Darna (2005 TV series)

Mars Ravelo's Darna
Genre	Action, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Created by	Mars Ravelo
Starring	Angel Locsin
Country of origin	Philippines
Original language(s)	Filipino, Tagalog, English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	170
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	GMA Network
Original release	April 4 – November 25, 2005
Chronology
Related shows	Darna (2009)

Darna is a 2005 drama fantasy action television series based on the Mars Ravelo's fictional character of the same name and a loose adaptation of the 2003 Mars Ravelo's Darna Miniseries by Mango Comics. It aired on GMA Network and starred top actress Angel Locsin as the iconic superheroine.

It premiered in Filipino homes on April 4, 2005, and ended on November 25, 2005.

The official title of the series is Mars Ravelo's Darna.

Television ratings

In September 2005, according to Filipino media research firms, AGB and AC Nielsen, Darna earned a percent rating of 38% (Mega Manila area) daily second only to Encantadia, which had a daily rating of 40% (Mega Manila area).

Pre-production

In 2004, executives of GMA Network and Hugo Yonzon, current license holder of Darna and head of Mango Comics, signed a licensing agreement for the Darna TV Series.

Cast

Filipino actress Angel Locsin starred as Darna. Celia Rodriguez, who played Valentina in previous movies of Darna, played as Braguda, the main villain. In this TV series, Valentina, was played by Alessandra de Rossi, who is the cousin of Narda. Ding, one of the most notable relatives of Darna, was played by C.J. Muere. Dennis Trillo played Efren, Darna's main love interest.

Four actresses who have previously played the role of Darna were involved in this series.

• Gina Pareño (Darna and the Planetman, 1969) - played the grandmother of Darna.
• Rio Locsin (Bira, Darna, Bira, 1979) - played the wife of the Dr. Zombie, one of the villains.
• Lorna Tolentino (Darna TV series, 1977) - played Queen Adran of Marte.
• Regine Velasquez (Captain Barbell, 2003) - sang the theme song of the series.

Also actor Tonton Gutierrez who plays Narda's father Mulong and the villain Nosferamus, portrayed Darna's love interest George in the movie Darna (1991).

Plot

Evil Queen Braguda together with her race the Anomalka attacks the planet of Marte. Surprised by the attack, Adran, Queen of the Adranika, realizes that Braguda is eager to possess the Adranika's powers. To avoid taking their power, Adran gives a white stone to Aio who is tasked to give it to whoever is worthy to inherit it. Aio escapes to Earth before Braguda can destroy the planet Marte. Braguda follows Aio, and when Aio reaches the earth's atmosphere, Braguda disables her spaceship and it crashes while the white stone fall out of the ship where the young Narda discovers it. Aio survives the crash and meets Narda to tell her to keep the stone until the right time comes to receive "the call". After eight years, Aio secretly disguises as an old beggar calls Narda through a telepathic message. The message tells that Narda is the sole inheritor of the power of the Adranika and she will protect the earth from evil. After Narda hears the message, the word "Darna" appears in the white stone and she is instructed to swallow it and yell "Darna". Narda follows the instructions and becomes the superheroine Darna. Darna returns to her mortal state when she utters the word Narda and then the white stone comes out from her mouth.

After Braguda discovers that Narda possesses the white stone, she and her minions try to steal the white stone. Braguda's intention is to combine the power of the magic white stone with her magic black stone so that she can transform the Planet Earth into another "Planet Marte" and mutate all human beings into Anomalkans so that they can survive in the new environment and serve Braguda in her quest for galactic domination. Those servants of Braguda who are sent to fight Darna and cause havoc in Metro Manila include Mambabarang, Dr. Zombie, Sulfura, Nosforamus (resurrected father of Narda) and Valentina the half-sister of Narda whom she once thought was her cousin. However, Narda is able to defend the city against her enemies.

