More Super Klenk details come to light
Does Super Klenk still exist? Did Super Klenk ever exist? The tv show is so famously obscure that one could be forgiven for believing it was just a hoax. Running for 13 episodes at the turn of the millenium, Super Klenk followed the antics of a school teacher who has a secret life as a superhero. Broadcast on primetime Sunday evenings on GMA-7, each episode lasted 90 minutes, blending action, romance, and comedy. For a primetime show running on a major network there's precious little evidence online of it ever having existed. Only one very brief video clip is available, taken from a station promo, plus a tiny number of low resolution promotional photos.
It is, very likely, one of the most obscure and undocumented superhero tv shows ever. The series appeared to have not been reshown since its original broadcast, and for all anyone knows the master tapes may have been junked. But that doesn't mean that with a bit of digital sleuthing we cannot unearth some interesting details about the series. For example, a while back a study of television listings in newspapers revealed the original broadcast details, and the tantalising possibility that there may have been far more than just 13 episodes.
In this post we outline further sources of contemporaneous information.
We start with a low resolution scan of an article from the Manila Bulletin (see above.) The article is conveniently written in English, yet parts of the text are hard to decipher given the low quality of the image. The following is a transcript as best can be made out. Note: passages marked in colour denote text that is unclear or missing from the image.
Tired of your usual Sunday night viewing habits? Then look up in the sky. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's Super Klenk to the rescue!
Although you won't really see Super Klenk in the sky once you channel surf to GMA-7 tonight at 8 p.m., their newest situational comedy entitled "Super Klenk" premieres.
Produced by Philippine-broadcasting leader GMA Network Inc., the comical super series "Super Klenk" stars sexy Ara Mina, who plays a dual role. As a normal human being she is a grade school teacher and volunteer rescuer Charito for Rescue 711, while she turns into the high flying but still fumbling heroine whenever she's needed to save people in distress.
In her new role as a super heroine, silver screen goddess Ara Mina defies the stigma of a "TF" [titillating films] actress. According to her, she doesn't care if people including the press would criticize her the way they did when she took on a singing career. What is important to her is that she remains focused on entertaining the children who will watch her show. She also emphasized that her decision to do children's show is not an indication that she will veer away from doing sexy roles. Her latest film that is slated for a January, 2000 release entitled "Laro sa Baga" will still feature her in some steamy love scenes.
According to its director Mac Alejandre, the unusual title of the sit-com was spawned after its head writer Isko Salvador, aka Brod Pete, who also plays Doctor Cortal in the TV series, took a break from their brainstorming. The creative team formed solely for this show were thinking of the show's title at Amigos Restaraunt when Isko came back with the "Super Klenk" apparently is also the middle name of Ara Mina (it is pronounced in Germany the same way as the word clench is pronounced.)
"Super Klenk" is also unusual in its length. It is a one and a half-hour sit-com, which is not the norm for television. Director Mac has no reason for this except that it was the time given them by GMA 7's programming department. He find this challenging since he knows that he has to keep this one and a half-hour show interesting all the way.
"It is really hard to do a sit-com that's one and a half hour that's why we have to make this as interesting as possible visually, acting wise and gag wise. The truth is the pilot episode was done in more than two days because we have a big cast and it was really hard doing the special effect," Explains Director Mac.
Insiders from the show said that the "Super Klenk's" special effects budget was really financially stressful but GMA-7 shelled out just the project's success. The special effects have also been at the helm of two creative [unreadable] behind "Super Klenk" five days to decide on which special effects to develop and utilize.
"Super Klenk" was developed with children's Sunday night viewing bits in mind according to GMA's VP for Programming Wilma Galvante. [Unreadable] is a wholesome entertainment but with Ara Mina as the star. "The show [unreadable] promises young televiewers bit only fantastic special effects but also moral lessons that are interjected in every episode.
The launching of "Super Klenk" is in line with the new shows GMA 7 has [unreadable] for its viewing public for the year 2000. The culmination of all their [unreadable] released and offered this year is "Millenium Broadcast."
So how does Ara Mina become Super Klenk?
The unassuming Charito lives an ordinary life as a teacher who has to contend with mischievous students like copycat Xerox and the narcoleptic [unreadable]. As a rescue volunteer, she works with an obnoxious publicity hungry [unreadable: police?] chief, Hope Pimentel.
Her daily routine suddenly shifts to a new gear one day in some dark [unreadable: alley?] when she sees an old lady whom she thought was waylaid by street thugs. Charito tries to revive the seemingly old ago-go dancer, Tondang Xorax (Flora Gasser), who [unreadable] against the wall during a chase with her archenemy Oblada (Sandra Gomez.) Charito's attempt to breathe life back into [unreadable] Xorax proves futile but he superpowers of the aging heroine is accidentally transferred to the young volunteer rescuer. Tondang Xorax [unreadable: magically?] fades into a celestial star right before the unbelieving eyes of the [unreadable: unsuspecting?] Charito. Soon Tondang Xorax visits Charito to inform her the [unreadable: henceforth?], she will be known as Super Klenk.
