‘Teleserye’ updates

VELASQUEZ. The sooner she reclaims the driver seat, the better.

VIEWERS of “Doble Kara” keep wondering what else the long-running series’ writers have in store for them by way of new surprises to keep them avidly watching.

Well, they thought up a real lulu recently—the show’s resident twins, played in alternation (and with the help of a body double) by Julia Montes—both got pregnant!

Twins can be very competitive, but this was definitely a new wrinkle! As of last week, both babies had already been born, so the future possibilities and implausibilities are practically endless!

Is this a sign that the series intends to stick around for a long time before finally concluding its storytelling? Let’s remember that “Be Careful With My Heart” remained on the tube for two years, so here’s hoping—and counting!

On “Tubig at Langis,” the big plotting to-do at the moment is Isabelle Daza’s character’s all-out effort to practically force Zanjoe Marudo to choose her over his other “baby mama,” Cristine Reyes. Isabelle has become so brazen that she’s even recorded a video of herself and Zanjoe in a most compromising horizontal position!

Zanjoe swears to high heavens that Isabelle staged the whole darned deal, but viewers still fault him for being such a weakling and putty in her hands, because he “allowed” her to spend the night in the same bedroom with him!

Isabelle’s role in “Tubig at Langis” is her most challenging yet, and is meant to “prove” that she’s become a good actress. However, the “proof” isn’t all that convincing, because the depth of her portrayal is being limited by the series’ shallow scripting premises.

‘Amnesia’ card

On “Poor Señorita,” Regine Velasquez’s otherwise viewable portrayal is being similarly compromised by the series’ decision to play the overused “amnesia” card, which has made her “shifting” characterization too unfocused and passive to hold the show’s plotting center, as it must.

Since she’s just reacting to what the people around her are saying or doing to her, her performance has become less assertive and dynamic—and that’s not a good thing. The sooner she reclaims her show’s driver’s seat, the better for everyone all around.

Even more haplessly, the series’ supporting cast hasn’t been able to keep its proceedings interesting while its main protagonist is on “confused and forgetful” mode. —That’s what happens when second-tier players rely too much on a show’s lead star to do most of the thespic heavy lifting. —Unfair!

Distracted

On “Princess in the Palace,” President Leona (Eula Valdez) is still being distracted by her two ardent suitors, who are preventing her from focusing fully on running our la-la-land.

To make things worse, the series has been going into other detours of late, including an inexplicable focus on supporting characters, like the two stylists who work in the palace as fashion consultants.

Last week, for instance, a telecast went on and on about the two stylists’ need to dress up for a particular event, and they dished and dithered about this for minutes on end.

They were even given a “mini-fashion show” sequence that took more time to play out, as they changed from one outrageous costume to another. We know they’re there for comic relief and effect, but the detour took far too long and wasn’t all that comedically productive.

—So, we hope that the series will strive to be more pertinent and contextually focused from here on in, to be of better service to viewers. Fun’s fun, but there’s a presidential story to be told!