I loved several TV shows growing up. While cable TV was on the rise in the 90s, most of the country watched the same shows on the only options that they had- DD1 and DD2 (DD Metro). Also since, the sources of inexpensive entertainment was limited in the 90s and some parents thought that cable TV would be a bad influence on their children and would hamper their studies, most households according to me, had just the 2 options. We also prayed hard for long lives of our politicians back then, as otherwise, there would be only mourning shown on TV for days together.
Those days, we watched anything and everything on TV. Be it comedy, tragedy, action etc. On Sundays there would be regional language movies shown and whether we understood the language or not, we still watched it. I still remember very vividly when the old Mahabharat was aired, it was a routine in my family to finish with our breakfast, bath etc and sit in a row on our sofa to watch Mahabharat. The benefit of having limited channels was also that the country would come to a standstill. The roads would be deserted, without any traffic jams. If people had to step out for some reason, they would ensure that Mahabharat was recorded on their VCRs.
I have built a small collection of my favourite shows. I have other favourites too but do not possess a copy of them as they are not easy to find or are available for free on YouTube. When I bought these, none of the shows were on YouTube, so, the only source was DVDs/VCDs.
Malgudi Days:
I enjoy watching this show as much as I did as a child. Amongst all of them, my favourite is the Swami series and also the Hoard. I do not know why, but this show reminds me of my vacations spent at Grandma's in Mangalore. I bought this at Reliance Timeout.
Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi:
I am not sure if I was born when this was first aired, or, maybe I was too little to understand. I used to hear a lot about this comedy show from my family and when I found a DVD for one of the season's in Reliance Timeout, I bought it immediately and enjoyed it thoroughly. My favourite episode is the one where a thief loves Gulab Jamun. I ended up purchasing all the seasons. Some episodes (not all) are present in YouTube as well.
Flop Show:
The entire nation loved Jaspal Bhatti's comedy series. It still has me in splits to this day. My favourite episodes are the one about how meetings happen and the one where Jaspal Bhatti poses as a patient to make a fraudulent insurance claim- hilarious!! I ordered this on Flipkart if I am not mistaken.
Kabhi Yeh Kabhi Woh:
This show was initially quite boring but got interesting with passing of time. Later, the also introduced a Bollywood music count-down as a part of it. However, the DVDs do not have the count-down bit. This was again a comedy but not many people remember it well anymore. I ordered this on Flipkart- I think..
Vikram aur Betaal:
I remember this show being aired every Saturday in the afternoon. They had a set of reruns of the show as well. I watched the reruns as well. Every episode had a different story. My favourite was the one with 3 princesses and a prince having to choose the right bride for himself amongst those. I bought this at Sapna bookstore.
Dekh Bhai Dekh:
I think every kid in the 90s in India, watched this show. I remember it being aired on Thursday nights. It was a terrific comedy show. I have so many favourite episodes, it is hard for me to pick one. I bought this series online. They also have several episodes on YouTube.
Zabaan Sambhalke:
This Indian rendition of Mind Your Language was aired right after Dekh Bhai Dekh on Thursdays. It was great fun to watch these shows one after another. I got this series as presents from different friends. My favourite episode, was the one based on Michael Jackson's arrival in India.
Tenali Rama:
Currently a show by the same name is being aired on TV. The one I have is the older series. It was quite well made back then as well. The quality of the screenplay, is quite similar to that of a feature film. My favourite episode is one of the first ones where Rama challenges a courtsman to do something with his eyes open while Rama does it with shut eyes. Really witty. I bought this at Sapna Bookstore as well.
Akbar Birbal:
All points except the one about the favourite episode that I mentioned for Tenali Rama also holds true for this show as well. I do not have a particular favourite episode as such.
Tehkikaat:
It was a fun detective TV show built loosely on the Holmes and Watson. Everyone loved Sam D'Silva and Gopi. I still remember that I missed the last episode and watched it maybe 20 years later when I bought the CD. I bought this online but not sure which one- either Amazon or Flipkart. My favourite episode is the very first one.
The Adventures of TinTin:
This is my all time favourite comic and cartoon. The animated TV show is made very well. It feels like the comic book has come to life. My favourite episode is the Castafiore Emerald. I got this as a present but it seems to be pirated.
Pride and Prejudice:
Though I watched this show as an adult, it was made at a time when I was in school ;-)). Anyway, several people have tried to make movies out of the book or TV series but none of them even come close to this one. It is the best cinematic rendition of the book. I bought this on Amazon.
Some of my other favourites but I do not have CDs for:
- Mr. Yogi
- Mungerilaal ke haseen sapne
- Hum panchee ek chawl ke
- Nukkad
- Stone Boy
- Sea Hawks
- Talaash
- Circus
- Zamana Badal Gaya
- Antakshari
- Banegi Apni Baat
- Campus
- Need
- Hip Hip Hurray
- Wagle ki Duniya
- Gul Gulshan Gulfaam
- Kile ka Rahasya
- Byomkesh Bakshi
- Surabhi
- PC 1008
- Gayab aaya
There are some others as well but I am unable to recall all of them. Many of the above mentioned shows can be found on YouTube.
Some great English/Dubbed in English shows mainly from DD Metro that are my favourite:
- Old Fox
- Derrick
- Didi's Comedy Show
- Street Hawk
- Poirot
- Murder, she wrote
- Miss Marple
- Flinstones
- Tom and Jerry
- Pound Puppies
- Silver Spoons
- Different Strokes
- Small Wonder
- The Brady Bunch
- Bewitched
- Happy Days
- Three's Company
- Fawlty Towers
- Tandoori Nights- A Jewel in the Crown
- Mr. Bean
There might be more shows, but currently, they seem to be blocked in some corner of my brain.
P.S: I will not be posting anything next week but will be posting 2 posts the week after. You will know why when I write about it in a couple of weeks.
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