The essay chronicles the history of the teleserye or the Filipino TV soap opera, one of today’s transnational televisual products making waves in different parts of the globe. It covers three periods—the period of transition from radio to TV (1962 to 1986), the period of competition (1986-2000), and the period of transformation (2000-present). Traversing through 60 years of the form’s enduring presence in Philippine television, it traces the format’s beginnings as it was introduced to the medium in a highly volatile social environment, and assesses its continued flourishing in democratized, contemporary times and consequent entry into the highly competitive global drama market, where it serves both foreign and its very own Filipino diasporic audiences. The essay echoes the abiding thesis of my studies about the cultural history of the teleserye—that the form is indeed the drama of Filipino life. As domestic, serial form, the teleserye’s intimate relation to the Filipino everyday ultimately makes it reflective of the country’s life and times, its evolution interconnected with the ebb and flow of Philippine history. These are illustrated by representative texts from the said periods, as well as key contexts that unravel the evolution of the form, now gleaned from a global, as well as diasporic context.

中文翻译：

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Teleserye 故事：菲律宾电视肥皂剧演变的三个时期

这篇文章记录了 Teleserye 或菲律宾电视肥皂剧的历史，这是当今在全球不同地区掀起波澜的跨国电视产品之一。它包括三个时期——广播电视转型期（1962-1986年）、竞争期（1986-2000年）和转型期（2000年至今）。穿越该形式在菲律宾电视中持续存在的 60 年，它追溯了该形式在高度动荡的社会环境中被引入媒体时的起源，并评估其在民主化的当代时代的持续繁荣以及随后进入竞争激烈的全球戏剧市场，它为外国和本国的菲律宾侨民观众提供服务。这篇文章呼应了我研究电视文化历史的永恒论点——这种形式确实是菲律宾人生活的戏剧。作为国内的连续形式，电视与菲律宾日常生活的密切关系最终使其反映了该国的生活和时代，其演变与菲律宾历史的潮起潮落相互关联。上述时期的代表性文本以及揭示形式演变的关键背景都说明了这些，现在从全球和散居背景中收集到。