SARIE magazine turns 70 with Rolene Strauss doing a first-issue throwback cover, as the South African TV icon Doreen Morris reveals some of the television struggles – including death threats – she's had to face.

The Afrikaans women's magazine SARIE is celebrating its 70th anniversary with a special gold-and-black first-issue throwback cover with Rolene Strauss, while the South African TV icon, Doreen Morris opens up about her 35-year career in the TV biz, revealing some of the big challenges and resistance she faced when she first appeared on television - including death threats.

On the cover of the latest SARIE that will quickly become a must-have collector's issue, Rolene Strauss, the former Miss South Africa and Miss World, appears in a reimagined cover inspired by the very first one that appeared back on 6 July 1949.

Inside SARIE's July 2019 edition that is now on sale, the legendary Doreen Morris - who broke down barriers in broadcasting in South African television at the SABC and M-Net for almost four decades now and counting - reveals how she got death threats from the public when she first appeared on the SABC during apartheid.

Doreen Morris of course also owned the rights to the Miss SA beauty pageant from 1994 to 2000.

In an interview with SARIE's Marguerite van Wyk, Doreen Morris (60) who owns the Blue Zome Media production company and recently filmed the show Kuier-mense for VIA (DStv 147), explains how it was for her being a black woman - the first on South African mainstream television - working in the mid-eighties as a continuity presenter on the then-TV1.

"I wanted to do continuity presenting in Afrikaans because I would have been able to think faster in my home language. Some viewers were upset and sent death threats - newspaper clippings with a rope around my neck or a knife through my face."

"The SABC organised police protection for me with the Brixton murder and robbery division. Some black people accused me of being a sell-out with a little flag of the country on the desk."

"I rather wanted to fight for the use of toilets than the removal of a little flag," she said.

From the SABC Doreen Morris jumped to M-Net in 1986 and was part of Naspers' pay-TV start-up from the beginning where she started as the head of PR, was an executive in programme acquisition and also on-screen talent. 

"I feel extremely proud because nobody was certain whether it would be successful or not," Doreen Morris explains later in the SARIE interview.

When the former primary school teacher who grew up in Elsie's River in Cape Town is asked how she wants to be remembered one day, she says "as someone who made a positive contribution to people's lives. That is true legacy."

Read the full interview in the July 2019 issue of SARIE that is on magazine shelves now.

SABC2 goes to space with the new Afrikaans science fiction comedy series, Die Vlieënde Springbokkie, as hapless crew tries to reach B Earth.

Decades since the Mielie Malie Maantuig, the South African public broadcaster is venturing back to space with the science fiction comedy series Die Vlieënde Springbokkie starting on SABC2 on Monday evening at 19:00 following a group of South Africans  leaving Earth to travel to a new world.

Die Vlieënde Springbokkie, produced by Urban Brew Studios and filmed at its new Randburg complex in Johannesburg, stars actors like Antoinette Kellerman as onboard scientist Pat and David Isaacs as Commander Mak in crew member roles.

The on-board computer called Oom ("Uncle") is voiced by the legendary Afrikaans news anchor Riaan Cruywagen who returned to his first voice acting role in a TV series since he was the voice of Haas Das in the start-up years of SABC television.

The show's title of Die Vlieënde Springbokkie is also the name of the ship on which the crew, including Nikolai Mynhardt as Mossie, Thandi Puren as Captain FJ, Wesley Lauder as Doctor Farrell and Liza Scholtz as thecaptain's daughter Lisa are all travelling to B Aarde (B-Earth). Doreen Morris also pops up in the role of the current black female president.

In the comedy series, it's the year 2068 and the South African Airways (SAA) - still in existence in the science fiction show - had donated its scrap to help create Die Vlieënde Springbokkie to take cryogenically frozen celebrities B Aarde to escape the over-populated and polluted planet.

Due to technical problems however, the crew becomes lost in space and struggle to try and keep their ship going while maintaining their "popularity with the viewing public back home".

"In some ways they're a microcosm of South Africa: a theatre of politics," says SABC2.

SABC2 didn't do set visits fir the press for Die Vlieënde Springbokkie and very little publicity material is available, but according to a few of the episode synopsis available in the first episode the crew will be "threatened by space debris" in this comedy of errors.

The second episode deal with a mutiny of sorts against the captain, preparations are made for a visit from the president, and in the 4th episode there's computer troubles when Oom refuses to let astro-pilot Mossie fly the ship.

EXCLUSIVE. Colin Moss, Doreen Morris, Ruda Landman all returning and back on M-Net for the pay TV channel's 25th birthday in October.

You're reading it here first.

I can break the news that Colin Moss and South African television stars like Doreen Morris and even Ruda Landman are all returning to M-Net - according to sources they'll be back on the pay TV channel for a nostalgic M-Net celebration month.

I can reveal that instantly recognizable faces like Colin Moss and a major number of former M-Net faces are all part of a big and simply stellar group of luminous former M-Net on-air stars who've been invited - and apparently agreed to return - to M-Net to be seen again. The pay TV channel has begun to film (under great secrecy) an on-air promo (or is it promos?) with former and current M-Net on-screen personalities, sources say, to celebrate M-Net's 25th birthday during the month of October.

TV with Thinus understands that the M-Net stars - all of them megawatt personalities from the past two and a half decades since M-Net started, up to the current day - have been roped in for a very special promo or promos that will be broadcast in October. All of them are very strongly associated with the M-Net brand during periods of the past 25 years. They've all become household names as continuity presenters, show presenters and local TV stars, and in most cases have remained famous and loved even though in some cases its been years since they've actually appeared on television.

The first promo work took place a week and a half ago amidst great secrecy and was preceded by major planning and huge logistical pre-production work to pull this big project off. Unclear at this stage is whether there is one big music promo, different sets of 30 second promos or different versions since, as I understand it from sources, the shoot or filming for the project will continue in August. The new filming could mean an extension of what was already done and filmed towards the end of July, or new separate promo material.

''They went and asked instantly recognizable famous faces that South African viewers love and adore,'' says a source. ''Amazing people - everybody of the past 25 years so closely linked with M-Net. And its as amazing and wonderful that they agreed to return. It's very hush-hush but just think of a big name from the past of M-Net and chances are you'll see that face in October again on M-Net when the pay channel goes very big with its 25th birthday,'' whispers an insider.

''It's going to be lovely,'' says another source. I asked M-Net days ago about the promo(s), if the channel could confirm it and had specific questions. On Monday evening M-Net declined to comment on this for now.

On 30 December of 2010 I wondered RIGHT HERE how M-Net will be remembering - and what the channel will do - for its 25th birthday in October.

Longtime M-Net subscribers and viewers will remember the brilliant M-Net on-air promos from previous years which saw groups of M-Net faces assembled with several songs from Queen over the years. There were for instance Don't Stop Me Now (we wont stop the magic at all).

One even took place on the roof of M-Net Randburg headquarters (above) with M-Net staff waving and dancing. Later there were the brilliant 9 Turning Tiles and When the Magic Touches You.