TVB is not very smooth this year, except for the high ratings of "Don't Bow Your Head" in February, all other dramas can only be regarded as passing. , YBDU, as for Phoenix Channel, it doesn't seem to be much better than TVB, and the ratings of TV dramas are good and bad, but they are slightly higher than TVB overall.

The length of TVB's episodes is determined by ratings, and in March, TVB aired two consecutive dramas with only 5 episodes.

Why is there only 5 episodes of a TV series, because the TV series is broadcast while filming, and the ratings are so bad that it was cut in half after only a few episodes. As for those long dramas with 60 or 80 episodes, many of them are not planned in advance, but they are patted and found to be more and more popular, so the screenwriter and director worked hard to continue the story.

In April, the TVB drama finally gained momentum, and the ratings of "Contemporary Men" starring Huang Rihua, Mak Cuixian, Lu Liangwei, Lin Jiahua and others soared. Producer Liu Jiahao decisively adjusted the filming plan, doubling the number of "Contemporary Men" episodes originally scheduled for 25 episodes, and directly asked the screenwriter to compile the story in the direction of 60 episodes.

Fang Yihua, general manager of TVB, is in a good mood, she is happy not only because "Contemporary Boy" is on the air, but also because Liu Jiahao, the producer of this TV series, only jumped from Oriental TV production company last year.

It has always been TVB's talent who jumped ship to Kang Jianfei's Oriental Group, and now TVB can finally attract talents, which is of great significance to Fang Yihua. At least it can prove that she makes good use of talents, and TVB's decline is due to the incompetence of the people below, not that she is incompetent as a general manager.

The two companies are robbing people. It doesn't mean that whoever is paid more will necessarily be better able to retain people. Although the producers and directors of Oriental Television Production Company are higher than those of TVB, the competition is also very fierce. After all, the company's resources and positions are limited. While some people are showing their strength, there must be some people who think that they have no talents, and it is very normal to change jobs to other companies.

A few days after the hit of "Contemporary Boys", Fang Yihua heard bad news: the big drama "Big Era" on Phoenix Channel was about to start.

Next, Phoenix Channel broadcasts the trailer advertisements of "The Great Era" before and after the hit program every day, which attracts the attention of the audience.

After half a month, even the audience who is chasing TVB's "Contemporary Boy". also began to look forward to the broadcast of "The Great Era".

Not only on TV, but also some newspapers in Hong Kong began to report the gossip about "The Great Times", and the focus of the report was Zheng Shaoqiu's extramarital affair with a Taiwanese actress. and the scandal between starring Liu Qingyun and Zhou Hailin.

The scandal between Liu Qingyun and Zhou Hailin was planned by Phoenix Terrace behind the scenes, and the unknown black boy not only became the leading actor all of a sudden, but also became the runner-up of the beauty pageant of Oriental Street. This kind of gossip news is very easy to attract the attention of the public.

As for Zheng Shaoqiu's extramarital affair in Taiwan. It has nothing to do with Phoenix Channel, it's just some entertainment tabloids that fry cold rice and turn over old accounts.

The reports of these two scandals have very effectively increased the popularity of "The Great Era", and the media that smelled the fishy smell wanted to take the opportunity to dig out more information about "The Great Era".

As a result, under the initiative of entertainment media, more and more news has been reported. For example, the script was written by Kang Jianfei himself, and the screenwriting group brought together a large group of famous editors, including Wen Ruian, and even the resident guests of Phoenix Channel's financial programs. has also become a special consultant for the show.

Then McDonald's postponement of the filming of "Provincial and Hong Kong Flag Soldiers 2" was handpicked by Kang Jianfei as the producer of "The Great Era". There are also two movie stars, Li Lizhen and Lan Jieying. was also pulled away by Kang Jianfei to participate in the performance.

All kinds of gossip came out of the newspapers, coupled with the strong cast of Zheng Shaoqiu, Zhou Huimin, Li Lizhen, Lan Jieying, and Zhou Hailin, which made "The Great Era" popular before it was broadcast.

TVB reacted quickly, so that the protagonists of "Contemporary Boys" kept appearing on the show and attending public events, and the publicity battle on both sides was very happy.

……

On April 25, TVB's "Contemporary Boy" has been on the air for more than half a month, and the highest ratings once reached 61%, but "Big Times" started broadcasting under the pressure of "Contemporary Boy" at this time.

Because "Contemporary Boy" is in the stage of exciting plot at this time, although many viewers are interested in "Big Time", it is not too late to take advantage of the advertising time to change the channel and watch it twice, and then turn back to continue watching "Contemporary Boy".

"What were the ratings for our episode yesterday?" Fang Yihua asked on the second day of the broadcast of "The Great Era".

Her secretary flipped through a table and replied: "Last night's "Contemporary Boys" had a peak rating of 47%, down 6 points from the day before yesterday. ”

Fang Yihua nodded to indicate that she understood, and her secretary immediately put away the text and retreated.

