Pinoy BL Series

With this episode shooting down the idea of Mark hooking up with Lucas, Hook Up seemed to be back on track. The plot/storyline progressed in Episode 7: Stop Luke & Listen to set-up next week's finale. Mark showed his vulnerable side in this episode. While Lucas was still annoying, we at least learned some things about him that could explain why he is the way he is. Screenplay was realistic enough. Even the serious lines with Tita Cassie were measured enough not to be preachy. Acting performance, especially from Niko and Marky, was good. Special mention goes to Marky who has gone a long way since his Truly Very Yours days. His acting performance on this episode was certainly admirable. If there's one issue I had with this episode, it's with the camera shots. I don't get it why they had to cut off Tita Cassie's head on parts of her scenes. Anyway, another nice thing about this episode, it's not immune from what's happening in the real world. When this episode started and ended with a socially relevant message, it was sincere, it wasn't tokenistic at all. Hook Up's cast and crew have always been consistent about their views on societal issues. So to end, let's reiterate their message for this episode: #TransLivesMatter #JusticeForJenniferLaude #NoToGenderRelatedViolence

Episode 6 is My Day's best episode yet. The plot/storyline progressed in this episode and most of the scenes were a lot more purposive. Screenplay was generally ok. There were unnecessarily long lines (e.g. between Ace and Kim) that lessened the impact of the scenes but they were tolerable. There were still some objectionable dialogues (e.g. Jelai castigating Marianne for wearing short skirt; queers going super gaga over Ace) but they didn't really surprised me anymore given the weak gender consciousness of this series. The naughty lines (e.g. between Ace and Sky; between Ace and the gym trainer) were nice though, not because they were naughty but because they revealed that Ace didn't just wake up suddenly liking men; the feeling's been there all along. With Sky, this still needs to be established. Acting was generally ok. Aki's acting was underwhelming but he was watchable on this episode. Both Leilani Kate and Miko were good; same can be said for the actors playing Sky's father, mother, and brother. Production design and cinematography were generally ok. Overall, Episode 6 was a good episode.

Jealousy as a plot/storyline device in a lot of drama series is a staple and Episode 10: Selos showed that In Between isn't an exemption. Being so cliché, I don't know if Otep's reasonable jealousy of Tau and Orion did the plot/storyline any favors. Will this contribute to the overall theme of the series (in between hello and goodbye)? We'll have to see in the next episodes which I hope will have a much faster pace. In Between has been quite dragging the last couple of episodes. Screenplay and acting were generally ok. There were cheesy yet cute lines especially between Nin and Makisig. Nin's song number was adorable, lol! Honestly, I'm enjoying this Pangs ship even though it isn't really going anywhere, lol! I hope their narrative progresses soon before it gets boring. Production technicals were also generally ok. For the last four episodes, I look forward to seeing the complexities of the series' relationships (TauTep, Pangs, BianxJet) in line with the theme of the series.

Episode 8 tried to resolve some lingering issues from previous episodes. In particular, Zag clarified with Zirgo, hopefully once and for all, that he only sees him as a brother. Zig's mother, Cassandra, chatted with Zag about helping her talk to her son which in turn gave Zig the impression that Zag is taking his mother's side in their strife. This looked like the final conflict setting up the final two episodes of this series. Even though Even After has a simple plot/storyline, I've long appreciated that it's relatable enough. The screenplay was cheesy but it's generally ok. Sure, acting needed improvements, but it wasn't really bad. I also noticed some improvements on audio, musical scoring, and split screen editing. For the last two episodes, my hope is for the series to produce its best episodes yet and for ZigZag to get a well-deserved happy ending.

I like the pace of Quaranthings: The Series. It's not too fast and it's not too slow. It seemed fit for an 8-episode series. The plot/storyline progressed smoothly on Episode 2: Alcohol. Character backgrounds for both Judah and Rocky were established. Contexts were clear with real-life issues like family disagreements, competitive school environment, employment, and navigating through the pandemic. Yes, we don't condone stealing but we can understand where the recently fired Rocky was coming from. The way the rich were treated as the other on this episode, somehow, I feel there's some class consciousness on this series. Screenplay was relatable. There were socially sensible lines about being poor (It's hard to be poor in this country), internalized homophobia (Do you have some type of internalized homophobia?), sexual harassment (I hate people who sexually harass others), etc. Although not as funny as last week's script, there were still some humorous dialogues. Acting was generally on point. Kyo was good with the comedic scenes but he still needs to improve with the more dramatic parts. His scenes with Royce were cute and endearing. And the last scene was heartwarming. Audio-visuals were ok but editing needs to be smoother. Overall, Episode 2 was a very good episode.

