Filipinos had the chance to see several memorable moments on Philippine TV during the first half of 2017.
There were milestones that brought pride, comebacks that evoked nostalgia, and even bloopers that drew laughter from audiences.
There were controversial moments in Pinoy TV that reached social media.
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) presents 25 of the most talked-about moments in Philippine TV that happened during the first six months of 2017.
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Miss Universe 2016 was aired in all networks.
In past years, ABS-CBN was the only home of Miss Universe on Philippine television.
This time, however, the Kapamilya network, GMA Network, and TV5 acquired the rights to broadcast the Miss Universe 2016 pageant held at the Mall of Asia Arena last January 30.
Miss France Iris Mittenaere was crowned as Miss Universe while Miss Philippines Maxine Medina entered the Top 6.
According to AGB ratings, it was GMA-7's broadcast that prevailed in NUTAM data, with 27.1%. On the other hand, in Kantar's national ratings, ABS-CBN got a rating of 27.4%.
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Dayanara Torres returns to ASAP for its 22nd anniversary.
On February 5, former ASAP host Dayanara Torres appeared for the first time again on Philippine TV to join the variety show's 22nd anniversary.
The Puerto Rican beauty queen also reunited with her co-stars in the 1995 movie Hataw Na, led by Gary Valenciano.
Tagged as the original Dancing Queen of the Philippines, Dayanara showed her moves in a number reminiscent of her "Sayawnara" segment in the variety show.
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CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓NOOD KA MUNA!
Amihan suddenly exits Encantadia.
In late January, PEP.ph reported that Kapuso actress Kylie Padilla was pregnant. At that time, she was still portraying Sang'gre Amihan in Encantadia.
While there was still no confirmation from her party at that time, Encantadia aired teasers that one Sang'gre would sacrifice her life and die.
On January 25, a leaked photo from a scene in Encantadia showed that Amihan was being laid to rest, which confirmed that her character would die in the telefantasya.
Kylie remained in the next few episodes after Amihan's death, where she was seen living in Devas, or the house of spirits.
Eventually, Kylie left the show after Amihan turned into a sarkosi (or reincarnated soul) and her soul transferred to the body of Arianna, played by Arra San Agustin.
In the final episode of Encantadia aired in May, Kylie made a short appearance towards the end.
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The Greatest Love's controversial dining table scene trends on Twitter.
ABS-CBN's daytime drama The Greatest Love aired its most-talked about scene last January 10, where Dimples Romana's character Amanda told her mom Gloria, "Akala ko ba mamamatay ka na?"
Gloria, who was stricken with Alzheimer's Disease, was played by Sylvia Sanchez.
What shocked her family members—played by Dimples, Andi Eigenmann, Matt Evans, and Arron Villaflor, Joshua Garcia—was when she suddenly went ballistic and asked everyone who they are. This was the first time that her Alzheimer's disease manifested in front of her kids.
The scene was so talked-about that it became one of Twitter's trending topics that day.
Even before The Greatest Love premiered in September, the dining table scene already received mixed reactions from viewers when it was used as the show's first teaser. A Visayan filmmaker even accused the show of copying a scene from his film.
On April 21, The Greatest Love aired its final episode with the death of main character Gloria.
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Xia Vigor earns international praises for Taylor Swift impersonation.
Child performer Xia Vigor was praised by international publications after she impersonated Taylor Swift in the January 15 episode of Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids.
However, Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan did not like the idea and said that Xia was "sexualised" in a "creepy" way.
Xia's father Alan Vigor denied the allegations and even revealed that Xia was being offered to portray the story of famous child star Shirley Temple.
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Marian Rivera announces primetime comeback.
Kapuso Primetime Queen Marian Rivera promised her followers that she will make a teleserye comeback after meeting with GMA executives in February 6.
She did a lot of guestings and TV programs after that meeting: she returned to Encantadia, hosted the ongoing drama anthology Tadhana, and served as the first guest of Daig Kayo Ng Lola Ko.
On April 25, Marian attended the story conference of her upcoming primetime series The Good Teacher, where she will be joined by Helen Gamboa and Al Tantay. To date, the actress has already started taping with Jerald Napoles, Meg Imperial, and other co-stars.
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Alyas Robin Hood ends on a cliffhanger; announces book two.
Dingdong Dantes's controversial primetime series Alyas Robin Hood ended with a cliffhanger in February 24 when Judy (Jaclyn Jose) was kidnapped and Pepe (Dingdong) ran to save her.
Last April, it was announced that Dingdong will once again topbill Book 2 of Alyas Robin Hood along with leading lady Andrea Torres.
In 2016, before it was aired, Alyas Robin Hood got embroiled in a controversy after being accused of copying the Stephen Amell-American series Arrow. When Alyas Robin Hood finally aired, it registered high ratings.
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AlDub teleserye finally airs on TV, gets embroiled in ratings controversy.
After long months of waiting, Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza were finally seen in their first teleserye: Destined To Be Yours (DTBY), which premiered on February 27.
However, two months after its premiere, on April 20, the series became controversial when its creative consultant Suzette Doctolero had an exchange of tweets with AlDub fans.
