Darna (2009 TV series)
Darna is a Philippine television drama action fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. The series is based from Mars Ravelo's fictional Philippine superheroine of the same title. Directed by Dominic Zapata and Don Michael Perez, it stars Marian Rivera 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. Reception. Ratings. According to AGB Nielsen Philippines' 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 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 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.