Below write-up is by courtesy of from source http://remembersingapore.org/
Please go into this source on more information about interesting SBC Dramas in the 80s.
The Early Days of SBC
The
eighties and a large part of the nineties were undeniably the golden
periods for SBC, the predecessor of Mediacorp (and TCS). SBC, Singapore
Broadcasting Corporation in full, was established in February 1980 as a
statutory board, after the corporatisation of Radio and Television
Singapore (RTS).
Back then, the sources of Chinese dramas
were mainly from Hong Kong and Taiwan. The dramas, many of them in
Cantonese and Minnan (Taiwanese Hokkien), had to be dubbed in Mandarin
for Singapore audience. After its establishment, SBC decided to invest
and produce Singapore’s own Chinese drama series.
In
1978, Hong Kong’s entertainment realm was hit by the collapse of
Commercial Television and the change in ownership of Rediffusion
Television (now Asia Television Limited). The two incidents provided
opportunities for SBC to recruit some of the top talents in Hong Kong
scriptwriters and producers.
The early eighties also saw the first
batch of local artistes recruited through drama training classes. This
lasted a decade before it was eventually replaced by the Star Search
competition in 1988, which produced the likes of Zoe Tay, Aileen Tan and
Chew Chor Meng. In 1982, the successful production and broadcast of
“Seletar Robbery” signified the birth of local Mandarin dramas.
Channel 5, Suria and Vasantham
Malay programs found their ways to TV as early as the sixties. “Pak Awang Temberang” (Uncle
Awang Tells Stories) was the first Malay-language drama series aired in
1966. The seventies were the golden era for Malay dramas; many were
produced and directed by Bani Buang (1929-1996), popularly known as the
father of Singapore’s modern Malay dramas.
Locally-made Tamil dramas soon followed. “Ippadiayam oru Kudumbam” (What A Family), aired in August 1980, was the first Tamil-language drama series produced in Singapore.
Ironically, Singapore did not produce its
own local English dramas until the nineties, even though Channel 5 was
the first TV channel debuted in April 1963. The much-criticised “Masters
Of The Sea” became the first local English TV drama series aired in
1994.
20 Most Memorable SBC (Channel 8) Dramas
Between 1982 and 1990, SBC produced close
to ninety Chinese drama series for Channel 8; many were forgettable,
some became classic, along with their theme songs which were tailor made
to suit the storylines of the dramas. Creativity was at its peak as SBC
explored different types of drama genres, such as mystery, horror,
comedy, science-fiction and wuxia (pugilistic/martial arts).
RemSG sorts out its list of 20 most memorable Channel 8 dramas. Which of these were your favourite ones?
1. Seletar Robbery 实里达大劫案
Period: 24 July 1982
Episodes: 1
Genre: Thriller
Main Cast: Huang Wenyong (黄文永), Chin Chi Kang (钱治钢), Lim Sin Ming (林生民), Steven Woon (云昌凑)
Plot Summary: It was a police and thief game as three robbers got away with a $300,000 loot from a construction company.
Trivia: Although it had only one episode
and lasted only 90 minutes, “Seletar Robbery” was considered the first
locally-produced Chinese drama. It took less than a month to finish the
filming of the drama.
Memorable Scene: Chin Chi Kang as the undisputed villain
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