TVB Turns to Mainland Drama to Boost Ratings
With recent TVB dramas pulling disappointing viewership ratings, the station decided to turn to Mainland dramas for help. Although it was announced earlier that Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) and Louisa So‘s (蘇玉華) Rear Mirror <載得有情人>will be aired on April 28, Mainland production, Journey to the West <西遊記>, will now take its place during the 8:30 p.m. slot.
TVB believes that Mainland artistes may provide a refreshing change for viewers. Rear Mirror producer, Fong Chong Chiu (方駿釗) said that the quality of the TVB series was not in question, rather the station was trying a different programming strategy.
Wayne Lai appeared at a press conference today promoting the upcoming broadcast of Journey to the West. Asked about TVB’s airing of a Mainland drama during prime-time hours, Wayne said, “We [Hong Kong artistes] cannot dominate all the work. The television industry should develop healthily, with more choices for viewers allowing for healthy competition.”
TVB is known to “warehouse” its series for lengthy periods following post-production due to changing viewership tastes. As an artiste, Wayne only enjoys the process of filming and said that other factors are beyond his control. “I don’t mind when the drama will be broadcast or the viewer reception. There must be a reason behind the broadcast postponement. After viewing it, TVB praised the drama, so I’m not concerned about the air date.”
Although Wayne’s portrayal of Pigsy in TVB’s 1996 version of Journey to the West is considered as one of his classic performances, he said it was a strenuous filming experience and will not consider reprising the role. He also added, “Pigsy talks in a hilarious and blunt way. Now that I’m more mature, I can’t repeat the performance!”
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Jayne for JayneStars.com.
hk people dont like mainland series though. probably a rating strategy.
Nooooo! Why is TVB airing the mainland version of journey to the west? it is long and draggy. Better if they re-air the TVB version of JTTW.
This will definitely won’t increase the TV ratings, their whatever strategy is totally not going to work. This mainland version of JTTW is 2 years ago, it isn’t new nor engaging to audiences anymore, especially to HK viewers. Everyone may have watched that already online, have TVB considered that it will affect the ratings.
They should have sticked with Rear Mirror and not the mainland version of JTTW.
Add to that the fact that the Mainland version of JTTW already aired on TVB’s pay channel previously, so quite a few HK audiences have already seen it….makes the decision even more stupid on TVB’s part.
Agree that they should air tvb Rear Mirror instead of Mainland JTTW
Tbb’s style…repeat mistakes twice.
Agree that they should air tvb Rear Mirror instead of Mainland JTTW
The old mainland version of JTTW made in 1986 was the best version in my opinion and is a classic. The TVB version was ok but not as good as the 86 China version. Not sure about the 2011 version since I did not see it yet.
The pig is such a pig.
If they’re gonna air a mainland drama I’m wish it was a least a different one! Never fond of their adaption of Monkey King!
The best JTTW was the TVB version. Although the Visual Effects weren’t as great as the mainland version (well it was already consider great since it was back in 1996), the story plot & character development definitely surpasses the mainland version.
Omg I remember watching TVB’s original JTTW when I was a kid..I LOVED IT SO MUCH LOLOL. It was something I looked forward to everyday during dinner time …is watch JTTW. Yeah the visual effects werent that amazing, but the acting, the script, the music was already enough to have a little kid mesmorised and stuck to the tv screen. Sigh..what happened to those days. Those days when I watched every single drama that tbb would air, to now, I only select particular dramas to watch because the rest are just very so-so.
Holy cow! It’s 66 episodes or something like that. That means i can cancel my cable TV subscription for dramas for the coming 3 months. Absolutely detest mainland dramas.
I do not get why some of you are so against Mainland series? I myself also grew up watching mainly TVB and ATV series but now ATV has not made series for a long time and TVB series gave depleted in quality. If you are not willing to watch Korean or Japanese series then you have to watch mainland series, especially if you want some good ancient series which as we all know TVB is way too cheap to even attempt making now.
Honestly, besides selected TVB dramas (not all), i don’t have the urge to watch any other types of dramas. Tried before but just don’t like seeing all those unfamiliar faces. Mainland actresses, especially, never fail to raise my goosebumps with their cutesy voices and cute wide-eyed expressions. Besides, JTW is such an old boring story which has been remade to death.
Well said HTS.
Btw, I heard, ATV is filing from bankruptcy, apparently.