Also starring Pilita Corrales, Isko Salvador, Paolo Fabregas and James Fabregas.
Philippine Headline News Online
This next piece was posted to the Philippine Headline News Online mailing list on 11th December 1999, and seems to be a standard press release announcing the upcoming show. Translations of the non-English parts, courtesy of Google, are presented in colour.
WHOLESOME ROLE FOR ARA MINA IN GMA-7 SERIES
Quezon City, Dec.11, 1999 - GMA-7 is changing the image of bold star Ara Mina via a wholesome role in the network’s newest fantasy-action comedy series entitled Super Klenk!
“Tamang-tama nga dahil ngayong naghihigpit sa bold, heto’t nabigyan naman ako ng chance to do this kind of wholesome show na puwede sa bata and for the whole family,” Ara says. ["It's right because now that the bold is being restricted, I was given the chance to do this kind of wholesome show that can be done by children and for the whole family."]
Ara plays Charito, a dedicated grade school teacher and rescue worker. One night, she witnesses the original Super Klenk meet an serious accident. While trying to give the accident victim some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Ara received the special powers of Super Klenk, played by Flora Gasser.
“I become the new Super Klenk, a crimebuster who is the mortal enemy of the main villain in the show, si Oblada, played by Sandra Gomez,” Ara adds. “I enjoy doing this show because para akong si Wonder Woman and I get to do a lot of action scenes while fighting criminals. Nakakalipad din ako rito at ginastusan nila ang special effects sa flying scenes to make it look really convincing on screen.” [I enjoy doing this show because I'm like Wonder Woman and I get to do a lot of action scenes while fighting criminals. I was also able to fly here and they paid for the special effects in the flying scenes to make it look really convincing on screen.]
Playing the love interests of Ara in the show are newcomer Paolo Fabregas (son of actor-musical director Jaime Fabregas) and Isko Salvador (more popularly known as Brod Pete of Ang Dating Doon.)
This does not mean, though, that Ara is turning her back on sexy movies. As a matter of fact, she has just finished Laro sa Baga.
The third piece was published on 18th March 2000 on Philstar Global, marking the premature cancellation of the show. Again, translations in colour.
The sad news is true, after all. Yes, Ara Mina's Super Klenk will have its final telecast (GMA 7) this Sunday. After that, her flying character will be grounded (never to fly again?).
But the good news is that Ara will topbill a new GMA sitcom, untitled just yet, which starts telecast very soon.
"Super Klenk was very hard to shoot because palagi kaming outdoors," [Super Klenk was very hard to shoot because we were always outdoors] said Ara when Funfare talked to her on the set of FPJ Productions' Ayos Na Ang Kasunod (to be released by Millennium Cinema), her first team-up with FPJ. "Our minimum shooting time was two days. I wore a tight costume which could sometimes be very uncomfortable. I'm looking forward to doing the new sitcom which is light and easier to do. Like Super Klenk, pambata din 'yung bago kong sitcom." [Like Super Klenk, my new sitcom is also for children.]
Ara is leaving for Las Vegas third week of April to perform in a concert with Martin and Bert Nievera.
Finally, through various sources (the IMDB, actor's profiles, etc.) we are able to pull together a list of the main actors and their characters, as well as some of the key production crew.
Ara Mina as Charito and her alter ego Super Klenk.
Isko Salvador (aka Brod Pete) as Doctor Cortal, the love interest, and also one of the show's writers.
Paolo Fabregas as another doctor and possible love interest.
Flora Gasser as Tondang Xorax, the superhero whose powers are accidentally transferred to the Charito.
Sandra Gomez as Oblada, the show's main villain.
Pilita Corrales as Aunt Baby, the relative Charito lives with.
James (Jaime) Fabregas as Hepe Pimente, the police commissioner and Charito's boss at the rescue team (also the real life father of actor Paolo Fabregas.)
Dingdong Dantes, possible guest actor.
Mark Anthony Fernandez, possible guest actor.
Elizabeth Ramsey as Tiya Kirara, guest actor.
Roxanne Barcelo, possible guest actor.
Yoyong Martirez, possible guest actor.
Mac Alejandre, the showrunner and director.
Wilma Valle Galvante, GMA's VP for Programming.
Over the last couple of years a lot of classic pinoy television has been uploaded, legitimately, to YouTube. The good news is therefore that it is possible that one day Super Klenk may be available for the public to watch once again. The bad news is that, given the obscurity of the show, it could be a very very long wait. Worse still, assuming the episodes do still exist in an archive somewhere, the chances are any uploads will be chopped up into small YouTube friendly chunks, rather than presented in their original 90 minute format. There's always the possibility that the show in its original form may be included on a streaming platform, or re-screened on a golden hits style cable channel, but so far neither of these things have happened.
And so, in the absence of any episodes to watch, the details above are currently all we know about what is possibly tv's most obscure superheroine show (unless you know more?!?) Maybe that will change in future -- here's hoping.
(A quick thank you to DrMuttonChops for tracking down a scan of the Manila Bulletin article, posted years ago on Ara Mina's social media.)
