MANILA, Philippines--Some young stars have been given attention-calling roles in TV-film productions, with various degrees of success. On the bright side, ?Katorse?s? new star, Erich Gonzales, takes full advantage of her starmaking role. She succeeds because she looks young enough for the part, and comes up with a focused and felt performance?unlike the series? young male leads, who tend to play types instead of living and breathing people.

Less than great, too, is the performance of another new star, Carla Abellana, in ?Rosalinda.? She also needs to learn how to play a person, rather than a ?sweet? type.

Twists and turns

On ?Tayong Dalawa,? female lead, Kim Chiu, is obviously too young to do full justice to her character?s many emotional and psychological twists and turns. She also needs to work on her speaking voice, which lacks substance, color and texture.

On the new teleserye, ?Stairway to Heaven,? Rhian Ramos is being given her big break as female lead, with no less than Dingdong Dantes for her screen partner. The show?s early episodes play their romantic card to the hilt, but the romance is so lushly roseate that the show ends up on sugar rush overdrive.

As for Rhian, she?s lovely to look at, but plays her character rather predictably and perfunctorily, and has yet to make it truly her own.

On the foreign TV-film front, ?Management? casts Jennifer Aniston opposite the lesser-known comic, Steve Zhan. Happily, Zahn is able to match his leading lady?s verve and ability to delight and entertain.

On ?Year One,? the relative newcomer is Michael Cera, and he too is able to keep up with the much more experienced comedy star, Jack Black.

On the new sitcom, ?Notes from the Underbelly,? many new stars are introduced, and the good news is that all of them score heavily and well. In fact, viewers should watch the show for its cast?s ensemble work, rather than for the individual comedians? performances.

Other side

On the other side of the performing coin, we?re glad that some ?older? stars are being given a second chance to click with viewers. In particular, we?re happy that Assunta de Rossi is facing the cameras again on the new teleserye, ?Lovers in Paris.?

We?ve always felt that Assunta dropped out of the performing scene much too early, because she still has a lot to contribute by way of her focused and insightful portrayals. So, we hope she does well in her new series, even if the character she plays isn?t its central focus, and we trust that more roles are in the offing for her this TV-film season.