It’s worth giving mainland series, especially ancient series a try. Much better costume, set and have people who can act. Of course not every series is good, especially with Copycat Yu, but there are great quality series worth trying.
I partly agree with buzz. Everything is too repetitive… All the themes and story arcs seem to be used again and again and again. Wish they (either tvb or mainland, but most likely mainland) could attempt something on the same level as Game of Thrones.
Mainland certainly has the financial muscle to match the costumes and visuals of HBO – now we can only hope they match it in terms of narrative. Fingers crossed that one day happens…
i also don’t like this idea. any foreign drama is just a bad idea to broadcast during prime time.
Wayne said, “We [Hong Kong artistes] cannot dominate all the work. The television industry should develop healthily, with more choices for viewers allowing for healthy competition.”
partly agree,therefor hk government have to grant a tv-license for hktv,so there is more choice and this will force tvb make better quality dramas to survive,and that will make more ppl watch hk dramas again. hk ppl dont want mainland dramas because its too draggy and most of hk ppl dont like mainland actors.
Compare with hktv, I rather watch mainland dramas. some mainland dramas are awesome and very creative
Not sure if it is fair to compare anything with HkTV drama yet since I do not think any of us has seen any of the series in its entirety yet.
“…..most of hk ppl dont like mainland actors.”
Yeah, HKers are quite discriminatory toward those ‘beneath’ them, although quite a few HK stars (Carina Lau, Leon Lai, Faye Wong) were originally from the mainland. Most of the big HK stars of the 50s and 60s were also mainlanders.
Yea,many from HK ,Taiwan,Singapore,etc.. All look down on mainlanders and consider them inferior.
Forgot to say that some of the famous HK stars are from mainland too. I guess many of them forget that.
i dont think this is an dicrimination or “look down” issue,there are more rich mainlanders than the whole hk inhabitants together. i just think that many mainland actors have an arrogant image,and many mainland ppl also behaves it bad when they are in hk on vacation,plus the freedom of speech in hk is under pressure due to the communistic influence in hk.
kolo: Prior to the opening of China, HK’ers had the reputation of being arrogant toward other Asians-particularly those with darker skin and less $$ in the wallet. But they were obsequious toward the Japanese and Brits. Loud and obnoxious HK vacationers were not uncommon back in the old days.
Don’t agree that the government issue license to hktv. This is a whole different situation, besides hk doesn’t have much sponsorships to support too many tv stations
Is this the first time that a non TVB-produced series assume the prime time slot?
No. Jewel in the palace(Korean) & the bronze teeth (mainland) were shown during prime time before
Of course!
In fact, Jewel in the Palace still holds the record in HK as the most watched drama (from anywhere).
Therefore, what is the big deal that a mainland drama is shown? This is not the first time.
the big deal is how many times that the viewers watch different Journey to the West versions? Every decade we have Journey to the West… its getting annoying!
Larry,
Journey to the West is a classic story that can be enjoyed by different age groups, thus its appeal. There has been adaptations of Jin Yong stories for every generation as well. If the TV adaptations are done well, they help to continue to popularize the stories among young viewers, which is a positive effect. For older viewers, there is already a broad stream of diversified entertainment options.
It is classic but there is TOO many adaptations, I mean look at the latest JTTW movie… it suck so badly.
Why not re-air their version of JTTW? Def a classic!
TVB version JTTW was definitely a classic
a good idea but not with jttw. it’s old and can be watched online. maybe something newer like bubujingqing
Zh Bat Gai is still my most memorable performance from Wayne Lai. I thought his acting rocked back then when he wasnt even famous. He was sooo funny.
Wayne’s Pigsy character is the best out of all the JTTW movies/dramas. His current performance still rocks. Being a lead has restrictions, as to supporting characters, they have much more freedom (they don’t appear in every episodes)
Have you guys seen the performance by the mainland actors from the 86 version? I think they were the best. Not to say that Wayne and all of them are not.
The 86 version has the best Monkey King but not the other three, especially the Monk. The Monk in 86 version is weak, useless and no mercy to the beasts. The Monk in TVB version was better characterized as he is smart, understanding and not too weak or useless. The pig was best portrayed by Wayne Lai in my opinion. Worst pig is the current Chinese JJTW which we are talking about. Nevertheless, 86 versions have the best beauties.
