For today, I want to take you back to those good old days of naija in the eighties. Yeah, I know, my age is showing now, I'll pull it up soon, lol... I saw this picture of Rita Dominic on a movie set and it took me down memory lane, straight into the parlour of our Enugu flat.
We also had a stereo - the turntable type that played vinyl LPs on top of the TV, and I think our electronic radio was on top of that at one time or the other. On the side with the transistor, we had some albums and stuff. I have a sort of flaky memory but pictures help a lot, and that is what this picture did for me.
Another thing was that we spent hours of our lives in front of that TV. I loved watching TV. Who remembers waiting around for NTA to resume their weekdays service, I think it was 4pm or so. The TV would gradually turn from gray static to coloured stripes and a very loud humming sound. We would sit around listening to that till the national anthem came on or an announcer sometimes.
Then I remember the Saturday morning breakfast television that was typically for children. In those days it was mostly sponsored by Cadbury, makers of many goodies we enjoyed in those days. in the cartoon category, there was Power Rangers, Voltron, Super Ted, Danger Mouse and many others. And then there were the children we saw on TV and wished to be like them, on shows like Speak Out, School Quiz, Debate competitions, Tales by Moonlight, etc. Thinking of all those TV shows now, I wonder that I had time to read all the books I did and still go to school and do my housechores, lol...
Anyay, as TV changed from Black and White and Sepia, my parents allowed us to watch some evening programming as we got a bit older, so I remember the Nigerian Soaps - New Masquerade, Behind the Clouds, Checkmate. Let's not forget the Mexican Telenovellas, The Rich Also Cry, and the one before it. When they were not around, we even watched Hammer House of Horror and Night of the Living Dead. We stayed up half the night scaring ourselves and then we couldn't sleep, SMH.
Hey, if I continue recounting the shows I watched on that TV, I won't finish today o. But you guys can go ahead and revisit your own wonder years, tell me about your favorite TV throwbacks.
I really loved those series NTA used to show, both the Nigerian and Mexican soaps, as well as the horror movies hehe
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I wonder what NTA programming is like these days. Those I think were their glory days.
DeleteCock crow at dawn was a fantastic show. The story line was so engaging that the whole country mourned when a member of the cast died (Nosa, I don't remember his real name).
ReplyDeleteI also remember waiting for the TV station to come on at 4pm. Our TV had an external aerial and depending on the direction it was facing, we either had fantastic reception and a very clear picture or static and a blurry picture. The aerial was mounted above the roof at the end of a long metal pole which my dad attached to the sewage pipes with strong twine.
Sometimes one of us children would have to shimmy up the pipe to adjust the aerial to get a good picture. One person had to stay in front of the TV so they could yell out to the look-out at the base of the pole who would then relay the information to the person at the top of the pole when the picture was clear.
Oh the joys! Thank you for the trip down memory lane, Myne.
Hahaaha, you just nudged me further down nostalgia avenue. We also had to do that to our aerial too. I think that was Behind the Clouds that had Nosa in it. Very touching storyline there.
DeleteI remember waiting for NTA to resume the day's service o.By some minutes to 4pm i've already put on the TV set waiting for them to start.I enjoyed that humming sound then,trust me.
ReplyDeleteJeez mine,you really took me down memory lane.I remember Saturdays are the most interesting of days on TV because of Cadbury Breakfast Television,they showed the best programs then (Dungeons and Dragons,Biker Mouse,Doogie Housver....WoW!!!
I guess we were all so eager for TV as children. I can't imagine enduring that humming now. In fact, when I get it at the beginning of some music videos, it's so annoying, lol..
DeleteDefinitely Cadbury's breakfast television was a staple in my house...For some reason, I can't get "Baba Kwete" from Galaxy outta my mind. We also had this nonsense blacik and white teevee that you had to slap severally and methodically in order to get a picture on the screen. not to mention that the antennas had to be supported with straws....Good times!
