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Battle of the New
Network Soaps CLAUDINE Barretto and Tetchie Agbayani in period costumes for Channel 2’s "Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan." MONDAY, March 26 is the day of reckoning for the country’s two leading TV networks. That’s when two new soaps, ABS-CBN’s "Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan" and GMA’s "Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin" go up against each other on the same time slot – 6:30 p.m. Both shows will air Monday to Friday, hopefully for the next two years. Edge In ABS-CBN’s "Walang Hanggan," which the network prefers to call a teleserye, Claudine plays two women (compared to her last soap where she played three contrasting roles), one in the early 1900s and the other in the present, and has not one, but six leading men – Carlos Agassi, Troy Montero, Bernard Palanca, Victor Neri, John Lloyd Cruz and Luis Alandy. She is supported by veteran stars Gloria Romero, Boots Anson-Roa, Robert Arevalo, Ronaldo Valdez, Chat Silayan, Tetchie Agbayani, Spanky Manikan and Jaime Fabregas, as well as younger talents Mylene Dizon, Carol Banawa, Shaina Magdayao, Angela Velez, Ena Garcia, Karla Estrada, Don Laurel, Justine Cuyugan, Jojit Lorenzo, Shamaine Centenera and Eugene Domingo. "Ikaw Lang" offers Angelika de la Cruz and Sunshine Dizon as its lead characters, who are separated and forced to live a life of hardship, one as a maid in a luxurious mansion, the other as the adopted daughter of a mama-san in a brothel. The supporting cast is made up of Cogie Domingo, Albert Martinez, Eddie Gutierrez, Gina Alajar, Carmi Martin, Alicia Alonzo, Janice Jurado, Ana Capri, Marjorie Barretto, Gabby Eigenmann, Mel Martinez, James Blanco and Sherwin Ordoñez. The series is directed by Wenn Deramas, who has worked with Claudine in her previous soaps, "Mula Sa Puso" and "Saan Ka Man Naroroon." At the ABS-CBN presscon, it was Ronaldo Valdez who stole the show with his sardonic humor. When asked why he accepted the role, he said the money was good. At one point, newcomer Justine Cuyugan, who plays a homosexual in the series, was asked if he was afraid people would conclude he was gay in real life. Ronaldo interrupted Justine, saying, "Sa akin, hindi problema yan, dahil bakla naman ako talaga." Everyone had a good laugh because although the actor has played bading characters in the movies, he is the exact opposite offscreen. Now we know where Janno Gibbs got his wry sense of humor. Undergraduate degree It was nice to see Tetchie making a comeback on TV. We were glad to hear that she recently finished an undergraduate degree, major in Psychology, from St. Joseph’s and plans to go on to a graduate degree in the same field at the Ateneo. Later, she told us she wouldn’t mind opening a therapy clinic or writing an advice column ala Dr. Margarita Holmes. After the group Q&A, we found ourselves at a table with Carol Banawa, who sings one version of the title song. The other version has Zsa Zsa Padilla doing the vocals. Carol plays the close friend of Claudine in the 1912 segment and knows her deepest secrets. She said the costumes she wore had a profound effect on her as she moved around the set and delivered her flowery Tagalog lines. She really felt like a Filipina at the turn of the century. We asked her if she believed in immortal love, which is the theme of the teleserye. She replied that she was a romantic and believed in eternal love. This is despite the fact that she had recently broken up with PLDT’s Billy, Carlo Muñoz. It was an eight-month relationship. She thought they were sweethearts but Carlo never did affirm that she was special to him. This was a painful experience for Carol but we consoled her with the observation that she could always use it to improve her skills as an actress and singer. At the GMA presscon, we talked to Eddie Gutierrez and Ana Capri. Eddie recalled the good, old days at Sampaguita Picures when he was one of the most sought-after leading men. His team-up with Susan Roces was a successful one, resulting in more than 25 films. As a contract star, he was getting only P50 a week, then he graduated to P 500 for every supporting role, finally earning the "princely" sum of P 2,500 for his lead roles! Comeback In 1986, he was in the States when he got a call from Mother Lily who wanted him to make a comeback in the movies. She was very concerned if Eddie still retained his matinee idol figure so she flew to the US to scrutinize him. The actor did everything to show Mother Lily that he was still fit and the Regal matriarch was quite impressed. Then came the hard part: The two discussed the financial aspects of his comeback, which took from 12 midnight to the wee hours of the morning! When they finally agreed on his contract, Eddie came home and though, initially, he was nervous and made several mistakes during shooting, he eventually regained his composure, and he has been active in movies and TV since then. Ana plays a mama-san in the soap, which capitalizes on her experience as a sexy star in the movies. However, she has had to restrain herself because the scenes she is shooting are for television, which has a family audience. She can’t be as daring as she is in her movies, which involve nudity and bedroom scenes. Co-director Soxy Topacio (Louie Ignacio is the main director) commented that he had to rein in Ana during one scene which called for her to embrace her male partner, because it would not pass the MTRCB. Ana has always impressed us with her acting as well as her sensible answers to our how she reacted to the brouhaha behind "Live Show," where she is one of the stars. This was the day before Malacañang ordered the pull out of the movie. She was saddened by the reaction of the ultra-conservatives to the movie, which she described as a well-crafted movie and not your run-of-the-mill sexploitation flick. She was surprised why this group was making a big fuss over a small matter when the country faced graver problems that needed immediate attention. Glossy From the trailers that were shown to us, "Walang Hanggan" has a segment set in 1912 and that required period costumes and sets. The production has two production designers, Manny Morfe for the 1912 scenes and Ronnie Cruz for the modern period. In a music video featuring singers Lani Misalucha and Side A’s Joey Generoso, "Ikaw Lang" showed the contrast between the depressed area and the upper- class homes and had a lot of heartrending scenes of characters being abused, typical of tearjerkers. This fierce battle of the network soaps is on. However, it is the viewing public that will pass final judgment. Will the viewers prefer to swoon over a romantic love story that transcends time or will they empathize with the sufferings of Angelika and Sunshine at the hands of their tormentors?
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