Pinoy BL Series

Yes, I also like Ace & Sky’s chemistry. Most of the time, it’s their chemistry that saves an episode. I just want the series to improve. But regardless, I’ll continue to support this series because it’s a good series. It’s not like it’s bad. It’s good. It just needs to make some fine-tuning. With an PhP18 million budget (said to be the biggest budget among Pinoy BL series), I think it’s ok to hope for some improvements :)

It’s actually easier to explain Rocky’s character development and realization because of his father’s assurance (through the phone call) that as promised to his mother (who have always known about Rocky based on her last phone text to him), he will accept and support what makes Rocky happy. Plus his sister’s dating a girl and their father’s ok with it. With Judah, it’s trickier because the only trigger it would seem was the disappointment with Rocky. It made him realize he made mistakes and he can’t force or rush someone to love him back the same way he does. It’s possible but I agree Judah’s case needs an intermediary episode or two. Although, he’s not fully matured if he’s suddenly throwing himself to Glenn, someone he obviously doesn’t like. Let’s see what happens next week :)

Yes, I hope so too :)

That probably works for you but please don't expect that from me. I still want my comedies to be well thought out.

Why is it a problem? Everyone has backgrounds from where they draw their perspectives. I don't see that as a problem. You can view this drama any way you want but to say that the way I view it is a problem is bit too dogmatic. And I'm talking about issues with plot holes and screenplay which can be adjusted to make the series more logical which will not entail much budget anyway so I'm not comparing it to big Thai studios even though among the Pinoy BL series, it has been reported that My Day has the biggest budget.

I’ve always thought it’s campy (you can read my previous episode reviews) but even campy series have artistic and literary logic behind them because you can’t treat your audience like morons. My background is literature and mass media, I encounter these types of series all the time so I know when a screenplay is poorly written. Both Celyn and Moira are one-dimensional characters. Again, evidence of how poorly that storyline was written.

In the Philippines, the initial HIV treatment costs are actually covered by the government. But you'll still have to cover some of the costs so if you're struggling financially like most Filipinos are, it would still be difficult. And the Philippines is not the US or Thailand. HIV still carries with it a lot of social stigma. People with HIV experience discrimination in the Philippines all the time (e.g. denial of medical insurance, loss of job, etc.). That's why I'm interested on how the series will handle the topic.

Yes, I know that, but she could have just continued feeding the dog whenever Moira’s not there, she’s not there most of the time anyway. Or she could have given the dog away. But to go through all the trouble of stealing the dog then just return the dog was just stupid.

Episode 1 (Version 1) now has 70K+ Youtube views. Episode 1 (Version 2, supposedly better audio) now has 40K+ Youtube views. Plus gagaOOlala views. While not as popular compared to the "big" Pinoy BL series, I think its views are still ok.

For the most part, Episode 10 was dull with lots of nonsensical and unnecessary scenes that didn't really move the plot/storyline forward. The entire dognapping fiasco was ridiculous and silly. After all their efforts to steal the dog, Celyn just decided to return the dog. Her action defied artistic and literary logic. Screenplay was also extra cringy on this episode. Lines were also long and repetitive. Acting performance was poor. Both Aki and Shanice need more acting workshops on facial expressions and vocal intonations. While Shanice was always on high pitch, Aki was always monotone. Thankfully this episode ended on a high note with Ace's birthday celebration. Production design, cinematography, and editing of the last part was ok. The dialogues, while cheesy, were mostly tolerable and the dancing and kissing at the end were really nice. For the last episodes of this season, I hope the scenes are made more purposive.

Star Image Artist Management Facebook Account announced that Chapter 2 starts this Wednesday (check the JoWil poster in the Photos section of this profile).

I can understand why some may be disappointed with Episode 14: Sumpaan. There were too many flashbacks. Some may not like nonlinear narratives but I'm not one of them. Looking back at my commentary for Episode 3, I said then that I generally like nonlinear narratives. My issues with this series were the fillers and the pace which I've learned to tolerate by Episode 5. Halfway through this season finale, I've also learned to tolerate all the flashbacks. Lol! At least I got to see shirtless Ron one last time before I watch him on Ben X Jim. Lol! Not all loose ends, like the Nin-Makisig meet up and Bianx-Jet relationship status, were resolved on this season finale. Like I've said last week, I kinda expected this since there's a Pangs spin-off series and an In Between second season. But I'm happy they clarified Ri's true feelings and gave him some sort of closure. The best part of this episode was the TauTep's monthsary celebration, which was symbolic of a wedding. It's a sad reminder that the Philippines is still a long way from achieving marriage equality. But it's also a happy reminder that regardless of the challenges in the Philippines, same-sex relationships can still endure. Sure, TauTep's pledges/vows were chessy but they were also meaningful. My favorite lines from this season finale were "Hello and goodbye are not important. What's important is the in between... I love you. No more goodbyes." And there's still no goodbye for this series -- I'm looking forward to the Pangs spin-off series and the In Between second season!

