‘Dalawang Mrs. Real’ should get real!
It may not be quite a good idea from the start.
Pitting yet another mistress or an actual second wife drama against an already established show in the “genre” as you may call it isn’t what you call TV programming wisdom.
But, heck, why not?
And off GMA-7’s Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real went, as it locked horns against ABS-CBN's The Legal Wife, which had been into its final weeks of airing. And just like its rival on the late evening timeslot, it presented what the title so obviously suggests, a man with two wives—yes, a two-timer once more.
Ambitious premiere
Despite the ambitious premiere, with visual treats you only see in expensive films, Mrs. Real was wanting in an obvious element—a discernible story. While it is already quite evident how the story will go, the creative team decided to make things difficult for viewers, making them pop the question bubble above their heads practically almost every minute.
Such questions normally spark curiosity. They make the audience check each day if their questions had been answered. But as the episodes went on, people are still denied any resolution. They have endure another week of telecasts to check back.
Challenge
Understanding how the original couple met and married 10 years after is quite a challenge for your regular telenovela aficionado. Anthony Real (Yahoo! Celebrity 2014 Actor of the Year nominee Dingdong Dantes) and Millet Gonzales (Maricel Soriano) are shown as a perfect couple and family with a great life amid imperfections. They might have a meddlesome, cruel character (Millet’s father Henry played by Robert Arevalo) to deal with but all is well. And yes, the much-awaited encounter with the eventual second wife, Sheila Salazar (portrayed by Lovi Poe) was also a grand event with, again, astounding visual treats.
But determining how their fates will eventually collide might as well be anti-climactic, or worse, something the audience would least care about.
Storyline gaps
Gaps in the storyline, even if intended to push creative boundaries, were all too glaring for the audience to fathom. Hence, they look elsewhere for “easier digestion.” Who could blame those who chose Yahoo! Celebrity 2014 Teleserye of the Year nominee The Legal Wife’s last few episodes over Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real’s pilot telecast? Legal Wife beat Mrs. Real 36-to-8 in the overnight ratings. Yes, the audience wants its mistress dramas “in your face”!
It’s such a pity, given the spellbinding performances of the cast, led by the Diamond Star, who gives a portrayal at par with her personal best in Soltera, Dahas and Separada.
It is not too late. Those behind this production should read the signs this early, and do something drastic to save the show. Story development should make sense and be clear, and not leave the audience with “huh’s?” but more of “whoa’s!” “yeahs!” and “wtf’s!”. It should provoke emotion and discussion and less of finding the “missing links”.
