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 and (the birth of the millennium) 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 and Tigers. I would love to share with all of ye the best events of this year which are so dear to me.
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 4th
Actor Bob Peck known for the 1985 television serial Edge of Darkness (which earned him a BAFTA award for best actor) and the 1993 blockbuster film Jurassic Park (based on the 1990 novel of the same name) dies due to undisclosed cancer at the age of 54
April 9th
Never Been Kissed (directed by Raja Gosnell) becomes Drew Barrymore’s second hit after E.T (June 11th 1982). While Jessica Alba only has a supporting role in the film, her performance leads director Billie Woodruff to cast her for Honey four years later in (December 5th) 2003 which proves her breakthrough as a leading actress. James Franco also debuts as an actor with this film.
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
The Phantom Menace (directed by George Lucas) a film set 32 years before the original Star Wars is released. The film is foreseen two years before in 1997 during its filming when the original film and its sequels were re-released to theatres for the first film’s 20th Anniversary. It borrows elements not just from the first Star Wars film but also the second and the third, making it Lucas’ return to direction in 22 years. In addition, it also starts a fan gathering known as the Star Wars Celebration that celebrates various events related to the franchise such as the original film’s 30th Anniversary in 2007 (as well as the 40th in 2017) and the 10th and 20th Anniversary of the The Phantom Menace in 2009 and 2019 respectively.
May 25th
Alien (directed by Ridley Scott) celebrates its 20th Anniversary
May 27th
Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of actor Johnny Depp and singer (actress and model) Vanessa Paradis is born
June 1st
Morgan Freeman celebrates his 62nd birthday
June 7th
Liam Neeson celebrates his 47th birthday
June 9th
Johnny Depp celebrates his 36th birthday
June 12th
Disney’s Tarzan (directed by Kevin Lima and Chris Buck) 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. The film is followed by a (sequel) series known as The Legend of Tarzan (September 3rd 2001 – February 3rd 2003) which takes place right after the movie and interestingly makes numerous references to Burroughs works about the character.
July 12th
Lake Placid (directed by Steve Miner) a film about a prehistoric man-eating crocodile releases. It is followed by two sequels in 2007 and 2010.
July 28th
Deep Blue Sea (directed by Renny Harlin) a shark attack thriller inspired by the first three Jaws films releases. It also borrows elements from Jurassic Park (which is in turn based on the novel of the same name).
August 27th
The Astronaut’s Wife (directed by Rand Ravich) is the first alien thriller in four years after Species (1995).
September 1st
The Freedom Writers Diary based on the accounts of at-risk-students taught by schoolteacher Erin Gruwell is published. It follows how Gruwell inspired them to write about their troubles and transcend into obtaining academic achievements and entering college. The book becomes the subject of 2007 film 8 years later.
November 24th
End of Days, an action-horror movie about a depressed and retired police officer thrown into a battle to prevent the devil from finding a bride releases.
December 18th
Steven Spielberg celebrates his 53rd birthday.
December 25th
Driving Miss Daisy ( directed by Bruce Beresford) based on the 1987 play of the same name about a friendship between an elderly woman and her African-American chauffer, celebrates its 10th Anniversary although amongst its two leading stars, (of whom Jessica Tandy died five years earlier in September 1994 at the age of 85), Morgan Freeman does not return to acting until the following year.
December 31st
(Sir) Anthony Hopkins celebrates his 62nd birthday
Television
February 8th-19th
BBC’s Supernatural Science is an exploration of supernatural phenomena to determine whether or not there is a scientific explanation.
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.
April 29th – June 17th
BBC’s Planets documents the Solar System in terms of its nature, creation and how humans discovered it.
September 4th (1999) – 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 in 2001, Zoids New Century.
September 6th (1999) – February 27th 2000
Sabrina the Animated Series, a prequel to Sabrina the Teenage Witch (which is in turn based on the comics of the same name) airs.
September 3rd-5th
BBC’s Wild Indonesia focuses on the wildlife and people of the Indonesian Sunda Islands.
October 2nd (1999) – 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
– The Ballad of Big Al (December 25th 2000) depicts what the life of the most famous Allosaurus discovered in 1991 might have been like. (Filming starts immediately after Walking With Dinosaurs airs and it comes to television a year later).
