Good character development often happens in television shows where stories are stretched out for a long period of time and characters literally and figuratively grow. This is particularly notable in American television programs where shows are created annually or in seasons.

A simple exercise in assessing character development is to put the characters in a certain environment and expect their reaction to be what you expect him or her to react based on how they are branded by the show. It is where they respond to a new stimulus without losing who they are or how they have become known to the audience.

In the case of Philippine media, a good example of effective character development isn’t found on TV. One, because television series creators are not often given the ability to plan how to unfold their stories. When the show flops, the story must end prematurely. When it succeeds, the story is extended to the point of it being ugly. Hence, the best way to see character development in Philippine media is in cinema, a medium where the creators have much more control over how to tell stories i.e., length of the film and number of characters involved.

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