Old SBC Dramas

This is posted in advance via timestamp. I’ll be away for the next 2 weeks

Before Mediacorp was formed, it was known as TCS

And before TCS was privatized in 1994, our gahmen controlled TV was known as Singapore Broadcasting Corporation or SBC for short

Basically our TV airwaves was monopolised by SBC and RTM (Malaysia)

Remember This?

Samsui Women
This got to be one of the saddest shows I’ve seen lah. Every episode there’s some sad sob story about the struggle of Samsui Cantonese women worker. These China women work in construction sites in the early development of modern Singapore, so you’ve got to give props to them. They wore the infamous red headgears

There was no private free-to-air shows, cable TV or Internet videos as seen these days

We all have to do with what is being shown as there was no other option

The shows back then being ‘fed’ to us wasn’t that bad actually lah, despite the bits of propaganda …

Well it was the world to us

I remembered rushing back from school, those few waking hours before nap-time then soccer at the void-deck in the evening, I’ll watch the afternoon shows on SBC without fail

Remember This?

Purple Killer
Well being a kid back then, I have kiddish ideals and thoughts right. Well for this TV show, I can relate to the hero (Chew Chor Meng). Despite a mischief, he has good intentions, battling a powderful martial arts eunuch known as the Purple Killer who happens to be bapok (effeminate). Back then it so happen in class I was being pestered by this really bapok classmate, so there’s where I drew the resemblance … keke, what I was thinking hur. Still Zoe Tay (female lead cast) frequent pouting in the show just wanna make me either slap her silly or show her a good time, haha

Obviously after school, I should be doing my tutorials right

But being a lazy boy back then, I detest doing my homework … I would rather see my TV heroes and beauties

I believe in last minute work of copying in class the next morning … haha

Apart from the morning cartoons and Aksi Mat Yoyo, my sisters and I would huddle intently watching local Chinese dramas

It was da bomb …

I think that’s where the love for weepy tragic sappy saga started to grow on me

Li Nanxing was my hero, I have a crush on Lin Meijiao and hawt Felicia Chin was still in primary school

Remember This?

Pretty Faces
The show that launched Zoe Tay career. I might say her curls looks horrible on her for this show, which reminds me of Star Wars Ewoks furs. But I love the show however, because there’s Lin Meijiao (who happen to look like my first crush) and also the characters you just love to hate. Even repulsive to watch, you just need to know what happens in the next episode

But these days, all grown up now, I’ve outgrew television

I think we all did …. when more pressing issues such as career, studies and responsibilities comes into the picture

Even though I’ve stopped watching much of television these days, but it has made a lifelong impression on me

Though much of TV and movie shows are a distortion of real-life, but it is my guilty pleasure

It still is … when I do have the time to sit down and be a couch potato

Remember This?

Guan Huai Fang Shi
An old TCS telemovie. A tragic show yes, with leadcast of Chen Hanwei and Athena Chu (HK actress). Hanwei died of course in the end but the song was so touching. Even I don’t understand the meaning, very emo lah when it was being played during the show. Sang by Chen Hanwei and Cai Lilian (Athena lipsync in the show)

In the greater scheme of things, I do feel a tinge of sadness

It was a point of time in my life where I was carefree and everything seem simpler and television watching played a big part in my life

TV was my very source of information and entertainment

It was my very own Wikipedia delivered via a 14-inch compact box set

Hey I even learned the bird and the bees from it! …. Keke