''Mga Basang Sisiw'' (International title: ''Lost Children'' / ) is a 2013

Philippine television drama Philippine television drama, also known as ''teleserye'', Filipino telenovelas or P-drama, is a form of melodramatic, serialized, televised fiction in the Philippines. ''Teleserye'' is derived from two Filipino words: "tele", short for "''telebi ...

series broadcast by

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

. The series is based on a 1981 Philippine film of the same title. Directed by

Ricky Davao Frederick Charles Davao, professionally known as Ricky Davao (born May 30, 1961) is a Filipino actor, television director, and industrial management engineer (graduated from Mapua Institute of Technology. He is the husband of actress Jackie Lou ...

, it stars Renz Valerio, Bianca Umali, Kimberly Faye, Hershey Garcia and Miko Zarsadias. It premiered on June 3, 2013, on the network's Afternoon Prime line up replacing '' Unforgettable''. The series concluded on November 1, 2013, with a total of 110 episodes. It was replaced by '' Villa Quintana'' in its timeslot.

Premise

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.

Cast and characters

;Lead cast * Renz Valerio as Justin Santos * Bianca Umali as Feline "Faye" Santos * Kimberly Faye Fulgar as Sunshine "Shine" Santos * Hershey Garcia as Charity "Cha" Santos * Miko Zarsadias as Michael "Mickey" Santos ;Supporting cast *

Raymond Bagatsing Ramon "Raymond" San Diego Bagatsing III is a Filipino actor, model and aspiring politician. Having jumpstarted his acting career in the early 90s, he is most notable for the role of Jaime Laurel in the hit ABS-CBN series ''Pusong Ligaw''. Ea ...

as Froilan Santos *

Lani Mercado Lani Mercado-Revilla (born Jesusa Victoria Garcia Hernandez; April 13, 1968) is a Filipino actress and politician serving as representative of Cavite's 2nd district, which comprises only the city of Bacoor, from 2010 to 2016. Personal life She ...

as Olivia Santos *

Maxene Magalona Maxene Sofia Maria Arroyo Magalona (born November 23, 1986) is a Filipino actress, model, host and yoga instructor currently signed under ABS-CBN. Being a former GMA talent under the GMA Artist Center, she was known for her portrayal as Vivian S ...

as Victoria "Vicky" Santa Maria * Gardo Versoza as Efren Rodrigo * Mike Tan as Gregorio "Rigor" Manalastas *

Caridad Sanchez Caridad Yuson Sanchez-Babao (born August 1, 1933 in Mandaue) is a Filipina actress, mostly seen on GMA Network. In 1977, she played the role of Nanay Idad in the revival TV drama series based from the very successful radio soap opera (first he ...

as Lagring * Maricris Garcia as Cecilia "Cecile" Reyes ;Guest cast * Jaya as Sally * Joko Diaz as Tony

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.

Production and development

April 2013,

announced that they would adapt ''Mga Basang Sisiw'' into a

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, 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

. 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. The series features eleven regular speaking roles. The majority of the ensemble cast was assembled in March/April 2013.

and

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

– her first "anti-hero" role. 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." Gardo Versoza, veteran actress

and Mike Tan were the last actors to be cast. Tan described his role Rigor Manalastas as a "grey" character and "you either love him or hate him."

Ratings

According to

AGB Nielsen Philippines AGB Nielsen Media Research Philippines, commonly called AGB Nielsen, is a market research firm in the Philippines specializing in broadcast media. AGB Nielsen conducts audience measurement of television ratings for certain areas in the Philipp ...

' Mega Manila household television ratings, the pilot episode of ''Mga Basang Sisiw'' earned a 13.5% rating. While the final episode scored a 15.3% rating.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3104716 2013 Philippine television series debuts 2013 Philippine television series endings Filipino-language television shows GMA Network drama series Live action television shows based on films Television shows set in Quezon City