Chapter 31 This night, we say TVB Gu Wenjin

If many years later, someone wants to make a documentary about the history of Hong Kong TV dramas, then its leading actor must be TVB. In the era when English was not very proficient, we often saw a name called "Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd." after "The Grand Canal".This memory is so deep that many years later, people who participated in free travel came to Hong Kong, and they would not feel a little strange, because the episode signed "Wireless" has already introduced Hong Kong in detail for us. every plant and every tree. Li Bihua wrote in the book that everyone in the world has something to attach to, just like a baby is attached to its mother, and a baby is attached to its umbilical cord.Hong Kong people also have an umbilical cord attachment to TVB.Relying on it to provide supplies, rely on it to inspire fighting spirit, go round and round all the way down, and today is the 39th year.

Summarized into words today, 39 years later, you will find the business acumen of Run Run Shaw in 1966.In the 1960s, it was Huangmei's films "The Butterfly Lovers" and "Jiangshan Beauty" that established the golden signboard of "Shaw Brothers' production, must be a good film", which brought Shaw Brothers Films into a golden age.But he could clearly see the potential of TV as an emerging industry, so he invested in Qingshuiwan TV City to establish Wireless TV Co., Ltd., which is also called TVB in English. Since then, TVB has entered every ordinary family in Hong Kong.For the people of Hong Kong, it is the best proof of their mental journey. When the Star Ferry first came into being, it already existed. The importance of "Under the Victoria Mountain" is more concerned than the appointment and resignation of the Hong Kong governor, and "Happy Tonight", as a long-running variety show, has always been a habitual program for every Hong Kong family on Friday.In the past 20 years, TVB has acquired billions of dollars of wealth in the world, and rewarded it with a large number of news and information programs, countless popular TV series, and waves of stars in the entertainment industry.

And the TV dramas that come out with the characteristics of the times, between the size of the wheel and the freeze frame, accompany the growth of generations of Hong Kong people.Looking back on these episodes, it is like traveling upstream from a distant river to explore the changes of Hong Kong. Switching to another perspective, since 1983, when Hong Kong dramas such as "A Thousand Rivers and Mountains Are Always Love" and "Huo Yuanjia" entered the mainland market, life in Hong Kong dramas has also become a common memory of mainlanders, especially for those who have grown up. The so-called "born in the 1970s" for a long time.

For those of us who grew up in the mainland, for Hong Kong TV and TVB, there are some fragments of memory, such as some shining crystal jewelry chains, which decorate the childhood memories of lack of material.The description of TVB may be a collective nostalgia.Those episodes, those idols we loved when we were young, in a certain sense, bear the same responsibility for Luo Dayou and Cai Qin. TVB in every era is a lively Cantonese drama.Sheng Dan net end.The drums sounded.Emeralds and pearls, with thousands of rays of light, are bright lights that illuminate the long road ahead of Hong Kong people.But for onlookers like us, it is the accumulation of a period of time, a kind of cultural evolution.So, just waited silently like this, until the day when I grow old.

Scene 1: Have a Spring Dream of the Republic of China Cast: Zheng Shaoqiu, Wang Mingquan In the first 10 years of TVB, it was hidden under the light of Li Hanxiang's old bottle of new wine Huangmeidiao movies that swept the whole Southeast Asia, and it has always been a model of silent upstream.For us who are isolated from information, those distant names and vague memories are not enough to decorate an entire era. With regard to the memory of TVB, it will not be able to make a solemn debut until the 1970s. There is a name that should be remembered, and his name is Chen Zhenhua.Perhaps most TVBs don't know his name, but this young man is the most famous ace in the era of TVB's creation. He starred in TVB's early TV series "Liang Tianjiu", bringing the black and white world TVB's first breath of fresh air.Many years later, when Wong Kar-wai was filming "Days of Being Wild", he said that his protagonist should have watched such a movie back then.

The mid-1970s should be said to be the first prosperous year of TVB.Martial arts films have swept the TV stage with the momentum of Cantonese feature films."Little Li Flying Knife" starring Zhu Jiang has the effect of crowding out everyone, and the theme song has become a must-sing song for Hong Kong singers on stage outside of the country, otherwise they will be coaxed off the stage.Up to now, Wang Jiawei, who has Shanghai feelings, is filming "2046" in Shanghai, singing K with Liu Zhenwei and other partners, and he must order this song "A Rare Skill".The broadcast in the same period also received a good response.