That is your opinion,but I felt the pig in the 80s version was great. The monk was changed several times but I thought he did a good job. Also,they all had chemistry with each other which is really important as with each of their individual performances. Their friendship was strong in real life as well and it showed throughout the series. Plus that series took 2 years or so to complete. The China Sha Teng wanted to see the actor that played the pig one last time before he passed away which shows how close they were. I highly doubt the cast in the 96 version are anywhere as close in real life.
I do not agree that the 86 monk had no mercy to the demons. He did have it when necessary and since he did not have any powers, how was he suppose to battle the demons? I do not think it is fair to call him useless in that sense. But we all have our own opinions.
For example, when Sha Teng and Pig killed a fox demon who is second wife of the Buffalo and then took it back for the Monk to see, Monk clapped his hands, show his happy face despite the fact he doesnt know who that fox demon is or what did she do. Apparently, that fox demon didnt do anything bad or kill anyone, but she was killed unexpectedly, for no reason. Sha Teng and Pig killed her for the only reason that she is a fox demon. In that scene, I dont see the mercy of the Monk.
Moreover, whenever the Monk was captured by the demons, he cried, whined and sat there to wait for the Monkey King to come and save him. He has never said a word to convince the demons to come back to their good nature. It irked me very much because he appeared as a hypocrite. On the other hand, the Monk in TVB version told to the demons about wrong and right, which is more reasonable for a high ranked monk like him. It makes me think he is useless. He was born to be a monk and that is all he had. Whilst in TVB version, the Monk never complained or whined when he was kidnapped. He talked to the demons and convinced them to come back. He told Monkey King about the nature of spider to eat mosquitto which was a good lesson to learn. It tells that he is understanding, mercy, kind and generous.
Amongst 3 actors acted Monk in 86 version, Xu Shao Hua was the best and longest one. Acting wise is out of what I am talking about here because in my opinion, everyone in 86 version was outshone by Liu Xiao Ling Tong. 86 version might close to the novel (in fact the 96 version is closest) but TVB version gives me more lessons. It shows that a correct adaption isnt always the best.
Have read the books and China adaptations as you describe it is more faithful to the books which is why I love TVB version which is my most favourite series of all time. China’s versions are rather cold at times. However this one TVB is broadcasting has a very good actor as the monkey and the effects are good and in a small way sort of humanises the demons such as the rat demon. However TVB wins for being accessible to the masses.
If you are referring to the 2011 version with Nie Yuan then I think Wu Yue plays the monkey if I remember correctly. He is a good actor.
To be honest, the quality of TVB series has worsened quite a bit in the past couple of years. Almost always the same people (no new pairings) and boring storyline.
Isn’t HK people a bit tired of TVB series? (The average weekly TV ratings don’t even have 30 points anymore for a long time now)
Many (young) people have switched to Korean TV series. You can watch the latest Korean TV series with Chinese or English subtitles within a day of broadcast.
However, Korean dramas are also repetitive too on their storylines, they always uses the Cinderella theme, how a lower class girl ends up with a rich handsome guy and lives happily ever after.
Many young people tend to switch over to korean/Taiwan TV series because those are mostly teen idol dramas, which I am really not fond of. The plot is re-used over & over again, the only difference it that they use different actors/actresses to play the same type of characters.
Although TVB series quality decreased (not really worsened), but I still support them, hoping they will improve the quality of their tv dramas
If you are talking about Korean drama’s, there are not many TV series that has idols as main leads, sometimes a TV drama has an idol as supporting role, but that’s it.
Korean citizens usually don’t really like idols acting in TV drama’s, especially if they have a big role in the TV drama. In my opinion, Korean drama’s quite often has refreshing storylines (each week, you have 6-8 Korean TV drama’s to choose from, and most of the times there is at least one TV drama that I really like to watch).
After years and years of making series,who will not run of ideas?
Aww mann! Disturbing news dis is huh!
outbound love was too boring
serioulsy???? i don’t what is tvb thinking they should film their own tv shows not to just buy other tv films from the mainland in china and rate it and see how many loves to watch it>>>>
i don’t know…..what they are thinking i meant
how many people loves to watch it
exacly i don’t get what they’re thinking these days
the tvb dramas are really getting boring i just really watching it like the swipe tap love they just kept sending messages they think that is going to rate???? NO!!!
i just don’t really watch it i meant
I gave up watching Swipe Tap Love drama because I got sick og the story line. Can not stand it anymore. Somebody from other forums said the producer of Swipe Tap Love are from War and Beauty 2 last year.