Origin of Narda

Once thought of as the daughter of Totoy and Ising, Narda is really the biological daughter of Mulong's half-sister, Prospera and her true love, Rafael. When Prospera was pregnant with Narda she discovered a space craft that had crashed on her land one fateful evening. As she approached the craft, a dying alien being (an Anomalkan) emerged and transferred its alien seed to Prospera.

The alien fled to Earth in the hope of escaping the massacre of infants that Braguda had ordered on the Planet Marte. Braguda's rampage was in response to a prophecy that predicted her death one day at the hands of a fellow Anomalkan. To try to avoid her fate, Braguda ordered the killing of all Anomalkan infants that could oppose her one day. But one Anomalkan managed to escape the planet Marte and in doing so crash landed on Earth.

To help bring about the fulfillment of the prophecy, the fugitive Anomalkan impregnated the earth female Prospera in the hopes that the blending of their species would create a new breed of Anomalkan: strong and reliant enough to survive in Earth's environment.

Prospera now carried two babies, one completely human (a product of her relationship with Rafael) and the other a monstrous Anomalkan humanoid.

When Prospera gave birth, she discovered her human child to be perfectly normal and was horrified at her alien one. She carried her alien child to the spaceship in the hopes of killing it there but when the child suddenly shapeshifted to resemble a normal child, Prospera took it back home.

When she returned, her normal baby had disappeared (who unknown to her was stolen by Mulong when his wife's own baby died in birth). Prospera planned to name her human child "Valentina" now gave this name to her alien baby.

Origin of the Magic White Stone

Braguda revealed to Valentina the origins of the two stones and the prophecy. The Anomalkans originally owned the two stones which came from two powerful planets that were destroyed when they collided. They were created in the wake of that cosmic event. The first Anomalkan Queen obtained these two stones and passed them on to succeeding generations.^[1]

The Power and Properties of Darna's Magic White Stone

The White Stone of the Adranika (a.k.a. Darna’s Magic White Stone) - properties as revealed in the latest TV series:

Contained within the magic white stone of the Adranika is the very essence of this noble race’s power. When this mystic talisman is ingested by the Earth girl, Narda - she is able to channel the persona of Darna by yelling this name. But ingesting the stone and yelling the name is not enough in channeling the “spirit of the stone”.

She must have a pure heart with a selfless dedication to protecting the innocent and vanquishing evil. Narda cannot become Darna if her motivations are fueled by hatred and/ or vengeance. The power of Darna cannot be harnessed properly by a person easily allow themselves to be overcome by their emotions and/or selfish desire. Discipline and training is essential. This is why it is forbidden for the host to fall in love or to be selfish. More importantly, the Darna persona (which is the very embodiment of Adranikan power) cannot be channeled by just anyone. Only a person chosen by the magic stone itself can become Darna and that is Narda, also known as “the chosen one”.

The white stone may be the only one of its kind but it does have an opposite- the Black Stone of the Anomalka which is under the possession of Braguda - the Queen of Darkness and ruler of the Anomalkas (Planet Marte's evil underground dwelling race). Braguda has long sought the Adranikan stone because anyone who possesses both the black stone of the Anomalka and the white stone of the Adranika will have the power necessary to conquer and dominate any planet. Although Braguda cannot channel the persona of “Darna” should she manage to acquire it, she can utilize the stone’s energy to boost her own and be a threat to the universe. This is why the magic white stone must never be allowed to fall into the hands of Braguda.

Personality

The series portrays Darna as a more modern version of the original comic icon; prone to overconfidence and heroic jaunty poses (her hands on her hips)

Darna's powers and paraphernalia

• Superhuman strength
• Invulnerability to most conventional weapons - a majority of Darna's foes had been shown to be capable of easily bypassing this
• Power of Flight/ Speed
• Limited force-field casting abilities
• Winged medallion ruby rays
• "Shuriken belt medallions"
• The Magic White Stone (Mahiwagang Puting Bato) - the Adranikan stone that transforms Narda into Darna and back. In the series, it is depicted as somewhat cubic in appearance
• "Mahiwagang Kabibe" (Magic Clamshell) - an amulet guarded by a colony of Mermaids under the leadership of a Mermaid Sorceress/Queen named "Dyangga". Narda enlisted the aid of Dyesebel who accompanied her to retrieve it so that she can use it to take back her magic white stone from the Anomalkans.