However, about that era, the deeper impression comes from a series of dramas about the early Republic of China. In "A Thousand Rivers and Thousand Mountains Are Always Love", Wang Mingquan's Zhuang Mengdie's appearance is beautiful, but there is a firm expression on the corners of his mouth. We have all sung the song "Brave Chinese".The theme song of the same name is also an enlightenment song for most inland people to learn Cantonese.As a result, Wang Mingquan became the treasure of TVB, and once joined the political circle as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Today, his status is respected by thousands of people.

The "Wan" drama tells the changes of the two families with the turbulent times.On a certain level, it expresses the nostalgia of the southerners for the far north in the legendary memory.In fact, the North and the Republic of China, for Hong Kong people, have a kind of existentialism of commonality in blood and alienation in life.Like Yi Shu's description of colonial enslavement education in his novels: the male protagonist only learns about the 1911 Revolution in history in middle school, takes an English test for admission, and studies medicine in college, which is justified and forgets history.Perhaps it is this collective amnesia that triggers selective collective nostalgia.

And the stories of the Republic of China in the sense of Hong Kong dramas are all deeply branded in Hong Kong.At that time, Wang Jing returned from studying abroad, under the tutelage of Naifu's famous producer Wang Tianlin, and released a series of gambling films with the background of the early Republic of China under TVB, which fully integrated the content of Macau-style gambling. In "The King of Thousand Kings" and "Dragon and Tiger Fighting of Thousand Kings", the original appearance of the decisive Wang style gambling film is depicted.Those dazzling plots are performed by the long-famous Xie Xian chicly.He has been popular for half his life, and he is in his early 40s. Wearing a light-colored coat and hanging a white scarf, he still makes people ecstatic.He is like the undefeated Montenegrin old demon for thousands of years, who can still present his muscles at the Hong Kong Film Awards today with his yellow hair and a golden vest.Xie Xian, the famous "Brother Bai Xiangren", is a lonely flower left to us by Hong Kong, a city that refuses to grow old.

But the entire 1970s still belonged to Zheng Shaoqiu. The launch of "Chu Liuxiang" also introduced Zheng Shaoqiu, who can still play the leading role of a young boy in his early 20s after 30 years.I can still clearly remember that Zheng was handsome and handsome.Chu is such a playful character, and he is so convincing when he plays it.But in real life, at that time, he appeared on the cover of Ming Pao Weekly, wearing a purple couple outfit with Lydia Lydia, attracting the attention of the world with his extraordinary men and women matching. At that time, those who were qualified to act opposite Zheng Shaoqiu were all the most popular actresses, and Zhao Yazhi was one of them. In 1978, she played Zhou Zhiruo in the movie, and her popularity was close to that of the number one heroine, Wang Mingquan who played Zhao Min.From then on, she was promoted to the position of Zhengyindan, and TVB became a situation where Wang Mingquan, Huang Shuyi, and Li Siqi stood together, and four flowers divided the world.

