Bituing Walang Ningning
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Bituing Walang Ningning was a popular Filipino television serial drama that began airing in May 15, 2006, and ended on October 6 of that same year on the ABS-CBN television network. For most of its run, the soap opera was the network's highest rating show in primetime. The network referred to the TV series as sineserye, meaning movie that became a tv series.
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[edit] Movie adaptation
| Bituing Walng Ningning | |
|---|---|
 Bituing Walang Ningning |
|
| Directed by | Emmanuel H. Borlaza |
| Produced by | Vic del Rosario, Jr. |
| Starring | Sharon Cuneta Christopher de Leon Cherie Gil |
| Distributed by | Viva Films |
| Release date(s) | March 16, 1985 |
| Running time | 126 min. |
| Language | Tagalog |
| IMDb profile | |
The story originally became popular in the Philippines as a serialized comic strip (Komiks) created by Nerissa Cabral. The title translates roughly as "The Star Without Shine".
The original story was made into a movie with the same title (Bituing Walang Ningning) in 1985 by Viva Films. The movie was a blockbuster hit, and starred Sharon Cuneta (as Dorina Pineda), Cherie Gil (as Lavinia Arguelles), and Christopher de Leon (as Nico Escobar).
The movie is also the source of one of Philippine cinema's most recognized lines: "You're nothing but a second-rate, trying hard copycat!" (Lavinia to Dorina), a line that was also used in the TV series.
[edit] The original Komiks
Bituing Walang Ningning originally became popular in the Philippines as a serialized comic strip (Komiks) by Nerissa Cabral. The title translates roughly as "The Star Without Shine".
[edit] Plot summary
Dorina was Lavinia's most avid fan. She gave Lavinia flowers; she watched Lavinia's shows; she followed Lavinia everywhere. But in the end, Dorina would be more popular than Lavinia.
The original Komiks was made into a movie with the same title (Bituing Walang Ningning). The movie became a blockbuster hit when it was released in mid-1980s. The movie version starred Sharon Cuneta (as Dorina Pineda), Cherie Gil (as Lavinia Arguelles), and Christopher de Leon (as Nico Escobar).
The movie is the source of one of Philippine cinema's most recognized lines: "You're nothing but a second-rate, trying hard! Copycat!"
[edit] Television series
| Bituing Walang Ningning | |
|---|---|
 Dorina Pineda and Lavinia Arguelles |
|
| Genre | Drama, Musical, Romance |
| Creator(s) | ABS-CBN |
| Starring | Sarah Geronimo Angelika dela Cruz Zsa Zsa Padilla Tonton Guttierrez Ryan Agoncillo Dominic Ochoa Ai-Ai de las Alas Carla Humphries Carlo Aquino John Prats Janus del Prado etc. |
| Country of origin |  Philippines |
| No. of episodes | 105 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Emerald Suarez Kylie Manalo |
| Running time | 25-30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABS-CBN |
| Original run | May 15, 2006 – October 6, 2006 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
[edit] The story
Emilio and Rosa Mia are a loving couple expecting their first child. Rosa Mia is an aspiring singer, working at cheap bars to earn a living while Emilio is security guard where Rosa Mia works. When the bar owner learns of their relationship and Rosa Mia’s pregnancy, talk show host fires them from the club leaving them jobless and destitute. But although poor, they remain optimistic about their future together.
One night, as Emilio was out job hunting, Rosa Mia starts to labor. With no one to help, she runs out in the pouring rain to get to the hospital. Fortunately, Emilio arrives and sees Rosa Mia struggling; but by then, it’s too late to go to the hospital and Rosa Mia gives birth to a baby girl out in the streets. They name the baby Emilia Rose.
Emilia Rose develops lung problems and this causes her to be sickly and be in and out of hospitals. Desperate because of rising hospital costs, Rosa Mia accepts a month-long singing engagement in Cebu, leaving Emilio to take care of the baby on his own. So when out on his new job as a security guard in another club, Emilio brings his baby with him.
But on one occasion, his boss sends him off to deliver a package in a different club. While on this errand, Emilio leaves the baby with an acquaintance because he can’t bring the baby inside with him. This is Adora, a rose vendor outside the clubs of Malate.
