If we will all
just be honest. All of us are now fed up, with the Ang Probinsyano shitshow. It
has gone for far too long already. First they we’re outlaws, now they are policemen
again. Will they become outlaws again? I don’t know. Will they become zombies? Maybe.
Because the show has no story, and keeps on developing from time to time. I’m
sick of it really, that I don’t watch it anymore. Not only Probinsyano, but
most Filipino Drama are not that watchable anymore. All of the stories are the
same, and its endings, and they are all too long. And because of it, I favor
K-Dramas.
I’m favoring
K-Dramas, not because they are from Korea. No that’s not right, I am favoring K-Dramas
because they are from Korea, and because many of the Korean actresses that I
saw are beautiful. Some might say, they are the product of cosmetic surgery, I
don’t care. They are still that damn beautiful and pretty in my eyes, and that’s
what is important.
Yes, I’m
favoring K-Drama’s because of their pretty ladies. Maybe some of my girl
counterparts, like it as well because of their pretty men. But that’s not my
only reason. We also have pretty ladies, and pretty men here. The problem with
our drama’s lies with the structure. What should we learn, writers and
producers? If we want to learn from them, and not retain the shit system that
is at work. Let’s enumerate somethings that we might learn.
1 . Keep it short
The longest
K-Drama that I know, but had not watched, has some 180 episodes on it. Some may
have reached 200. But none that I know, has reached a thousand episodes like
Ang Probinsyano. Some might say, One Piece, an anime, has reached a thousand
episodes, and has been there for a number of years. We’ll get to that later.
The longest K-Drama
that I watched was the series, The Great Queen Seon Deok, having 62 episodes in
total. The next longest is Dong Yi, having 60 episodes, and Six Flying Dragons,
having 50 episodes. They are considered long now, that networks and cable
channels in Korea, don’t produced many drama’s of that length anymore.
A drama in
there is already long now, if it had reach the length of 24 episodes. Why
shortened a drama? So that stories may not get complicated, and actor’s
schedules don’t overlap, and move on easily to other projects. Making more
people, more happy.
Just look back
at the time, when dramas are not really ending in our country. Protagonist and
antagonist died, for various reasons, and they pulled the plug on the drama
because of it. Some got terminal disease, while on the drama, but not
necessarily because of it. But can’t get out of the drama, because the script is
saying that she will stay long. Good thing, that they let the actress rest. But
the bad thing is, the script has become to flexible, to extend the story for
too long.
The longer we
extend a drama, the more the story becomes astray, and complicated. The shorter
it is the better.
2 . Different Dramas Everynight or
Everyday
Ang
Probinsyano has been there for too long, and the another bad thing with it is,
we’ll have to deal with it, five times a week. In Korea, there are also what
they called daily dramas. But they are mostly put in the morning, because their
target audience moms who are at home. In primetime, they have different dramas.
Aired once or twice for that week, then another week again. On that set-up, we’ll
have variety of drama to watch, and people will not be fed up, with a certain
drama. And many actors, will have work too, and have equal opportunity to be
famous. Unlike here, Coco Martin, has only the best time-slot, and not letting
go of it.
As I was
saying, One Piece has reached a thousand episodes. But it was aired only once a
week in Japan. While Probinsyano, we have to endured it on a daily basis
3 . Put Some Variety of Genres
I will applaud
GMA, for trying to put variety of drama’s in the air. But in ABS-CBN, they don’t
even try. They are serving the same old shit, with just different titles. A lot
can be subject of a drama. Daily lives, of a certain profession, political,
history, sci-fi, fantasy etc. Again, I will say I applaud GMA, in trying to to
serve different kinds of drama. One of their most beautiful dramas are that
Encantadia, not the remake, Mulawin, and Etheria.
And I don’t
see a lot of historical dramas here in our country. Look at Quezon’s Game. It
has gotten a lot of compliments, and critical acclaim. If they only put it on a
drama, where most of us can watch it, many people may have gotten aware, that
the man on the twenty peso bill, did a great feat for the world. Rescuing Jews,
against the grip of the Nazi’s. We must put historical dramas more on TV, for
people’s awareness of the historical figures of our country.
Dramas are not
only limited to romance and action. Please try to write and serve us more
genres of it.
4 . Don’t put current affairs issues
The news are
bad already, and will not get better. Please don’t put it, as a theme of a
drama. That is the bad that the Ang Probinsyano, has done in the past. There is
a war in Marawi, there is also war on our tv screen, through that drama. Dramas
are supposed to be entertaining, and an escaped of reality. We don’t need to
see the countries problems again with the dramas. News are enough for that.
You might be
saying, are Koreans not doing that? They are, and they have been criticized by
their own audience for it. They are trying to shift, from only romance like
before, to realistic portrayals of daily lives of a certain person. But unlike
here, they have many dramas to chose from, for they have many channels who
produced it, with collaboraton from independent production companies. Unlike
here, we only have two, and one of them is always following the lead of the
other.
