Bituin

Premise

Laura Sandoval and Carmela Gaston are half sisters who grew up with Carmela's mom, Doña Virginia Gaston not treating Laura right. When they grew older Carmela Remain Unmarried while Laura marries Badong. After their second child, she found out he had been cheating on her.

As a single mother she was struggling to support her two daughters Melody and Bernadette. When her eldest Melody becomes sick, Laura goes to Carmela asking for help, who says that she will help if she hands over Bernadette so she may raise her as her own. With no one left to turn to Laura does it.

Carmela left for the United States to raise Bernadette and soon returns as a singer. In a concert, Laura knew their whereabouts. The kids grow up not knowing they are sisters. Melody notices that Laura is much closer to Bernadette, such as Laura teaching Bernadette to sing when she forbids Melody to do so. Bernadette becomes a star by recording Melody's voice and claiming it as her own. Both soon become singers. Melody finds her father and wins the heart of a young man named Dante.

In the end they all become a family: Badong and Laura find their love again, Carmela is no longer jealous of her sister, Doña Virginia gave the rightful will of her husband to Laura, Melody is a great singer and marries Josh Santana who is her singing partner, and Bernadette becomes a famous composer, especially the song she composed for her sister as a way to show she was sorry called "Sana Bukas"; she marries Dante, whom she fell in love with accidentally when she tried to help him win Melody's heart.

Plot

In the story, Laura (Nora Aunor†) and Carmela (Cherie Gil†) were revealed to be half-sisters, raised under the same roof but treated very differently. Laura, the illegitimate daughter, endured years of mistreatment from Carmela’s mother, Doña Virginia (Celia Rodriguez).

As adults, Laura married Ador (Michael de Mesa), a singer working abroad. For a while, life seemed hopeful until everything crumbled. After the birth of their second child, Laura received a heartbreaking letter from Ador all the way from Japan. He confessed to having an affair and made the devastating decision to abandon his family in the Philippines for another woman.

Suddenly a single mother to two young daughters, Melody and Bernadette, Laura struggled to make ends meet. Her only ally through the hardships was her loyal friend Diony (Gardo Versoza). Things took a turn for the worse when Melody was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease. Desperate and with nowhere else to turn, Laura swallowed her pride and asked Carmela for help.

Carmela, in a rare act of apparent kindness, agreed to finance Melody’s treatment. But Diony warned Laura to be cautious, as Carmela's generosity seemed suspicious. True enough, Carmela used the opportunity to manipulate Laura into handing over Bernadette for adoption. When Laura resisted, Carmela coldly threatened to stop paying for Melody’s treatment. Trapped and desperate to save the ailing Melody, Laura was forced to give up Bernadette.

What Laura didn’t expect was that Carmela would soon flee the country and raise Bernadette in the United States, leaving her grieving not just the betrayal, but the absence of the daughter she was blackmailed into losing.

Because of everything she had gone through, Laura’s heart grew heavy with bitterness. The deep longing for her lost child hardened her. She became distant and cold, even to her remaining daughter, Melody, who grew up with a clear passion and talent for singing. Laura refused to support Melody's dreams. As a former singer herself, music once brought Laura joy, but had become a painful reminder of her past. Laura stopped Melody from singing even when the child only sang to help them survive.

Cast and characters

Main cast

Nora Aunor † as Laura Sandoval

Cherie Gil † as Carmela Gaston

Carol Banawa as Melody Sandoval

Kristel Fulgar as young Melody

Desiree del Valle as Bernadette Gaston

Eliza Pineda as young Bernadette

Carlo Muñoz as Dante

Michael Santana as Josh Santana

Michael de Mesa as Salvador Sandoval

Gardo Versoza as Diony

Cherry Pie Picache as Olivia

Celia Rodriguez as Doña Virginia Gaston

Jessa Zaragoza as Sultanna Andromeda "Andromeda"-left the series during her pregnancy and taped her finale episodes

Ronaldo Valdez † as Amante Montesilverio

Chat Silayan † as Elvira Montesilverio

Tess Aquino as Madonna

Frank Garcia as Alex Montesilverio

Geoff Rodriguez as Dave Montesilverio

Kuh Ledesma as Lyrica Luna

Supporting cast

Efren Reyes Jr. as Arnel

Ricardo Cepeda as Conrado

Emilio Garcia as Ernesto

Lui Villaruz as Boom

John Apacible † as Willy

Perla Bautista as Ofelia

Rodel Velayo as Jimmy

Camille Prats as Lovelyn Gaston

Mat Ranillo III as Filemon Gaston

Sylvia Sanchez as Eva

Tado † as King

John Lapus as Queenie

Harlene Bautista as Tootsie

Rochelle Barrameda as Leila

Anita Linda † as Rustica

Jestoni Alarcon as Bienvenido Galang

Gigette Reyes as Dra. Reyes

Julia Clarete as Agnes Gandoza

Romnick Sarmenta as Pepito

Camilla Villamil as Melai

Cameo appearances

John Lloyd Cruz as Atty. Yuri Orbida (from the character of Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay)

Bea Alonzo as Atty. Kathrina Argos (from the character of Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay)

Kris Aquino

Boy Abunda

Ogie Diaz as Ogie

Carlos Agassi

Robert Seña

John Lesaca

Ryan Eigenmann

Dessa

Franco Laurel

Divo Bayer

Cooky Chua

Agot Isidro

Julius Babao

Christine Bersola-Babao

Edu Manzano

Julio Diaz

Tirso Cruz III

Dolly de Leon

Randy Santiago

Bayani Agbayani

Willie Revillame

Ai-Ai Delas Alas

Romi Sison

Dindo de Viterbo

Tonette Escario

Reception

This was Nora Aunor's acting comeback after her shortlived stint on the series "Nora", a drama anthology that launched the second incarnation “Star Drama Anthology”. The series also launched the careers of Carol Banawa and Desiree Del Valle who played supporting roles in various TV and films. Senior stars such as Chat Silayan, Ronaldo Valdez, Celia Rodriguez and Cherie Gil played big roles in the series varying away from films.

Ratings

Its highest rating was 48.7% for the "Ultimate Showdown: The Diva VS The Supernova" of Melody and Bernadette at the Araneta Coliseum, while the lowest was 29.5%, its fifth episode.

In 2002, the series aired as the first line up of Teleserye Primetime Bida at 7:00 PM, followed up by Sa Puso Ko, Iingatan Ka (until February 14, 2003), Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay and Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan (until February 28, 2003).