Pinoy BL Series

Hey, I was finally able to watch the Finale! Episode 8: Hello, Promise! was a satisfying conclusion to this series. Sure, I was expecting more than the very tamed pinky swear and hugs, but overall, they were alright. Although still outshined by JC in this episode, Tony was at least given some moments to shine. XavMi confessing each other's feelings by finishing each other's lines in a song and singing together was cheesy but really cute. KaiSeth's relationship also progressed in this episode which was great. Junjun was still as cute as always. And we got to see Miss Tina Moran again! Of course, I would have wanted a better conclusion to Crystal's storyline but we can't always get what we want. At least we get a movie sequel! Here's hoping there's no more lockdown and pandemic when Hello Stranger The Movie comes!

Episode 2: Now We are One, Two, Three still suffered from most of the issues that plagued its pilot episode. Airing schedule and time slot still kept changing (hopefully, they found their final schedule and time slot -- 11:30AM, every Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays). Audio improved but still bad (too much background noise). And editing was still poor (unnecessary scenes and shots). Luckily, there were also improvements in this episode. The plot/storyline progressed with character backgrounds on the three boys linked to Joey -- Jimmy, Wil, and Nuan (for now, I think I'm Team JoNuan, lol!). Erwin, Drei, Jules, and Ivan's acting performance also improved in this episode. Acting performance of the support cast (especially the actresses) was still cringy though. And the portrayals of women and gays were still one-dimensional. For a series that prides itself in having gay and queer cast members (including Drei), Amore should do better in depicting gay and queer characters. I really hope they address all these issues to improve this series. It would be a pity if Amore is continuously bogged down by these issues. It's a really promising series after all.

New timeslot for Amore: 11:30 AM (Manila Time), Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays (Star Image Digital Network YouTube Channel and Star Image Artist Management Facebook Page).

The directors and producers weren't kidding when they said Oh My Sexual is different. It's not formula, it's not the usual Filipino (Pinoy) boys' love (BL) story. It's a black or dark comedy given a documentary-experimental narrative treatment. Episode 1: Oh My Pandemic! was interesting to say the least. It was set during the pandemic as represented by the news about the Philippine national government's chaotic response to the worsening virus outbreak. Individual anxieties and distresses were highlighted in this episode using black or dark humor. Was it palatable and relatable for the audience? I'm not sure yet. Staying true to the nature of dark comedy, who are the oppressed whose morale is strengthened and who are the oppressors whose morale is undermined in this series? I don't know yet. Acting was generally ok. There were some exaggerations but these are to be expected in dark humor. Audio and video weren't that good. This episode was shot entirely from the homes of the actors through Google Meet. Initially, video quality was at 360p but later on video quality of 1080p high definition (HD) was made available but it was still a bit grainy. And the English subtitles were often times not in sync with the audio. Given all of these, is this series worth my time? I'll give it a few more episodes before I give an answer.

Safe Haven is a Filipino (Pinoy) boys' love (BL) series comparable to Truly Very Yours and Even After in terms of duration (around 10 minutes per episode). Like Even After, it's also a do-it-yourself (DIY) series. But unfortunately, Safe Haven paled in comparison with these two similarly low-budget series with respect to plot, performance, and production. Judging from Episode 1: Cat and Dog, this series seemed to have a very simple plot that uses the much overused enemies to lovers trope. While this trope is not intrinsically bad, there's nothing in this pilot episode that would suggest something new. Yes, this episode alluded to gender-based discrimination in the workplace but it came across as superficial. If it's any consolation, screenplay was realistic enough. Acting performance of the lead cast needs a lot of improvement. They were overacting at times. There were also big unnecessary hand gestures that were really distracting. Audio wasn't that clear. Camera work and the quality of shots were pedestrian. And editing gave a school project vibe. Overall, this series needs a lot of work if it wants to be taken seriously. I don't expect it to become a Gameboys or a Hello Stranger all of a sudden. Working within its limited resources, it just needs to find ways to improve.

A lot of things happened on Episode 5: Confessions Overload. This episode was still generally dragging because of its live and interactive format but at least there was a bit more dynamism in its camera work, acting, and screenplay and there was progression in its plot/storyline. While I've seen comparable real-life revelations in similar social media and streaming platforms, making parts of this episode realistic enough, I must say that I've never really enjoyed watching those live confessions -- which were most probably partly orchestrated anyway. I've always felt awkward knowing that not everyone involved fully consented to having their personal lives revealed in public. So while watching the last scene when Cerwin divulged that he's the ex-boyfriend of both Thirdy and Dean, I really felt weird. I hope there's more to this series than this tangled web of love and relationship among the main characters. Because if this is just about it, with nothing more relevant to say, this series will likely go down for me as among the worst Filipino (Pinoy) boys' love (BL) series ever produced.

