Here I go, blogging about the episode right before the next episode is shown.  But hey, as they say, better late than...skip an episode? :-D
Medyo mabilis ang show na ito, unlike most other teleseryes.  Plus I read somewhere that GMA has planned for it to only air for one season?  So solved agad ang mystery, I guess.  Kaya nga the plot thickens.  Si Hazel appears to be completely convinced na si Burn ang pumatay sa ate niya, and this is likely because the guy just behaves so suspiciously around her.  Then he invited her to go to some old building (didn't really catch why), with Airiz and Charlie (Burn's nerdy younger brother, who, based on how he's being shown, I think is the murderer) tagging along.  Then Hazel thinks Burn is planning to kill her, so she calls the police, and Burn is thrown into jail.

screencap from www.nonstoptv.net

Before the episode ended, a shot showing Airiz clutching a photo of her and Burn is show.  Ano na naman ito?
Medyo nagiging exciting na nga, pero production-wise, they need to boost it up a bit more (unless na-shoot na nila lahat ng episodes) because nagiging boring na ang limited locations nila.  Everything's shot on campus.  At least medyo nabawasan yung mga pretensions to be an American school in an American TV series.
I have a feeling may matinding ire-reveal this afternoon on #DormitoryoWeek6.  After all, Halloween weekend's coming up!  Abangan!

OMG!  I almost forgot to write my review of #DormitoryoWeek4, and Episode 5 is about to start!  So let's make it short and sweet.
Actually, this episode was kind of exciting and ma-suspense, which kind of made up for the ho-hum show last week.

screencap from www.nonstoptv.net

May na-dedsung!  As in killed, murdered!  It was Janet (portrayed by Annicka Dolonius), one of Airiz's minions, shown at the end of the episode lifeless on the ground, with blood running out of her mouth.  Earlier kasi, na-establish na si Hazel was becoming suspicious of her--because of the watch na she thought was Maika's, because she was in the video with Maika threatening her about some secret, and many more.  Toward the end, na-resolve naman as Janet told Hazel in not so many words na wala siyang kinalaman sa pagkamatay ni Maika.  Actually, I think yun yata mismo ang sinabi niya.  Hahaha.  Anyway, there was also that confrontation scene between Janet and Burn (yes, that's the name of Hazel's love interest, same guy who is her dead sister's ex-boyfriend, portrayed by Enzo Pineda), where Janet said something cryptic about something Burn had done in the past, and is a secret they share.  But of course, as I was finally seeing some sort of personality in Janet, she shows up dead.
Sino kaya ang pumatay?  The last scene with Janet's body showed Burn in the background.  So, if we are to analyze it against mga usual style ng mga thrillers, malamang hindi si Burn ang may sala--masyadong obvious if siya.  Well, pwede din namang siya, if ganoon ka-straightforward and expected ang approach ng writer ng show.
Abangan natin in a few minutes (just waiting for Sunday All-Stars to end)! :)

Actually, when I checked the tweets about this show they're trying to trend #DormitoryoWeek3.  Not sure lang how successful it was.  Lalo na after watching this episode.

After two episodes that established what the show's conflict is, and the mystery that is supposed to be the highlight of the story, biglang we have this one that seems to be a combination of illogical, unrealistic, and pilit.

1.  This comes midway through the episode, but I'm so disturbed by it na I have to mention it right now.  Hazel, because she's new, was told by the guidance counselor ba yun or school adviser to join school orgs to make friends.  So ang scene na kasunod biglang ang school grounds may cheering squad doing a cheer routine, may mga booths with stereotype nerds, jocks, artsy kids.  In short, pretentious and fake.  Hindi naman ganyan sa colleges dito, 'no?  It looks like an attempt to imitate yung mga college orientation scenes in American films like Legally Blonde and TV shows like Greek and, of course, PLL.  And take note, ang mga cheerleaders hanggang tuhod ang skirt--bawal siguro kasi sa MTRCB ang super short.

Photo grabbed from www.nonstoptv.net

2.  To become 'in' with Airiz and her friends, Hazel decides to join their sorority.  I won't even get into asking what sort of sorority this is that only has three members (plus yung school head na sorority sister daw nila); nagtataka ako how she just suddenly wants to be part of it--walang transition, walang pasabi.  Before that kasi hate na hate niya sila Airiz kasi nga binu-bully siya.  Kinda illogical, not convincing at all.

