‘Be Careful’s’ ‘endless’ tale continues to enthrall viewers

YAP. Too good to be true.

If there’s such a thing as endless love, especially on this current Love Week, can there also be—an “endless” teleserye? This thought comes to mind, because the producers of the hit series, “Be Careful With My Heart,” have just announced that, contrary to previous speculations, their show isn’t  about to fold up its tents just yet, even after running daily for many months!

Why so? Because viewers still want to see more of the show’s resident lovebirds, Maya and “Ser Chief,” who are now married and expecting their first bambino. The long-running show is a fantasy-romance (poor girl weds rich and good-hearted boss—how much more “fantasticating” can a story get?), hence its loyal viewers’ refusal to wake up and face the real world just yet!

After all, other hit series like “May Bukas Pa” stretched their storytelling for over a year, so “Be Careful…” can’t be blamed for wanting to keep the profitable commercials and endorsements coming.

Trouble is, all that profitable stretching has distended the organic integrity of its plot and character development, as the situations that the series dramatizes feel more and more like twice-told tales. Sure, laugh all the way to the bank, but do make sure that the storytelling seams and splices don’t show—!

In any case, “Be Careful…” can resolutely claim that it hasn’t overstayed its welcome, as some of its fans vouch for the fact that watching it has become a daily habit for them.

Shows that achieve that level of reliable and bankable love and devotion have the best of all worlds, so who are we to rain on their parade?—provided that they do their best to keep their storytelling as fresh as possible.

In this regard, the presence of Aiza Seguerra on the long-running show is definitely a plus factor, since the actor-singer has a  rare knack for keeping things bracingly real and vital, even as other cast members are on smug and lazy autopilot, or have gone too excessively melodramatic for comfort.

At the other end of the success spectrum is male lead star Richard Yap, who has become very popular, but has yet to come up with an excitingly dynamic portrayal. What’s the problem? His personification of “Ser Chief” is just too good to be true, and we keep praying that the fantasy “dream boss” character will reveal some “humanizing” flaws—and get really angry, for a bracing change!

Fact is, we’ve been supportive of the mature actor’s TV work since he belatedly made his debut in a Kim Chiu TV starrer (“My Binondo Girl”), but it’s been many years since then, so we expect him to grow and deepen as a performer, and that simply hasn’t happened—yet.

Is the culprit the series’ escapist scripting, or is the actor himself partly to blame, because he doesn’t want to or can’t come up with a more believable and felt performance?

If it’s the former, the show still has time to make up for the slack and give Richard some really meaty and juicy acting

moments that he can sink his thespic teeth into. If, however, it turns out that the actor’s limited emotional range and thespic “passion” is the problem, then we’re in trouble!

P.S.: TV veterans recall that the longest-running teleserye of all time was “Flordeluna,” starring Janice de Belen and Dindo Fernando—it ran for more than five years!