Fix Square

The rainy has come late in the Philippines this year. This is due to delayed effects of the El Nino phenomenon that has brought the worst drought the Philippines has encountered. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical services administration (PAGASA) has forecasted that the country is expected to get more rains during the last quarter this year and the first quarter of 2011.

The country has been experiencing rain but it is less than expected during the rainy season. There are still hot days in between days with rain showers. Though this is better than having rains with a magnitude like Ondoy where a month’s worth of rainfall was brought down in just a couple of hours. Last September 26, 2010, marks the first year anniversary of the horrific typhoon where hundreds of lives were lost and the damage to properties were massive. It took months in the several areas for the flood water to dissipate.

You may blame global warming but the only thing responsible for the massive flooding last year. Man made activities such as land pollution is also another factor. Pervious leaders failed to plan for the drainage system decades ago. The current governments said that the country is more prepared if in case another typhoon as strong as Ondoy hits the country. But are the preparation enough?  Steps have to be made to fight global warming on a global scale.

I am an avid viewer of TV series and have spent sleepless night in front of the Television to catch with the latest shows that I follow. For the last years, several shows that I was watching were cancelled. This is the just a few on my list of cancelled TV series.




Jericho

This is the first show that I watch that was cancelled. But due to decreasing number of viewers, the network decided to cancel it leaving fans like me wondering what will happen next. The series is based on the idea that the several nukes were detonated in United States leaving to the fall of the government. Several companies and US states were fighting over the right to rule the country. Later on the series, it was revealed that bombs were intentional and was plan by certain American individual who plans to take the power for themselves.


Heroes

I enjoyed watching the first two seasons of this series. The series was phenomenal and was watched in different countries. But the ratings were slowly declining as the series progresses. I couldn’t blame it. The storyline for the last two seasons were not as impressive compared to the first two. I guess there were too many characters involve. The last season was based on Claire’s college life and was more like a drama series than a science fiction story. In my opinion, one of reason for the series’ downfall is that it took too long for Peter to gain back his powers. They didn’t have any great purpose or were not trying to prevent a catastrophic event like in the first two seasons. In the last season, the buildup did not meet the expectations of the viewers. I am talking about Samuel. It seems like he was really powerful but in the end he just a pushover. There are still a lot of questions to be answered. Despite the crappy story line in the last season, I think viewers wouldn’t mind watching another season of the series.


Flashforward

Where did this show go wrong? I don’t know why they didn’t renew this series for another season but I think this series is great. In the series, the planet blackout and people saw their future. The series is about unlocking the secrets to the origin and the purpose of the black out. They later on discovered that the blackout was not a first and would not be last. The show was cancelled due declining ratings. I just know why people did patronize this show since it is one of a kind. It has a strong story compared to most shows based on high school or college student’s life. It is intellectual and the type of show that would make you eager to watch the next episode.

The premiere episode of season 10 was bit disappointing. I really thought that Clark would start to fly. But instead he died and was brought back to life. I think it would have been better if doomsday killed him a couple seasons back and was brought back to life. At least it would somehow be similar to the comics.

Lex Luthor is back it is an older version of Lex. I thought that somehow Michael Rosenbaum would return to the series. That would be a great he does return. Instead the series introduced clones of Lex Luthor. The older Lex Luthor died after setting up a bomb in the daily planet and setting the field on fire while Lois is in it.  Before he died, he told Clark that he has all the memories of original Lex Luthor. He also said that the original Lex planned to harvest parts of the clones to heal his body but died before he could do so.

A younger Lex Luther clone was saved by Tess Mercer and was brought to the Luthor Mansion. We have to wait if he will be a big part of the series. Clark was able to talk Jorel again. Jorel told Clark that he had faith in him since he was his son. But Clark has too much pride and that he is not doing what Jorel intended of him. Jorel also told Clark that he will face a great evil.

John Schneider guest stars in this episode as Jonathan Kent. He told Clark to do what he does best that is to prove Jorel wrong. But he again warned Clark of the evil that he has to face. Oliver (Green Arrow) was abducted last season by an unknown organization. In order to find Oliver, Chloe has to put on Doctor Fate’s helmet. In the end of the episode Oliver was released. But his released came with a price – Chloe’s freedom. The episode ended with a preview of Clark’s next great opponent.

I was excited when I watched last season’s finale. But when I watched this season’s premiere, I lost some of my interest. The green arrow arc is one of the series weaknesses in my opinion. It is great to have other superheroes guest once in a while. But having another superhero as a mainstay takes away the spotlight from Superman. Does this mean that we would have to wait a few more episodes before Clark eventually fly? If this is indeed the final season of Smallville, I think it 20 episodes would not be enough to wrap it up.