Episode 6: Paracetamol moved the plot/storyline of Quaranthings forward. We saw character development for both Judah and Rocky. We also saw Glenn as the real third party on this series. We can expect this Glenn issue and the Lolly issue resolved on the two remaining episodes. How they're going to settle these should be interesting. Screenplay was relatable. Acting was good. And I don't know how it's possible but Royce was even more handsome on this episode! Lol! Audio-visuals were also ok. This episode (which was 16:50 minutes) was the shortest episode of the series so far. I hope the last two episodes are longer.

Episode 3 was another good Gaya Sa Pelikula episode! Like previous episodes, it was a slow burn -- started slow but develops into something strong halfway through till the end. I think the entire series will also be like that. If you step back a bit, you'll realize that in three episodes, other than the super cute and funny moments, the main plot/storyline hasn't progressed that much. The build up's kinda slow but it's ok because we expect something great halfway through till the end of the season. Screenplay was consistently impeccable. Acting by the lead actors was generally ok. While Judit's domineering attitude and constant meddling were getting annoying, Adrienne was still funny as always. Yesh who played Anna (who first appeared on Episode 1) and Justine who portrayed Sue were good additions to Episode 3. Good production value was maintained on this episode. Cinematography which perfectly showcased expression and movement was great. Editing was just ok. The OST "Selos" (Jealousy) by the vowels they orbit, while not originally made for the series, was apt for the last scene. On the whole, I enjoyed this episode and I'm looking forward to the succeeding episodes.

Unfortunately, nothing much has been written about it. We usually see all these played out on social media.

Chapter 1 ended with Episode 9: The Promise. For a chapter ending, it was a subdued episode to say the least. There were good moments but this episode lacked zest or zing. I liked the Jimmy and Joey moments, Ryle flirting with Joey, Wil's phone conversation with his mother, and Nuan finally deciding to move on. As usual, there were long scenes that were really dragging. The scenes showing Joey, Wil, Nuan, Brenda, and Jelay studying then drinking and getting drunk together was so dull. Brenda's "monologue" would have been good if it weren't too long. By the way, I'm still hoping they'll provide more details about Brenda and Jelay's character backgrounds (maybe on Chapter 2?). In terms of acting, Jules shined on this episode. Interestingly, I've always thought Erwin's the most trained among the Amore actors, but Jules consistently outshined him on their scenes together. Yes, those scenes were made for Jules to shine but Erwin and the other cast members just didn't have the acting performance necessary to keep up with Jules. Gabo was ok during Brenda's "monologue" but she was mostly held back by the tiresome script. Production design and cinematography were ok but editing still needs a lot of work. Amore still can't decide if they'll put audio on the recaps or not. They're very inconsistent. Also, post-credits were missing for this episode. Overall, I would have preferred a more exciting ending for this episode and this chapter. In any case, I'm looking forward to Chapter 2!

Yes, you can even change your overall rating every week after each episode is released, just click the stars, lol. I do that, lol. I always have a working rating and I just revise whenever I feel the rating needs adjustment. There were series I initially rated 8/10 but in the end, gave it 10/10. Or series I initially gave 9/10 but because the ending was so bad, I gave it 6/10 in the end. You can also go to "Episode Guide" to rate each episode, just click the stars. There's space for your comment but you don't have to leave a comment, you can just give your rating. The good thing about the rating on "Episode Guide," after you give your rating, and you refresh, you'll see your rating added and rating for the episode averaged immediately.

I can surmise that there are plenty of reasons why Oh My Sexual keeps losing viewers. The pilot episode had under 10K views but the latest episode can't even reach 1K views. An easy explanation for this is that it's just not palatable for the audience. It's not the dark comedy genre that's problematic, it's the documentary-experimental style of the creators and directors that focuses on form with not much substance that's dragging this series down. Episode 8: Oh My Love! highlighted the definitions of love for the different characters. The script and the delivery of lines were corny and cringy. The acting was generally tolerable but the dancing was quite awkward. Audio-visuals were largely uneven throughout this episode. There were scenes that had distracting background noise and grainy shots. All in all, I know that Oh My Sexual has been a disappointing series so far but regardless, I'll still see it through till the end, just to see if it has a modicum of substance after all.

At 13.54 minutes, Episode 7: Just Call Me Master was Safe Haven's longest episode yet. While there were unnecessary scenes and preachy lines, this episode was the most substantive compared to its previous episodes owing to Dave and Terrence's long conversation. On this episode, at least we got some idea about Dave and Terrence's personalities. Terrence still seemed insincere but we don't know yet the effect of Dave putting him in his place. Hopefully we'll find out soon enough on the succeeding episodes. Acting still needs improvement. Production value remained the same. Editing, especially of the split-screen scenes, needs a lot of refinement. All in all, I'm just glad the plot/storyline progressed even for a little bit on this episode.

Episode 3 was an awesome episode! In deference to the production company, I'll post my comments with spoilers on Sunday :)