Fans opened up to Suzette and noticed that the story of DTBY took on a different direction, which did not sit well with a lot of fans.
Suzette explained that when DTBY went the direction of having a kontrabida character, the show started increasing its ratings unlike the first three weeks which she described as "flop." She also revealed that the series would already end on May.
In a separate interview, GMA Senior Vice President for Entertainment Lilybeth Rasonable said that the network is happy with the show's ratings and the show was really slated to run only until May so that the AlDub love team can focus on their upcoming movie.
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Judy Ann Santos makes surprise appearance on Eat Bulaga!
Kapamilya actress Judy Ann Santos surprised viewers on the March 2 episode when she suddenly appeared in the "Jackpot En Poy" segment of Eat Bulaga!
In the segment, Juday's husband Ryan Agoncillo was supposed to compete against her brother Jeffrey Santos.
Ryan then called for a "resbak" and fetched Judy Ann from backstage.
A few months later, Juday staged her TV comeback via the ABS-CBN game show Bet On Your Baby. Ryan also made a special appearance during the show's first episode aired last May.
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Nora Aunor cancels guesting on It's Showtime; appears on Eat Bulaga!
On March 10, Superstar Nora Aunor decided to back out on her supposed guesting on It's Showtime.
The singer-actress was announced as the main judge at the grand finals of "Tawag ng Tanghalan" wherein she was proclaimed grand champion during the contest's edition in 1968. The live episode was slated to air on a Saturday, March 11.
However, rival program Eat Bulaga also aired a plug that Nora will be their guest in the same date.
In an exclusive interview with PEP.ph, Nora clarified that she will guest in Eat Bulaga! as she felt that It's Showtime main host Vice Ganda's "pambabastos" towards her.
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Encantadia outtake goes viral after presence of monobloc chair.
An outtake from Encantadia caught the attention of netizens when a monobloc chair was seen during a scene of the primetime series.
A meme was even created saying, "Napaka-modern ng Encantadia, kitang-kita ang monobloc!"
Headwriter Suzette Doctolero clarified that the scene did not air on TV, which was attested by loyal viewers of the show.
During the March 11 episode of Full House Tonight, the cast of Encantadia did a parody of the viral scene wherein it was shown that the blooper was caused by Lira (Mikee Quintos).
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Maymay Entrata is proclaimed as Pinoy Big Brother Lucky 7 Big Winner.
Teen housemate Maymay Entrata won the hearts of Filipinos as she was voted as the big winner of Pinoy Big Brother's Lucky 7 edition.
She got 42.71% of the votes during the March 5 big night of PBB's longest edition.
After her victory, Maymay was given several major projects by the Kapamilya network including an episode of MMK, an album, and a movie.
She is currently part of the primetime series La Luna Sangre.
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Kris Aquino makes one-time TV comeback.
Queen of All Media Kris Aquino made a TV comeback via her travel show titled Trip Ni Kris, which aired in April 9.
The travel show, which featured Nueva Ecija, had a one-time airing on GMA-7 last April 9.
However, controversies came right after the airing of the show when Kris dismissed rumors that she is dating Nueva Ecija Councilor Renan Morales, the son of Trip Ni Kris's producer Rhodora Pascual Morales.
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Paulo Avelino's appearance in Binibining Pilipinas makes viewers swoon.
Aside from the winners, one man caught the attention of Binibining Pilipinas 2017 viewers: Paulo Avelino.
The ABS-CBN actor served as one of the judges during the pageant's coronation night last April 30.
Many were happy to see him especially when he smiled for the cameras, allowing him to become a trending topic on Twitter with 9,920 tweets.
Netizens also took time to answer the questions he asked during the pageant using pick-up lines.
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Kimerald fans shocked over Ikaw Lang Ang Iibigin timeslot.
Once promised as a primetime series, Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson's reunion teleserye Ikaw Lang Ang Iibigin premiered last May 1 with a daytime slot, before It's Showtime.
This shocked a lot of Kimerald fans who were used to seeing them on primetime. In fact, netizens even pointed out Kim's title in the Kapamilya network as Primetime Princess.
On April 25, a day after the show's timeslot was officially announced, Kim posted a cryptic quote on Instagram. Fans assumed that the post can be related to the shocking timeslot of the show.
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FPJ's Ang Probinsyano extended until 2018.
On April 21, it was announced that ABS-CBN's primetime show FPJ's Ang Probinsyano will be extended until January 2018.
The action-drama series, starring Coco Martin, aired its pilot episode in September 2015 and has been awarded with several extensions due to high ratings.
As it entered Book Two, major events happened such as Cardo's (Coco) marriage to Alyanna (Yassi Pressman) and the death of main villain Joaquin (Arjo Atayde).
At the same time, new cast members joined the series including John Arcilla, Lito Lapid, Angel Aquino, and Coco's brother Ronwaldo Martin.
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Vice Ganda makes fun of FPJ's Ang Probinsyano smartphone blooper.
