Super Inggo: The untold story

After more than five months on primetime TV, ABS-CBN’s hit superserye, Super Inggo is ready to reveal the mysteries that envelope the lives of its protagonists and antagonists, and to unravel the threads that bind its plot as the series ends tonight.

And, if the show kept fans glued to their TV sets because of its intelligent twists, witty dialogues, the actors’ admirable performances and impressive special effects, it is equally interesting to know the untold stories behind the show that remind everyone of the real meaning of being a superhero.

Super Inggo was developed by a group of certified ‘80s kids, who have started working for TV, led by Liendro Candelaria. Missing their childhood campy heroes and missing the love teams of That’s Entertainment, these creative minds pitched the concept of the superserye purely for the fun of seeing their heroes go through marriage and parenthood.

After the concept got a thumbs up from Business Unit head Enrico Santos and ABS-CBN management, a most significant blessing, almost instantly, came the show’s way. Producers Lily Monteverde, Vic del Rosario, Robbie Tan allowed the show to use their characters. Because of this, the show’s league of superheroes took shape early on.

The lead role of Super Inggo/Budong, however, did not fall easily on Makisig Morales’ lap. Recommended for the role were Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros star Nathan Lopez, who eventually begged off, and Crush ng Bayan Sam Concepcion, who was deemed too big for the part.

Finally, Makisig got the role, but he was almost booted out the next day when he couldn’t seem to handle the heavy scenes in earlier tapings. Because of this, the child star had to go through eight takes before perfecting one scene. This, along with the Labor Department’s four-hour limit for child actors, immediately caused shooting delays, with some staff members asking that Makisig be replaced.

When Enrico placed his full confidence on Makisig, however, directors Gilbert Perez and Malu Sevilla devised a shortcut acting strategy for Makisig. They taught Makisig to open his mouth, knit his eyebrows in a mock hockey expression and widen his eyes to marble-sized wonder. Thus was born Super Inggo’s signature look of awe.

Pretty soon, Makisig won the admiration of the team with his emotionally-charged performances. Apparently, he learned very fast and can even own the screen better than other stars more senior than he is.

The pilot episode got rave reviews from ABS-CBN top management, so taping went full steam ahead. But the biggest hurdle was when the succeeding episodes all got rejected because they were too "gothic."

Because of this, the production people, led by Enrico Santos and production manager Raymund Dizon had to undergo what must be the most extensive surgery in ABS-CBN soap history: Thirty-five half-hour episodes rewritten, re-shot, re-edited and re-scored. The producers saved what they could of the original taped episodes, and shot new takes. Result: a six-month delay.

But the most shocking was Mark Anthony Fernandez’s hairstyle that changed from short to long in two consecutive scenes — an offshoot of tapings shot so far apart.

The toughest case, however, was when management rejected the Power Academy scenes. The entire academy scenario was rebuilt, but this time, inside computers. The Inggo team tapped the network’s entire special effects department to work 24 hours round-the-clock, recreate the interiors and enhance the looks of the Academy’s exteriors.

But amidst all these trials, the incredibly close bond between Budong (Makisig) and Jomar (Jairus Aquino) won the parents’ hearts and the kids’ interest so much so that from an original 13-week script, the series ran for a total of 28 weeks.

The show also saw numerous milestones in the lives of its cast and crew. Mark Anthony got married, and so did Meryll (to Bernard Palanca). Members of the production staff Sheila Ocampo and Kevin dela Vela, fell in love with each other while doing Super Inggo.

Tapings for the superserye took numerous months and forged strong bonds among everyone — from the management to the cast and crew. In fact, Super Inggo is perhaps the only series that had no cast walkout, no demand for pay increases, no complaints of overtime tapings and practically, not one bit of conflict among cast members.

"Everyone gave their hearts to Super Inggo like it was their own baby," Enrico says. "The series became everybody’s little boy and superhero."