Me too. The series is really boring; the female lead’s acting is so weak.
ughhh no….i really don’t like this nor do i think it’s a good idea. it’s not going to do anything to the ratings except bring it down, maybe if tvb sees the even lower ratings, they’ll cancel it mid-air and air tvb dramas instead hahah
what am i supposed to watch now??
Bad move
It could be the ghost of Detective Bobo effect?
I’m willing to bet that the mainland series will get lower ratings than previous TVB series. The series is too long and it’s also pretty old. If much rather watch Wayne and Louisa’s series.
Rear Mirror and JTTW… neither seems interesting, but if given a choice, I’d rather have Rear Mirror airing, because it’s only 20 eps and we’ll be done with it in a few weeks, instead of a 3 month/55 eps series
Oh this is the beginning of the end for Cantonese speaking TV shows. First they broadcast 1 Mandarin speaking show during the 8.30 time slot, then a few more times it’s also the other time slot. Goodbye Hong Kong cantonese series. Time to learn Mandarin Hong Kong people.
They will be dubbing the series perhaps?
i think they will dubb it,because many ppl in hk still cant understand mandarin,especially the older generation.if they dont dubb it then i think the ratings will be very low.
Yes, they do. I have watched many Korean and Chinese and taiwanese series on TVB channels, and all were in cantonese.
It hardly matters whether it’s canto or mando for me. I mean seriously, like funn said, they can always incorporate dubbing to make it more accessible.
To me, what matters most is the storytelling. Please, tvb or mainland, please make something as awesome as ‘Breaking Bad’, ‘Mad Men’, ‘Game of Thrones’ or ‘True Detective’ – shows that’ll reach a global audience.
There is SO MUCH potential for this to happen. Hope they can muster the will to do it…
TVB has no budget on those dramas that you mention. They need creative scriptwriters & production set.
It will be dubbed into Cantonese of course, just like the others (jewel in the palace).
Great job TVB, low ratings for the next 3 months.
and the chances of being correct?
100% correct, accurate prediction, GUARANTEE!.
Will this JTTW be dubbed in Cantonese ? i would hate it if they kept it in mando cause i cant understand mando 🙁
Benny,
“Will this JTTW be dubbed in Cantonese ? ”
If TVB is airing Journey to the West during prime-time hours, they will likely show a Cantonese version.
Canto dubbed, but if you live in HK, you can switch audio, change subtitles to English, etc.
I think TVB know that the ratings will be low for that Chinese drama. It’s also the World Cup season. Therefore, they dont wanna waste their drama because most people will watch world cup. In addition, World Cup matches sometimes interrupt the dramas’ airing time
if that is the reason than it would be a good decision … indeed it is very distracting when a good drama is spoiled by news of important events that might pop-up … in malaysia if the tv station have to slip in the news portion in between the show, they will cut the drama short or keep it running while the news is on … so when it come back, it will no longer be in sequence =( … luckily nowadays we dont need to rely on the tv station alone, so i usually get the dvd box set so that i can get an undisturbed viewing =)
BS… World Cup doesnt start ’til JUNE
really sad that good cantonese shows are getting more and more rare =( … is not that the actors are no good, it is just that the shows does not have a good script, editing and direction is also not as exciting as before … but yes, most of the actresses nowadays are really spoiling the shows (irritating pronunciation & expression problem), but i can still ignore their flaws as there are still actors that can lead the show well.
i personally think that the present tvb actors are in fact very good at acting … it is just that the scripts nowadays never reach the climax to develop their characters into memorable once … some of the types of scenes that i miss in current tvb dramas are:
– crying scenes, it will just get cut off before the character breakdown until the audience can feel them, the scenes will always be snipped off after 1 minute and skip to a general scene that spoils the mood without time to reminisce or think over the situation emotionally … in the 1990s, both tvb and atv shows will slowly build up the emotion to a particular scene and when the climax scene is on, the drama will allocate enough of time and focus until the character be fully felt by the audience.
– the script nowadays does not show the inner feelings and struggles of the characters, tvb actors nowadays has the potential to act such characters but the scripts never gave them the chance to breakthrough … in the 1990s the shows does focus alot on the characters while they are alone, the script nowadays just seem to ignore that these emotional time alone is important … conversely many korean dramas has this kind of scenes that pulls the audience into the show.
