1999 In Film, Television, Music, Literature and Lion Country
I have numerous favourite years based on what happened in
them that are directly or indirectly related to my interests as long as those
years have something to do with 3, 5, 6, 7 or 9. The most favourite (which I
consider the king of my favourite years) is 1999 because it was when I went to
Singapore for the first time although I did not realize how much I love it
until 2007. The year that marked the end of the 1990s will always be special
for me because I discovered a place I love and there are interests that of mine
that took place in that year since it was a great year for music, movies,
television and places that have something to do with Lions. I would love to
share with all of ye
Movies
March 12th
Wishmaster 2: Evil Never
Dies (directed by Jack Sholder) a sequel to the 1997 film Wishmaster
about a corrupt genie is released direct-to-video rather than having a
theatrical release
April 9th
Never Been Kissed (directed by
Raja Gosnell) becomes Drew Barrymore’s second hit after E.T (1982). While Jessica Alba only has a supporting role in the film, her
performance leads director Billie Woodruff to cast her for Honey four year
later in 2003 which proves her breakthrough
March 19th
The novel True Crime by
Andrew Klavan is made into a film (directed by and starring Clint Eastwood)
May 4th
The 1932 horror film The Mummy
is remade (by Stephen Sommers) into an action-adventure film
May 19th 1999
The Phantom Menace
(directed by George Lucas) a film set 32 years before the original Star Wars
is released
June 4th
Instinct (directed by John
Turteltaub) inspired by the novel Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is released
June 12th
Disney’s Tarzan based on Edgar
Rice Burroughs jungle hero of the same name marks the end of an era in Disney
known as the ‘Disney Renaissance’ that began a decade earlier with The
Little Mermaid in 1989
July 12th
Lake Placid (directed by Steve
Miner) a film about a prehistoric man-eating crocodile is released
July 28th
Deep Blue Sea (directed by
Renny Harlin) a shark attack thriller inspired by the first three Jaws films is
released. It also borrows elements from Jurassic Park
Television
March 9th
Golden Films releases Tarzan of
the Apes based on Edgar Rice Burroughs jungle hero Tarzan. It is the second
Tarzan film that year apart from the Disney film although it is somewhat more
faithful to Burroughs’ works
April 8th – July 1st
To promote their upcoming music
album, British Pop Group S Club (7) releases a television series starring
themselves called Miami 7
September 4th – December 23rd 2000
The action figures
and Manga Zoids is made into an Anime series after its rights were
acquired ten years earlier. It is split into two parts Zoids itself
(sometimes subtitled Chaotic Century) and Zoids Guardian Force.
It spawns a spinoff two years later in 2001, Zoids New Century Zero
September 6th – February 27th 2000
Sabrina the Animated
Series, a prequel based on Sabrina the Teenage Witch airs
October 2nd – February 22nd 2000
Archie’s Weird
Mysteries based on the Archie Comics airs as a modern retelling of the
characters
October 4th – November 8th
BBC’s Walking With
Dinosaurs which completes its three-year production airs on television. It
is an attempt to showcase what dinosaurs might have really been like. The
success of the series leads to Walking With Beasts in 2001 about animals
after the dinosaurs, Wild New World in 2002 about prehistoric North
America, Chased by Dinosaurs (also in 2002) which showcases dinosaurs
not shown in Walking With Dinosaurs, Walking With Cavemen in 2003
which is about early man, Sea Monsters (also in 2003) that follows
prehistoric sea life and Walking With Monsters (2005) about animals
after the dinosaurs. Production also begins on the first spinoff, The Ballad
of Big Al about the most famous Allosaurus discovered in 1991 which airs a
year later. Two of Arthur Conan Doyle’s works which BBC also adapts, The
Lost World (2001) and The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002) also have
involvement from the special effects providers of the series
Music
January 12th
Britney Spears debuts with Baby…One
More Time
June 1st
Take Your Time, the final music
album by John Paul Larkin, better known as Scatman John is released six months
before his death from lung cancer at the age of 57
June 4th
The Vengaboys release their second
soundtrack The Party Album
25th August
A-Teens a spinoff group to the Swedish pop group ABBA
debuts with The ABBA Generation which features more electronic versions
of some of ABBA’s original songs
4th October
S Club 7 debuts with their
eponymous album S Club
29th November
Atomic Kitten debuts with the
single Right Now
Lion Country
- Expoza Travel debuts with its filming its
documentaries about Singapore, Kenya, South Africa and Namibia although none of
them are released until 2007
- Powersports International releases two African
safari-related documentaries, one about the national parks of East Africa
(Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) and the other on Southern Africa (South Africa,
Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana)
SunRise A Singaporean Sensation a documentary about a group of tourists’ special visit to Singapore airs
To Walk With Lions, a film about the final years of Lion advocate George Adamson is released in honour of the 10-year anniversary of when Adamson sacrificed his life to save a group of tourists from poachers
Singapore
January
Powergrid's 400 kV
transmission system is commissioned
StarHub acquires Cyberway, an ISP. It is rebranded to StarHub Internet on 3 December
Construction starts on the Changi Airport Line (CAL), targeted for completion by 2001
February
Creative Resource, Creative Technology's new headquarters is officially opened in International Business Park
The Environmental Pollution
Control Act is passed to replace the Clean Air Act, giving the Ministry of the
Environment (ENV) more powers to deal with pollution
March
Creative Resource, Creative Technology's new headquarters is officially opened in International Business Park
The Environmental Pollution Control Act is passed to replace the Clean Air Act,
giving the Ministry of the Environment (ENV) more powers to deal with pollution
April
Semakau landfill begin operations after the closure of the Lorong Halus Dumping
Ground.
