KAPUSO TIME...

 

You guys may not be keen to notice this, but the Filipino shows we have watched here in Kenya come from a supply of the two leading production companies in The Philippines; One is ABS-CBN Network (dubbed Kapamilya) and the other GMA Network (dubbed Kapuso.) I am not going to argue over the fact that Kapamilya is no doubt the best out of the two, but we also have to give credit to GMA for some of their good work we have seen. Today, I am going to countdown some of our favorite GMA shows that have had the pleasure of gracing the Kenyan airwaves…

5. ENDLESS LOVE

This show stared the ever epic team up of Dingdong Dantes & Marian Rivera (Now mr & mrs Dantes) alongside one of my favorite Kapuso hunks, Dennis Trillo and Nadine Samonte. It was the remake of a Korean Telenovela (walionyesha GBS… And yes, I watch GBS… don’t judge me! To defend myself though, I actually got to watch both versions of the show). This one came out top; a story about a girl dying of Leukemia; Jenny, played by Marian who fell for her supposed brother; Johnny, played by Dingdong  (She had been switched at birth with the actual daughter, played by Nadine Samonte). It was quite a dilemma seeing as they grew up together as siblings only to find out that they weren’t and have their affection for each other manifest itself in different ways… with that memory jog, I bet you can only imagine the series of events that followed!

4. GOLDEN HEART

I loved this one, starring Geoff Eigenmann and Carla Abellana as Danny and Orang respectively. The reason I loved it so much is because it was able to address some crucial issues of discrimination over race and skin colour, which the world has yet to overcome at this day and age. The story is about a girl, Orang who is adopted and raised by a family of Aetas; (A dark skinned people referred to as Negritos). The family undergoes some misfortune, leaving Orang to leave their native home and move to the city so that she can take care of her younger siblings and eventually becomes a maid at Danny’s home.

3. LEGACY

This was an interesting one…. Imagine this;one man, three women with a daughter each who now have to fight over an inheritance with their father now dead having recognized one of them as his heir. A DNA test however gives the other two a fighting chance when they both test positive! Starring an ensemble cast of Heart Evangelista as Diana, Lovi Poe as Natasha, Alessandra de Rossi as Bernadette, Geoff Eigenmann as josh, Sid Lucero as Inigo and Mike Tan as Third, the show was all drama and girl fights over boys and money!

2. FULL HOUSE

This by far has to be my favorite one, having seen Heart Evangelista only in very serious and stuffy roles, it was a breath of fresh air to see her come off it and take on a comical role. Jessie was amazing, brightening up the mood of the program with her cheeky manner, innocence and humour. The show was another Korean remake (Walionyesha GBS pia…); A story about a girl whose family home is sold off by her brother to a movie star, Justin Lazatin (played by Richard Gutierrez) without her knowing. With nowhere to go, she offers to be his maid so that he might let her stay in his house. He however sweetens the deal by asking her to marry him for one year at the end of which he would return the house to her; him doing so to make his best friend; Elaine, who he was always in love with jealous… (I will end up recounting the whole show, so am leaving it at that).

1.       MARIMAR

This is the most epic Kapuso show that made Marian Rivera-Dantes a prime time queen. It was a remake of a Mexican telenovela of the same name that had Thalia as the star. The story is about a girl who is raised by an old couple who by misfortune die in an accident. The girl is however married to a resort owner, Sergio Santibaes, played by Dingdong Dantes who did it only to make his step mother jealous (His former girlfriend who preferred a moneyed older man!) He however leaves Marimar to go make some money not knowing that she is pregnant. The two become estranged for some years, with the naive and poor Marimar returning with a fortune to burn; (She had found her long lost millionaire father… Here I am, still waiting for mine… aheeemh!!!!) to take revenge on those who did her wrong.

There we are, with the Dongyan team up of coarse being our favorite Kapuso team! Tell us what you think about this countdown… What other GMA shows do you wish had appeared on the list? (Don’t worry, just tell me and I will tell you whether the shows you nominate are Kapuso or not… ;))