Plots thicken on concluding ‘teleseryes’

ANDERSON. A rare case of the “idiot savant” becoming a genius?

A number of TV drama series are rushing, pell-mell, to their concluding telecasts. By the time this comes out, for instance, “Ikaw ay Pag-ibig” may already have come to its inspiring conclusion, just in time for Christmas week.

When we caught the show last week, Dimples Romana was about to be reunited with her long-lost child; villain Mark Gil was imminently headed for his serves-him-right comeuppance, and Xyriel Manabat’s character may have finally been revealed to be – an angel.

We suspected as much sometime back when she was characterized as an amnesiac, and was given the name “Angelica.” Last Wednesday, the “angel” angle was firmed up when a “blind” man mysteriously intimated that she was “about to get her wings back,” or something to that effect. Aw, gee, with angels from heaven on their side, how could the series’  young orphans and runaways go wrong – for long?

Title character

On “Budoy,” things have taken an even more dramatic turn, as the title character, a retardate, suddenly become so intelligent that he can solve complex math problems without having taken formal studies. Is this supposed to be a rare case of the “idiot savant” becoming a genius in front of our very eyes? And, how scientifically believable and verifiable is that?

Gerald Anderson has come into his own as Budoy, but “adoptive brother” Enrique Gil is having a hard time making sense of his eternally “disgruntled” character. He’s forever griping and surly and humongously unhappy, because Budoy has usurped his place in their family – how do you keep a character like that interesting? The fault, dear Brutus, is not in the acting, but in the one-note writing.

On “Nasaan Ka, Elisa?,” we’re so glad that the long-missing title character is now the series’ main focus, as she’s shown being held captive and raped by her aunt’s lover, who hates her entire family and has avenged himself on her. But, Melissa Ricks also has trouble playing her constantly tormented role, and the other actors similarly turn in less than truly exciting portrayals.

Last week, Albert Martinez’s character finally found out what the show’s viewers have known for weeks – that his wife (Agot Isidro) has been having an affair with a cop – and he even pulled a gun on them and had a heart attack! Talk about mucho and molto melodrama, that scene had it in spades.

On “Binondo Girl,” the actors who are coming on strong are the Chinoys – Xian Lim, the actor who plays Kim Chiu’s dad, and the actress who’s cast as Xian’s mother. On the other hand, Matteo Guidicelli is fading away – not good for a young comer like him!

The show as a whole is currently being slowed down by its “romantic” subplotting, with too much time being spent on the Kim-Xian-Jolo Revilla rigodon.

Oh, please, make up your minds and hearts already, your show’s conclusion can’t be too far off, because Cherry Pie Picache has just been caught gambling and has handed over her and her husband’s stock certificates to a nasty relative, and we know that he’s going to use them to suddenly and ruthlessly take control of the family’s business empire!