The Allies

• Iking - an orphaned boy found by Narda's family from the province back when Narda was younger (around the time when she found the white stone). He was later inadvertently granted the power to shrink at will by Aio but loses these powers at the near end of the series. Played by Francis "Iking" Magundayao
• Daniel - a young man with artistic talents, along with a "lone-wolf" complex prior to first encountering the superheroine, where he witnessed Narda swallow the white stone and transformed into Darna. Determined to once again meet Darna, he staged a hostage situation where he hired some police officers, a few bystanders, and a man with probably a fake gun to act as the "bad guy" with himself (Daniel) as the hostage. And to top it off, he even hired a camera man to ensure that the scene will be broadcast. The ploy worked, as Darna in her civilian guise saw what was happening on TV, and she quickly arrived on the scene and ordered that the man let go of Daniel. At which point, Daniel, at "gun-point" immediately offered his thanks to his cohorts to call it a day all the men eased up, subsequently confusing Darna. Daniel offered his explanation, much to Darna's chagrin and quickly told the policemen to arrest Daniel to hide her embarrassment, only to learn that they were also in league with the young man. Daniel then proceeded to tel Darna that he only wanted to meet her personally, and this was the only possible means in which he could come up with. Darna decided to teach the lad a lesson by lifting him up and then flying into atmosphere with him in the hoping that he's afraid of heights. Unfortunately, Daniel exhibited fascination than downright fear after being levitated several feet from the ground by the beautiful woman holding a firm grip on his person; so Darna let go of him, and Daniel fell several stories before Darna manages to catch him. Finally Darna was satisfied at Daniel's expression after she saved him from splatting unto the ground. But before she could bid him farewell, Daniel told the superheroine that he knows her secret. Confused, Darna asked what he's talking about, to which Daniel pulled out two pieces of paper; one showing a sketch of Darna, and another showing one of Narda - both of which bore little difference from each other. Realizing what this meant, Darna warned Daniel to leave her alone, but the latter later discovered Darna's civilian identity as Narda and even coerced her into going out on a date with him as Darna, or else he would reveal what he knows to the general public. Blackmailed, Darna later landed on Daniel's place where they engage in an awkward date of sorts in which Darna did most of the talking and Daniel, who was too mesmerized by Darna's beauty, was only registering several words as he beheld the red-and-gold-clad heroine in front of him. He was later ambushed by Valentina with the intention of interrogating him for information regarding Darna's secret identity and died with what he knows undivulged. Played by Cogie Domingo.
• Lenlen - a mysterious girl with latent mind powers bordering on telekinesis and telepathy. Like Iking, she was orphaned when she, as an infant, accidentally used her powers to cause a tragedy that killed her parents, forcing her to live with her grandfather. Lenlen was later killed after getting a bulk of acid (courtesy of Sulfura) thrown at her direction. Played by Ella Guevara.

