Now that Bino and his friends are starting to discover more about their super powers, they are being attacked by enemies led by the villainess Abresia (played by Jean Garcia). How will the character of Dennis Trillo fight back against the forces of evil?

This is what viewers should look forward to in the fantaserye Gagambino, which airs weeknights on GMA-7.

The fantaserye Gagambino has been doing very well in the ratings game, according to AGB Nielsen's overnight ratings among Mega Manila households. It has been posting ratings of over 30 percent, allowing it to reach the number one slot in the top shows.

PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) joined cast members of the show when they taped some action scenes in Jordan Plains, Fairview last October 29. Lead actor Dennis Trillo sat down with select members of the press inside an airconditioned tent to talk about his role as Bino and his friendship with a giant spider generated by computer graphics.

Does he find it hard to talk to an imaginary spider?

"Challenge yun sa ‘kin kasi, pag kinukunan namin yung gagamba, ako lang yung kinukunan tapos nilalagyan lang ng space," describes Dennis. "Para akong baliw dun na nagsasalita na wala naman akong kausap. Kaya ang challenge dun, e, kailangan palabasin ko na talagang meron akong kausap na hindi mukhang katawa-tawa. Saka kumbaga magbui-build kayo ng raport sa isang imaginary na object lang na wala naman talaga."

Do they get pressured by the TV ratings? "Everyday talagang naka-monitor kami kasi talagang ginaganahan kami pag nakikita namin na mataas yung ratings. Lahat excited. Saka kumbaga nakakagulat kasi pataas siya ng pataas. So, yun siguro yung pressure dun...di ba nakakatakot pag bumaba siya."

What is his reaction to those who doubt the TV ratings? There are some people who cannot believe that a lot of viewers are watching him in this TV show. "Siyempre, hindi lang ako yun kung di joint effort naming lahat. Pero hindi lang ako yung dapat bigyan ng credit kasi lahat sila talagang naghihirap, nagpupuyat para lang mapaganda ang show."

Did he talk with Gagambino creator Carlo J. Caparas before doing the show?

"Oo, ilang beses ko siyang nainterview para sa paggawa rin nung primer namin. Noong first time kaming nagkita sa contract signing, talagang kinukwentuhan niya na ko and natutuwa daw siya na ako yung gumanap. Para raw sa kanya, talagang ako daw yung naiisip niya na bagay dun sa role kaya sobrang thankful naman ako na ganun."

How is Gagambino different from other shows that he did in the past?

Dennis points out, "Ang pinagkaiba po nito, kasi ang highlight dito yung pagkakaibigan ng isang ordinaryong tao sa isang parang monster. Kumbaga, yung sukatan ng pagkakaibigan, wala sa itsura, wala sa pisikal na anyo. Ngayon ka lang makakakita ng ganun at hindi lang isang super hero ang makikita mo dito, hindi lang si Gagambino kundi nandito rin sina Leah [Glaiza de Castro], sila Bernadette [Isabel Oli], si Lucy [Katrina Halili]. Isang grupo kami na pinagbuklod para labanan ang masamang elemento na si Jean Garcia bilang Abresia. Kumbaga isang team kami ng mga super heroes."

What was their reaction when they learned that their show reached the 36.5 mark during their October 24 episode?

"Nung araw na yun, napasigaw ako talaga," recalls Dennis. "Lahat kami nakareceive nung text. Laging parang may party sa set, may mga lechon, may fried chicken. Kaya ano nakaka-engganyo talaga kahit na pagod kami, puyat, ok lang kasi alam naman namin na maraming nanonood so kailangan pagbutihin namin palagi para ma-maintain namin or tumaas pa yung ratings. Be consistent. Yun ang pinakaimportante mapanindigan namin yung ganung quality ng ginagawa namin."

FIGHTING SCENES. Before they started taping, PEP was also able to interview Glaiza de Castro regarding the training that she received for this show. She says that she was just relaxing before taping the fighting sequence so her body was shocked by her sudden movements, causing her to feel dizzy.

"Nag hand combat ako dito at natutunan ko na dapat mag-stretching ka muna bago ka sumabak sa fighting scene. Kasi pag hindi ka nag-stretch, mabibigla ang katawan mo katulad ng nangyari sa akin. Nahilo talaga ako at nag-numb ang buong katawan ko. Yumuko pa ako, e, bawal na bawal daw talaga yun.

"Sandali lang [ang sequence] pero intense. Kailangan talaga ng matinding effort kasi hindi pupuwedeng may pause. Kailangan continuous yung galaw mo. Kumplikado rin siya at kailangan maliksi yung galaw," describes Glaiza.

Dennis also described his physical preparations for his role as Bino. "Lahat kami dito nag-train ng mga fight scenes, mga hand-to-hand combat, weapon training, yung mismong form ng mga stunts namin. Kasi kailangan maging kumportable ka dun sa mga galaw lalo na meron kaming mga movements na distinct sa character namin. Kailangan maging iba-iba para ma-distinguish ang bawat isa."

Later that day, we were able to watch the young stars engage in a fight against January Isaac and Roy Alvarez, both of whom were allies of Abresia (Jean Garcia). Playing siblings in the story are Mart Escudero and Isabel Oli. When the enemies come, Bernadette (Isabel) defends her brother Noel (Mart) by using her special power.