In Between is now available on GagaOOLala. Ep10 is now available. I've watched it already but I'll comment on it on Saturday :)

Robin Hanrath didn't appear on Episode 5. His character name (David) was mentioned but he didn't appear on that episode -- mention of character name doesn't merit cast credit. Whoever keeps on adding his name in the cast & credits, please stop. It's getting tiresome editing the cast & credits. Thanks!

I would want to watch them all together (because I write episode reviews) but most of the time I can't help myself, I watch each part as soon as they are released.

While Episode 5: Momi, Dadi & Me might have pertained more to Princess, Jimmy, and Joey, this episode's actually Nuan's episode. The plot/storyline progressed in this episode with the pregnant Princess moving in with Jimmy. There's character development for Jimmy with him worried about his mother and with him taking responsibility for Princess' pregnancy (by the way, I just have to say it, the prop for the baby bump was terrible!). But probably the most impressive about this episode was the character background for Nuan. Gilbert is a disgusting character. While I understand the importance of representing such repulsive characters because they do exist in society and I recognize the value of demonstrating rejection of such characters (which Nuan's brother manifested), I fear that this could further engrain the conservative, regressive, and stereotypical notion that queer people are not fit to adopt children. Let's be clear, Gilbert is a sexual abuser/groomer because he's a sick person, not because he's queer. Anyway, I've always been biased for Nuan so I'm happy there's depth in his character background. As for Wil, nothing much happened. Well, he talked to the plant and had ensaymada (cheesy, soft, and sweet dough pastry) with Joey. I don't know how other viewers felt about these scenes but I was quite bored with the long and repetitive monologue (with the plant) and dialogue (with Joey). Both scenes started cute but got dragged too much they became dull. In general, screenplay for this episode was tiresome but compared to the lines with Will, the script for the other scenes was tolerable. With regards to acting, Jules shined in this episode. He was really good. I only wished the Director didn't prolonged his scenes because in doing so, he lessened the scenes' impact. Among the lead cast members, Jules has shown the most range in acting. Drei is the most natural while Erwin is the most trained. While Ivan has always been interesting because of the mysterious vibes he exude, his acting has become monotonous as of late. He needs to be given more challenging scenes. Gabo was fine but the rest of the support cast members had lackluster acting. Production technicals still need improvement. Audio was still bad with all those distracting background sounds. Camera shots were too simple and straightforward which contributed to this episode's unimaginative visuals. Editing was still generally uneven. I'm still hopeful the production crew can address these production issues on the next episodes! Twenty-five episodes more to go!

Yeah, maybe Tau is really a classic case of someone with internalized homophobia wherein he denies queerness exists. I agree, guys like that do exist. There's no denying that. But I think people are sick of this because we've had too much of this in the boys' love (BL) genre. We just want boy-to-boy relationships to be represented as gay, bi or queer relationships. But I still like this series so I'll continue to watch it.

Yesterday, via Twitter, I raised the concerns of the cast & crew (communicated to me via Instagram & Twitter) against lead actor and producer John Vitor (who apparently calls himself Dave Vitor now). They are claiming Vitor is a fraud and it's all a scam! Dreamline Digital TV disappeared from social media (Instagram & Twitter). It was supposed to produce 4 Pinoy BL series: My Dreamboy, Until Forever, The Lawyer's Lover & Lovers in Thailand. I feel really sorry about the actors. It's about time we talk about their working conditions. This is not something new, we've all heard this before with regards to some Taiwanese and Thai BL series. I really hope we can help advance the rights, safety & wellbeing of BL series workers (cast and crew).

