The problem with the recent wave of one-shot soap opera wonders on Philippine television today is that it is exactly that: one-shot. It is in this sense that their creators market upon the short attention span of the Filipino audience, thereby affecting the essence of story.
Everything about the production value of the 'fantaserye' (as they fondly called it) Marina is admirable. The costumes and locations may be considered excellent in Filipino standards. However, behind the height of the production value, characterization and story essence suffered greatly.
Basically, the story of Marina revolves around a mermaid and a beach resort. Sounds laughable? Not entirely. The writers have tried their best to insert a drama-romantic storyline that might help to pull audiences to it. Then again, the plot line falls down into the mediocre category: Anyone can guess what will happen to the story next. The storyline is all the same with all of the soap operas ever shown on TV and the only twist is that the whole thing is set in a semi-fantasy environment.
The only big thing that came out of this program is the character of Dugong, a supposed evil character named after a gentle sea creature. Because of Dugong's popularity (i think even more than the main heroes and heroines) the parent TV network had again blown the character into epic-proportions.
It is still a big mystery why Filipino screen writers cannot make up a story which try to touch the hearts of ordinary persons? Imported TV shows like NYPD Blue or Chicago Hope can be converted into local shows, and I'm sure these programs will be seminal and unforgettable. It is high time for a higher audience mindset in the Philippines. It is exactly for this reason why local movies are easily bombed by international releases.
It is sad to say that Dugong and the fantaserye Marina will suffer the fate of her Philippine TV counterparts: a fad which will soon be forgotten in due time.
