''Darna'' is a Philippine television drama action

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

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 from Mars Ravelo's fictional Philippine superheroine of the same title. Directed by Dominic Zapata and

Don Michael Perez Don Michael Perez is a Filipino television writer, film writer, television director, and film director. He is a resident writer and director for GMA Network. His most famous works were ''Mulawin'', ''Destiny Rose'' and '' Kambal, Karibal''. Fil ...

, it stars

Marian Rivera Marian Rivera Gracia-Dantes (; born 12 August 1984) is a Filipino recording artist, actress, and commercial model. She gained prominence as a widely-acclaimed actress for her roles in '' MariMar'', '' Dyesebel'', '' Amaya'', ''Darna'' and '' T ...

in the title role. It premiered on August 10, 2009 on the network's Telebabad line up replacing '' Zorro''. The series concluded on February 19, 2010 with a total of 140 episodes. It was replaced by '' Panday Kids'' in its timeslot.

Cast and characters

;Lead cast *

as Narda / Darna / Evil Darna / Ex-O / Phoenix ;Supporting cast * Mark Anthony Fernandez as Eduardo / Black Rider * Dennis Trillo as Pancho *

Iwa Moto Aileen Quimado Iwamoto (born August 29, 1988), known by her stage name , is a Japanese– Filipino actress, model and reality television personality. She is the first runner up in the third season of '' StarStruck'', a reality-based talent sea ...

as Valentina * Nadine Samonte as Roma / Babaeng Impakta * Ehra Madrigal as Armida / Babaeng Lawin *

Francine Prieto Anna Marie Falcon (born September 17, 1982 in Las Piñas, Philippines), known by her stage name Francine Prieto is a Filipino actress, fashion model, radio DJ, and singer. She is Chinese Filipino of half Norwegian descent. Education Prieto ...

as Lucifera / Babaeng Tuod * Maggie Wilson as Octavia Moran / Lutgarda Morales / Babaeng Linta * Rochelle Pangilinan as Deborah Santos *

Jackie Rice Jacqueline Sobreo Rice (born April 27, 1990) is a Filipino-American actress, singer, and model. Career and personal life Born to an American father and a Filipino mother, she grew up in Olongapo City, Zambales. She was a student at St. Anne ...

as Helena / Helga * Roxanne Barcelo as Aleli * Buboy Villar as Carding "Ding" Santos *

Rufa Mae Quinto Rufa is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Rufa Mae Quinto (born 1978), Filipina actress, comedian, television host, and singer *Rufa Mi Maria Krista Aguilar (born April 8, 1988), known professionally as Rufa Mi, is a Filipina ...

as Francesca * Raymart Santiago as Crisanto *

Alfred Vargas Alfredo Paolo Dumlao Vargas III (born October 24, 1979), professionally known as Alfred Vargas, is a Filipino politician, actor, and model serving as the representative of Quezon City's 5th district since 2013. He previously served as a cit ...

as Gabriel * Krista Kleiner as Liberty * Polo Ravales as Shiro ;Guest cast * Akihiro Sato as Vladimir * Maureen Larrazabal as Dina Arcilla *

Katrina Halili Maria Katrina Iren Pe Halili (born January 4, 1986) is a Filipino actress and commercial model of Chinese descent. She made her screen debut through the reality talent search '' StarStruck'' in 2003, and became more popular playing several rol ...

as Serpina / Valentina * Paolo Contis as Kobra * Regine Velasquez as Elektra * Angel Aquino as the original Darna * Caridad Sanchez as Loleng * Celia Rodriguez as Perfecta * Mike "Pekto" Nacua as Jerry * John Feir as Tomas *

Eddie Garcia Eduardo Verchez Garcia (; May 2, 1929 – June 20, 2019), known colloquially as Manoy, was a Filipino actor, television personality, film director and producer. With almost 600 film and television roles and a career spanning seven decades, he ...

as Padre Mateo *

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 ...

as Dr. Morgan * Gabby Eigenmann as Apollo * Bearwin Meily as Watson * Renz Valerio as young Eduardo * Jestoni Alarcon as Simon * Rita Avila as Alicia *

Angeli Nicole Sanoy Angellie Sanoy (born February 15, 2001) is a Filipina child actress. She rose to stardom after playing the role of Narda (young darna) in the 2009 TV series ''Darna'' along with Marian Rivera and Regine Velasquez. During the year of 2011 she pla ...

as young Narda * John Apacible as Nestor *

Janice de Belen Catherine Janice Yap de Belen (; born November 9, 1968), better known as Janice de Belen, is a Filipino actress, commercial model and television host. She is dubbed as the “''Queen of Horror-Drama''” for her acting prowess and exception ...

as Aling Consuelo * Sweet Ramos as young Valentina * Allan "Mura" Padua as Impy *

Sabrina Man Sabrina Man (born March 12, 2000) is a Chinese-Filipino actress, television host and commercial model. She was Little Miss Laguna 2007 and the first Little Earth Angel-Air (young counterparts of Miss Philippines Earth). She has starred in seve ...

as young Serpina *

Hayden Kho Hayden Kho Jr. is a Filipino media personality, model, actor, and cosmetic surgeon. Life and education Hayden Kho Jr. was born on May 20, 1980, the third of 4 children. His father, Hayden Kho Sr., is a Chinese doctor, while his mother, Irene de ...

as Danny * Ella Guevara as Narda II

Reception

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 Phili ...

' Mega Manila household television ratings, the pilot episode of ''Darna'' earned a 44.1% rating. While the final episode scored a 32.9% rating.

Critical response

''Darna'' opened with positive reviews, writer Nestor Torre of

Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded br ...

said the pilot episode is "loud and livid". Torre continues to mention "...two performances stand out because they’re 'different'. The first is Janice de Belen’s portrayal of Consuelo, the mother of Valentina. De Belen’s characterization is outstanding, because it’s deeply felt, while not being over-the-top..." and "the other interesting performance thus far is turned in by Iwa Moto as Valentina. With some help from creative scripting, her character is more tragic and conflicted than past versions of the story had it". Jun Lana's script was also praised by Torre for creating "Valentina's terrible secret initially pains her rather than turns her into a vengeful monster, and the ostracism she suffers adds enormously to her loneliness and grief, which are alleviated only by her only friend, Narda. Of course, the ironic twist to all this is that Narda will eventually morph into superheroine Darna, with whom Valentina must fight to the death." Lana told

Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' (), (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' larges ...

that this version of ''Darna'' will be "totally different" especially with the characters, he mentions "what if Narda doesn't want to become Darna?" - a subject never touched upon in other versions of the graphic novel.Psychic predicts more success coming Marian Rivera’s way
mb.com.ph

References

External links

* {{Darna 2009 Philippine television series debuts 2010 Philippine television series endings Darna Fantaserye and telefantasya Filipino-language television shows GMA Network drama series Philippine action television series Superhero television series Television shows based on comics Television shows set in the Philippines