Yesterday, via Twitter, I raised the concerns of the cast & crew (communicated to me via Instagram & Twitter) against lead actor and producer John Vitor (who apparently calls himself Dave Vitor now). They are claiming Vitor is a fraud and it's all a scam! Dreamline Digital TV disappeared from social media (Instagram & Twitter). It was supposed to produce 4 Pinoy BL series: My Dreamboy, Until Forever, The Lawyer's Lover & Lovers in Thailand. I feel really sorry about the actors. It's about time we talk about their working conditions. This is not something new, we've all heard this before with regards to some Taiwanese and Thai BL series. I really hope we can help advance the rights, safety & wellbeing of BL series workers (cast and crew).

Yesterday, via Twitter, I raised the concerns of the cast & crew (communicated to me via Instagram & Twitter) against lead actor and producer John Vitor (who apparently calls himself Dave Vitor now). They are claiming Vitor is a fraud and it's all a scam! Dreamline Digital TV disappeared from social media (Instagram & Twitter). It was supposed to produce 4 Pinoy BL series: My Dreamboy, Until Forever, The Lawyer's Lover & Lovers in Thailand. I feel really sorry about the actors. It's about time we talk about their working conditions. This is not something new, we've all heard this before with regards to some Taiwanese and Thai BL series. I really hope we can help advance the rights, safety & wellbeing of BL series workers (cast and crew).

Yesterday, via Twitter, I raised the concerns of the cast & crew (communicated to me via Instagram & Twitter) against lead actor and producer John Vitor (who apparently calls himself Dave Vitor now). They are claiming Vitor is a fraud and it's all a scam! Dreamline Digital TV disappeared from social media (Instagram & Twitter). It was supposed to produce 4 Pinoy BL series: My Dreamboy, Until Forever, The Lawyer's Lover & Lovers in Thailand. I feel really sorry about the actors. It's about time we talk about their working conditions. This is not something new, we've all heard this before with regards to some Taiwanese and Thai BL series. I really hope we can help advance the rights, safety & wellbeing of BL series workers (cast and crew).

Lol on the underwear :)

While I appreciate innovation and promotion of social change in Filipino (Pinoy) boys' love (BL) series, these characteristics should be synchronized with the ability to generate audience comprehension and engagement. I've never really appreciated series that are high brow art for art's sake. Unfortunately, Oh My Sexual is slowly turning into one. It seemed to be living in its own world without much regard for viewer reception. Episode 4: Oh My Kim! reverted back to being highly incoherent with too much exaggerations. Kim's story was quite tiresome. And the technicals of production in terms of audio-visual didn't improve much. Frankly, for the next episodes, I don't expect much from this series anymore. I just want it to at least make some sense for the audience.

For some reasons, Episode 3: World War 3 was delayed for a week. Dave's socio-economic status was even more contrasted with that of Terrence in this episode. They continued with their online banter. And three new characters belonging to the group "Varsity Boys" were introduced in this episode. But even with these developments, the plot was still not compelling enough. There was an unnecessary scene (Gigi asking Dave for sugar). Screenplay was a bit more natural but was still dull. Acting performance of the new cast members needs improvement. Production technicals were better than previous episodes but there were still some issues (like loud background noises). For the next episodes, I'm just hoping for continuous improvements with respect to plot, performance, and production.

It aired today :)

I agree. What Jelai's doing actually qualifies as sexual harassment based on our law. We have Republic Act 7877: Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 in the Philippines. What this show is doing with Jelai's character is normalizing sexual harassment in the workplace. And we should point this out. We might like other aspects of the series but if we find some aspects objectionable, I think we need to point them out.

Episode 8: End to Begin at least tried to resolve Thirdy's issues with Cerwin, Dean, and Bench. Thirdy's sister even made an appearance. But all these failed to solve the shallowness of the plot/storyline of this series. The script was extra preachy in this episode. Acting was generally uninspired. Production technicals had some problems. Connection and feed hanged several times. Audio was choppy. And for the most part, the finale was underwhelming. The grand reveal was quite blasé. At one point during the grand reveal, even Thirdy asked: "is this it?" (ito na yun? ). While I understood why Thirdy chose loving himself over Bench, I hated the idea of asking Kumu app subscribers to vote only to render their votes useless in the end. The title of this episode was open-ended -- maybe hinting on a full narrative series. But if planned full narrative series doesn't depart substantially from this experimental interactive series in terms of plot/storyline and performance, I don't really see the point of producing a full narrative series.