The Building and Construction
Authority is formed from a merger
of Construction Industry Development Board and Public Works Department's
Building Control Division to develop and regulate Singapore's construction
industry and ensure safe buildings, with some functions transferred to
the Urban Redevelopment Authority. On the same day, PWD Corporation (present-day CPG Corporation) is formed from a corporatisation
The Juvenile Court moves to the Subordinate Courts building
May
The Ministry of Education announced a new Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing
schools (PRIME) to upgrade or rebuild existing schools, ensuring all schools
have access to modern and conducive learning environments
The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced rules that liberalise commercial banking and help take
local banks to new heights
The North East MRT line (NEL) and the Sengkang and Punggol LRT lines are
awarded to Singapore Bus Service (present-day SBS Transit) to foster
competition with SMRT, the first rail lines to be operated by SBS. In addition, SMRT
and Trans-Island Bus Services (TIBS) will merge. As a result, SBS will take over bus operations
in Sengkang and Punggol from TIBS with TIBS taking over bus services from SBS
in Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Batok
June
The National Neuroscience Institute starts operations
Singapore hosts the 1999 Rotary Convention
The Singapore International Media group of companies is restructured into MediaCorp in preparation for media competition in Singapore
SingPost and CISCO signed an agreement to create a new certification authority
for e-commerce, thereby increasing security
The National Sailing Centre is officially opened
July
The new Woodlands Checkpoint starts operations.
DataOne (D1)
is awarded a licence to run an ISP network in Singapore, thus making D1 the fourth
operator after SingNet, Pacific Internet and Cyberway. The ISP commenced
operations in November
August
The Underground
Ammunition Facility starts construction, which is ready by 2003
The SAF Basic
Military Training Centre is officially opened on Pulau Tekong
Nomination Day for the 1999
Presidential Election: S.R. Nathan won the
election via an uncontested walkover since
he was the only candidate eligible to contest in the election. Nathan was sworn
in as the sixth President of
Singapore on 1 September
September
The Portrait
Series currency notes are officially launched
The SAR 21 rifle is launched
October
The new Parliament House is
officially opened
The merger between TIBS and SMRT fails to go through
Library@orchard officially
opens in Ngee Ann City, operating
until its closure in 2007
ST Engineering announces
the acquisition of Chartered Industries of Singapore through ST Auto, now
called ST Kinetics. The acquisition will help make ST
Engineering a successful world-class engineering company
November
The Bukit Panjang
LRT line opens
The Ministry
of Health announced the formation of two healthcare clusters
known as the Eastern (SingHealth) and Western (National
Healthcare Group) Networks, which will take effect in 2000
Smart Radio, a digital audio
broadcasting (DAB) service is launched in Singapore
Singapore Power launches
a new website CAN.COM.SG.
December
The Infocomm
Development Authority of Singapore is launched from a merger between the
National Computer Board and the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore to
take charge of Singapore's Infocomm sector
The Singapore
Exchange (SGX) is formed from the merger of Stock Exchange
of Singapore (SES), Singapore International Monetary Exchange (Simex) and
Securities Clearing and Computer Services Pte Ltd (SCCS), first announced on 4
August
Keppel Land and PSA Corporation (now Mapletree) start
construction of the HarbourFront office towers, which is completed in 2003
The redevelopment of Changi Prison starts
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