(From left) T.G.I.S. Batch 1 cast Raven Villanueva, Bobby Andrews, Red Sternberg, Angelu De Leon, Onemig Bondoc and Michael Flores. Image: Flores’ Instagram
It was twenty-two years ago when the most phenomenal 1990s teen-oriented show was born. “T.G.I.S.” or “Thank God It’s Sabado” took to great heights the careers of a bunch of upcoming teen actors. Now, some of its cast members remember the good old days by posting some throwback photos.
One of the show’s most remarkable cast members was Red Sternberg, better known as Francisco “Kiko” Arboleda De Dios in the series. He was the funny man of the group. His baby-faced mestizo look certainly made him a certified teen heartthrob during his time. Despite leaving his showbiz career to be permanently based in the United States, Sternberg still paid tribute to the show that launched his career. He took to Instagram to post a photo of the original cast. Now 43 years old, the former teen sensation reminisced about the good old days, accompanying his post with the hashtags #feelingold and #tgis.
In the series, he was paired with Rica Peralejo, who played the role of Michelle “Mitch” Ferrer.
Meanwhile, Michael Flores, cast as Mickey Ledesma, also made a similar post. Starting off as a member of the ’90s dance group Maneuvers, he also shared his moves in the show. He was teamed-up with Raven Villanueva, who played the role of Cristina “Cris” De Guzman. He was nicknamed “Superman” in the series.
In his post, he greeted the show a happy anniversary as they’re now celebrating “22 years of friendship.” As a treat to their loyal fans, he wrote a T.G.I.S. signature expression: “Group hug!”
Other cast members included singer Ciara Sotto as Rain Abrera and Onemig Bondoc, who was also initially paired with Peralejo, but it was with Sotto that his character Jomai Rodriguez was mostly identified with.
However, the most celebrated cast members were undoubtedly Angelu De Leon who played Ma. Patrice “Peachy” Real and Bobby Andrews as Joaquin “Wacks” Torres III. They famously called each other “Cookie” and “Pancakes”. Their phenomenal love team was the center of the show. Because of the massive success of their team-up, they became GMA’s answer to ABS-CBN’s hot love team of Judy Ann Santos and Wowie De Guzman.
In their heydays, the T.G.I.S. bunch top-billed movies such as “Laging Naroon Ka” in 1997, “Wala Na Bang Pag-Ibig” in 1997, “Ikaw Na Sana: The Movie” in 1998 and “Ang Lahat Ng Ito’y Para Sa ‘Yo” in 1998. They were also given their own primetime drama series, “Ikaw Na Sana” in 1997.
However, at the height of their team-up, De Leon had an unexpected pregnancy with then boyfriend Joko Diaz. Because of this, her love team with Andrews suffered immensely and eventually affected the entire show, as she was one of its central characters.
Barkada movies
The show’s success gave way to two movies featuring the entire T.G.I.S. crew, namely, “Where ‘D’ Girls ‘R” in 1996 and “T.G.I.S.: The Movie” in 1997.
“T.G.I.S.” was a certified teen craze back then. It first aired on August 12, 1995, up to November 27, 1999. However, halfway through the series, the original cast were moved up to its spin off show “Growing Up”, where the grown-up teens were now portrayed as college students. Meanwhile, a new cast was introduced to continue the Saturday habit. JB
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