Showbiz Oddities

Iron Heart is an action drama TV series produced by ABS-CBN and directed by Lester Pimentel Ong and Richard Ibasco Arellano, and starring matinee idol Richard Gutierrez. It has been aired since November, but nobody has reacted or written this nagging observation ... like I do.  Am I the only one observant ... or was everybody asleep ... or just smitten by this action powerpack ... their tongues curled up ... and they thought reacting to anything trivial or frivolous ... is irrelevant?

Come to think of it ... was there any reason why 98% of the cast were given names of either Greek or Roman gods and deities? There must be a reason for it, and I want to know why? Consider this:

1. Richard Gutierrez - Apollo - Greek god of music, poetry, healing, and medicine.

2. Albert Martinez - Priam - in Greek mythology, he was the king of Troy in the Trojan war.

3. Jake Cuenca - Eros - Greek god of carnal love

4. Sue Ramirez - Venus - Greek goddess of love, beauty, and procreation.

5. Dimples Romana - Selene - Titan goddess of the moon

6. Diether Ocampo - Echo - Greek mountain nymph

7. Maricel Laxa - Helen - Patron deity of the sailors

8. Meryll Soriano - Juno -Roman goddess of love and marriage

9. Baron Geisler- Janus - Greek god of motion and passages

10. Sofia Andres - Nyx - Greek goddess of the night

11. Pepe Herrera - Poseidon - Greek god of the sea

12. Al Tantay - Homer - presumed author of Iliad & Odyssey

13. Roi Vinzon - Hector - Prince of Troy

14. Enzo Pineda - Hero - Priestess of Aphrodite

15. Joem Bascon - Hermes - Patron god of flocks and the shepherds

16. Anna Marin - Delia - epithet for Artemis

17. Mitoy Yonting - Dionysus/Diony - Greek god of fertility

18. Louise Abuel - Troy - the setting of the legendary Trojan war

19. Andi Abaya - Maia - Greek goddess of growth

20. Ryan Eigenmann - Adonis -Greek god of beauty and attraction

21. Emmanuelle Vera - Athena - Greek goddess of wisdom

22. Rafa Siguion Reyna - Zenon - equivalent to Zeus - greek god of sky and thunder

23. Ronnie Lazaro - Oak - the symbol for Zeus for its size, strength, and longevity

24. Vivoree Esclito - Penelope - Greek goddess of nature

25. Anthony Jennings - Cronus - son of Uranus and Gaea

Frankly, I don't have any complaints about the series. The fight scenes were beautifully choreographed, the pacing tight and brisk, the storyline was James Bondish and the cast was a fine ensemble of the finest actors in town. What is there to complain?

However, my observation above deserves an answer from anyone, especially the director and the scriptwriter.  Was this just a passing fancy where the author uses names of Greek gods and personalities? Or was the story lifted from Iliad and the Odyssey? Or was it inspired by a Disney movie with a similar title? I THINK NOT!

The use of these Greek names makes it a little bit distracting. I find it a little bit un-Filipino. Imagine watching a Filipino TV series ... and you see the cast's discomfort delivering the lines as they tried to articulate Priam ... Cronus ...  or Eros.  It gives me a little hiccup suspending disbelief ... and allowing myself to believe in something that sounds too alien ... for comfort!