Bayani (TV series)
| Bayani | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
Education Historical fantasy Epic fantasy |
| Starring |
Angelo Cometa Mara Babor Celine Lirio Agatha Tapan Caridad Sanchez Rolando Santos Tinio |
| Country of origin | Philippines |
| Original language(s) | Filipino |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Maria Cielo Reyes |
| Production company(s) | ABS-CBN Foundation |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABS-CBN |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original release | October 11, 1995 – 2001 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Bayani (lit. Hero) is a Philippine educational television series which originally aired from 1995 to 2001. The show was produced by ABS-CBN in cooperation with the Philippine Department of Education (then known as Department of Education, Culture and Sports DECS).
The show revolves around two Grade 4 schoolchildren who discovers a cave where they meet an old woman who tasks them to go back in time to relieve certain events to witness the heroism of select figures in Philippine history.[1]
During its original run, the show airs every weekends on ABS-CBN.
Background
Bayani dramatizes historical events and the lives of Filipino historical heroes as well as their accomplishments from the perspective of two elementary/middle school students named Noli and Ana, who magically travel back in time to retrieve historical items for an old person. Their travels enable them to meet famous Filipino heroes like Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, Apolinario Mabini, Emilio Jacinto, Melchora Aquino, Antonio Luna, Gabriela Silang, Teresa Magbanua, Josefa Llanes Escoda, GOMBURZA, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Gregorio del Pilar, Francisco Balagtas, León Kilat, Marcelo H. Del Pilar and many others.
The first episode of the show had Noli and Ana hiding in a cave in the mountains while fleeing from a gang of bullies. In the cave, an elderly man (Rolando Tinio) meets them and presents himself as the guardian of the cave which holds the memories of Philippine history and the spirit of the country. He then reveals that Noli and Ana were destined to discover the mysterious cave and are chosen ones of pure heart to access a heavy book known as "Aklat ng Kasaysayan" (Book of History). The Guardian then sends them on a magical adventure through time to retrieve various lost and stolen historical items from different time periods. At the end of each travel, the two schoolchildren return with the artifacts and presents them to the guardian, who later becomes a grandfather figure to the children.
Throughout the series, the main setting for the beginning and ending of each episodes is a cave and elderly person is a male. An elderly woman appeared in the next few episodes and also becomes a grandmother figure to the children. After Tinio's death in 1997, the elderly woman becomes a mainstay guardian to the children who regularly visit the cave and also becomes the cave's secret holder. The Book of History is retained.
In the later episodes, the cave setting has been changed to a different setting although the Book of History is still retained. The Rhona Mahilum episode is an example of this change; the show begins in a forest where Noli and Ana camp while the adult guardian is an aunt of theirs and the ending is set in the hospital where the episode's title character is admitted.
Cast
Main Characters
- Angelo Cometa as Noli - the male lead of the series. Cometa played the character which was later cut off after he outgrew his role and aged out of middle school age.
- Various actresses as Ana - Noli's friend and female lead of the series. Ana was played by various actresses which include Mara Babor, Celine Lirio, and Agatha Tapan. Ana was cut off along with Noli after the character's actors outgrew the middle school age.
- Rolando Tinio as Lolo - the guardian of the cave who later becomes a grandfather figure to the children.
- Ermie Concepcion as Lola - serves as the guardian and keeper of the cave; the first replacement actress on the character upon the sudden demise of Rolando Tino.
- Leticia Tizon as Lola - serves as the guardian and keeper of the cave; another temporary replacement of the character upon the sudden death of Tinio.
- Ama Quiambao as Lola - same role as the grandmother character in the series; another temporary replacement of the character in a short period of time upon the death of Tinio.
- Caridad Sanchez as Lola - the female secret keeper of the cave and a grandmother figure to the children. The character replaced Tinio's character after Tinio died in 1997.
- Malou De Guzman as Tita - the aunt of Ana and Noli.
- Mark Guayco as Rolan - the new male lead of the series who replaced Noli (after he was deemed outgrown of elementary school age) and is first introduced in the "Fely Tatlonghari" episode.
- Claudine Alejandro as Lisa - Rolan's friend and the new female lead of the series in "Fely Tatlonghari" episode. She replaced Ana, an original character of the series.
Production
Bayani was produced by a Creative Committee composed of an executive producer, head writer, scriptwriter, and consultants from the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS, later became the Department of Education or DepEd), and the University of the Philippines Department of History. It was meant towards children 7 to 12 years of age. Producers seek to promote the value of heroism, promote the formation of the viewers' Filipino identity, as well as foster awareness regarding the implication of events, actions of people, and promotion of a certain viewpoint to history at large.[1]
Like in Hiraya Manawari and Sineskwela, the Creative Committee of Bayani discuss among themselves which historical hero would they feature in an episode at what heroism did they exhibit. A script for an episode will then be made and it will be vetted by a consultant from UP if the script is faithful to historical facts and records. Further changes will be made until it is approved by the whole committee. Cielo Reyes is the executive producer of Bayani.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 Riosa, Rose-Marie (1997). "Bata, Bata, Halina't Mag-aral... sa Telebisyon*" [Kid, Kid, Come and Study... on Television?]. Alipato: A Journal of Basic Education (in Filipino). 2 (1 & 2): 12–13. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2017.