It's Showtime host Vice Ganda, who is known as Coco Martin's best friend, made fun of a blooper in FPJ's Ang Probinsyano that was caught on cam.
Eddie Garcia's character was seen talking to somebody using a smartphone. However, it was seen that Eddie held the phone upside-down and the mouthpiece was in front of his ear!
Several smartphone bloopers immediately went viral after this incident, including RK Bagatsing in Wildflower, Coney Reyes in My Dear Heart and even Vice Ganda himself in one of his movies!
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Encantadia finale hints a Book 2 after appearance of Ice Queen.
After 10 successful months of airing, Encantadia's requel came to an end last May 19.
Encantadiks were happy to see Amihan (Kylie Padilla) appear again on the finale episode.
However, fans were even more excited when Encantadia ended on a cliffhanger showing Cassiopea's (Solenn Heussaff) sister who was living in an ice kingdom.
The scene prompted fans to assume that Encantadia will return to television for a Book Two.
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Heart Evangelista allegedly had smartphone blooper during pilot week of Mulawin vs. Ravena.
The Mulawins and Ravenas also returned to television last May 22 with the premiere of Mulawin vs. Ravena.
However, as early as the second episode on May 23, the fantasy series became viral on social media when a smartphone peeked out of Heart Evangelista's costume.
Heart reprised the role of Alwina, a role first played by Angel Locsin in the 2004 version.When PEP.ph checked the episode on GMA Network's website, the smartphone was nowhere to be found in the scene.
Months later, in the June 21 episode of the show, Alwina's character was already killed during a battle with Queen Rashana (Chynna Ortaleza).
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Filipino adaptation of My Love From The Star remained faithful to Korean version.
Contrary to what is expected, GMA-7's version of My Love From The Star had less bashers as it remained faithful to the Korean version.
There were only few changes made to suit the Filipino tradition, including the time-lapse scenes during the pilot episode aired last May 29.
Jennylyn Mercado and Gil Cuerva topbill the local adaptation directed by Bb. Joyce Bernal.
In an interview, Direk Joyce said that they intend to remain loyal to the Korean version.
My Love From The Star's Philippine adaptation is only slated to air for 11 weeks.
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Sunshine Dizon and Ryza Cenon's confrontation scenes in Ika-6 Na Utos go viral on social media.
Ika-6 Na Utos is not only a ratings game winner. It also captured the attention of netizens because of its campy yet entertaining fight scenes.
This started when Ryza Cenon's character Georgia pointed a nerf gun at her rival Emma, played by Sunshine Dizon.
This particular scene became so viral on social media that netizens made a lot of memes about it.
Sunshine and Ryza's other talked-about scenes include their gym and balut fights.
Prior to this, Ika-6 Na Utos was already hailed as the No. 1 Daytime Drama of the Kapuso network that it extended its daily run until Saturdays. It was the first show to air six days a week after many years.
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Maja Salvador accidentally scratches Aiko Melendez's eye in Wildflower viral confrontation scene.
Maja Salvador and Aiko Melendez's confrontation scenes in the early primetime series Wildflower became a new source of memes on the Internet.
One of these was the confrontation aired during the June 7 episode of the show where Maja's character Ivy slammed a cake on the face of Emilia, played by Aiko Melendez.
Their fight scene became too real that Maja accidentally scratched Aiko's eye!
Aiko said in one post that she didn't mind the injury as long as audiences are enjoying the "bolder, wilder" new chapter of Wildflower.
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Richard Gutierrez transfers to ABS-CBN to join La Luna Sangre.
On May 31, Richard Gutierrez inked a contract with ABS-CBN to join the fantasy series La Luna Sangre, starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.
Prior to his transfer, Richard was with GMA-7 for 12 years and did leading men roles in several Kapuso shows.
In La Luna Sangre, he portrays the main villain Sandrino, who is called as the supreme vampire.
He also had a few scenes with his former onscreen partner Angel Locsin during the show's pilot week, which premiered on June 19.
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Bea Alonzo and Ian Veneracion's characters get married in A Love To Last.
After a long wait, since its January 9 premiere, Bea Alonzo and Ian Veneracion's characters finally get married in A Love To Last.
Viewers witnessed Andeng (Bea) and Anton (Ian) declare love for each other during the June 16 wedding episode of the Kapamilya teleserye.
In the current episodes, Andeng slowly adjusts to her new life as a married woman living with the kids of her husband from a previous marriage.
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Barbie Forteza chooses Ken Chan in Meant To Be.
Since its January 9 premiere, Barbie Forteza's character Billie struggled to choose among her four suitors in the primetime series Meant To Be.
Filipino-Chinese Yuan (Ken Chan), British Ethan (Ivan Dorschner), Indian Jai (Addy Raj), and Pure Pinoy Andoy (Jak Roberto) battled it out to win Billie's heart.
During a press conference, it was revealed that Billie's choice would be determined by a mix decision of the audience (through a poll) and GMA management.
During the final episode aired in June 30, Billie revealed that she has chosen Yuan as her ka-meant-to-be!
PEPsters, what were the most memorable TV moments for you?
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.