Adora agrees to take care of the baby for a few minutes, waiting outside the club for Emilio to return. Unknown to Adora, Emilio gets arrested inside the club because the package turns out to filled with drugs. Adora waits all night but Emilio never returns. Adora then brings the baby home with her.
The loss of Emilia Rose and Emilio’s subsequent imprisonment lead to bitterness and separation between Emilio and Rosa Mia. Adora on the other hand falls for the baby and decides to raise her as her own, calling her Adorina, Dorina for short.
Meanwhile, with the loss of her child, Rosa Mia pours herself in her singing until she gets discovered by Lauro Calma, a record producer. He develops Rosa Mia to be a star, asking her not to reveal to anyone that she’s married and had a child. Rosa Mia agrees. Soon Rosa Mia rises to fame, and becomes the Sensational Diva.
[edit] Dorina & Lavinia
Dorina grows up to be happy child with Adora. They both enjoy music and are big fans of Rosa Mia.
Meanwhile, another up and coming singer emerges in the scene. She is Lavinia. Her ambitious mother, Barbara, tells Lavinia to befriend Rosa Mia to speed up her popularity. Lonely and vulnerable, Rosa Mia takes Lavinia under her wing, seeking a replacement for the daughter she pines for even after so many years.
With Rosa Mia’s help, Lavinia also becomes very popular. But it’s not enough for Barbara. She wants Lavinia to be on top. So Barbara connives with Larry Calma, the son of Rosa Mia’s manager, Lauro.
Larry wants to prove himself to his father so he handles Lavinia and connives with Barbara to knock off Rosa Mia from the top spot, leaving Lavinia as the ultimate and most popular singer. Through intrigue and character assassination, they succeed. Rosa Mia falls from grace and loses her reputation and popularty so she turns her back from showbusiness and returns to singing in small clubs.
Soon, Dorina begins to idolize Lavinia. She goes to her every concert, show and personal appearances to catch a glimpse of her idol and offer her Sampaguita. But Dorina also loves to sing. With the help of Adora and her bestfriend Oman, Dorina joins singing contests until she eventually wins in a nationwide and televised singing contest. She gains the attention of all, including Nico Escobar, the boyfriend of Lavinia.
[edit] Lavinia – Nico – Dorina
Nico is in love with Lavinia. But it becomes clear that Lavinia is too involved in her career. She refuses to marry him for fear she won’t be as popular anymore.
Bitter and angry, Nico plans to show Lavinia that her career should not be the most important priority in her life so he plans to develop another singer to compete with Lavinia and knock her out of the top spot.
Nico uses Dorina to accomplish this. With his friend Zossimo, Nico puts up Zoni Records to develop Dorina’s singing career.
[edit] Dorina’s Love
Soon after, Dorina finds herself admiring Nico and develops feelings for him, but she doesn’t know how Nico feels about her.Dorina’s interest in Nico comes as a blow for her bestfriend Oman and her band-mate Gary who are both in love with Dorina.
[edit] Dorina vs. Lavinia
Soon, Dorina gains fame and Lavinia becomes threatened by this. After a big event, Lavinia becomes so enraged by Dorina’s great performance and attention of all that she attacks Dorina and calls her a copycat. This then spurs Dorina to fight back.
[edit] Dorina & Rosa Mia
Nico and Zossimo find a song once composed by Rosa Mia before she left the music scene. They buy the song from Rosa Mia and ask her to help Dorina with her singing. At first, Rosa Mia refuses after what happened with Lavinia. But eventually she can’t resist Dorina and agrees to help her out. They soon become close, not knowing of their real relationship with each other.
[edit] Dorina & Emilio
Not long after, Emilio is released from prison with the goal of finding Adora and his daughter. He later succeeds and finds Adora, only to learn that his daughter is Dorina, the singer he’s been admiring even when still in prison. Emilio then decides not to tell Dorina of their real relationship for fear of destroying Dorina’s career and all that she has worked hard for. But to be close to his daughter, Emilio takes on a job as Dorina’s driver/bodyguard.