ReplyDeleteLOL...good days, right? I just imagine all the fun we had back then, doing all those stuff. It wasn't like palava or anything.
DeleteHOneyDame: Lmao @Baba Kwete. Do you remember Arelu every Sunday afternoon? I miss it too and we used to slap our TV too and i was the designated TV "slapper" hehehe
ReplyDeleteMyne, this is some serious reminiscing. I remember that Choco-milo advert before Tales by Moonlight, Checkmate, Nosa in Behind the Clouds, Hot Cash, Secret of the Sand, Passions, Renthaghost :)
ooooo i think I remember secret of the sand and renthaghost. it was fun even that funny English dude that always makes mistakes something "Spencer"... ohhh am missing my childhood ohh.
DeleteI definitely remember that chocomilo advert, those were my favorite snacks and took all of my pocket money in those days.
Deleteahahahhahahahahahahahhahahaahaahh funny... I remember some of the shows mentioned... VOITRON i remember excitedly sitting infront of the TV each time we came home for holls. we went to boarding house at a young age me @4, sis @ around 6ish so TV was much fun when we got home. I remember mum loved watching checkmate and rich also cry. interesting episodes sha.
ReplyDeleteOur TV was all the way up in the air, I remember when we got a video cassette, neighbours from around came to watch that "nneka or nogzi is a snake etc" it was an ibo movies. cant remember the title clearly, but remember been squashed in my own home smh.
That was Nneka, the pretty serpent. One of the first nollywood movies, we also used to watch them in groups then, from house to house when the parents were away :)
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ReplyDeleteFollowing your blog and i hope you come visit me back..
Thanks for following, May. Will check it out.
DeleteCadbury's Breakfast Television
ReplyDeleteKidivision 101
Voltron
Dodo
G-Force
Groovy Ghoulies (I loved me some Groovy Ghoulies!)
Mole and His Friends
We had this TV where the picture kept shaking, and you'd have to bang on it (this took some level of finesse and precision, mind you) to make it focus. Any slight shake and it'd go bad again. And we had this uncle living with us then, the way he walked ehn, the ground would just be shaking anyhow, spoiling our viewing pleasure. There were enough muttered insults and curses to last him a loooong time.
Nostalgia can be sweet sha. Sigh.
*singing* "Sledge Hammerrrr...Sledge Hammmerrr.Trust me, I know what I'm doing!" That was a legendary soap I tell you. I remember Clapperboard and Cabletel then. Please somebody tell me they do! I kinda dislked NTA cuz of news.LOL. NTA 2 Ch 5, Ch 7 and Ch 10. I particularly like NTA 2 Ch 7 cuz of the 'Egun' language, they read the news in. Oh my! TV is so arrgh these days.
ReplyDeleteCan't really remember the shows much. My dad was pretty strict on us about watching tv. But there were good times though, like sneaking a borrowed video casette into the house, and watching it quietly at night while my parents were in their bedroom...hehehehehe! I think the most thrill was in the danger of being caught.
ReplyDeleteDrLily!
Oh myy, those were the days. We also had that sanyo door TV, we wud push the door to the side when my parents locked it and make do with one half of the TV screen.
ReplyDeleteWe would have someone hold up the internal antenna, and if he/she get a good enough reception, we would take turns holding the antenna just so we could watch a clear picture.
The the adverts...oh my, super visco static, wall ice-cream, tandi guarana, chocomilo.....
I miss Sunday Rendezvous, Frank Olize and Newsline, I even Speed Racer...:).
I miss Betamax videos...childhood was so much fun
jumping up and down with excitement!!
ReplyDeleteI remember!!! good old days! We had a tv like that as well!!! and waiting for nta to go from million of ants on the tv to thin colourful stripes then to fat colourful stripes then the national anthem.. then all those shows!!! not to forget fortunes! *sigh* checkmate etc!!! I loved my childhood!
You all got me laffin real good!! I so remember most of these tv shows.
