MANILA, Philippines - The first telecast of ?Dyesebel? last April 28 on GMA 7 was a decidedly mixed ?trick? or ?treat? viewing. On the plus side, the latest mermaid series? production values were commendable, and the variations added to the well-known plot were welcome.
On the other hand, we were thrown off by the initial telecast?s period element (the action was set around 1990), because some of the actors? clothes didn?t suit the time frame.
We also didn?t know why the relatively mature actress Jean Garcia was cast as Dyesebel?s mother. She looked too well along in years compared to Wendell Ramos, who was cast as her husband. Chanda Romero?s over-the-top performance as Wendell?s mother was also a turn-off.
We further noted that there were too many kontrabidas introduced as early as the first telecast. We know that the villains are there to make the ?good? characters? lives more dramatically difficult, but all those meanies so early in the storytelling ended up as overkill.
A visual highlight was a giant octopus? attack on a motorized banca, instigated by another mermaid kingdom inimical to Dyesebel?s underwater world.
The second telecast was highlighted by the birth of Dyesebel, the seaside village?s shock at discovering that she was a mermaid (like her mother), the baby?s being blamed for the disasters that hit the village, the death of her father, and her mother?s decision to surrender her baby to the deep, where she would hopefully have a better chance of living a happy life.
Slow development
The problem with this installment in the unfolding series was the slow development of some key scenes, like the sequence in which Dyesebel and her parents escaped from the villagers? wrath. The ?escape? was staged so slowly that it lost its required urgency and impact.
Another irritant involved the woman who shot Dyesebel?s father dead. She popped up out of the blue, shot him down, and was promptly forgotten. Nobody even bothered to grab the gun out of her hand, much less to accost her for what she?d done.
The new weeknight series? third telecast focused on baby Dyesebel?s development in her new home. Viewers were introduced to her surrogate mother, Banak (Lotlot de Leon) and the machinating queen who ruled over the underwater world.
Dyesebel grew into an adolescent and impulsively swam up to the humans? world. She approached a yacht and got entangled in its net, prompting a boy to jump into the water and help her escape. We surmised that this boy would soon grow up into Dingdong Dantes? character, and found the early presaging scene interesting.
Plus points
Other plus points included the visual splendor of Dyesebel?s underwater world. On the minus side, daily life in the deep appeared to be rather humdrum. Perhaps the show?s think tank can figure out ways to add to the underwater world?s interest and fascination value?without going the usual sex, violence, disaster and scheming villains routes, please?
The way the first three telecasts went, viewers should have gotten to see Marian Rivera as the grown-up Dyesebel before the week was over. We?ll continue watching the new show, so we can come up with a more comprehensive view of Philippine show biz?s umpteenth mermaid production, after these initial notes.
?Entourage? on HBO
Tomorrow, ?Entourage? returns to HBO Signature on SkyCable and 11 p.m. on HBO for its fourth season. The Emmy-winning hit comedy series takes a none-too-serious look at the day-to-day life of Vince Chase, one of Hollywood?s hottest young actors, and the three buddies he?s brought with him from their hometown in Queens, New York.
In the show?s latest season, the ?Medellin? project is finally underway. The boys approach the only director who can make the film on a shoestring budget, but will his antics and insecurities result in their movie being booed out of theaters? Stars include Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, , Kevin Connolly and Debi Mazar.