[edit] The Stage is Set
Things are falling into place. Dorina is unwittingly with her real parents, Emilio and Rosa Mia, and it is only a matter of time for the truth to surface.
This is Adora’s dilemma. Will she give Dorina to her real parents or fight to keep her till the end?
Lavinia is threatened by Dorina’s growing popularity. Lavinia will continue to fight to remain on top but this time, Dorina won’t take it sitting down. This will lead to a showdown between the two.
With her ever growing popularity, who is the right man for Dorina? Nico, who moulded her into a great star? Gary, who Dorina makes beautiful music with? Or Oman, the loyal and trustworthy best friend?
And what about Dorina herself? Will she find true happiness basking in the limelight of success?
This is "Bituing Walang Ningning".
[edit] Ratings
Bituing Walang Ningning garnered 29.2% (Mega Manila) for its pilot episode against its rival show Extra Challenge,which garnered 32% on the same day. The show continued to plunge down and soar up from the low to high 20's, and was pitted against many Telefantasyas, such as Captain Barbell after Extra Challenge ended.Although it was ABS-CBN's highest rated show for almost all of its run it was constantly beaten by programs on GMA Network.However for its final episode, Bituing Walang Ningning shot up to 34.8% making it a stagering success against its GMA 7 counterpart Atlantika which got 26% allowing Bituing to be no.1 for its final episode challenging GMA Network's dominance cast. In the nationwide ratings, released by AGB Nielsen Phils., Bituing Walang Ningning became the 2nd highest rating TV show for the year 2006, garnering a whopping 45.1%.
[edit] Cast
The following table summarizes the main cast.
| Character | Actor/Actress | Character Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dorina Pineda / Emilia Rose Suarez | Sarah Geronimo | 18 years old. Hardworking. Grateful for her blessings despite being born poor. The most important thing in her life is her family. A dutiful child, a loving sister. Devout. Devotee of the Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran Church. An exceptional singer, and a frequent participant in singing contests. Patient, not easily angered unless provoked. Love is far from her mind - what's important to her is her singing, her family, and God. Used to working to help provide for her family. Was a sampaguita vendor outside the Baclaran church. |
| Rosa Mia Suarez | Zsa Zsa Padilla | 35 years old. Dorina's mother. A singer. Separated from Dorina while her daughter was still a baby. She loves her lost daughter, but does not know how to begin looking for her. Hardworking. Became a famous singer, but her career did not last. Eventually reduced to singing in small bars to make a living, until through a twist of fate, she crosses paths with Dorina, without realizing that she has met her daughter. Became Dorina's mentor. |
| Emilio Suarez | Tonton Gutierrez | 40 years old. Dorina's father. Security guard. Loves his wife Rosamia, but felt some jealousy because his wife's career picked up faster than his. He is responsible for the loss of baby Emilia Rose. Falsely accused of being a drug pusher, he served time in prison. Upon his release, he searched for and found his long-lost daughter. But Dorina was already famous; he did not want his past to ruin his child's future. He chose to keep quiet about his identity; instead, he applied to be Dorina's driver and bodyguard. Loyal and protective. His only wish is for his daughter to have a good life. |
| Adora Pineda | Ai-Ai de las Alas | 35 years old. Does not have a child of her own. Had to undergo a hysterectomy as a result of a miscarriage. Was abandoned by her husband. She found baby Emilia Rose and raised her as her own child. Dorina knows she is adopted, but she does not yearn for her parents because Adora loves her dearly. Adora earns a meager living as a vendor in a food stand. She gives her all to her two daughters. |
| Bencho Pineda | Mica Roi Torre | 6 years old. Adora's niece. Her mother died of cancer, so Adora has raised Bencho as her own child. Dorina loves her dearly, which is why Dorina and Adora try to spoil her as much as they can. Cute, persistent, and nosy. Always ready to start a fight with Adora's or Dorina's detractors. An avid fan of a Dorina/Oman romance, she consistently tells Oman to declare his feelings. |
| Lavinia Arguelles | Angelika dela Cruz | 25 years old. From childhood, she has been forced by her mother to work. Her mother dreams of turning her daughter into a star. Briefly became Rosamia's protégé, but in the end, she turned on her mentor and contributed directly to Rosamia's downfall. Due to her mother's brainwashing, her life and her happiness revolves around the bright lights and the applause of her fans. She will do anything, step on anyone just to reach her dreams. Being an artist is all she knows. She will turn her back on her own family to hold onto her career. She has promised Larry that she will marry him if he keeps her on top of the singing world. |
