Pinoy Political Telenovela

I made a silent promise never again to post something about my country's political scene but I couldnt resist the itch to blog something about it.

So here goes...

Intro
The political atmosphere has become something more like the serials(ex: local, latin and korean telenovelas) being aired in local TV channels.


Series, Seasons and Reruns
The whole show is about an entire country. Episodes are being aired everyday. The whole show has been formatted in such a way that an episode looks like an ordinary news program.

The whole political-telenovela series span across years and there are no definite season-enders. At times, some episodes are just remakes and modified reruns of previous episodes(ex: different characters but same plot).

The current plot is about the government's controversial involvement with a Chinese company that was contracted for the construction of a broadband network. The plot is actually just a subplot of the season's recurring oust-the-president theme.

Regarding "enders", no ones knows when the show would end or when it started, for that matter. The show has been airing for so long now. There are stories that the show has been in production even before video media became feasible. Some say the show is a continuation of a comic strip printed in newspapers. Some even say the main show's plot could be traced back to the time before the modern country got established. Can you imagine that?!


The Characters
The usual characters are people from the government. They are often portrayed either as type1( gallant, smiling, noble individuals) or type2 (lousy, corrupt but still gallant-smiling-noble-looking individuals). The characters are often difficult to distinguish which type they belong to, and, in many cases, it is left to the audience to decide for themselves.

There are, of course, the supporting characters who are usually portrayed to be belonging from the lower social class. The actors who portray these roles are, often, the most convincing and worthy of acclaim. Sadly, no movie industry nominations have been given. To date, no TV industry award has been given to any actor who joined the show simply because the show does now have end-credits.

There are also characters from the non-media, non-showbiz working class but it has been noticed that the show is at its lowest when episodes show such characters. "Boring" seems to be common reaction among audience/s.



Network Ownership
It's a good thing there are competing TV stations airing the show. So there are no real owner of the series. It's not like ABC owning "Lost" or NBC owning "Heroes".

The situation gives viewers the opportunity to select which network channel they wish to view the series. Some network also have "episode reviews" for the show which give new viewers and viewers who missed some episodes to catch up with the series.

With regards to the airing of episodes, some networks do not air some episodes. And, in most cases, networks do not air the same episode the same way. An episode scene can be shot differently and sequencing may vary depending on the network channel.


Audience-Based
Another thing that is interesting about the show is that every avid viewer has his own interpretation of how the series progressed and how the show should end.

In most cases, it would be better to ask one's grandpa or grandma to ask for their own colorful interpretation/s, what-ifs and when-its.


Reality-Based
The show is quite similar to the reality TV shows like "Survivor" or "Big Brother".

There is no formal vote tally. But it has been observed that the show's plot and series of subplots tend to reflect what the public are clamoring for.

In most cases where a character is such a hit with the audience, the character actor will get to stay on and extend his episode-appearances. There have been characters who were initially presented to the audience as mere supporting characters but who later on became the season's protagonist/s (or antagonist/s, depending on the viewer).


Hollywood-based
Indeed, the show has been influenced by Hollywood culture - so much so, that President Reagan's transition from actor to president became the core basis for a season.

In that season, a famous local actor went on to become the president. In the season ender, the whole country was divided over an impeachment case against the actor/president. And ultimately in the season's final episode, the audience saw the president put behind bars.

What a season that was!

Good thing that sort of thing doesn't happen in real life.