The Villains

• Valentina - Valentina is the arch-enemy of Darna in the movies and comics. She envied Narda and never appreciated what was her own, so she tormented Narda from childhood and became the cause of her misfortunes. When she was eaten by the giant snake sent by Braguda for Aio, she and the snake merged turning her to a mutant that could control all kinds of snakes. Unlike Previous versions (and the current in the 2009 version), She does not have snakes on her head, but rather uses them as whips. She died in the final battle after Darna stabbed her, still hating her to the very end. She is played by Alessandra de Rossi.
• Braguda - Braguda is the main villain of the TV series. She is the queen of the Anomalkan race of the Planet Marte. She dreamt of the whole galaxy bowing down to her but for that to happen, she must get Darna's white stone and merge it with her black stone. She was killed by Valentina in order to get her powers and to become a giant. Braguda is played by Celia Rodriguez.
• Nosferamus - Nosferamus is the right-hand man of Braguda. He is the transformed form of Narda's father who she thought is dead. Nosferamus is also known as the grim reaper; his powers include being able to dissolve into a black mist, summon blasts of dark-red energy, and conjure a lump of molten metal which he flung at Darna's eyes, blinding the superheroine. He died when he sacrificed his life for his daughter. He is played by Tonton Gutierrez.
• Mambabarang - Being a dirty beggar, his only friends are his insects. After he died of starvation, Braguda resurrected him as Mambabarang and takes revenge on society by his insects and pests. The creatures that he rule are supernatural in their own way, actually able to pierce through Darna's skin - something that most conventional weapons are incapable of. He fell down on a giant tub of "Forever Gone" insecticide, killing him. Mambabarang is played by Eddie Garcia.
• Manananggal - She was known as Ms. Luna. She has all the known powers of a regular manananggal. She and Darna engaged in a stunning aerial battle where she, due to her lack of legs at the time, was forced to combat against her foe by flapping her wings fast and swung her fists at Darna to knock her into submission, belting at least two on-screen punches at Darna's face (both directly at her cheeks) - she is apparently the first villain shown in the series to ever do so. Having had enough of getting sucker punched time and time again (with her face getting turned into mush), Darna retaliated and Manananggal met her end when the heroine threw a necklace of garlic which caught her in the neck. Manananggal is played by Maggie Wilson.
• Sulfura - Sulfura was once a selfish super model who mentored Valentina in the modeling business. Due to Valentina now hating her, Valentina's mother put acid on her bath burning her. Braguda then used this and turned her into a villain by putting her into a volcano giving her back her beauty (in a mutant way). As her villain name states, she has the power to fly, spew fire, rock and acid to melt her enemies. Darna used ice and water on her putting her to permanent sleep. Sulfura is played by Carmina Villaroel.
• Dr. Zombie - Dr. Ted's prominent life took a twisted turn after the death of his beloved wife. A genius in his own right, he invented a concoction to cure his wife from end stage cancer but was too late. Surprisingly this concoction had the power to reanimate the dead - into zombies. He also wielded an assortment of weaponry unique only to himself, as he is apparently the only non-superpowered major foe in the series. Sulfura disguised herself as Darna, brainwashing him to take revenge on Darna. Darna took away his arsenal and he ended up in a mental institution. He is played by Christopher de Leon.
• Molecula- A smart woman who looks like a nerd. She was a rape victim whose body was thrown to a river infected with Braguda's alien parasitic worms. She lived but became a mutant. The people thought she was some kind of new super hero (actually arriving several minutes at the scene before Darna) but received Braguda when people saw her kill her abductors before. Molecula can break herself apart to practically a molecular level, splitting herself to countless, minute molecular parts to gain more mobility and versatility; she could also fling these said particles at targets and trigger a dissolving effect similar to corrosive acid (she killed two innocent civilians immediately using this method when they discovered her secret), or coagulate instantly (apparently, the coagulation was so adamant that even Darna, with her superior strength, was unable to break free after Molecula fired two of these at her arms, pinning them to a gate behind her and binding her in place). She tried to kill Darna by breaking up and infesting Darna's internal systems, causing her massive internal bleeding and vomiting of blood. Darna managed to defeat her by re-urgitating Molecula's particles from her mouth, greatly weakening both adversaries. Darna then cajoled her adversary to a "mana-mana" (woman-to-woman fist fight) match, where the heroine was finally able to land physical blows unto Molecula while in her weakened state; and with the help of Lenlen's telekinetic powers, Molecula was ultimately disabled by Darna temporarily by putting her particles into separate containers (retrieved by Iking) then using her optic laser blasts. She is played by Cristine Reyes.
• Divas Impaktitas - The Divas Impaktitas are the three right hand she-vampires of Valentina. They were created by the black stone, granting them immunity to the sun as well as crosses and crucifixes, though they could still be slain if something sharp was driven through their hearts. The Divas Impaktitas are played by Ryza Cenon, Krizzy Jareno, and Aileen Luna. One of them was actually Louella, the younger sister of Molecula, who was determined to exact vengeance upon Darna after she what she did to her sister
• Toy Master - Toy Master had the power to control toys as well as other abilities that border on the realm of magic, allowing him to defy the fabric of reality by summoning corporeal objects out of nothing or generating an irritating sound beating his drum, powerful enough to disorient even Darna. He stole his powers from a gnome. He is played by Bearwin Meily.
• Divina Demonica - Divina Demonica has the power to scream supersonic screams, screams that could give severe trauma to those within her vicinity. In Darna's case, her own extra-sensitive hearing caused her to become severely disoriented and vulnerable whenever Divina blasted her with her powers, which is how Divina nearly bested the heroine in hand-to-hand combat. Divina Demonica was originally an elderly woman who was a pop sensation during her time as a sensational singer; Anomalkan power gained her the potential to revert her back to her youthful self, but compels her to constantly "extract" voices from other people and absorbing them to keep young. She stores her "spare" voices in bottles until time has come for them. Darna, while in her civilian guise as Narda, was ambushed by Divina and her voice subsequently removed. This not only made her incapable of speaking but also temporarily stalled her ability to become Darna until she finally got back her voice. Divina also demonstrates the ability to manipulate bats, possibly by synchronizing with them using her powers to override their minds. When she is really angry, she becomes Demonica. She is played by K Brosas.
• Black Darna - Black Darna is the result of Darna's cooped up emotions. Before she became Black Darna, she was Carol, Narda's boss at work who is also jealous of her. After merging unintentionally with the darker side of the original Darna's essence, Carol later became engulfed in a bizarre cocoon in the middle of the city causing a massive traffic jam. The real Darna encountered the cocoon beforehand and tried to destroy it, but it proved too indestructible even for her strength, forcing her to just let it be as it was not harming anyone in any way at that time, and instead proceeded to thwart a nearby occurring hostile takeover. Black Darna was conceived from the said cocoon shortly afterwards. Having all of the original Darna's strengths and abilities, Black Darna was undeniably one of the most formidable adversaries the heroine had to face; she was also noticeably faster than Darna. Her only weakness is that like Darna herself, draws her powers from the white stone, which was how Darna stopped her by reverting to Narda. She is played by Katrina Halili.
• Babaeng Tuod, Babaeng Impakta and Babaeng Lobo - All of these are different forms of Alice, Narda's best friend. They are played by Karen delos Reyes.

