‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’ then and now, through the eyes of a fan

MANILA, Philippines – When it was announced that the highly successful TV series of ABS-CBN, Pangako Sa ‘Yo (#PSY), would be remade this year, fans buzzed with excitement about what the 2015 version would have to offer.

The 2000 Pangako, which ran for 426 episodes, is now iconic and unforgettable in the hearts of many fans. In the new version, according to director Olivia Lamasan, changes were made in order to appeal to today’s generation of viewers. (READ: Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla talk about grown-up roles in ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’) 

As someone who followed the original series that ran from 2000 till 2002, I couldn’t help but compare the current one to the old one, with a totally and equally interesting cast to boot.

Let’s not forget that the Kristine Hermosa and Jericho Rosales tandem was one of the country’s hottest on-and-off screen partners back then, along with the intense, iconic archrivals portrayed by Eula Valdez as Amor de Jesus-Powers and Jean Garcia as Madam Claudia Zalameda-Buenavista.

Based on the first week airing of #PSY remake, which stars Jodi Sta. Maria, Ian Veneracion, and Angelica Panganiban in the love triangle – playing Amor de Jesus-Powers, Eduardo Buenavista, and Claudia Zalameda-Buenavista, respectively – the new version retains parts of the kind of formula that once worked back in the early 2000s.

Let me share some of my observations:

The #2000Trio versus the #2015Trio

Back then, Valdez effectively played the underdog character of Amor pitted against Garcia’s Claudia. The two actresses have since tackled quite challenging roles, but no one can forget those memorable confrontation scenes in their time in #2000PSY.  

Eula has earned the Star Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for the same series in 2001, and Jodi Sta. Maria (the new Amor) has such big shoes to fill. There is no doubt that Jodi is also a fine actress, of course. 

 

Amor’s character has been tweaked a little in the #2015PSY. I would say that the current one has more structure as opposed to the one portrayed by Valdez. The Amor in #2000PSY was a household helper to the Buenavistas, and hers was a typical “rags-to-riches” type of story – very similar to Vilma Santos’s Florida in the 1990 film titled Kapag Langit ang Humatol. 

Jodi’s Amor is someone who dreams of making it big as a nurse someday, but is also developing her culinary skills, which will eventually be the ticket to her success in life. It’s also interesting how she would tackle the role of Amor. In the #2000PSY, Jodi played Lia, the kindhearted daughter of Eduardo and Claudia.

Meanwhile, Garcia and Panganiban have also different characterizations of Claudia. In the new Pangako, Claudia seems to act the way she does as a kind of defense mechanism, and I suspect that this Claudia has more of a ‘heart’ versus Jean’s interpretation, where she was more of a social climber.

The Eduardo of today is an epitome of a man that women would ‘really’ go gaga because he’s ‘god’ with good looks and who belongs to the affluent family. Tonton Gutierrez’s Eduardo is a bit predictable. But given the incarnations of the said character, Ian’s Eduardo feels quite promising. 

#KathNiel versus the Kristine-Jericho tandem

Now, for the love teams. 

According to Olivia Lamasan, the Yna Macaspac of Kathryn Bernardo is mature compared to that of Kristine’s. Hermosa was 17 when she assumed the role, Bernardo is 18. But in terms of the appeal of the character of Angelo, Jericho and Daniel Padilla may be on equal footing.

 

The Kristine-Jericho team up cannot be set aside. Let us always take into consideration that the love team was successful even internationally, in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Singapore. It even crossed over to Africa, earning international fans for both Hermosa and Rosales.

Thus, the former PSY is considered to be one of the most influential primetime dramas or Philippine soap operas ever made. 

Compelling start for the new ‘Pangako’

 

The old series ran for two years and had viewers glued to the TV because of the quality of the melodrama Filipinos are used to, though it did drag somewhere along the way. I don’t think that would work as well in today’s setting, which is probably the very reason why the show is presented in a more fast-paced way this time around. 

This time around, the main leads’ background stories will make each character even stronger – not boring, not predictable, but consistent and more identifiable to its intended audience. Given that route, it looks like it might just shake its rival shows.  

Will you be following the new Pangako? Tell us what you think in the comments below. –Rappler.com