Concluding ‘teleserye’ plots thicken

PANGANIBAN. Is it really double the pressure, double the drama and “fun”?

Now that some teleseryes are winding up their extended storytelling, their plots and subplots have been getting more complex and prolix, the better to keep viewers glued to their TV screens.

Some of the latest twists and turns have been nothing short of stunning—like the recent revelation on “Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw” that the father of Anne Curtis’ character isn’t Tirso Cruz III, but her “older brother,” played by Ian Veneracion! —What a shocker!

Also raising the melodramatic ante on the concluding series is the belated revelation that Kris Aquino’s character isn’t dead, after all. And, there was a move on a supporting character’s part to confirm the fake report of her demise by coming up with her death certificate! —I tell you, teleserye characters lead such corkscrewily eventful lives!

On “Apoy sa Dagat,” the twin sisters played by Angelica Panganiban have each gone into similarly charged and eventful subplots of their own, intended to fill each telecast of the show with melodramatic “highlights.” —Double the pressure, double the drama and “fun,” right? Uh, not quite.

AQUINO. Belated revelation on “Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw.”

Each sister’s story has been so full of “colorful” twists and turns that, instead of reaping thespic benefits from the twin showcases, Angelica has been coming across as a grating performer who can’t stop crying each and every day!

Thespic limits

Yes, she’s good at pushing her emotional limits, but viewers can only take so much unrelieved angst and breakdown scenes before they throw in the towel—and just don’t give a darn!

On “Ina, Kapatid, Anak,” the excessive element is the unrelieved rivalry between another set of combative siblings, played by Kim Chiu and Maja Salvador.

They’ve been at it for so long that viewers end up getting ticked off by both of them. Doesn’t the series have any other heartstrings to pluck and exploit that its one-note “sibling rivalry” theme?

On the newer show, “Little Champ,” both the boy hero and his talking horse have been endowed with magical super-powers to defend the oppressed against the forces of evil—but, it’s rather (unintentionally) funny that they are made to wear masks to “disguise” their identity as superheroes! Like, how many  other boy-and-horse teams are there flying around in their locality? Come on…