A year has passed since Morgana has gone missing and King Uther has not lost hope in finding her. Despite Gaius’ advice Uther refuses to call off the search for Morgana. Prince Arthur and Merlin were on a patrol when they found an abandoned camp. A skirmish broke out and Merlin has to secretly use magic to save Arthur. After the scuffle was over they found an exhausted Morgana. She was then brought to Camelot and was immediately attended by Gaius. King Uther wanted to talk to her but Gaius advised him that it would be better if she gets some rest.
Merlin was then summoned to Morgana’s chamber. Merlin feared that Morgana would tell Uther that he tried to poison her. In the last season Merlin tried to poison her to lift the sleeping spell over Camelot. Arthur was already in Morgana’s chamber when Merlin arrived. When he left, Merlin was asked to stay. Morgana told him that she knows that he tried to poison her. But she then told him that he understand why he did it and she would have done it herself. Morgana does seem to hold any grudges against Merlin and everything seems fine.

Morgana then talk to King Uther who fell into tears when he talked to her. She then used a handkerchief to acquire Uther’s tears. She then met when her sister, Morgause, to make a spell to put fear into Uther. Using a enchantment, Uther saw those he ordered drown because they are suspected to posses magic. 

He was in constant fear and they feared that king was going mad. Rumors swiftly spread of Uther’s condition. Merlin then discovered the source of Uther's hallucination and that Morgana was behind the spell. He then followed her to the woods and discovered that Morgana was in league with her sister. Morgause has found an ally that agreed to attack Camelot while Uther is in his current condition.
Morgana knew all along that she was being followed and Morgause cast a spell to bind Merlin. He was then left in the woods and several giant scorpions appeared. Merlin was defenseless then and eventually got stung. He was left with no choice but to seek the help of the dragon Kilgarrah and was saved.

The TV series is loosely based on the story of Wizard Merlin and King Arthur of Camelot. Shine Producers Julian Murphy and Johnny Caps got the idea from Smallville where the series is about how Clark Kent became Superman. In the series, Arthur is still a prince of Camelot while Merlin is just starting to learn Magic and is still long way to become the greatest wizard in the world. Arthur’s father, Uther is the king and Magic is banned in Camelot. Morgana, Merlin’s arch enemy, is king Uther’s former ward.

Since Magic is banned in Camelot, Merlin has to hide his abilities. There are only a few who knows his abilities. One of these people is Gaius, Merlin’s uncle and Camelot’s court physician. He is also a former sorcerer. The dragon Kilgharrah, is another person who knows about Merlin’s secret. Kilgharrah told Merlin that his and Arthur’s destiny are entwined. He is tasked to watch over Arthur until he becomes the king of Camelot. Lancelot is another person who eventually learned about Merlin’s secret though he has not told anyone about it. In the Arthurian legend, Lancelot would become Arthur’s first knight and would be a rival to Guinevere’s affection.

In the series, Morgana’s Magic is just starting to awaken. Afraid of being discovered, she grew bitter towards King Uther’s and his approach to anything that has anything to do with Magic. She eventually would learn about her sister (Morgause) existence. In the beginning of the third season, she started to plotted the demise of Camelot with the help of Morgause. But their plans failed thanks to Merlin

The series is a refreshing alternative to shows that are based on modern times. Another series which is also based on a medieval like timeline is Legend of the seeker. Unfortunately the series was cancelled. The series is worth the watch since you can’t wait for events to unfold. We do know that the Arthur would eventually become king, Merlin would become a great wizard and Morgana would be the greatest foe of Merlin. But waiting for it to happen is what makes the series fun to watch. Although I hope that they learn from Smallville’s mistake. The problem with that series is that they are making the viewers wait for Clark to eventually fly longer than they should. I hope it doesn’t take a couple more seasons for Merlin to become a great wizard.

The FEU Tamaraws defeated the Ateneo Blue Eagles twice during the elimination round and ended up with the top spot in the ranking before the Final four began. But Ateneo’s championship experience helped them acquire their third straight championship. Only a few schools achieve a three-peat.  Ateneo joins University of the East, University Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University and De la Salle University in the list of schools that have achieved a third straight championship title in the UAAP Basketball games.

Since Ateneo did not win against FEU during the elimination round, the result of the first game of the finals was a surprise. Ateneo won by 23 points with an end game score of 72 to 49. So come Game 2 of the finals, it was expected that the Tamaraws won’t give up that easily. During the first quarter, it seems that FEU was on the right track. They scored 22 points while allowing Ateneo to score only 13 points. The second quarter was a different story. Ateneo rallied and score a total of 17 points while FEU only scored 9 points. FEU still leads by a point when the 1^st half ended.

Both teams did not allow each other to break away in terms of scoring. The quarter ended with a score of 52 to 50 favoring Ateneo. It was a close game but the Blue eagles emerged victorious against the number 1 seat, FEU Tamaraws with a score of 65 to 62. The Tamaraws poor free throw shooting in the fourth quarter cost them the game and the Championship. FEU failed to convert four free throws in the last remaining minutes of the game. Out of the 4 missed free throws, 2 could have tied the game with only a minute remaining in the game.

Buenafe was the top scorer of the game with 23 points. Season MVP Ryan Roose Garcia of FEU was held to only 6 points. Rookie of the year Terrence Romeo, also from FEU, only contributed 2 points the entire game.