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Malaysian shows I considered timeless part 1

We are currently in the patriotic period as we just got pass our 59th Independence and heading towards our 52nd celebration of the formation of Malaysia. So I thought I want to talk a little bit about Malaysian shows that I considered timeless. This shows are what I considered trailblazers, and responsible shaping the landscape of Malaysia TV nowadays.


So how do we define timeless ? Timeless are something that hold the qualities or enjoyment over time and possesses the capabilities of rewatchability . The reason why I say this because timeless can also be something that people remember because it is so bad (case in point, the movie Room). There's a lot of Malaysian show that falls into this category but to start off, lets choose those that is considered as 'LEGENDS'.

Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu
Before we have Marvel Cinematic Universe in which it has cross to multiple media, we have Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu that is both comedy series and  newspaper comic strip.Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu (PMPMT2) is a comedy series from the mind of Hafsham (recently create a similar series in 'Aku & Tok Wan'). The best thing about this series is the diversity of the cast. Nowadays, it always feel forced when you see a diverse cast in a TV show mainly because the diversity came only in term of races. However in PMPMT2, it also have diversity even among its Malay cast. You have those from Penang, Terengganu and of course KL. The fact that it focus on the life of people in a flat housing area making it much much more relatable to the audience who are most medium class people.

The series got another boost in the inclusion of Imuda who is also good a drawing, hence the birth of its comic strip. Making it among the first TV shows in Malaysia that transcend medium.

Of course, it has long not been aired on TV, and based on what I saw in Maharaja Lawak Mega, you might find the joke a little bit dated at times but I doubt you find it totally non enjoyable as this is the shows responsible to kick off comedy landscape in Malaysia.

Gerak Khas

So, Gerak khas falls into the timeless with asterisk because if you talk to someone about Gerak Khas, most of people will remembers the early years of it with Dato AC Mizal and Abby Abadi. I drop the show completely when I started to go to boarding school, but at the time it has become same-ish. As the show is still continuing, I guess people still watching it though I don't how much RTM care about rating.

Watching Gerak Khas feels like you are watching Law and Order or to a more recent example Hawaiian Five-O and Blue Bloods. You have the case of the week and at the same time enjoy the banter between the cast, and that's how a crime procedural is. To me it was during the transition of the cast, when both Dato AC and Abby Abadi left the series where it drops and the new cast was given their own backstory too little too late. There were some highlight on the later season like where they focus on Sargeant Misai's conflict where he is too old but he still want to stay in the force though, that storyline was dragged way too long and end up overstay its welcome.

Then why do I say it is timeless ? That early season to me always stands out to have interesting plotline and character and capable of making the police force more relatable. The action is spot on at times, and the mystery is done well. They even did a crimeless episode for Eid Mubarak special just like how Justice League made an actionless episode for Christmas.

Keluang Man

It wouldn't be me if I didn't include one animation. I was considering whether to choose Anak-Anak Sidek or Keluang Man. I ended up with Keluang Man because Keluang Man manages to escape from just becoming a Batman rip off. If you think of the concept, it would never work; an insane man found a superhero costume and decided to take on the mantel fighting crime. One reason it manages to escape to be just a Batman rip off is it focuses on comedy when Batman :TAS focuses on more serious theme.

It also stands out as the series in which the character grows like the later inclusion of Samad who become Keluang Man's sidekick and the last season in which they finally cured from their mental issue, and I think Samad took the mantel. Finally lets not forget this is one of the Malaysia cartoon that can be enjoyed by both kids and adult at the time which explains why the character in the series grow through time, also Malaysia first ever superhero.

Some might ask, what about Usop Santorian and Kampung Boy ? Kampung Boy could become timeless but unfortunately at the time of its peak, it was deemed exclusive due to it only aired on Astro while Usop Santorian doesn't hold as much nostalgia as this one.

There's a lot more of timeless Malaysian TV show, but I'll stop at 3 for now. Maybe on the nest post, I'll post more of this timeless TV show as you might realized I haven't include any soap opera which also influence my comic path right now.

So what do you think of Malaysia TV show that is considered timeless ? Sound off your thought in the comment section. To stay up to date with my activity, you can follow and like Comikrew Studio right here or on Facebook. Don't forget to subscribe to my comic on Tapastic and finally follow and hit m up on Twitter.

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