MANILA, Philippines ?Many old Pinoy movies have lately been adapted for the small screen, turned into contemporary versions of the classics and stretched to fit a few weeks? worth of episodes.

Some of the movies adapted for a TV series are ?Patayin Mo sa Sindak? si Barbara, a 1974 classic which starred Susan Roces, ?Maligno? and ?Panday?, which featured the late Action King Fernando Poe Jr.

Joining the roster is Marilou Diaz-Abaya's1981 film "Boystown" as ABS-CBN adapts the film for its Sunday afternoon show Your Song Presents, with a more up to date take on how it's like to be teenage boys.

Patterned after the silver screen oldie which starred some of the generation's top-billed young actors like Gabby Conception, William Martinez, Snooky Serna, and Maricel Soriano, the Boystown TV show features the network's Gigger Boys who became known for their dance moves in ASAP.

The group is very excited for their first drama series together.
"Pinaghandaan talaga namin itong Your Song Present. Gusto rin kasi naming ipakita na 'di lang kami pang-sayaw," shared Enchong Dee who plays Arnel, the "kuya" of the boys from Cottage #5 in Boystown while Sam Conception plays Bobet, a kid who patiently waits for his mother to come back for him.

Aaron Villaflor plays Raul, the newest addition to the Boystown family, while AJ Perez plays the role of Ricky who is the "good boy" in Boystown. Robi Domingo plays Arkin, the rich village kid while his best friends are portrayed by Dino Imperial as Chad and Chris Gutierrez as Brent.

The show's director, Lino Cayetano, admitted that the show has very few similarities with the original film since the TV adaptation aims to tackle a broader range of issues faced by teenage boys.

"Panibago na ring kwento dahil inakma namin sa panahon ngayon at sa mga kwentong nababagay sa Gigger boys so in a sense, similar dahil it is set in Boystown pero marami na ring elemento ang binago," Direk Lino explained.

The fact that Boystown in being adapted for TV also allowed the show to delve deeper into various issues, topics and element in the lives of different boys.

"Medyo maraming elements because it's for TV, maraming mas malalalim na elements kasi mas mahaba siya," Lino said.

Unlike the original film which only focused on two boys living in Boystown, a shelter for homeless or orphaned boys run by the Manila City government, and their love stories with their respective lady-loves, the show focuses more on friendship, Lino said.

The show also tries to compare the lives of well-off boys who live nearly perfect lives with those who are living in Boystown.

"Yung original film ni Direk Marilou is only about Boystown. Yung sa amin is also about the kabataan ngayon. It's also about ?yong mga village boys, may group from boystown," Lino said.

"There's also elemento ng pamilya, parang everyday living under the family, whether na it's a traditional family na may parents tulad ng pamilya ng nasa village or ?yong structure ng pamilya na nabubuo sa loob ng Boystown," Lino said.

"We wanted to talk about nurturing, as in ?yong traditional na pagkakaroon ng magulang, ano ba talaga yung importante sa atin? Blood relation or someone who takes care of you?" he said.

The series also aims to break the misconception that boys living in Boystown are all troubled kids who got involved in drugs or violence at a young age, and the stars playing the lead roles seem to have a clear understanding of that.

"We want to break ?yong conception na mga taga-boystown mga rowdy,? Robi said. ?They are no different from who we are."

"We have a misconception about boystown, feeling natin parang kulungan ng mga batang may problema, mga bad people, pero hindi talaga and it's more of a, parang pamilya siya, orphanage or family where these kids can get guidance," Enchong said.

The pilot episode of Your Song Present Boystown is set to air May 10 after ASAP '09 on ABS-CBN.