Television: PMA 3rd placer Prolen Bonacua shares his story in tonight’s ‘Magpakailanman’

All he wanted was to serve his country.

But when Prolen Bonacua first joined the army, it was met with a lot of skepticism from his family and then girlfriend. When they realized that he really does want to become a soldier, they supported his decision–although they continued to advise him on other career paths.

And it seemed that life agreed with Prolen’s family.

Chosen to be part of an exchange program that would send Prolen to the United States, the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) had the soldier undergo a slew of medical tests that revealed a heart condition.

Prolen’s chance to go the United States was taken back. And then he was discharged from the PMA on account of no longer being fit to serve.

But Prolen didn’t let this end his dream.

The soldier went to numerous hospitals to get certification that would say that his heart condition will not be a detriment to his servitude.

That is, until it was discovered that he had Stage 3 Cancer.

Find out tonight how Prolen Bonacua went from a discharged cadet to 3rd place in the PMA Class of 2013, even graduating as second lieutenant, on Magpakailanman.

“For Love of Country: The Prolen Bonacua Story” features TJ Trinidad, Camille Prats, Rez Cortez, Lovely Rivero, JC Tiuseco, Jade Lopez, Kiel Rodriguez, Alvin Aragon and Gino dela Pena; under the direction of Topel Lee, with a script by Des Garbes-Severino, based on the research of Jonathan Cruz.

Magpakailanman airs after Vampire ang Daddy Ko.

Television: Doctor Who and the Name of the Doctor

“Clara is summoned to an impossible conference call, alerting her that the deadly Whisper Men are closing in on Vastra, Jenny and Strax. Someone is kidnapping the Doctor’s friends, leading him toward the one place in all of time and space that he should never go. It’s a deadly trap that threatens to unravel his past, present and future…“

I’m unsure about how I should feel about this episode.

On the one hand, I’m highly satisfied with how they wrapped up the Impossible Girl storyline–and how they wrote in the Great Intelligence into the fabric of Doctor Who history. What I didn’t like so much was how the whole episode didn’t feel like a proper Who episode.

Thing is, I don’t even know how to explain that. But one thing’s for sure. It starts with River Song.

Before we go forward, I would just like to explain how I’m very much a fan of River Song. Until Series 6 happened, that is. But I thought The Angels Take Manhattan did a great job at bringing back the River Song I liked. And then we get the one in this episode.

On the one hand, I liked the fact that Steven Moffat chose the version of River who knew everything to appear in this episode. On the other hand, this raises so many questions for me. Like, how did Madame Vastra manage to contact the consciousness of River Song in the very, very far future–where she lives in a centralized processor that only exists in a planet far away?

The timey-wimey bit worked with Clara, as we already saw that type of sending messages through time in Blink. But I’m really curious as to how they got River.

And why River? Because she knows the name of the Doctor? Because of Trenzalore? But this was just a conclave to talk about saving the Doctor, is it not? Did they know that they would need the name of the Doctor?

If we’re going for people who care about the Doctor, wouldn’t the Paternoster Gang attempt to contact Amy and Rory? Or Jack Harkness? Maybe Martha Jones? People who can actually help the doctor. So why not them? I understand the reality of returning cast members and budgetary constraints–but a clear explanation of why not them would help. Immensely. Especially since the recent run of episodes have all thrown homage to previous episodes–and it’s leading us toward the fiftieth anniversary special.

This is not to say that the episode was bad though. I thought it was exceptionally well-crafted. I just couldn’t get over the fact that for an episode leading to the anniversary, and for a finale episode, this felt really… small. As I said, it didn’t feel like a Who episode. Especially after the big episodes that led to the finale. Where was the grandeur of The Crimson Horror? The impossibility of The Wedding of River Song? Where was the heart-tugging moment of The Rings of Akhaten? The spectacle of The Bells of St. John? Where was the feel of adventure that they’ve been infusing the series with since Series 6′s mid-series finale A Good Man Goes to War?

There’s a feeling of something missing in The Name of the Doctor.

I must say though, Jenna-Louise Coleman did exceptionally well in this episode.

And I really do like the explanation we get as to why Clara became the Impossible Girl.

And I hope that this really is the end of the prophecy that Steven Moffat started in Series 5. That after the Pandorica opens, silence will fall when the question is asked. The Pandorica has already opened. Silence already fell. (And has fallen again.) And the question has been asked.

Let’s go back to the simpler arcs. Like Bad Wolf. Like Vote Saxon.

Or like the cracks in the universe.

Speaking of which. Have we already found out what made the TARDIS explode back in Series 5?

That’s something we’ve yet to discuss, isn’t it?

Well, we’ll hold off on it for now, as we digest the game-changing reveal at the end of The Name of the Doctor. Or we could discuss it during the six months wait we have to endure before the fiftieth anniversary special airs on November. Sound off in the comments section below.