– Walking With Beasts (June 15th – July 21st 2001) is about animals after the dinosaurs.
– The Lost World (December 25th 2001) is an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel of the same name about a scientific team that travels to a remote part of South America where prehistoric animals have survived.
– Wild New World (October 3rd – November 7th 2002) showcases the prehistoric life of North, Central and South America.
– The Hound of the Baskervilles (December 26th 2002) is an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel of the same name about detective Sherlock Holmes‘ investigation into a demonic hound haunting a family of English gentry.
– Chased by Dinosaurs (December 30th 2002 – January 1st 2003) shows dinosaurs not shown in Walking With Dinosaurs.
– Walking With Cavemen (March 27th – April 23rd 2003) follows early man.
– Sea Monsters (November 9th – 23rd 2003) is about prehistoric sea life.
– Walking With Monsters (November 5th – December 19th 2005) is about animals before the dinosaurs.
– Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life (February 1st 2009) follows the famous naturalist’s (revolutionary) theory of evolution through natural selection. That year, Darwin’s 200th birthday is celebrated as well
– Museum of Life (March 18th – April 22nd 2010) goes behind the scenes of the Natural History Museum in London.
Music
January 12th
Britney Spears debuts with Baby…One More Time.
February 11th
Four years after her debut Brandy Norwood celebrates her 20th Birthday
29th April
Shortly before the debut of S Club (7), its lead singer Jo O’Meara celebrates her 20th birthday
May 4th
Jennifer Lopez releases If You Had My Love.
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.
4th June
The Vengaboys release their second soundtrack The Party Album.
24th June
Christina Aguilera debuts with her eponymous album of the same name.
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.
September 3rd
The Backstreet Boys release their single Larger than Life from their album Millennium.
4th October
British pop group S Club (7) debuts with their eponymous album S Club.
25th October
Future American singer Kathryn Elizabeth Hudson, better known as Katy Perry turns 15.
15th November
Vanessa Amorosi releases her single Absolutely Everybody which is part of her album The Power released the following year.
29th November
British girl group Atomic Kitten debuts with the single Right Now.
Greatness in other Exotic Countries
Expoza Travel (Publicly known as either Global Cosmos or Vista Point Travel as well as Arcadia Travel) debuts with its filming its documentaries about Singapore and Kenya although none of them are released until 2007. A documentary about Thailand is also released by them the same year and was also filmed the same year as the above
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 musical documentary about a group of tourists’ special visit to Singapore airs.
Singapore celebrates 40 years of Independence from Britain.
BBC airs a documentary about The Maneaters of Tsavo, two man-eating Lions who put a stop to the building of the Uganda Railway in Tsavo, Kenya (until the man who led the building shot them both). It also focuses on the relationship between Lions and people in that region of Kenya today
Theodore Roosevelt’s safari to what is now Kenya and Uganda that Roosevelt undertook at the end of his presidency to escape the pressures of re-election to collect East African wildlife for the American Museum (particularly the Smithsonian Institution) celebrates its 90th Anniversary as does as a book that Roosevelt authored based on the trip, African Game Trails. Another book that depicts Roosevelt’s safari as well as animals worldwide is, Roosevelt and the Wild Animals of the World (as well as the animals of the world) written by his friend Frederick Seymour also sees the same.
The film Saint Jack based on the book of the same name about an American pimp based in Singapore celebrates its 20th Anniversary although due to its controversial themes, it is not released in Singapore until seven years later (in March of 2006)
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 (successfully) save a group of tourists from poachers in Kora national park in Northern Kenya. The 1989 documentary Lord of the Lions which aired shortly after Adamson’s death also celebrates its 10th anniversary
The (BAPS) Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is opened by Pramukh Swami Maharaj the 5th President and Pramukh or Guru of the BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha) in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya
The Animal Welfare Act of 1999 is established in New Zealand
Christine Fletcher enters her second year as Mayor of Auckland (in New Zealand) and becomes a member of the New Zealand Parliament for Epsom
Jenny Shipley serves her final term as Prime Minister of New Zealand before being succeeded by Helen Clark
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 convention and exhibition venue Singapore Expo is launched, making it the largest meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE) venue in Singapore. This comes after some exhibition space in its World Trade Centre had to make way for its North East MRT Line.
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.