Cast

Main cast

• Angel Locsin as Darna / Narda
• Alessandra de Rossi as Valentina
• Dennis Trillo as Efren / Lalaking Ahas
• Gina Pareno as Lola Milagos
• Francis Magundayao as Iking
• Celia Rodriguez as Braguda
• Sandy Andolong as Prospera
• Katrina Halili as Carol / Black Darna
• Caridad Sanchez as Old Aio

Supporting cast

• Karen delos Reyes as Alice / Babaeng Tuod / Babaeng Impakta / Babaeng Lobo
• Maggie Wilson as Manananggal
• Eddie Garcia as Mambabarang
• Christopher de Leon as Dr. Ted / Dr. Zombie
• Carmina Villaroel as Sabrina / Sulfura
• Cristine Reyes as Molecula
• Tonton Gutierrez as Mulong / Nosferamus (Prospera's Sibling In Law)
• Ella Guevara as Lenlen
• Jeremy Marquez as Jun
• C. J. Muere as Ding
• Ryza Cenon as Louella / Divas Impakitias
• Nadine Samonte as The Other Body Of Valentina / Ava
• K Brosas as Divina Demonica
• Bearwin Meily as Toy Master
• Maureen Larrazabal as Aio
• Cogie Domingo as Daniel
• Wendell Ramos as Jeric Frias