ReplyDeleteMehnnn I used to tink those kids on kidi vision 101 and speak out were the smartest in Nigeria.
I loved voltron ehhhh -the defender of the universe!!! I loved when called into action all of them came together to form the big guy!!
I was the youngest so it was ma duty to turn the external ariel outside...while ma elder ones yell from inside. Kai, I no like dat work eh bcos sometimes the tv jes no dey gree clear!
Fortune , checkmate, behind the cloud, (rip nosa),abiku...were programmes we always gatherd to watch together.Tv then had better family programmes.
Letmi not start with them telenovellas,cos till now. I watch them wella.
Oh myne.
You took me down with you, I almost forgot some of those shows :)
DeleteActually, we were! Lol
Deleteoh memories of nigerian life in the eighties. then the nineties with all those mexican shows .. who remembers the one with the identical twin ladies. one was good, the other was bad. the streets of lagos used to be deserted when it was showing. even those that didn't understand the dubbed over english would watch it.
ReplyDeletethe show with nosa was behind the clouds. i still remember when he died. I can picture the newspaper front pages, his family in jos, almost eerily like the funeral of the tanzanian actor that died last week.
Naija my beloved country. Oh and the house to house watching and waiting for 4pm for shows to start. Then as soon as we heard my dad's car, we would turn off the tv and pretend to be doing something else. And because he would sometimes touch the TV set to see if it was hot, we would turn the fan on it and sometimes put a wet towel on it so it wouldn't be cold. And that very precise slapping of the TV, oh we did that too. Kai those were the days o
Am guessing rakel and ruth in secret of the sand.
DeleteThos were really the days :)
Deletelol i grew up in East Africa and i can almost share the same memories with you guys. We had a similar TV and it was a sanyo and we would slap it too when it caused problems. Our local broadcaster too would start broadcasting at 4pm same thing those striped line, national anthem and then the programmes. we had something called "last programme" which was basically the very last prog shown at 11pm before the station closed down and the national anthem was played again for the night. Saturday mornings were cartoons time too in our part of the world
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing a part of your culture too, gives me some insight into other Africans I've met so far.
Deletei read this piece and remembered a mail that someone sent to me some months back...i've copied and pasted...i believe it summarises it all...
ReplyDeleteNB..had to make 2 postings.....cos they couldnt fit...enjoy..
HILARIOUS!! ….
This will make you have a nostalgic feeling. I bet you can complete the missing programs if you fall under the 1970s to 1980s and dont be bothered if you dont get all the stufs it could be based on locations ,for my 1970s and above you will surely know everything but the 1990s pls dont bother reading this... On a good day after school,
You had to wait till 4 o’clock to get any meaningful thing on NTA…!You would eagerly sit in front of the T.V at 3:30pm watching all the multicolored lines(color bars) while you waited for NTA to come up.
The National Anthem was the first thing on TV….You watch Thunder sub and Terrahawks on Mondays. Pigeon Street and Bertha came after. 321 contact was an educative one too. Samanja was for 7:30 and you hated Newsweek on Monday nights…
You watch Fragle rock, Sesame Street and animal games on Tuesdays. Reach out was at 5:30...Your elder ones disturbed your flow at 6:30pm on Tuesdays to watch koko close (Oluwalambe lord, Kasali open the gate, then you all watched new masquerade at 8:30pm.
You enjoyed Voltron and hated commander mark on Wednesdays. Renta-ghost came up at 6pm then Kidi vision 101 at 6:30.Cock crow at dawn was up at 7:30 then Bassey and company (Mr. B is a millionaire) at 8:30, whatever happened to Midweek sports and d boring Nigerian local league…G-force Scooby-doo and Super-Ted were the deal on Thursdays; Wazobia didn’t make sense then Village head master at 8:30pm and was later substituted with Checkmate the Ann Hathrup - Segun Kadiri story.
