Mga Basang Sisiw

Agustin dela Cruz's Mga Basang Sisiw
Also known as	Lost Children
Genre	Drama
Created by	GMA Entertainment TV Group
Developed by	Dode Cruz
Written by	Luningning Interio-Ribay Christine Novicio
Directed by	Ricky Davao
Creative director(s)	Jun Lana
Starring	Lani Mercado Raymond Bagatsing Gardo Versoza Maxene Magalona Mike Tan Renz Valerio Bianca Umali Kimberly Faye Hershey Garcia Miko Zarsadias
Opening theme	"Natutulog Pa Ang Diyos?" sung by Roseanne Magan
Composer(s)	Nonong Buencamino
Country of origin	Philippines
Original language(s)	Filipino, Tagalog, English
No. of episodes	110 episodes
Production
Executive producer(s)	Kaye Atienza-Cadsawan
Location(s)	Quezon City, Philippines
Cinematography	Chiqui Soriano
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Running time	30-45 minutes
Release
Original network	GMA Network
Picture format	480i NTSC
Original release	June 3 (2013-06-03) – November 1, 2013 (2013-11-01)
External links
Website

Mga Basang Sisiw (English: Lost Children) is a Filipino dramatic television series developed by Dode Cruz and produced by GMA Network. It premiered locally on June 3, 2013 and globally on June 5, 2013, via GMA Pinoy TV. The series is inspired by Agustin dela Cruz's classic Filipino film of the same title.

It starred Lani Mercado, Raymond Bagatsing, Gardo Versoza, Maxene Magalona, Mike Tan and featuring Renz Valerio, Bianca Umali, Kimberly Faye, Hershey Garcia and Miko Zarsadias. The show is executive-produced by Kaye Atienza-Cadsawan and directed by Ricky Davao. The show ended its twenty-two week run on November 1, 2013, completing one hundred ten episodes.^[1]

The series chronicles the story of five siblings – Justin, Faye, Shine, Cha and Mickey – and their long and painful journey to rebuild their once happy family.^[2]

Cast and characters

The series featured twelve regular characters, with many other characters recurring all throughout its run.

• Froilan Santos – portrayed by Raymond Bagatsing, the children's father. Froilan is a handsome and wealthy businessman and a responsible father and husband who sometimes gets caught up in the process of trying to succeed. Stern but fair, he treats his children equally.
• Olivia Santos – the children's mother, portrayed by Lani Mercado. She is intelligent, soft-spoken and a dedicated mother and wife. Their family can be described as a "perfect happy family". Her misery begins when her life is shattered by one woman’s greed.
• Victoria "Vicky" Santa Maria – the series' main antagonist & villain, portrayed by Maxene Magalona. She is Olivia's distant relative. She is an AB Psychology undergraduate and is ambitious, scheming, envious and vindictive. Vicky falls in love with Froilan – and his riches. Her main goal is to destroy Olivia and replace her as Mrs. Santos. She dies in car bomb at the cliff.^[3]
• Justin Santos – portrayed by Renz Valerio, fifteen years of age and the eldest of the Santos siblings. He is stubborn and loves gadgets and video games. He gets along with his other siblings, but often argues with Faye.^[4]
• Feline "Faye" Santos – portrayed by Bianca Umali, fourteen years old and the second-oldest. Sheltered, Faye behaves in a formal and correct way. She easily is shocked by crudity. She idolizes and imitates her mother.^[5]
• Sunshine "Shine" Santos – portrayed by Kimberly Faye Fulgar, the ten-year-old middle child. She is hip and trendy. She is light-hearted, fun-loving and loves to sing and dance.
• Charity "Cha" Santos – portrayed by Hershey Garcia, ten years of age and the second-youngest of the Santos' children. She is sickly and the most sheltered among the five. She loves to read and she gets along well with Mickey.
• Michael "Mickey" Santos – portrayed by Miko Zarsadias, the youngest child, approximately five years old. He is hyperactive and gets along well with his sister Cha.
• Efren Rodrigo – portrayed by Gardo Versoza, the series' main antagonist and villain; he was a poor fisherman from an isolated island who saved Olivia’s life and later, helps her search for her missing children. Efren eventually falls in love with Olivia before he dies, gunshot.^[6]
• Gregorio "Rigor" Manalastas – portrayed by Mike Tan, a tough guy whom the kids meet in the street. He is easy-going and possesses a "bad boy" image. He works as the right-hand man of a syndicate leader. He is also Vicky's ex-boyfriend.^[7]
• Lola Lagring – portrayed by Caridad Sanchez, the dirty and old bag lady who eventually adopts and becomes the children's guardian. Lagring is a lonely widow abandoned by her children. She is bitter and cynical, but is kindly.^[8]
• Cecilia "Cecile" Reyes – portrayed by Maricris Garcia, Vicky's socialite friend. She betrays Vicky and helps Olivia.

Background

The television series is a re-imagining of Agustin dela Cruz's blockbuster classic flick Mga Basang Sisiw (a Pinoy idiomatic expression which means pitiful/hopeless/in dire condition). Produced and released by BSH Films in 1981, the movie stars Julie Vega, Janice de Belen, Cheche Perez de Tagle, Sheryl Cruz, Niño Muhlach and Helen Vela, who also served as producer.^[9]

Production and development

April 2013, GMA Network announced that they would adapt Mga Basang Sisiw into a soap opera, posing the theme: "No matter how bad life seems, someone always shares and understands one's confinement in such a desperate state." Head writer Richard Cruz enhanced the original plot by adding twists, subplots and additional characters. The series was executive produced by Kaye Atienza-Cadsawan and directed by Ricky Davao. The creative team was composed of Afternoon Prime Head, Roy Iglesias; Creative Consultant, Kit Villanueva Langit; Program Manager, Hazel F. Abonita; Headwriter, Richard Dode Cruz; writers, Luningning Ribay and Christine Novicio; and Brainstormers, Gilda Olvidado and Liberty Trinidad.^[10]

The series features eleven regular speaking roles. The majority of the ensemble cast was assembled in March/April 2013. Lani Mercado and Raymond Bagatsing were the first two actors to be chosen. The role of Vicky Santa Maria was originally offered to LJ Reyes who declined, so it was given to Maxene Magalona – her first "anti-hero" role.^[11] Magalona described her role as "super villain" and further stated "later in the series, it will be shown why my character is behaving that way, cold and cruel. [...] people will also sympathize with my character when they understand why she's acting that way."^[12] Gardo Versoza, veteran actress Caridad Sanchez and Mike Tan were the last actors to be cast.^[13] Tan described his role Rigor Manalastas as a "grey" character and "you either love him or hate him."^[14]

Production began in May 2013. The show premiered on the 3rd of June 2013, 2:30 p.m. time slot on GMA Afternoon Prime block.

Awards and nominations

See also

• List of programs broadcast by GMA Network
• List of telenovelas of GMA Network
• Saang Sulok ng Langit
• Basahang Ginto

References

External links

• GMA Network official website
• GMA Network Official Facebook Page