The jury is now out. 2009 has been quite the year for our local soaps as it is marked by several reimagined TV remakes as well as Twitter-worthy original dramas. IN no particular order, here’s my list of my 5 top local dramas of the year.

1. Ikaw Sana (GMA)

A story of love amidst the turmoil, deception and betrayal. GMA madeits return to the traditional drama hour of the 6pm timeslot with its first set of soaps, All My Life and the follow up soap, Ikaw Sana. Nice to see Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras paired on screen again after quite a long time. Their acting have definetly improved since they started in the biz more than 6 years ago. Nice to see Pauleen Luna as well on the mix. Add to that is their supporting cast which provides much of the drama for the three major characters which Herras, Mercado and Luna portray.

2. May Bukas Pa (ABS-CBN)

A breather from the usual Philippine soap, MBP tells about a boy who is gifted with power of touching people’s lives at a time of lost hope and sadness.

Similar in a way with an earlier series, “Mga Mata ni Anghelita”, it has the same types of characters: the evil mayor, the gossiping kumares and the unbelieving townsfolk. What sets it apart is that the show takes on an episodic format with Santino, with the help of his father-figuring monk family as well as “Bro” helping a person in need. It also made a great display of human nature, how cruel and uncaring people can be but at the same time how willing they are to change for the better.

The show, still running for almost a year now is already reaching its saturation point. Hopefully, it will finally end its run in March 2010 giving a much needed break to the lead actor who portrays Santino.

3. Tayong Dalawa (ABS-CBN)

Tayong Dalawa, a show about paternal twin Amerasian brothers who were separated by birth, brought together by destiny and divided by their love over a single woman. Drama at its finest, the show is supported by an able-bodied cast from Cherry Pie Picache to Gina Pareno.

What I hate though was how the network promoted the series: using its supporting cast’s achievements in their field of expertise. it kinda takes away the attention from what viewers should really focus on: The characters of JR and Dave, played by Gerald Anderson and Jake Cuenca respectively. The acting is superb, the writing is powerful and the execution admirable.

One thing that came out definitely was the hate of Kim Chiu’s character, Audrey. Being the source of division between the brothers, some fans showed rejoice over her death on the second-to-the last episode of the series. Bad of them to do that but it became clear that TD ended on a very high note with one major cliffhanger that will most likely never going to explore.

Another cause of concern was its constant continuity errors with the characters’ age. JR and Dave were born onscreen on 1992 in the series, but on the final episode where there was a scene showing Audrey’s gravestone, it says she was born on 1984. That moment may have meant that the writers imposed SORAS (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome) to JR, Dave, Audrey, and the other younger characters, aging them by about 5 years.

Imagine JR and Dave, both finished military school, enlisted in the Army and made wedding vows to Audrey at the tender age of 17.

4. Stairway to Heaven (GMA)

Stairway to Heaven is the local adaptation of a popular Korean drama series. A story about love lost that was later found until it was too late. Starring Dingdong Dantes and Rhian Santos, the show made good of not depending too much on the premise of the original for which STH was based upon. Although I wasn’t able to watch this show religiously, I keep myself updated through recaps. I could safely say that the show’s ending best highlighted itself as a whole.

One thing bothers me though is that I’m a bit unsure of whether Dantes is actually good on playing the piano. His character’s original portrayer, Kwon Sang Woo was actually seen playing the piano himself onscreen.

I doubt GMA’s choice of casting Rhian Ramos as Jodi because I can’t exactly see her as Jodi, especially with the age gap she has with Dingdong but she proved that she could portray any character with ease.

5. Only You (ABS-CBN)

Another series based on a Korean drama, Only You focuses on the life and cooking ambitions of the main character, Jillian (Angel Locsin), as she faces the spices of life with the support of her family and best friend, Jonathan (Diether Ocampo). Along the way, she met the love of her life, TJ (Sam Milby). That love bore fruit a son that Jillian solely took responsibility as a single mother, things of which went unknown to TJ until years later.

I like the fact that the show didn’t exactly follow the same set of events from the original series, instead passing itself as something distinct, different and essentially Filipino and they passed it off with flying colors, much to viewers’ delight. Only You for the most part, the unremake-ish of all the past remade soaps from any of the two major networks.

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Here’s hoping that the networks produce more original drama, and take the risk of not using the tried-and-tested formula of storytelling since viewers want more than just the same old-same old. Lessen the remakes, improve the sitcoms and put an end to this ridiculous network war.

2009 made a 360 degree turn with the way I observe my TV viewing habits. I immediately got hooked on a number of American TV serials starting with the 2008-2009 season, as well as shows from the current season. Here’s my list of my 5 favorites in no particular order.

