1. Entertainment
Local Milestone Productions
Both Channel U and Suria's milestone productions have been categorised into 2 different genres, namely; entertainment and drama. All of which distinctively reflect and represent the affluent and educated Singaporeans today. With Singapore’s unique culture integrated into the productions and the addition of English subtitles, its popularity soared as different races are able to enjoy these shows (i.e. Malays watching Chinese programmes etc.).
It also served as a platform for the non-Malay or non-Chinese community to better understand the Chinese and Malay culture and practices respectively; thereby supporting Singapore’s core values of a harmonious multi-racial and religious society. Hence, these productions serve as crucial turning points in Singapore’s cultural transition coupled with its response to the taste and preferences of the Chinese and Malay community.
With the influence of international award shows such as the Emmy Awards, Mediacorp have launched their very own award shows to recognise local and regional talent in the entertainment industry. This was parallel to Singapore’s structural shift towards being a more vibrant city that embraces the arts industry. Also, the popularity of foreign award shows were growing amongst Singaporeans. Thus, by introducing award shows, it not only serves the demands of viewers, but also encourages local talents to continue providing Singaporeans with a supply of quality small screen entertainment and builds up Singapore’s television industry on the international stage.
Two prominent annual entertainment events are Anugerah and Pesta Perdana.
Anugerah is a regional music competition show and is currently in its 13th year of broadcast. It awards both local and regional musicians and bands. On the other hand, Pesta Perdana is another prestigious award show, honoring the best local media talent for the past 13 years. As it is produced by Mediacorp, it hence attracts large numbers of celebrities - local, regional and international. Both shows are aired domestically on MediaCorp Suria and internationally by Channel News Asia International.
Another recent milestone development of Suria was the introduction of game shows which added to the diversity of the channel. With the popularity of foreign game shows such as ‘One Minute to Win It’ and ‘Running Man’, Mediacorp decided to incorporate the concept of game shows with national education. ‘Kita Orang Singapura’ was adapted from the Channel 5 programme, ‘We Are Singaporeans’. By doing so, it serves to educate the masses on Singapore’s heritage and bring about a more cohesive society.
As for Channel U, reality shows such as Project Superstar and Let's Talk have managed to capture the hearts of numerous audiences.
Similar to American Idol and Singapore Idol, Channel U started to organize a talent search competition called Project SuperStar (Chinese: 绝对 SuperStar). The main objective of the programme was to uncover and develop young talent in Mandarin pop in Singapore. With the succession of the first season in 2005, Mediacorp decided to renew the program with season 2 in 2006 and season 3 in 2014. In between 2006 and 2014, another subset of Project Superstar was released, named: Campus Superstar.
Channel U's Let's Talk concept revolves around allowing Youths vent on certain topics, such as: whether youths should pursue their dream of becoming a star or will it destroy their future. Presently, the popular talkshow has its contract renewed 4 times - recently showing it's fourth season. Upon deeper analysis, the show has not only allowed numerous youths to step out of their comfort zone to speak in front of a crowd, it has also taught numerous youths that there are always multiple solutions to every problem and all that is needed is to seek help.
2. Drama
In the drama department, both Channel U and Suria have produced a wide variety ranging from comedy to family to crime. However, one common factor that ties all dramas together is the strong relation to moral values. Also, it tends to subtly reiterate governmental policies such that it makes complicated policies more digestible for Singaporeans.
This especially applies to the Malay community as early marriages is a part of the culture. Subsequently, the second season was launch and the focus was on family responsibilities. While the couple was expecting their first child, they face financial difficulties when the female lead decides to quit her job while the male lead got fired. Such a plot evokes sympathy for the characters but it also emphasises the family unity and responsibilities.
Following the succession of 5 X 2 Dol, Rahsia Perkahwinan was launched in 2003 and was one of the first dramas that experienced soaring popularity. The storyline touches on a more controversial side to the Singaporean Malay culture; polygamy and remarriage. As the main character walks in the dangerous grey area, it steers the audience to the politically and morally right answer. This provides Singaporean Malays with the reminder that despite the western liberal influences, one should stay on the morally right path. Such values coincides with both religious and governmental law. Therefore, it once again shows how television dramas can be used as a communication tool that drive home moral and law abiding messages.
One of the milestone productions by Suria was 5 X 2 Dol. Launched in June 2007, it centres on a young couple who decides to tie the knot despite family and friends objections. They were against their idea of settling down rashly as they were still young. Against all odds, they go ahead with the wedding, only to prove the speculations and rumours right that marriage is indeed no easy task. This seemingly ordinary storyline should be given a second look.
Upon deeper analysis, it seems to be carrying a message that promotes family planning. The government consistently reminds Singaporeans to plan carefully before settling down as it can be financially challenging. By doing so, it would reduce the occurrences of shotgun marriages and couples who rely heavily on government aid due to low income which results from incomplete educational journey.
Launched in 2008, Perfect Cut revolved around a renown plastic surgeon who goes by the phrase "the doctor with a soul". The plot centers the daily life of the doctor, his patients and the people he meets in his clinic. During the 2000s, Channel U mainly showed dramas that promoted family cohesiveness and togetherness and Perfect Cut was seen as a bold jump out of the safety formula of drama productions at that time. However, the show had received high ratings from the local audience, and a season 2 was produced subsequently in 2009. After the good reception of this local drama, Channel U then decided to increase the number of local productions that explored other themes outside of the family context.
With the succession of the "market testing" Perfect Cut, Channel U then attemped to launch another genre of drama in 2010, Secret Garden. The drama revolves around three actors/actresses: a lazy unconventional psychiatrist who specializes in treating children and young people; another strict and cold art therapist; and a rookie social worker. The storyline proceeds on how these three concidentally meet through different mentally-ill cases.
Through further analysis, it could be inferred that the launch of Secret Garden indicated that Channel U wanted to widen their local audience by appealing to the younger audience through the use of newer faces.
Shown once a week at 8pm, Secret Garden had casted Taiwanese actor Tender Huang and during the promotion of this drama, the starring of Tender Huang was one of its largest selling point. Following Secret Garden, Mediacorp started engaging more Taiwanese actors for its production, such as Alien Huang, Kingone Wang and Patrick Li. Hence, Secret Garden could be seen as an experimental effect for Mediacorp to test out the audience's response to foreign actors in its dramas as well as the stepping stone of Mediacorp to continue airing more foreign dramas.
In the early 2000s when the station just opened, Channel U had contributed significantly to the progress of television in Singapore. In the early years of the station, it had continuously pushed and promoted its artistes to the regional countries. Through cross-national collaborations with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in dramas like "Legendary Fighters - Yang's Heroine" and "Westside Story", Channel U's artistes like Kym Ng and Michelle Chia had received regional recognition. In addition to regional collaborations, Channel U had also contributed to Singapore's television scene in terms of production techniques. In 2003, Channel U's drama, "Frontline", became the first drama in Singapore to make use of high resolution shooting equipment.