Television: A woman goes to great lengths to protect her daughter in ‘Magpakailanman’

Tonight on Magpakailanman, a mother’s worst fear is realized when a nightmare scenario from her childhood happens again–to her own child.

When “Jessa Aquino,” not her real name, married her husband, she thought she was leaving a nightmare life behind. About to be a single mother, “Jessa” was just trying to get by in life–when love found her and married her. But what she thought was a fairy-tale ending proved to be a red herring as a bigger nightmare awaited her in marriage.

“Jessa” became the breadwinner of the family, leaving her husband to essentially become the housewife. What she didn’t know was that while she is away, her husband has a nasty addiction to porn–leading him to act on his lust with “Jessa’s” eldest daughter!

Confronted by the truth, “Jessa” is shell-shocked. How can something that happened to her as a child happen again? And how could she have been so wrong about her husband who she thought was going to be her family’s savior?

What will “Jessa” do for her family? For her daughter?

Find out tonight’s episode of Magpakailanman featuring Angelu de Leon, Neil Ryan Sese, and Kyle Ocampo. “Child Rape Video Scandal” is directed by Laurice Guillen, with the script by Senedy Que, based on the research of Karen Lustica.

Television: Doctor Who and the Nightmare in Silver

“Welcome to Webley’s World of Wonders! Roll up, roll up. Miracles, marvels and more await you. The wonder of the age. The miracle of modernity. They were defeated a thousand years ago, but now they’re back to destroy you. So fast, so smart, and so strong that fighting them is suicidal. Nightmares in silver! Ladies and gentlemen, behold- the 699th wonder of the universe – the Cybermen! As you’ve never seen them before…“

And so we finally get a proper Cyberman story after 2006′s two-parter episodes Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel. Unless I count 2009′s The Next Doctor. Which I should. But I didn’t like it. I liked the two-parter from Series 2. I loved Nightmare in Silver.

Going into this episode, I actually feared that my bias would color my enjoyment of the episode. To the point that, I might over analyze, and… well, not like the episode. And all because I’m a Gaiman fan.

But I had nothing to fear. Gaiman delivers. And in spade.

The Doctor’s Wife from the last series had a great emotional hook in Amy and Rory, and had the gimmick of turning the TARDIS human. In Nightmare in Silver, Gaiman doesn’t have the luxury of having companions that are already well-loved, that people already care deeply about. His gimmick for the episode isn’t something that all fans are looking forward too–it’s something people are actually apprehensive about: the return of the Cybermen.

Nothing against the previous writers who handled the Cybermen, but when you make emotion their biggest weakness, it makes the Cybermen a bit of a wuss. It was interesting the first time it was done, back in 2006, because it was new. But their subsequent appearances were as easily resolved.

The Cybermen are enduring enemies of the Doctor, but unlike the Dalek, they don’t seem scary at all. Which makes me wonder why lists featuring scariest Doctor Who monsters always include them. Well, Gaiman’s Nightmare in Silver shows us why.

The Cybermen have become too human. To make them scary again, Gaiman took out the humanity. And what we get is an exceptional episode that even includes a great relationship development for the Doctor and Clara.

I do have two gripes for this episode.

Number one, when the Doctor notices the cybermites for the first time, he knew he couldn’t leave the planet. But why have the children stay in the planet instead of in the TARDIS?

Number two, Matt Smith is a great actor, yes–but I thought his CyberPlanner persona was a bit too flamboyant–and not unlike his portrayal of a very happy Doctor. Except more sinister.

I mean, I love the nuances that made Mr. Clever, the CyberPlanner, very distinct from the Doctor. And I get that there’s a bit of tomfoolery in the front that Gaiman wants to keep viewers guessing which Doctor is interacting with Clara. But prior to this–when it’s just the Doctor and the Cyber puppets–I really found it disconcerting that the CyberPlanner and the Doctor were essentially the same.

Unless, there’s a statement there somewhere.

Overall though, excellent episode.

I just hope next week’s finale lives up to the recent exceptional episodes.

Television: A tween becomes a mother tonight in ‘Magpakailanman’

Krystal Reyes features in a career-making role as she stars in the life story of Tintin Ng, a woman who became a mother at the young age of 13.

Taken against her will and kept out of the world, Tintin’s world revolved around the man who took her. But her nightmare world wasn’t so bad and she eventually learned to accept her fate. But when the opportunity to escape presents itself on her 18th birthday, Tintin must figure out if a woman like her can retrieve the childhood taken from her–and if she can leave behind the three children she already bore.

Magpakailanman presents Tintin Ng’s story tonight as a Mother’s Day presentation. The episode also features Gardo Versoza, Ryan Eigenmann, and Mayton Eugenio, under the effective direction of Dominic Zapata, with a script written by Senedy Que, on research materials collected by Cyril Ramos.