As one of the final items on my list of things to do in S'pore, I had a brief tour of the Television Corporation of Singapore, or affectionly known as TCS. Most people here don't think very highly of TCS. Some people even have many mischievous comments of what TCS stands for (since this is a wholesome newsgroup, I won't elaborate further 8-) There are 3 TV channels in S'pore, one for English programs, one for Mandarin programs, and one for programs such as educational, home shopping (yes, it's here too), traveling etc. Just some information for historical reference, SBC, or S'pore Broadcasting Corporation, was "privatized" last year into several individual baby SBCs such as TCS, RCS, etc. Privatization in S'pore does not mean increase in competition. It usually means issuing new stocks to S'pore citizens (like S'pore Telecom) or just an excuse to change the corporation name and image (I certainly like the new TCS logo 8-) The main building is located next to the MacRitchie Reservoir. You can't miss it with its huge satellite dishes on premise, definitely not a common sight around S'pore. As I waited at the lobby, I passed time looking at the show promos that were posted on the wall and the programs that were currently showing on the various TV sets spread out across the lobby. As a tourist, I was naturally attracted to the gift shop near the lobby. I was disappointed about the selection of gifts there, although there is an acceptable T-shirt for the show "Under One Roof." Nothing creative like the ubiquitous S'pore "Fine" city T-shirt that you usually see around every tourist corner. I did, however, like the cups and plates in the cafe. They all have this nice TCS logo on them. Too bad they weren't selling them at the gift shop downstairs 8-( Didn't get to meet any famous stars while having dinner there. Actually, even if they were there, I probably wouldn't have recognized them at all. That tells you how much I watch TCS 8-) The security is fairly laxed. Although the entire facility is totally surrounded by fence (electrified?), I don't see any goons carrying weapons and machine guns. I always thought that the broadcast facility make a prime military and terrorist target, especially in a country where information are considered dangerous 8-)
The rumor has it that many of the male staff working at TCS have unnatural sexual tendency. It seems that people in the entertainment industry in S'pore are similar to the people working in the fashion industry in New York. Some speculate that creative people are a bit on the weird side. I guess I wouldn't know 8-) Another surprising thing I found out was that S'pore "Candid Camera" equivalent show, "Gotcha", do not require people's consent before they appear on TV. I know that in the States, the producers have to get the release from the people before they appear on TV. Here, it's only out of courtesy that you get their consent. Also found out that there are lots of benefit working for TCS. The staff get to watch different TV programs around the region, mostly from satellite feed. And, of course, they get to watch all censored material that normal S'poreans don't see 8-) But the staff also have to deal with restriction on their creativity. All ideas have to be approved by the top levels for their "artistic" merit.
The main reason for my visit to TCS was to be an audience on an upcoming show called "Ja's Court." The best way to describe it is a talk show similar to Oprah but with a flavor of People's Court. I guess you have to see it to believe it 8-) It was the third taping of the show and it's about "Do you think girls wearing revealing clothes are asking for it?" The host of the show is Jacinta Abisheganathan, supposedly a famous local star. She is very professional and has a great memory (envy, envy...) I like the warm up session where the guy said make sure you are not seen with people not suppose to be with you. I guess a few people got in trouble for that 8-) He then ask people to come up to the stage be jurors. Most of the people refuse to go up. At the end, most of the jurors were either foreigners or friends of the people "on trial". What can I say, they love us foreigners since we always speak our mind 8-) Anyway, I won't spoil the fun by telling what happened at the show. But I did get a chance to have my 5 seconds of fame on the show, so do watch it when it comes out 8-)
We also had a little tour of the place. Went to the make-up room to visit Jacinta. Walked through the Chinese serial set to experience what it's like to be a big Chinese star 8-) Stayed for the live telecast of the 10:30 pm news. Saw my favorite minister, Minister of Trade and Industry Yeo Cheow Tong, on TV again 8-) I kept seeing him on TV and in papers. I speculate that he must be someone who's on the fast track. The behind the scene of the newscast is nothing frantic like what was in the movie "Broadcast News." Everything is mechanical and rigid. There are no last minute news flash, and no last second additions or changes. Everything goes by the book and done by the book. Sometimes I wonder if the staff and the newscasters on TCS news are mechanical robots. Especially Duncan who seems to be someone who just had a Vulcan mind melt 8-) Ok, maybe I shouldn't be too harsh since the news are totally prepared ahead of time (censor board?)
S'pore uses the Neilson rating system similar to the states. I wonder who are the typical S'pore Neilson family. Let's see, it's no surprise that "Under One Roof" is rated number one. I saw the last episode, which had Sally Yeh as a guest star, and was quite impressed. Maybe there is hope for the S'pore entertainment industry after all 8-) Ok, maybe I was surprised to find Pro Wrestling to be one of the top rated shows in S'pore. Well, maybe I am not that surprised 8-) I was beginning to wonder who actually watches TV. I know X-File is popular with people on the net. But I am not so sure about the "typical" S'poreans. One of my frustrations with TCS programming is that good (i.e. imported) shows are usually shown late at night. Either they assume intellects stay up later at night, or TCS just want to torture these viewers 8-) Star Trek:TNG and Chicago Hope are shown at midnight. M*A*S*H is shown at 2:30 in the morning??! Give me a break.
Since RCS is right next door, we decided to drop by the broadcasting booth for Class 95, since it was the most popular station among the group of us. Actually, we could have visited any of the S'pore radio stations since their studios are right next to each others 8-) We had a nice chat with this friendly chap named Colin. He showed us all the high tech gadgets and operation around the studio. We found out how all the songs are pre-programmed and the DJs do not take request and are not allowed to play songs if they are not on the list. One thing I observed around TCS and RCS is that most staff are young and inexperienced. I wonder where all the experienced professionals went...
Since we are talking about media, let me finish this article with a plug for M'sia (my SO would love this.) M'sian papers, especially the Star, seem to have much better reporting coverage. M'sian TV, especially the Chinese ones, are better produced (at least there is no dubbing.) The appointment section on the Straits Times are full of ads wanting M'sians to return. Also M'sia recently open up their financial market. And of course, they are going to lift the satellite ban next year. M'sia is finally trying hard to catch up to S'pore. I think they have a very good chance. S'pore is trying to be the satellite hub (huh?) and media hub (what?) in the region. And TCS will get its own satellite channel soon. Can't wait until the day that S'pore program is broadcasted across the ocean. Someone out there want to advocate reciprocal trade? I want my Star TV...oopss.. MTV 8-)
7/7/95 [50 more days to go]
