Tele Liban replays its greatest hits for its 67th anniversary

OK facts. Tele Liban had color broadcast before the BBC did (Lebanon got it on October 21, 1967, becoming the third country in the world to do so, utilizing the French SECAM system) and if you want more info please visit the wonderful "La Tele Quelle Histoire" by the incomparable (late) Jean-Claude Boulos (here) and so with the advent of AI, Tele Liban went all out to recreate its greatest hits for its 67th anniversary, when sadly most of the performers (be they actors or singers or humorists) are no longer among us. But to give credit where credit is due, and before Tele Liban became a shadow of its former self - first by having only one competition LBC and then ultimately all other screens combined - was a major force to be reckoned with. Sure, when looking back and comparing to today's standards of production some of the classics do not exactly hold their ground, but also acting wise, we did lose a major crop of incredible actors (some of whom figure in the film). Sure, not everyone made the cut, for obvious reasons, but also there are too many to mention and they manage to do it with the backdrop of the late Melhem Barakat's Eidak Yaln't el Eid celebratory hit.

OK, I am not familiar with the legalities of the AI recreation of these characters - on the one hand yes, Tele Liban does own the original archives (everything from the TV series, to the amateur competitions, etc...) but also, not sure if one can recreate the likeness of people in different settings (case in point the late "Amigo" Hekmat Wehbe who was part of Studio El Fan but the only program he presented was Mala3eb el Sighar and was never a humorist as such on Tele Liban), still not to rain on their parade, the film is a joy to see (and resee and re-resee) have your own delight here.

Tele Liban has ads on the streets (please read this without fainting)

Tele Liban has ads on the streets.

Tele Liban has ads on the streets (repeating for emphasis). Honestly I am so pleasantly surprised - before you draw any conclusions - I have stopped watching television since 2013 when I got diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure was not recommended. But the news in itself is thrilling. After years, make that decades, of neglect, Tele Liban is advertising its new political program "The dialogues of the serail" with Nada Saliba. It is on Tuesday at 8:30 PM.

I read elsewhere that Tele Liban was also going to produce, again, a new scripted program - those same programs that made its glory for decades upon decades when until LBC showed up (August 23, 1985) it was the two channels of Tele Liban had the hegemony of the airwaves (or what was known as "Tallet el Khayyat" and "Hazmieh"). 

In retrospect some of the programmes with incredible pop culture cachet don't hold water by today's standards, but some others do survive intact. But all of this is a little like putting the cart before the horse - on the upside? This time around there seems to be a cart for the horse to push.