Special guests

• Lorna Tolentino as Queen Adran
• Lani Mercado as Nanay Ising
• Rafa Siguion-Reyna as Hector
• Ara Mina as Dyesebel
• Alice Dixson as Dyangga
• Rochelle Pangilinan as Corella
• Dianne Hernandez as Vaness
• Iya Villania as Racquel Frias
• Charee Pineda as Harrietta
• Sid Lucero as Jomar Vasquez
• Anita Linda as Nacyfe
• Lloyd Samartino as Agent Ramos
• Brandon Gepfer as Maximo Frias†

Series In The Milestones

• Being the first primetime series to reach a 47.1% rating (according to AGB and AC-Nielsen) in its pilot episode, the highest rating for a pilot episode in the Philippine television history, beating Pangako Sa'yo with its 46.5%. Similarly, Darna: Ang Muling Paglilipad (The Making of Darna), shown on March 31, 2005, remains the first soap primer to reach the highest rating of 43.8% (Thursday) on its first part and 41.2% (Friday)on its second part.
• It gained a 52.1% rating on its 4th episode. It is because of the first appearance of Darna from Narda. It was the highest rating achieved by a show at that time.
• Its pilot week average is 50.08%.

47.1 (Monday)

50.3 (Tuesday)

49.4 (Wednesday)

52.1 (Thursday)

51.5 (Friday)

• Its highest rating was 52.1% while the lowest was 33.3%. The overall ratings was 39.9%
• The death of Ding, Narda's brother. In most Darna movies, Ding plays as Darna's sidekick but in the TV adaptation, Ding died.
• The TV series is the first live-action Darna that utilizes the original Mars Ravelo concept of Darna being from the planet Marte. Previous features had always injected a religious touch by having Darna's power come from God or through an angel. The TV show is faithful to the comicbooks (both the original Ravelo comic strip from the 1950s as well as the 3-issue "Modern Age" comics mini-series produced by Mango Comics).
• The introduction of the Wonderkids, Darna's sidekicks, composed of her stepbrother Iking and an extraordinary girl named Lenlen. They help Darna in maintaining peace through the land. However, in the middle of the series, Lenlen died.
• The introduction of the polar opposite of Darna. Never before in comics, movie or television has there been a "Black Darna" (in the same sense as black magic) making it a major development in the series. Katrina Halili is the first-ever to portray such a role.
• Another of Mars Ravelo's creations, Dyesebel the mermaid, made a guest appearance in the series for the very first time. She played an important role in helping Narda continue her battle against evil forces. Ara Mina played Dyesebel. Alice Dixson (who has played Dyesebel in film) played the mermaids' leader Dyangga (later ironically in 2008, as a villain of Dyesebel played by Mylene Dizon in its series). Rochelle Pangilinan also plays a mermaid Corella, Dyesebel's best friend.
• Captain Barbell, another Mars Ravelo creation, appeared in the final episode but his face was not shown, probably to excite viewers since Captain Barbell is said to be GMA Network's next project.

Locations

• Planet Marte (Also known as "Nibiru" in Mango Comics "Darna # 3") - The doomed Planet Marte was once the home of the Adranikan race which represented good and the underground dwelling Anomalkans.
• "Kanlungang Adran" (Adran's Cradle) - A mystic pocket dimension that serves as a sanctum sanctorum and healing place known only to the Adranika race. The "stonebearer" AIO, resides her and also served as a place of healing for Darna when she is severely wounded.
• Manila, the Philippines - Capital of the Philippine republic, Narda and her small family resides here.
• Laguna - a province in the Philippines where Narda and Efren grew up and where the magic white stone fell from the sky and was discovered by Narda.

Glossary

• "Anomalka salka!" - Anomalkan Queen Braguda's own "magic word of transformation"

See also

• List of shows previously aired by GMA Network
• List of telenovelas of GMA Network
• Darna
• Darna (2009 TV series)

References

1. Darna internationalhero.co.uk

External links

• Official Mars Ravelo's Darna web site
• Mars Ravelo Superheroes web site
• Darna at the Internet Movie Database