3.  As mean girls, Airiz and her friends are super OA.  Si Joyce Ching as Airiz actually OK naman, pero the other two, who didn't have any personality in the past two eps, suddenly had longer speaking parts.  Kaya lang, hindi makatotohanan ang acting.  One-note, one-tone sila pareho.  All the time, nagtataray.  Kahit mga lines na hindi kailangan mataray ang dating, mataray ang tono kasama mukha. 

Well, yeah, kinda disappointed with this week's episode of Dormitoryo.  So many things could have been done better.  But let's see--baka naman this Sunday's show is better. 

Last Sunday, I waited eagerly for Dormitoryo, which I promised was going to be my favorite weekend show.  So far, I haven't been disappointed.

Hazel walking down the eerie dorm corridor (photo from internet)

So far, nasu-sustain naman ng show ang suspense.  There's something creepy about their dorm, that American shows (like yung 'inspiration' nilang PLL) can't capture.  It's the Pinoy brand of katatakutan, yung parang may white lady na bubulaga na lang sa bawat kanto.  Plus the old feel of the building--I don't know where they are shooting this but it kinda looks like UP Diliman or a campus like it--adds to the texture and drama.
OK naman si Lauren Young as Hazel, pero for me mas magaling pa din si Joyce Ching as kontrabida Airiz.  During this episode, lumala ang hatred ni Airiz kay Hazel only because Airiz' obsession (some guy whose name and face I can't recall at the moment) seems to be interested in the new girl.  So, after ilang pagbabanta at pananakot, including a Mean Girls-inspired stunt wherein they took a photo of Hazel na gulat at ipinaskel sa buong school, Airiz realized na hindi nya mapipigilan si Hazel from seeing the guy.  You know why?  Kasi pala, ate ni Hazel yung namatay na girl (na nagmumulto!) and the guy is her ex-boyfriend.  At ang objective ni Hazel is to find out what really happened--and not settle for the suicide angle na sinabi ng lahat.  Actually, like in PLL, all the characters in the story are sort of suspect.  Yung guy, may itinatago, since lagi na lang siyang biglang nawawala.
That's where it is right now.  Madami nang na-establish na details, and sana maganda ang pag-develop ng story, even the characters.
Watch it na!

It's a Sunday and normally I catch up on sleep in the afternoons.  Nothing interesting's on TV anyway.  Then I chanced upon GMA's Dormitoryo.

I don't really know much about the actors--I'm only familiar with Lauren Young--so most of them are irrelevant to me.  But then, the story kind of got me hooked.

Sige, admittedly madaming flaws ang show na 'to.  It's obviously 'inspired' by the successful Pretty Little Liars, since almost identical ang level of suspense and theme.  OA ang sound effects and pangit ang scoring.  The supporting actors are so blah, and I'm not saying this because I don't know them.  The boys are not memorable enough and the assistant mean girls are like cardboard--no personality at all.  But I actually like the lead actors, Lauren Young and Joyce Ching, who play the bida and kontrabida, respectively.  I'm sure many will say hindi bagay kay Lauren to be bida because of her sharp features and previous kontrabida roles, and Joyce Ching is not your conventional mean girl, but that's exactly why I like them.  They defy the norm.  If we wanted the same bida and kontrabida look, well, let's just watch old movies and teleseryes, madami na doon.

The story revolves around Hazel Mendoza (Lauren) who just enrolled at Branwood College (medyo pretentious ang name na 'to) and will be living at Holy Spirit Manor, a dormitory.  Before she arrived, a girl from their dorm died, under mysterious circumstances.  So, like in PLL, the dead girl somehow is trying to send Hazel messages by making paramdam.  Of course, the mean girls, led by Airiz de Ocampo (Joyce) are kind of kaduda-duda and hate Hazel.  That's it so far. 

I super love dorm and school stories, and this one might be one of the shows I'll regularly watch.  Promising siya, and sana ma-sustain nila ang pagiging interesting nila kahit na a lot of the elements are not original.  Script and directing OK pa naman so far.  Not as groundbreaking as My Husband's Lover from the same network--this show is more mababaw, intention lang is to be scary and target teenagers--but OK enough for me to watch the next episode.  Watch it, and see if we share the same views. :)