The launch of Phoenix Channel's "Big Era" must have an impact on TVB's "Contemporary Boys", and the ratings that dropped by 6 points are still within Fang Yihua's acceptance range. After all, "The Great Era" is a drama planned by Kang Jianfei himself, and the producer and director are all big names in the companies of the Oriental Group.

However, as time passed, Fang Yihua soon couldn't sit still.

On April 25, the highest rating of the TVB drama "Contemporary Boy" was 47%, which became 43% on April 26, plummeted to 36% on April 27, and fell to 29% on April 28.

It only took five days for "Big Times" to snatch the audience of "Contemporary Boys", and the ratings of the latter dropped directly to less than half of the original.

The main reason why "The Great Era" can do this is naturally that it is a divine drama itself, and of course, there is also the factor of TVB's own death.

Since "Contemporary Boys" was filmed for more than ten episodes, the original plan of filming 25 episodes was changed and the drama was written to a length of 60 episodes. As a result, the plot will inevitably drag on in the middle and late stages, as well as the inconsistencies in the personalities of some characters, the more the audience watches, the more unhappy they become.

After the ratings of "Contemporary Boys" fell below 30%, Fang Yihua finally slapped the table like thunder, and held a meeting to angrily reprimand the creative team of "Contemporary Boys": "Who wrote that episode yesterday? A little thing grinds and chirps for most of the episode. And what's going on with the male number three? How to pat and pat the personality completely changed a person. And the female number two......"

Seven or eight people in the conference room lowered their heads, and were trained by Fang Yihua like a grandson, but no one dared to refute it. Because the overall quality of "Contemporary Boys" has declined, although this is directed by changing the shooting plan halfway, they also have an unshirkable responsibility.

If there are no competitors, then the TV series with high ratings in the early stage, even if it drags on in the middle and late stages, the audience is barely acceptable, and they will choose to watch it while scolding. But with "The Great Era" to disrupt the situation, then you have to maintain high quality all the time, otherwise it will be self-destruction of the Great Wall.

Fang Yihua also said that she was tired after a lecture, and she could only make everyone pay attention to the quality of the series, in fact, she felt bad when she started promoting "The Great Era", and she had already been mentally prepared for defeat.

Liu Jiahao, the producer and screenwriter, is extremely aggrieved, since he was in charge of the production of "Contemporary Men", he can only sleep an average of three and a half hours a day, and sometimes he can fall asleep while sitting in the crew. How can such a fast food drama that is filmed and broadcast at the same time be compared with the sophisticated production of "The Great Era", which took half a year? The amount of effort and money spent on both sides is not proportional.

is different from the frustration on TVB's side, but Phoenix TV and Dongshi Company are a scene of jubilation, because when "The Great Era" reached the sixth episode, the ratings reached a terrifying 68%, which is a number that has not appeared in Hong Kong TV programs for a long time, and it can already be compared with the ratings of the beauty pageant finals.

The ratings are so high that there is no need to count them at all, and the clues can be seen from the sparse flow of people on the streets of Hong Kong when the TV series is broadcast, which is a sign of empty alleys.

Why is it causing such a stir?

Because "The Great Era" is about Hong Kong stocks, and just a few months ago, Hong Kong broke out in the most severe stock market crash in 15 years, and Hong Kong citizens are still apprehensive about it, and it is easy to be attracted by the plot of "The Great Era".

By the time "Big Time" aired its 20th episode, the highest ratings for a single episode had climbed to 73%. Liu Qingyun, a black boy who has always played tricks, became a first-line TV star with this drama. And Zheng Shaoqiu, who was affected by the extramarital affair, although he played the villain in the play, he regained the recognition of the Hong Kong audience with his amazing acting skills.

In addition, the biggest gain is Lan Jieying, her role in this drama is so loved. So much so that for a long time, entertainment magazines will have photos of Lan Jieying at both ends of three days.

As for Zhou Hailin, Li Lizhen and Zhou Huimin, they are not as brilliant as Lan Jieying, but with the super hit of "The Great Era", they still have a lot of fame and fans.

When "Ming Pao Weekly" was only two-thirds of the way to the broadcast of "The Great Era", it couldn't help but publish a special feature to comment: "What this TV series portrays and wants to express is far from being as simple as stocks......

"The Great Era" has a very special significance, it is ostensibly about the grievances of two families and two generations, but in essence, it is revealing the changes of the times in Hong Kong......

In terms of architecture, it breaks through the routine of traditional TV dramas; In terms of plot, it elevates the family drama model to a very high level. In terms of acting skills, Zheng Shaoqiu, Liu Qingyun, Zhou Huimin, Lan Jieying and other actors have wonderful performances in the play......"

The plot of "The Big Time" is told from the 60s to the 90s, 1994 to be precise. And now it is only 1988, and what happened in the next few years belongs to Kang Jianfei's "speculation and blind fabrication".

The impact of "The Great Era" not only made the streets of Hong Kong sparse during the broadcast time, but also caused the Hong Kong stock market, which had just begun to recover, to fall several times. (To be continued......) RL