Action-drama takes some fantasy turns

Coco Martin in “Ang Probinsyano”

Now that “Ang Probinsyano” has been “re-extended” up to the end of the year, its writers have been having to work extra hard to keep the show interesting and involving.

Unfortunately, some of their new subplots and characters have taken the hit action-drama series into some weird and even “fantasy” directions that have diluted or subverted its original action-drama parameters.
Action-dramas are supposed to be realistic and thus credible, but some of the show’s recent developments have hardly been that.

For instance, a subplot involving a new character played by Pokwang has her getting involved with all sorts of men, including a good-looking and very young Fil-Am hunk—who asks for her hand in marriage!

What’s this fantasy subplot doing in a reality-based action-drama series? It’s patently improbable, but is shoehorned in—for what, comic relief?

Another recent subplot involved the young son of the characters played by Coco Martin and Yassi Pressman.
The cute tyke was kidnapped by a criminal gang and sold to a foreign couple. But Coco was able to rescue his child in only a few hours, despite the fact that the gang had successfully vanished from sight.

How did he achieve this amazingly prescient feat? Everything and everybody cooperated with him, with the criminals’ identities and location being verified in a jiffy—so stunningly different from how child-kidnapping cases go in real life.

To make things worse, the child-kidnap subplot was a redundancy because, months ago, a similar situation happened on the show, involving Coco’s young wards at the Oceanarium. Couldn’t the series’ writers have thought up something less repetitive, this time around?

It’s great for the TV talents involved that “Ang Probinsyano” has been so successful that it’s been “re-re-extended” till the end of 2017—but, don’t its loyal viewers deserve less predictable storytelling and more realistically dynamic, instead of fantasticating twists and turns?

As for the new characters introduced in the show’s latest “chapter,” the most “textured” character performance is turned in by Mitch Valdes as a barangay chairman. Angel Aquino is also a plus for the series, as a government official in charge of intelligence and security.

On the other hand, Pokwang overstays her welcome as a comedic distraction, and John Arcilla and Sid Lucero, as Aquino’s intelligence colleagues, are coming up short thus far in terms of focus and dynamism.

As for Lito Lapid as a veteran rebel force commander, he’s given some fight and battle scenes to remind viewers that he was a big action star for many years.
The “reminders” are effective enough, but now that Lapid is a mature performer, we’re looking for greater depth and texture to his portrayal that is still not all that evident.

Another problem is the fact that so many things are being made to happen on the show to make its extended run “eventful” that Lapid’s character has to share valuable screen time with so many subplots and characters.
It’s hard for the action star to stand out and make his mark in that madding and maddening crowd!