Friday had the variety of Birdman, Galaxy trio, Ovid video, inspector gadget, danger mouse, scooby doo, robin hood....Atom Ant, ring ring do your thing, speed racer…..Friday nights…. can’t figure it anymore (some one else can fill in the gap) friday was Ripples. friday nights also had us waiting for those indian movies - likes of terimehabaniya! Suli kuuleee, words like nehi,nehi.
Saturday mornings were boring after 10am. 7-10am had WWF then Morning ride came up for 10am (very boring. The rest of the day had Telematch at 2pm on NTA 2 and several annoying sport programs; but Things fall apart came up at 8pm….Network news was very boring.
The only good thing on Sundays was Behind the clouds. What about Newsline with Patrick Oke and Yinka Craig, or Frank Olize? or the third eye with Olu jacobs @10pm. Tales by moonlight with stories of tortoise too wasnt so bad either. Watching Lagos Weekend Television (LWT) with those silly Chinese films where in the movies you see their mouths move before the talk, ……….like ‘you kill ma father………….I kill you toooo.
For the veterans amongst us, kindly fill in the missing programs.
The 2nd Part....
ReplyDeleteNB: If you were born later than 1990, you might not be able to recall any of these graceful memories.
But look at it this way, those were the good ‘ol days when Naija was still Naija, …when Unilag suya was da bomb, when big dip ice cream was the ice cream, bazooka joe was the chewing gum, chocoh milo, dr. pepper ,africola, zit, crush, tree top juice( the original), samco ice cream, parmalat milk, the days of leventis, adema coffe shop, pinto’s ice cream, m1, when d4 was still d4, terries burger,tandi guarana, lumber jack shirts(preferably black & red check, metal face caps, metal boots, pastel shoes, baggy jeans, bbd, New Edition Bobby Brown, Mili Vanili, Janet Jackson ,Mc Hammer, words like Yo, Word up, later programmes like Yo-MTV Raps, mags like vibe, right on , word up magazines. For chicks – Mills n boons, silhouette desire, all the James Hardly Chases’ etc. For guys going to gigs, hearing the words like ……“ ALL BOYS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!“, obtaining or being obtained, walking like you had a bad left leg (no offence). Wearing of brogue shoes-ox blood leather, suede versions too, being tush or razzzzzzzz, blowing of phoene, wearing of kito slippers, flourecent t-shirts, stone wash jeans, wearing timberland boots (the tush kids), or fila boots (for the not so tush, let’s say razzzz). Those days of wearing all your baffs at home for no reason (this is especially for chicks). Ikoyi Club swimming pool section with chicken ‘n’ chips, Apapa club Suya, Apapa amusement park, cotton candy, Christmas grotto. The days of Polaroid cameras….HAAAAAAAAA the good ol dayyyyyyys.…MEEEENNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope this cheers you guys up and brings back FOND memories that can never, never be replaced… Oh my God! Yester-Years/the good old days were so wonderful.
Abeg where are the days of Second Chance, Wiliwili, Mirrow in the Sun, and ABS by one(for those that grew up in Enugu)???
My dad used to have one JVC Radio then, THE RADIO IS NO GO AREA! No one dare touch it… And where has the Box Television gone to???.. The good old days were really goooooooddddddddddd!
Quite refreshing.....programmes like Gboromiro...the yoruba alternative dispute settling programme...the likes of Arelu...featuring jimoh aliu. owo-otori, toromagba....the memories seems so profound....riddles and jokes section in speak out...cadbury brain match...mr spencer and the likes..it was real fun
ouchhhhhh.....
Kiki, your memory is wonderful! You've put the dot in the full stop. Good old days
DeleteI loved the write-up, made me feel nostalgic all over again.
DeleteU gonna mak me cry... Remembard knwin all d programs on each day at every station... Cable tel's powerhouse: smeone pls remnd me of dose toons, wacky race, topcat, robocop, superforce, godzilla(or smeting); d ltv spydaman, wundawoman, dr. Who... gotta stop before i start cryin, carebears, dastardly n muttley, bugsbunny, naughty dog...
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