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A pre-colonial princess and a mad scramble for the throne: TV highlights in 2011
The television set has become such a normal part of modern life that it’s easy to take it for granted. While mindlessly flipping channels, we hardly notice how big a cultural icon this so-called idiot box actually is. We forget that the selfsame medium that proverbially killed the radio star is always present at iconic moments, making it possible for us to take that one small step with Neil Armstrong, watch Marcos declare Martial Law, say goodbye to Princess Di, and witness her eldest son Prince William wed in a cloud of fairy-tale happiness over a decade later. On a daily basis, the medium also introduces us to the most lovable (or hate-able) characters, and tells us the most memorable stories like a 21st century Lola Basyang. Over the last couple of decades, TV’s done pretty amazing even as relentless runs of “Jersey Shore” and “The Jerry Springer Show” invade our screens at home. The last twenty years have brought us cult classics like “Friends,” “The Sopranos,” and “Twin Peaks” on the foreign front, and “Eat Bulaga,” “Bubble Gang,” and “Maalaala mo Kaya” on the local scene. The last twelve months have been exceptionally good, giving us programs that make us wish we could afford to be couch potatoes all year long. Last year’s selection of choice TV programming had us glued to our sofas with their medieval winters, haunted houses, pre-colonial princesses, and of course, lots of laughs. Here are some of the more memorable programs, both local and foreign, that graced the small screen this year: Ultimate Reality TV: Survivor Philippines Ever since the “Survivor” series came out in the US, its Pinoy audience has been challenging its producers to bring the show to the Philippines, half-joking that no island, jungle, or desert could ever match the traffic-and-pollution-ridden streets of Metro Manila. Local producers responded by coming up with “Survivor Philippines,” and since then, the show’s contestants have shot to instant fame, won a Golden Screen Award for Outstanding Adapted Reality Show, and had leagues of Pinoys tuning in to see the drama that ensues when hungry castaways resort to all sorts of measures to win the game. This fourth season isn’t even over and already, it’s reached the drama quota — earlier in the season, contestants Jackie Foster and Angelicopter quit the show after host Richard Gutierrez chastised them for complaining too much. 
High School Life: Glee The members of New Directions are no longer the innocent kids they were when they first banded together and made the world stop and listen to their now over-played rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." In the span of two years and three seasons, they've gone through a storm of identity crises, sexual awakening, family problems, teenage parenthood, turbulent romances, and other things that are perhaps too big for the average teenager to handle. Indeed, “Glee” today is far from the one we obsessed with in 2009, and a barrage of promising new shows threatens to steal its thunder. Yet the show has managed to stay relevant, partly because of the new voices that producers have so cleverly brought in, but mostly because even as characters and storylines changed drastically, their brand of music remains the same. As long as the show continues to cover a great mix of both contemporary and classic pop music with the same quality and undimmed vibrancy, we can look forward to yet another successful year for “Glee.” Not Just Idols: The Voice Reality singing competitions have always been accused of taking looks, charm, and audience impact into account whenever winners are selected, which is probably why viewers welcomed “The Voice” with open arms. As the title suggests, it is the contestants' voice that is most crucial, as the show begins with a blind audition where judges/mentors Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, and Cee-Lo Green choose the contestants that they want on their team. The new format seemed effective at keeping the mediocre talents at bay. This first season's batch was collectively so brilliant, it was actually difficult to decide who to root for. The Franchise: Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition A lot of people said this show was only relevant to American viewers and their Supersize Me society, but it took no time at all for the country to take to the intensity, the drama, and the inspiration that happens when you put together Game Master Derek Ramsay, host Sharon Cuneta, the two intense trainers Chinggay Andrada and Jim Saret, and twelve people determined to get fit and healthy. A bonus: when contestants Hazel Tan and Raffy Tan fell into flirtation, and eventually, romance, it practically sealed the deal for the show’s popularity, because we all know how much Pinoys love love stories. The New CSI: The Killing Just when we thought we’d had enough of detective shows, “The Killing” premiered, following the long tradition of crime dramas that have gone before it. The show had all the usual elements of a compelling murder mystery: the bereaved parents, the shady politicians, the noble detective and her insubordinate partner. But what sets the show apart from its predecessors is that instead of a new mystery every episode, it revolves around a single crime during the entire series: the murder of a teenage girl. The show may become a bit of a drag after a while, but the great acting on the part of the main characters has earned it great reception from viewers and critics alike, and, even better, an order for a second season, which is set to premiere in early 2012. The Cult Classic Redux: Mara Clara The remake of the iconic ‘90s soap opera that catapulted Judy Ann Santos to fame may have been criticized as a shadow of its former self, but the show’s hold on its viewers certainly did not weaken. The melodrama not only gave Kathryn Bernardo and Julia Montes their big breaks, but also harvested gallons of tears from its viewers—just like it did the first time around. “Mara Clara’s” cultural significance and its curious effect on the tear ducts of its fans has even been immortalized in a viral video that showed a little girl who, after seeing the episode where Mara appears to have died in a bus crash, fell into serious grief and started wailing “Maraaaaaaaaaa” for a good four minutes. Staying Alive: Modern Family and Bubble Gang While these two funny shows are nothing new this year, they deserve special mention because of the way their comedy has stayed fresh despite the tendency of many comedies to get old real fast. “Modern Family’s” staying power clearly lies in its characters, whose quirks and hang-ups are all too familiar to its audience, and its mockumentary style, which examines the complexities of less traditional family relationships with relative ease. “Bubble Gang,” undoubtedly the best gag show the country has seen over the last decade, celebrated its sweet 16 this year with a slew of awards, including a PMPC Award for Best Gag Show and a Golden Screen Award for Outstanding Gag Program. But the biggest achievement for this show isn’t that it’s been awarded, but that it managed to continue to examine and immortalize Filipino pop culture through its gags and skits with the same originality, relatability, and gut-busting hilarity that it started with16 years ago. Bringing Horror Back: American Horror Story These last couple of years, we’ve had vampires and werewolves looking more like underwear models than sinister creatures of the dark, making them lose all horror street cred and making us turn instead to other supernatural entities to get our scary fix. That is where “American Horror Story” comes in. It does away with sparkly vampires and werewolves with bulging biceps, and focuses instead on good old ghosts. With haunting performances from its cast headlined by Dylan McDermott and Jessica Lange, the show succeeds in making the terror-filled images stain viewers' minds so heavily, they turn into nightmares. 
Historical Epic: Amaya Some Filipinos may forever associate our pre-colonial history with Mikael Daez's tattooed biceps and a topless Marian Rivera in a silk malong with a set of arnis sticks. The drama may walk on the soap opera side with its complicated romance storylines and the many shots of Marian as Amaya looking off into the distance with tears in her eyes, muttering words of vengeance and absolution under her breath. But what the makers of the show did was to shrewdly disguise startlingly accurate historical trivia (researched with the help of the UP History Department) under a deliciously overdramatic show. The formula worked. The show's ratings shot up so high, they got a three-month extension, showing just how powerful the romance mode can be in bringing some intellectual and historical flavor to the melodrama-loving masses.