| Barbara Arguelles | Amy Austria | 45 years old. A former maid of an expatriate American with whom she eventually had children. Stage mother. Has two beautiful and talented daughters. When her husband died, she was left with nothing because her husband turned out to have another family in the US. She brainwashed her children, forced Lavinia to work. She does not realize that she is creating her own worst nightmare... because before long, Lavinia will turn on her. |
| Rita Arguelles | Carla Humphries | Lavinia's sister. Dorina's friend. Guitar player. She befriends Dorina and lets her know that in her mother's eyes, she is forever in her sister's shadow. Fights Barbara when her mother's ambitious nature leads her to acts of treachery. Her own musical aspirations inadvertently lead to a confrontation with her own sister. |
| Nico Escobar | Ryan Agoncillo | 25 years old. Rich. A gentleman. A good man. Decided to strike out on his own rather than join his father's business because he wants to help Lavinia with her career. But when Lavinia turned down his marriage proposal, he decided to support Dorina and pit her against Lavinia. He does not realize when Dorina grows to have feelings for him. |
| Gary | John Prats | 19 years old. A good man, but aggressive. Frank. "Live by the day" is his motto. He does not plan too far ahead. A free spirit. Backup singer and arranger of Dorina's band. He eventually falls in love with Dorina. He is prepared to wait until Dorina returns his feelings. |
| Norman "Oman" Fidel Gonzales | Carlo Aquino | 20 years old. Grew up with Dorina. Her bestfriend. Shy. Has common tastes. Did not finish school, but became Dorina's inspiration in her quest to better her own life. Decided to resume his studies for Dorina, because he loves her and wants to prove himself worthy of her. But no matter what he does, he feels he cannot keep up with Dorina's success. "Gave up" on Dorina and is developing feelings for a classmate, Kylie, but are his feelings for real? Or just a defense mechanism to hide his hurt for his unreciprocated feelings for Dorina? |
| Zossimo | Mico Palanca | 25 years old. Rich. A businessman. A good musician. Nico's best friend. Also became Nico's business partner when they set up a recording company to promote Dorina. |
| Larry Calma | Dominic Ochoa | 30 years old. Producer of Lavinia's recording company. Shrewd. Will do anything for Lavinia, because unknown to her, Larry is in love with her. Even when Lavinia is no longer popular, he will continue to build up her career. |
| Libby | Tuesday Vargas | Larry's Executive Assistant. Will carry out Lavinia and Larry's orders but always with hesitation. Has frequently shown (albeit, subtlely) admiration for Dorina and her plight. |
| Jay | Jay Perillo | Guitarist. Former member of Halo, Dorina's band. Bad tempered and will do anything for fame and money. Betrayed Dorina and the band when he and Chris unwittingly became Larry's spies after he offered them a "better" contract under LaCalma Records. |
| Chris | Chris Cayzer | Guitarist. Former member of Halo, Dorina's band. Level-headed, but can be blinded by money. When infighting surfaces in the band, he is quick to defend Jay. Betrayed Dorina and the band when he and Jay unwittingly became Larry's spies after he offered them a "better" contract under LaCalma Records. |
| Jack | Janus del Prado | Keyboardist (and sometimes guitarist). A member of Halo, Dorina's band. Rita's boyfriend. As the level-headed one of the group, he is often mediating between infighting in the band that pitted Gary against Jay and Chris. |
| Minda | Jennifer Illustre | Adora's best friend. |
| Bombee | Emilio's best friend. | |
| Oscar Clemente | Benjie Felipe | The reporter that was used by Lavinia to bring Rosamia and Dorina down from their spot and become unpopular. Oscar would say bad things in his newspaper column about Dorina and Rosamia for money. |
| Kylie | Brenda Fox | A very close friend of Oman and Dorina. Dorina thought that Kylie is Oman's girlfriend. |
| Andrei | Charles Christianson | Ex- Boyfriend of Kylie and is very jealous of Oman because he thought that Oman is Kylie's boyfriend |
[edit] Innovations in the TV series
A number of plot and character differences were introduced in the TV version, in part to extend the limited story line of the movie:
- Dorina's birth parents are new additions to the story
- Lavinia's family (mother, sister) are also new additions
- The TV version attempts to provide an explanation for Lavinia's evil ways; no explanation was provided in the movie
- While the TV version stayed faithful to the fact that Nico made Dorina a star, it also shows that her career was helped by her joining a competition Star in a Million
- The character of Oman is also a new addition
- The TV version has three love triangles (Dorina-Oman-Gary, Lavinia-Nico-Larry and Dorina-Nico-Lavinia). In the movie version, the primary love triangle was between Dorina-Nico-Lavinia.
