha Ha

Now, based on the publicity pictures I get to see due to where I work, my interest has been piqued in regards to GMA 7's latest fantasy soap opera Engkantadia. Aside from fantastic production design, I'm very much interested with their stellar cast.

Iza Calzado is gorgeous and a very good actress. I also personally like her because I find her to be very genuine in an industry where people are not expected to be. We've only been introduced once before but I met her again because of work and though I did not mention that we did meet before (in efforts to not be a burden of her being a celebrity) she recognized me and said hi and made conversation. I was impressed by that. I've been writing for Young Star Magazine for 2 and a half years and have met tons of celebritities but none have ever remembered the writer who interviewed them and wrote about them ever (with an exception of one or two). I didn't even interview Iza and yet she remembered me and was genuinely interested in making conversation with me. She made me feel special and for her to spend time and effort on that is something I will always appreciate her for.

I do not know of Sunshine Dizon's work before I saw her in her digital film Nginig, Yanig, Pintig which was the graduation exercise for the GMA Artist Center Acting Workshop participants but her performance in the movie was amazing. Of all the people in the movie the people that impressed me most were Chynna Ortaleza and Sunshine Dizon. She is exceptional and she looks fierce.

I was supposed to interview Alfred Vargas for Young Star but due to some complications, the interview did not push through but the few words we did exchange showed a passionate and intelligent young man with a lot of promise. He is definitely sexy and the few roles and guestings I have seen him in has proven to me that he is someone to watch out for. He seems like a hard-worker and whenever I come across an article about him in the newspaper or magazine, he answers intelligently and with depth.

I met Karylle during a shoot I did for FanaTXT, a show that we sometimes handle aside from TXTube and she is very accommodating, humble and I know her to be hard-working. She's a good singer and she is beautiful, but not conventionally. I am yet to see her prove herself as an actress but with a little work, she will be a star.

I could go on and on but all my expectations would only be satisfied by watching the show. I've seen the first three episodes of Engkantadia and the show is truly magickal. Oh my God! I was so proud to be a Filipino and so proud to be a part of GMA 7. The effects were more than anything any Filipino film or tv show has ever done and was impressive. The story is engaging and thrilling. I will not deny that there are many elements taken from other fantasy, epic tales that have come before but it does not take away from the magick of Engkantadia. You can see how the show was inspired. The show does not try to rip off, rather adapt and try to make it its own.

The production design is superb. There are four kingdoms in Engkantadia and what is wonderful about the design is that all the kingdoms are designed so differently. They really look like they are separate kingdoms with different cultures. The sets are wonderful and the lighting is fantastic because of it. The colours are rich and the camera shots are so dynamic.

The music is superb. I love the work of Bayang Barrios and her original score for this is heart-pumping, energetic and definitely well thought-out.

There are still moments of dramatic dialogue, but I cannot deny that despite being a fantasy series, it is still a soap opera. Those moments are needed to drag all audiences in.

And I was not at all disappointed by the actors. Karylle is very promising while Sunshine and Iza do wonders for their characters. Dawn Zulueta is amazing and she looks marvellous in every shot. Pen Medina gives us a villain that you will be scared of and adds more credibility to an already promising if not powerful cast.

I hope the show continues to develop and grow because after the first episode, I was already hooked and proud to be a part of a network that can put something like that together.

Well, it looks like I am once again a slave to the boob tube, 5 days a week on primetime...

posted by wanggo @ 3:24 AM