5. Untypecast Actors
Here in our country,
Piolo always play a Piolo like characters. Angel Locsin, always play an Angel
Locsin like characters. And I can named
a list of actors here in our country, who are big names in the industry, who
keeps playing the same role everytime. One example is the legendary king of
Philippine Cinema, Fernando Poe Jr. He always plays the same role, in the
hundred of the movies he had produced. In the acting industry, it is called
typecasting. I don’t know who is at fault in our country, is it producers or
the actors? Both of them, maybe at fault really.
In Korea,
actors have a choice, because they audition for the role. Although, some are
chosen by the producers. Actors have the choice to refuse, or to accept. Just
like what I red from an article, ages ago, about an offer of a role to the
actor Lee Dong Wook, who most of us now has seen, as the Grim Reaper from the
drama, Goblin. He refuse a certain role, from a certain drama which is at the
work at that time, for the reason that is also a fantasy genre like the Goblin,
and he didn’t want to be typecast.
The proof of
actors having a choice in Korea, Lee Jong Suk, who is known for being a cutesy
flowerboy character in dramas, who can do serious acting too, but mostly played
good guys in dramas. Suddenly plays a violent, sadistic, son of a North Korean
official, who murders people, and rape girls to his liking. But I don’t think
he fits the role, because only of his physical traits, being too white. Yoo Ah
In, might have suit the role better.
Yoo Ah In, on
the other hand, is known for playing guys who are crazy. From the movie
Veteran, to the drama, Six Flying Dragons, he plays a crazy man. But he don’t
limit himself to only doing that kind of roles. He has a more kinder role in
the drama, Chicago Typewriter.
I can also do
a list, of Korean actors that don’t want to be typecast. Like Lee Joon Gi, Kang
Ha Neul, Hong Jong Hyun, Ji Soo, Nam Joo Hyuk. Wow, that’s basically the cast
of Scarlet Heart Ryeo, only lacking IU. Even IU, don’t limit herself in playing
cutesy roles. Just look at the drama, My Mister.
The point is,
typecasting is bad for actors. It will not make them grow as actors. Actors, at
least for me, should be chameleon-like in roles. We shouldn’t see your
personality, but the character you are playing. Actors also should stood up,
and I suddenly forgot the english word for it, manindigan, in choosing roles.
Don’t just accept, and choose wisely. Roles can be out of trend too. And if you’re
doing only a certain role, and then someday it has gone out of trend. That day
might be the day, that you are done for as an actor.
6 . Endings
It’s always
happy ending here in us. However great the conflict in the penultimate episode,
it is always a happy ending. And it’s tiring for the watching public. In Korea,
I will set an example, the most famous sageuk of Korea in the Philippines. So
famous, that children and even dogs are named after him, Jumong. The summary
was, only their love story though: Jumong and So Seo No found each other, and
fell in love. But they marry different people, for various reasons. So Seo No’s
husband died, and Jumong lost his wife. They got their chance again in love,
and marry each other. Becoming the first king and queen of the kingdom of
Goguryeo. But then the long lost wife came back, along with Jumong’s first
born, true son. For So Seo No’s son’s was not of Jumong, but of her late
husband. In the end, So Seo No, along with her entire clan and sons decided to
get out of Goguryeo, and left Jumong. Was it a happy ending for their love
story? Of course not, but it was satisfactory.
Of course
there are happy endings too in K-Dramas. But they are not always happy ending.
Main character die sometimes in their dramas too. Unlike here, no matter how
unsurvivable the situation is, he or she is still alive in the end. All I’m
saying is, there should be variety of endings, and not only one type of it.
7 . Plot Twist
Not many
dramas in the Philippines have plot twist. Even if they have, they keep
revealing it first, on TV Patrol and 24 Oras. I can’t remember having a shock,
like the shock that I had experience when they reveal how Hodor, became Hodor.
You might say, we are talking about K-Dramas and Philippine Dramas, why talk
about Game of Thrones, Season 6 Episode 5 the Door? Pakialam mo! Blog ko to,
magbasa ka sa iba. Season 6, is the last good season of Game of Thrones. The
last two are shits. If you want a K-Drama example, I will give you one, The
character of Choi Dam Dong, in While You Were Sleeping. Who would have thought
that he was the police from the prosecutors childhood, one of the main
characters? No one, until the reveal in the penultimate episode. I want those
kind of plot twists on our dramas, but I don’t think I can see one, even in the
near future.
As I said. The
dramas in our country, didn’t have that many plot twist, that surprises the
audience. They should try to put some, that are well written too.
Those are some
of the points that I have gathered for
now. There could be more, and there could be a part two of this writing of
mine. I don’t want to claim it is an article, for it might not passed as being an
article. They are better, not because they are Koreans, and we are Filipinos.
That’s not the point of this comparison. They are better, because they
structurized their work. If we also could do that, we could be much better, or
far better.