- The TV version staged a Grand Showdown, dubbed as "The Clash of the Divas", between Dorina and Lavinia. The Grand Showdown scenes were taped in front of a live audience of more than 15,000 viewers on September 19, 2006 at the Araneta Coliseum[1]. Selected scenes from the Grand Showdown were used in the show's final episodes.
- The October 1, 2006 episode of The Buzz interviewed Sarah Geronimo and Angelika Dela Cruz in their characters on the TV series as part of the show's promotion. The Buzz made if appear as if Boy Abunda is interviewing Dorina, and Kris Aquino is interviewing Lavinia, in real time. Sarah Geronimo had a taped interview with Boy Abunda in the role of Dorina, while Angelika Dela Cruz, in the character of Lavinia, reacted to Dorina's interview in a live interview with Kris Aquino. The interview was also aired the next day in the fifth to the last episode of the series.
[edit] Trivia about the TV series
- Writer Nerissa Cabral agreed to grant the rights to the TV version on two conditions:
- that Sarah Geronimo portray the role of Dorina Pineda; and
- that the story stay true to the fan-star relationship depicted in the original story.
- Actress Angelika dela Cruz was originally hesitant to accept the role of Lavinia, fearing that she would be typecasted in antagonist roles. She eventually decided to accept the role because (among other reasons) it gave her a chance to resume her singing career, which had been on hold for several years due to legal problems with her previous recording label.
- Two rival entertainment reporters on the TV series (Oscar and Edith) are portrayed by real-life husband and wife Benjie Felipe and Lisa Andaya.
- The Grand Showdown that was taped at the Araneta Coliseum also held a post-finale concert, featuring several ABS-CBN Artists, with Aga Muhlach as the most important guest. The concert was majorly sponsored by Jollibee and was aired on ABS-CBN last October 15, 2006.
- In the recently concluded ASAP Pop Viewer's Choice Awards 2006, this series won Pop TV show of the year, Pop TV Theme Song and Pop TV Character (Dorina Pineda).
- Bituing Walang Ningning was one of the "Most Well-Liked TV Program" of the Year in the Anak TV Seal Award 2006.
[edit] Episodes
- Further information: List of Bituing Walang Ningning episodes
[edit] Soundtrack
The Bituing Walang Ningning soundtrack is jointly produced by Viva Records and Star Records[2]. The soundtrack was released in May 2006, before the series began airing and features performances by cast members. The album reached Gold status selling more than 15,000 copies nationwide.
The tracks in the original soundtrack are:
- Bituing Walang Ningning - Sarah Geronimo
- Sana'y Maghintay ang Walang Hanggan - Zsa Zsa Padilla
- Nasaan Ka Man - Zsa Zsa Padilla and Sarah Geronimo
- Miss na Miss Kita - Angelika dela Cruz
- Dito Ba - Sarah Geronimo and Angelika dela Cruz
- Hold On - Chris Cayzer
- Kanta Tayo - Ai-Ai de las Alas
- Bakit Ba Ganyan - Carlo Aquino
- Missing You - Jay Perillo
- Bituing Walang Ningning (Radio Edit)
The soundtrack was repackaged in July 2006 and re-released with two additional tracks:
- Felt So Right - Sarah Geronimo
- Million Miles Away - Sarah Geronimo
