20 years of superkids

 ‘Superjeew”, the longest-running children’s show on Thai television, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a gathering of youngsters at CentralWorld earlier this month and a special nod to kids in need in the Deep South.
 Its producer also issued an appeal for all TV stations to come up with better viewing for children.
“Superjeew” began with an assured belief in children’s abilities to learn and be creative. It gives them a time and place to express themselves and share their interests.
Whereas television today is more about letting young people show off their singing and dancing, “Superjeew” has always had much more variety. It embraces art and science and visits secondary schools to challenge students’ skills, like the “Laziness Gang” rope-jumping test.
Jumping rope in itself might not sound like much, but at the CentralWorld anniversary party, 120 students from Chon Buri set a new Thai record. And it wasn’t so much about the physical feat of all 120 kids together leaping 12 times under the swinging rope, it was a lesson in unity.
“If 120 people can jump in a coordinated way like that, then no one should complain if three people can’t cooperate,” said Viwat Wongphattarathiti, executive director of Superjeew Ltd, the company behind the TV show.
Viwat said that when he was a boy, the adults were always asking kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. Doctor, policeman, astronaut – those were the expected answers.
“Me, I just didn’t know! So that’s why I created ‘Superjeew’, a show that explores all kinds of interests and creativity and imagination.
Viwat said he’s “very proud” of what’s been accomplished in 20 years. There have been times he wanted to move on to something else, he said, but then he was reminded how many young viewers he had, and “I felt I owe them. Otherwise, the show might have ended a long time ago.”
“Superjeew” survives also in spite of steadily declining interest in allocating good viewing times to children’s programmes. Broadcast from the start on Modernine every Saturday and Sunday, it used to end around 11.30am, but now it signs off at 7.30am.
“Most children’s shows have been pushed to earlier time slots, so far fewer people are watching, so there are fewer corporate sponsors, and that makes it even more difficult to develop good content,” Viwat said.
“I believe most producers share the same high principles – they want to create quality shows for the kids – but this problem with airtime makes it really hard.
“This is why I tell people that, if they really believe that children are the future of the country, they should do something about it, not just talk about it. Otherwise we’ll have fewer and fewer producers creating decent children’s programming, and the Thai TV stations will turn more and more to foreign content, which is mostly cartoons.”
Viwat sees kids as being “unlimited” in their imagination and capabilities.
“When I’m talking to an eight- or 10-year-old, I can’t tell if I’m talking to a future doctor or prime minister or scientist. I believe that if we discover what they like at the right moment, we can always support them and promote their ability and development. After all, they are indeed our future.”
At CentralWorld, “Superjeew Len Puer Hai” (“Superjeew Playing to Share”) had youngsters playing a game that raised money for an education fund for children in the three southernmost provinces.
“Superjeew Super Heart” continues the fund-raising by giving everyone a chance to send messages of love and concern to the kids down South in notebooks specially created by celebrities ML Chiratorn Chirapravati, Khemanij “Pancake” Jamikorn and Arak “Pe” Amornsupasiri.
There are 2,000 notebooks on sale for Bt400, complete with nice bags.
The anniversary party was a whirlwind of youthful imagination and creativity. There were all sorts of fun and games and workshops involving art – with established artists including Somnuek Klangnok, Pattreeda Prasarnthong and Nualtong Prasarnthong – and science, where people learned, for example, why boomerangs come back.
Nine-year-old guitar whiz Nadol Jutasompakorn performed onstage, there was a sing-along of the “Superjeew” theme song composed by Su Boonliang, and those 120 Chonburi kids worked their own special magic with that amazing feat inside the whirling skipping rope.
Keep an eye out for the TV special “Variety 20 Years Superjeew”, to be broadcast on His Majesty the King’s birthday on December 5 and the day after too.