1. 90210 (The CW)

The fourth series of the Beverly Hills 90210 franchise and a direct continuation of its mother show, 90210 follows the lives of teenagers living in the promiscuous world of Beverly Hills. Its first season has been rocky, almost losing direction as tries to to be two different things.

But came in a new showrunner, and we saw a show no longer about the glitz and glamor found in the zip but dwelled more on the lives and relationships of its core characters: turmoil within the Wilsons, a drug relapse, a perky girl’s spiralled isolation, a torned sister, and a mother’s lasting redemption.

With the teen drama reaching creative highs this year, here’s hoping it finally found its place in the TV world.

If you wanna live in the zip, you got to live by the code.

2. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX)

I’m very picky when it comes to sci fi serials. For one thing, it’s hard for me to keep myself interested with such shows, from Star Trek TNG to Earth’s Final Conflict to The X Files. What made TSCC stand out from the rest is its subtle and careful way of storytelling.

 Being set in an alternate universe after the events of T2, the show saw the potential of developing the Terminator mythology throughout the course of its second and final season. One notable element that made the show such a delight is its handling of character development which makes up much of the drama and tension of the series.

It tries as much as it could to not become one of those “Monster of the Week” shows, with a lone story arc given greater emphasis. One scene that really got to me was that mother-and-son moment between Lena Headey (Sarah) and Thomas Dekker (John), man did that broke me into tears.

Summer Glau, besides being very hot, is such an ice breaker while playing Cameron. Nuff said.

3. Guiding Light (CBS)

Well, I got to hand it to the guys from P&G. They made a soap opera addict out of me with GL although it’s very unfortunate that I only got to enjoy this great show for over 7 months. Last September, the longest running scripted entertainment program end up its quarter century run in light of low ratings.

 As a last-minute plan on saving the show, the producers made the drastic move a year before of using extensive outdoor locations, permanent sets and “shaky” hand-held cameras. the move granted them only a year to continue (which is 2009) but on April1, CBS decided to axe the show.

The soap, which is about the trials and tribulations of the core families living in the fictional Midwestern town of Springfield, kind of benefited with the change of its creative model. For one, it gave the characters more realism than other characters from the soap realm. Second it became a show about a community of friends, neighbors and ultimately, FAMILY. Third, it gave the world a dose of OTALIA, the lesbian supercouple with a heart and a soul! Very unfortunate that the cancellation brought to a disappointing halt of one of its then ongoing storylines but the finale gave us a somehow bittersweet yet satisfying conclusion.

Only love can save the world.

3. As the World Turns (CBS)

Another daytime soap I feel in love with. The show focuses on the lives of residents living in the fictional town of Oakdale, and mostly revolves on the major core families of the show: the Hughes, Stewarts, Ryans, Grimaldis and Snyders.

The stories are engaging and exciting, very intense yet very slow, twists and turns comes unexpected. As good as this show is, it also became a victim of the pink slip with its run ending next fall after being on the air for 54 years.

Life As You Know It. Life As You’ve Never Seen It.

4. One Life to Live (ABC)

Yet another daytime drama, I got hooked on this show last March 2009 when the show was in the middle of a storyline about a baby-switch (babies switched at birth, get it? hehehe). When the storyline ended in June, I was by then a certified OLTL lover.

What I love about this series is the variety of its core casts: a melting pot of different ethinicties. The writing is superb and its careful handling of stories are well-executed.

Among them is the much-talked about “coming-out” gay storyline, the “Kish” love story of Oliver Fish and Kyle Lewis. Other shows have made use of stunt storylines about gays and lesbians but what made this different is the fact that it was never intended that to be a “stunt” to begin with, more so it that it was treated like any love story: Very touching yet remaining relevant on the issues brought about being different.

Live life to the fullest because we have only one life to live.

5. Glee (Fox)

The most phenomenal series of the current, Glee is a dramedy about a high school glee club trying to reclaim its lost glory by joining the annual interschool sectionals but its efforts are being hindered by the school’s villainous and scheming gym teacher.

The series is headed by an ensemble cast of colorful and very talented ensemble cast: Matthew Morrison (last seen on Ghost Whisperer), Jane Lynch (Another Cinderella Story), Cory Monteith, Lea Michele, Jayma Mays (Heroes), Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Harry Shum (as Other Asian), Amber Riley, Mark Salling, and Chris Colfer.

Things I love about this show are its quirky dark comedy (yes, it is dark), the tensioned  drama and its wonderful musical numbers. My fave Glee-fied songs are Don’t Stop Believing by Journey, No Air by Chris Brown and Jordin Sparks, and Single Ladies by Beyonce.

One thing that Glee need not to show is letting Matthew Morrison rap, because he sucks at it, especially after seeing his take on Sisqo’s Thong Song. 🙂