– boring love stories that suppose to be romantic, but after viewing it is still feels very boring because it is nothing but “i stare at u, u stare at me” … first the actors and actresses dont have the pretty boy or cute girl face, second the dramas does not have good background music and theme music, third there is no good love stoyline … honestly, hong kong dramas are really not good in making love stories, these need to be left for korean and taiwanese dramas … hong kong dramas need a different type of love story, they need love stories of understanding whereby the characters deeply love each other but does not express it openly, they only show their love through actions and sacrifice.
– unsuccessful porn show, dont even know what is the point of tvb showing so many dramas with kissing and soft porn … the characters always kiss deeply and all of a sudden someone knocks on the door or the phone rings … or they were taking each others clothes off and somehow some interruption comes in … if someone really wants to watch such scenes they can get better versions of it … does these scenes even boost the ratings? … tvb should just stick to a good storyline instead of wasting time on these scenes, many taiwanese, korean and japanese dramas are also successful without such scenes.
– lack of focus on individual characters and their ending … most of the tvb shows nowadays are case to case such as legal and police shows … they just show how the characters are caught and charged in court but after that never show much of what happens after that, even if they did most of the time it is not even satisfactory and enough … those episodic characters just seem like fillers of the show just to fill the gap and extend the length, but the script never considered them seriously making the drama lacking something … most 1990s tvb shows spent more time on these characters, i still remember clearly alot of such characters who later became first line actors.
– lack of family and friends relationship … i mean the solid storyline type … also lack of story about life … tvb should just concentrate seriously on such topics … it was their forte in the 1990s that drive millions around the world to watch their shows.
despite all the overdose and lacking of certain type of scenes, no doubt hong kong dramas are very good in action scenes and script … they were also very good on the topic of life, people and family relationships … but unfortunately the show nowadays are boring just because there is no really good script and the editing is not exciting, not enough climax for the new generation of actors to shine.
China dramas is much better quality than Hong Kong dramas, but i still wont be watching China dramas … i tried watching it many times, but i still dont enjoy or like watching it … i find it too boring … if there will be no Cantonese show, i will be watching korean, japanese or some taiwanese dramas instead.
but there are some Guangdong Cantonese shows that i quite like watching too … i use to like watching China mandarin shows, but nowadays there is just too many that is not very nice to watch.
China’s version of Journey To The West has already been aired and repeated about 6 or 7 times on Malaysian TV
instead of warehousing the dramas, tvb should just release it to the oversea audience … many of their warehoused dramas are in fact even nicer to watch than those that they promote.
No matter what there is no good reason why tvb postponing Wayne dramas 2 in the warehouse now just because it doesn’t have strong supporting cast like trade wars
Tvb doesn’t want another Wayne drama to have low ratings like BB
TVB should have aired one of kevin mainland dramas and put it in cantones or gallen dramas to save ratings we miss gallen
it will boost gallen popularity in mainlaind as well as hk and kevins
cheap production tvb these days isv no good
Seriously, a mainland china production on TVB during prime time? Will surely NOT watch this one!
everybody can watch whole 55 episodes of the series JTTW 2011 online right now and no need to wait for the next episode on TV; the series is really boring. I gave up even before finishing the 1st episode. I do not like Mainland and Korea series.
What!!!!! I hate hearing mandarin. They got the most annoying language. They should air this on the weekend instead. Hope their rating drop in the 20 so they will pull this series outta town. It’s not fair for MClub series.
It is dubbed no doubt.
They are playing the first episode of journey to west tonight. Just want to say one thing “Give me back my 15min of time wasted watching it!”
agree with u! journey to the west is really wasting my time to watch and previously it already aired in free tv channel!! Hate it!
Come on! It is a good adaptation. The Cantonese dub is rather good as well. Sometimes taking a break from TVB makes you crave for TVB more.
Completely agree with Audrey. It is a waste of time. I thought it would at least look better than the old tvb adaption with Wayne… but nope.
There is a reason why we don’t air every single Mainland series on TV, so that the duds are filtered out. That filter did not work this time around.
Agree with Audrey. It’s boring, the special effects are bad, and I tried to persevere watching it, but fell asleep watching it after 30 mins.
Viewers have spoken… MORE DISSATISFIED then ever. Congratulations TVB!
They should have re-air classic series back in 1996.