17/01/2026
📺 THE STORY BEHIND RECOVERING LOST EPISODES
Of the roughly 700 television episodes produced by John en Marsha, only about 80 complete episodes are known to have survived. All episodes from the show’s original 1973–1978 run remain apparently lost to this day.
In its film franchise, two of the nine John en Marsha movies are also considered lost: "John & Marsha ’80" (1980) and "Da Best of John & Marsha sa Pelikula Part II: A Tribute to Ading Fernando" (1984). Of the seven surviving films, only two have extant film prints, while five exist solely on video cassette—making only two titles fully restorable. In 2018, ABS-CBN Sagip Pelikula restored John & Marsha ’85 sa Probinsiya.
In 2020, the John En Marsha Facebook group was founded by then–14-year-old Generation Z enthusiast Joshua Macaraig to rekindle the sitcom’s legacy of laughter. Today, the group has over 6,000 members—including surviving staff, cast, descendants and guest stars—and more than 45,000 followers.
From this community emerged John en Marsha Legacy, a platform dedicated to preserving the show’s heritage through archiving, research and sharing its cultural significance with future generations. In 2024, John en Marsha Legacy formally launched a focused effort to search for lost episodes, coordinate with institutions, build a research database and further chronicle the show’s history.
In 2025, John en Marsha VHS tapes were discovered by John en Marsha Legacy administrator Jerome Villanueva. These tapes originated from official VHS releases rented and sold in the United States during the 1980s for overseas Filipino communities. Found in extremely poor and initially unplayable condition, the tapes underwent more than 100 hours of hands-on digitization by LJPB Cassette Archives—resulting in the full recovery of a 1984 episode.
After more than four decades, this 1984 episode will be one of three episodes to be screened at “Magsumikap Ka! A John en Marsha Pop-Up Exhibit and Lost Episode Screening” on January 31, 2026, at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila.
John en Marsha Legacy continues the search for more lost episodes. If you have videotapes (Betamax, U-matic, Betacam, or VHS) containing John en Marsha TV recordings, please email us at [email protected] .
You may also help by asking friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbors, and elders—and by joining our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/johnenmarsha.
𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐊𝐀𝐏 𝐊𝐀!
A John en Marsha Pop-up Exhibit & Lost Episode Screening
📅 January 31, 2026
📍 Teatro Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila
🕗 Exhibit Hours: 8:00 AM – 9:30 PM
Lost Episode Screenings:
■ 1:00 PM – Two lost and rare episodes
■ 2:00 PM – Talkback with Radio icon Tina Loy and character actor-turned-artist Vince Roque
■ 6:00 PM – Replay of the previously screened episodes plus one additional rare episode (total of 3 episodes)
🎟️ Park Entrance: ₱75 | ₱50 (Students, Senior Citizens, PWDs)
REGISTER HERE: https://forms.gle/jvfY5JWi9n5QvLpVA
This event is brought to you by the Intramuros Administration, Museo Alternatibo and John en Marsha Legacy with the support of ABS-CBN Sagip Pelikula and CineMo.
