Exceptional young actors in ‘E-Boy’

DEL ROSARIO. Superlative portrayal.

ABS-CBN’S NEW teleserye, “E-Boy,” got off to a promising start last Monday, Jan. 30. Briskly and sensitively, it told the affecting story of a famous scientist’s illegitimate son, who was scorned by his father (first played by Dominic Ochoa, later by Jaime Fabregas). The boy’s mother died in the first telecast, but he managed to survive by his wits and true grit.

The title character, a robot or automaton that he “created,” had yet to “come alive” in the first telecast, but we surmise from advance word about the show that he will end up “physicalizing” the actions of a child.

Unusual combination

The first telecast’s brisk storytelling and empathetic performances have set the mood for what we hope will be a “scientific” teleserye with a lot of heart. This is an unusual combination, but the show’s good start gives us reason to hope that the series’ makers can indeed pull that dodgy mix off.

The show is greatly aided by the quietly charismatic portrayal turned in by Martin del Rosario as the young inventor. The young comer isn’t what you would describe as drop-dead handsome, but his talent is quietly, confidently stellar.

With admirable believability, natural feeling and economy of means, so rare to find in the generally lush and over-the-top world of Pinoy teleseryes, he draws viewers into his character’s tragic life without having to belabor the emotionally obvious.

We fervently hope that Del Rosario can sustain this sensitive, natural and empathetic portrayal while he’s on the show, and not succumb to the usual importunings to “hype up” his performance for “greater dramatic effect.”

We sense, however, that he may not be around for long, because trailers of the show’s coming telecasts indicate that his character will mature and be taken over by an older actor.

Another fine performance was turned in last Monday by Neri Naig as the illegitimate boy’s mother, but her character died, probably from cancer, after only a few sequences. Still, Naig’s brief exposure was quietly compelling, and we hope that she, too, will be given bigger roles from here on in.

On the debit side, the first telecast’s main problem was the extremely awkward and patently incredible transition from Dominic Ochoa to Jaime Fabregas, in the key role they shared, that of the inventor’s insensitive scientist-father. The two actors simply don’t look alike, and even more eggregiously, Fabregas is much too old to be believable as Ochoa’s character, only a decade later.