The newest Norse mythology-based fantasy series, Victor Magtanggol, premiered on Monday signifying the comeback of GMA-7’s prized actor Alden Richards on primetime.
Fans gathered on Twitter and expressed their all-out support on Alden’s first solo series with 1.3 Million Tweets. From the announcement until #VictorMagtanggolAngSimula pilot episode, fans celebrate his major breakthrough in Alden’s career by counting down on Twitter and setting a virtual “premiere viewing” party.
While the GMA’s new fantasy show takes its viewers to the greater heights of their viewing habit, the show has also stirred controversy and has been slammed by netizens upon the announcement of the show, and then once again after the release of its trailer, pointing out the many similarities between Victor Magtanggol and Marvel’s Thor.
“We kind of expected that people would immediately compare the series to the blockbuster film, but Victor Magtanggol is not a cheap Thorcopycat. People can take my word for it because we are confident that we’ve crafted something good for TV,” Alden told MS Entertainment in an interview.
He added that the network has invested heavily on visuals and made sure that the series will make a great impact once it hits primetime.
True enough, despite the backlash, netizens poured their praises and commended the show’s superb visual effects and the all-star cast’s skillful portrayal of their roles most especially Alden’s endearing character as Victor.
On its pilot episode, a brief flashback was shown in Asgard showcasing the battle of Thor who is played by “The Mountain” of Game of Thrones, Conan Stevens and his rival with his brother, Loki who is played by John Estrada. The battle caused Asgard to disintegrate. Thor sacrificed his life to kill Loki and his minions. While grieving for his father’s death, Magni (Miguel Faustmann) tossed the Mjolnir into the sky to keep it from anyone who wants to control its power.
After several millennia, viewers meet the character of Victor (Alden) and his loving family. Victor ran after a thief who stole an old woman’s purse. His sister Lynette (Chynna Ortaleza) doesn’t approve of his heroism and his plan to go to Canada to find their missing mother Vivienne (Coney Reyes) while working as an OFW to provide for his family in the Philippines.
“The series wanted to highlight the struggles of OFWs, too. It’s our small tribute to real modern-day heroes,” Alden said.
Back to the story, while cleaning up the office of Mr. Magnus, the curator of the museum he’s working for, Victor got hold of an old compass. The moment he touched it, the compass lit up to Mr. Magnus’ surprise. Meanwhile, Victor met Gwen (Janine Gutierrez) at the fund-raising party for the museum. Back in Helheim, Loki was woken up by his snake, Niddhog.
Victor Magtanggol airs weeknights after 24 Oras on GMA Telebabad.