Episode 11 is scheduled for August 21 :)

It's one course/subject on Filipino drama series (teleseryes) that can be taken by literature and mass communication college students of the Ateneo de Manila University. The curriculum/syllabus for the course includes Gameboys as required viewing for the students. It will also discusses other Filipino drama series but given the current global context (pandemic), the course/subject will highlight Gameboys as a "text" for study :) In the University of the Philippines, there's a course /subject on KDramas :)

From the producers (JACE TV) via Twitter: For those asking, theme songs from #TrulyVeryYours (Summer Promises) and #HookUp (I Think) are both by @OfficialJkent [Jean Pierre Kent Martinez] and is available on Spotify and other digital platforms.

It's now 7.5!

In my most recent episode review of My Day, I applauded the series for featuring a Filipino Visayan language; and now comes In Between which did the same in its Episode 6: Simula. Having at least two Filipino (Pinoy) boys' love (BL) series showcasing a Filipino language other than the Filipino Tagalog language is a contribution to recognizing diversity in the Philippines. But that's not even the best part of this episode. The best parts of this episode were the cheesy yet cute and sweet moments between Tau and Otep and between Nin and Makisig. Another good scene was Tau and Otep's phone conversation with Otep's supportive parents. This episode really felt like a new beginning given last week's resolution of the conflict between Tau and Otep and this week's introduction of Nin and Makisig's relationship. This was a good episode with nothing much to frown about (except maybe those irritating fillers that I've learned to tolerate by now). The challenge for this series is to keep the audience continuously engaged in the next episodes. The narratives revolving around the introduction of Nin and Makisig's relationship and the revelation about Otep's three-month relationship might do just that.

In Between Episode 6: Simula will be released tonight, 8PM (Manila time) :)

Zombies... at least it's different :)

I'm dreading that this series will be so predictable like what you predicted. That's why like Rjei27, I would rather that Joey end up with Wil (or Nuan or Kenji) -- please not with Jimmy, it would be so predictable, lol!

I understand that but my comment is not only for non-Filipinos like you but for Filipinos as well. For non-Filipinos, I think pointing this out shows the importance of representing diversity in the Philippines -- not only in terms of gender orientations and sexual preferences but also in terms of ethnicities, religions, classes, etc. It's important for us to be represented in art and the Filipino Visayans have long been underrepresented in Philippine art so I think this is an important gesture on the part of My Day.

To each his own I guess. Although there are tropes I dislike, I generally like Kdramas as well. By the way, I would like to correct myself. I forgot the recent phenomenon that we now have Filipino series that are already finished with its production by the time of its premiere -- these are series found on streaming services like iWant, Cignal, etc. Oh, Mando! might be like that. Thank you as well for these exchanges. It made me rethink what I like and dislike about Filipino, Thai and Korean drama series!

Happy 20th birthday to the one and only Elijah Canlas! :)

I also saw this comment in the Hello Stranger page where I posted a reply. I'll also post my reply here for the commenters in this Gameboys page. Quoting MDL's FAQ: Why do you only have Korean/Japanese/Chinese/Hong Kong/Taiwanese/Thai/Filipino dramas and movies? Please add Vietnamese/etc dramas and movies! I love them!

Despite only having 7 countries, we currently feel that there are still enough actors/movies/dramas missing from our databases, especially from less popular territories like Hong Kong or Thailand. Once we feel like we have a large number of the Dramas/Movies/Actors from these 7 countries and our site is nice enough to progress, we will then consider adding another country. The goal is to have a great and relatively complete database on the countries we have, instead of a lousy and incomplete database for 15+ countries.

Sakristan was shot in Olongapo City with little restrictions. When they were first released, they were not yet finished with all the shootings and post-productions but since they were based in Olongapo City, they were mostly uninterrupted in their work. There are very few Filipino series (teleseryes included) that have finished shooting and post-production before airing their premiere. Frankly, I don't know of any Filipino series like that. Even My Day's post-production for Episode 2 was only finished a couple of days ago. I think production for each Pinoy BL series should be seen contextually. We do it differently with Thailand for example (where I'm based). Here, most Thai series are done shooting months before airing their premiere. There are also disadvantages to that. They are seldom responsive to criticisms because they're already done with all the shootings. In the Philippines, if their episode receives lots of criticism, they can still make adjustments in succeeding episodes.

Please understand that because of the recently declared modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), a lot of the Pinoy BL series had to adjust. There are even series that had to be delayed for a month (e.g. Better Days, Boys' Lockdown) because of the MECQ. Safety is always the priority for these series as emphasized in their released statements. I think most fans understand that. As for In Between, they actually provided an explanation in their live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxjiyT6INws | So, please have a little patience.