There was once a time when cable TV
services was out of reach to common people and that the only things worth
watching on local TV come from three to five channels. So for kids, this means
there’s no Discovery Channel, National Geographic or Animal Planet to watch to
supplement lessons learned in school.
Fortunately, the local networks of
yesteryears have produced several educational programs for kids which gave
children in the 90s a good source of educational videos that are presented in a
more entertaining manner. So in today’s edition of The Nostalgic Pinoy, let’s
take a quick look back at some of the educational TV shows of the past.
Batibot
– Batibot was the Filipino equivalent of Sesame
Street in the 90s. And just like Sesame Street, Batibot features both human and
muppet characters. These include Manang Bola, Kapitan Basa, Sitsiritsit and
Alibangbang, Pong Pagong, Kiko Matsing, Ate Sienna and of course Kuya Bodjie.
The show mainly taught basic learning
skills to children such as writing, reading and counting, presented by puppets
and human characters through singing and dancing.
Created by Feny De Los Angeles-Bautista,
Batibot has over 6,600 episodes under its belt and has won a number of awards
such as the Star Awards for TV, Golden Dove Awards and the Catholic Mass Media
Awards to name a few.
ATBP – ATBP or At iba pa was another child oriented TV show in the 90s
that followed the footsteps of Batibot. And just like its predecessor, it
follows the same format of having puppet and human characters playing the main
roles of the show.
Sineskwela – Sineskwela is the science themed children show that aired on
ABS-CBN during the latter part of the 90s. It focused mainly on subjects taught
in elementary science and was presented by characters dressed in costumes.
The show also featured a lot of television
special effects which made it really entertaining to watch for children on top
of the usual singing and dancing that came with the presentation of various
science topics.
Math
Tinik – Math Tinik is another children TV series
with a specific focus on a certain school subject. And this time, the focus is
on Mathematics. It also follows the same format as Sineskwela making use of a
number of special effects to enhance the show’s appeal to children.
5
and Up – 5 and Up was a television show for
preteens which was produced by Probe Productions. The show was the younger
version of the multi-award-winning investigative program The Probe Team. Having said this, 5 and Up followed The Probe
Team’s format focusing on subjects relevant to children and presented through
the use of long segments and spiels.
Epol
Apple – Epol Apple was another ABS-CBN creation
that was founded on Sineskwela’s success of using fancy special effects to
capture audience’s attention. The show taught basic English language to kids
using the same format as Sineskwela and Math Tinik.
Hiraya
Manawari – Hiraya Manawari is a TV series that
showcases fairy-tale like stories presented with the use of actors and
actresses in costume playing different characters for each episode. Special
effects were again utilized in order to make the show more entertaining and of
course due to the fantasy nature of the show.
Bayani – Bayani was another children-themed TV series that was aired the
same time as Hiraya Manawari. But unlike the latter which showed fairy tales,
Bayani focused on featuring the stories of the country’s heroes seen through
the eyes of a pair of time-travelling kids.
So there you have it everyone. Which show
was your favourite back in the days? Tell us by leaving a comment below. You
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