It is also worth mentioning that Liu Songren and Mi Xue, who co-starred in "The Martial Arts Emperor's Flower", is still a masterpiece of screen couples; Dudu Zheng Yuling was also a newcomer at the time. The astringent temperament is very different from today's crisp and quick words... In the late 1970s, a group of new wave directors returned from studying abroad and created a different TVB atmosphere.Xu Anhua and Wong Kar-wai once filmed the famous "Under the Lion Rock", and even Tsui Hark also played for TVB.It's just that their stay is too short, and what suits them more is the challenge on the big screen.What awaits them is "Running into the Wrathful Sea", "Days of Being Wild", and "Days of Being Wild". Scene 2: The twin eagles shine brightly Actor on stage: Five Tiger Generals The first year of the 1980s belonged to "Shanghai Bund".This Hong Kong drama is very familiar to mainland audiences. In addition to continuing the characteristics of the Republic of China dramas in the 1970s, it is not the first of its kind.So far, Shanghai-themed stories are like a cornucopia, becoming an inexhaustible "feng shui treasure land" for filmmakers. But on the entire stage of the 1980s, the most shining actors were, undeniably, the Five Tigers. At that time, Hong Kong was a bit like Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. TVB was more like a dream factory. Under the star-making mechanism, he became an idol admired by all. "The Passenger" broadcast in February 1981 was an important symbol. Li Tiansheng boldly recruited newcomers, and chose Huang Rihua and Miao Qiaowei as idol-type niche students. Huang Rihua successfully portrayed a young killer with some low self-esteem and autism in this drama image.It shows that the second-generation niche team bred by TVB has officially started, and the Yangtze River is rolling, with waves ahead and waves behind, Chow Yun-fat and Zheng Shaoqiu feel threatened at this time. At that time, the biggest reason why Maggie Cheung, a Chinese girl in London, was attracted to return to Hong Kong was that she fell in love with Huang Rihua in the Hong Kong drama "Passer" broadcast in Chinatown, and wanted to see her idol in Hong Kong.So when she participated in TVB's many performances and saw Huang Rihua because she won the runner-up of Miss Hong Kong, the excitement in her heart was unparalleled. In December 1982, "Falcon" discovered Andy Lau.He played the undercover young policeman David Jiang in the play, which is a mirror image contrast to his role in "Infernal Affairs" 20 years later.His protruding aquiline nose lends him a professional edge against the well-fitting, crisp police uniform.As soon as the play came out, Andy Lau left a deep impression on the audience. In 1983, Feng Shui took turns and turned to Miao Qiaowei.He played Yang Kang in the movie, and the conflict and struggle of the character allowed him to act carefully and win the audience's approval.TVB even praised him and Weng Meiling as a screen couple, and made tailor-made dramas such as "The Battle of Xuanwumen" and "The Master of Heaven" and other dramas. In the same year, Tony Leung starred in the famous "Senior Brother Xin Zha", which was remade into a movie 24 years later. Liang, who loves acting, brought the policeman Zhang Weijie to life.And Wei Xiaobao in the movie brings another style to the audience.Today's Cannes actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai, looking back, also admits that TVB was the hotbed where he honed his acting skills in the first place. At the beginning, it may be a kind of individual struggle, but the good results achieved by the five young people have also impressed Wireless, and the company intends to push them to a higher peak.Through a series of publicity methods, the name Five Tigers has been used all the time.This is TVB's first successful collective star-making movement. After tasting the sweetness, they also launched the Galaxy Ten Stars in 1987. The famous Qiu Shuzhen and Wu Jiali have all made their debut since then. The propaganda campaign of the Four Heavenly Kings in the 1990s probably came from this. Throughout the 1980s, Hong Kong's economy was in line with international standards, and it also absorbed international fashion, revealing a gorgeous and complicated magic realism.TVB remakes and begins filming all of Jin Yong's full-length wuxia novels (12 in total), and the Tigers star in most of these episodes.In the era when martial arts dramas were still the main production of TVB, the Five Tigers really included all the important roles. The heyday of the Five Tigers is actually the heyday of Hong Kong dramas. In the mid-to-late 1980s, the contract between the Five Tigers and TVB was terminated, and they broke up unhappy. Except for Huang Rihua, they left the nest one after another.The emergence of Wen Zhaolun and others has something to do with the current situation.With the prosperity of the economy, the mentality of Hong Kong people has gradually fallen back to fashion dramas at the level of life. The popularity of "Intolerance" in 1989 marked that the third generation of Xiaosheng had officially taken over, and it also represented the end of the era of the Five Tigers.More importantly, it marks the end of the golden age of martial arts dramas. Scene Three: The Rise and Fall of the Long Drama Era Actors on stage: Law Ka Leung, Deric Wan, Lau Ching Wan, Kwok Aiming, Kwan Wing Ho The early 1990s was the most prosperous time in Hong Kong. The rising stock market made citizens have more consumption desires, and their attention turned to various fields of leisure life.At this time, the slightly rough costume dramas of the 1980s and the short family dramas of the parents could no longer attract the attention of viewers.The magnificent battles in the business world are the favorite of the general public who dream of becoming a member of a wealthy family.At the same time, with the strengthening of the strength of various special societies in Hong Kong, underworld-themed films have gradually gained attention.Therefore, almost all of TVB's Taiwanese celebration dramas launched in the early 1990s were about these two themes: "Giant", "Big Family", "Smiling Proudly, There Is Tomorrow" and so on.The protagonist chose Wan Ziliang, who has a very "big brother" temperament.From him, TVB's family drama era kicked off. From 1991 to 1994, it should be regarded as the four years when TVB was in full swing. Relying on the profound skills developed in the series, it completely defeated the competitor ATV without any power to fight back.Among the top ten TVB dramas with the highest ratings in the history of TVB ratings, three were filmed in 1990-94.They are "I'm Kind", "No Regrets in This Life", and "Big Family", and their greatest achievement in the history of TVB is to open a new window for family dramas. The status of family dramas can be said to be very important in Hong Kong dramas. TVB adopts the method of concentrated investment, and creates long-running large-scale drama series with a star lineup of big names and a family vision spanning an era.Generally speaking, family dramas range from 40 episodes to over 100 episodes in length, with more than 6 famous celebrities. Most of them are broadcast during the Taiwan celebrations of the year, and they are bound to become the ratings champions of the year. "Rogue Tycoon" in the late 1980s was a symbol of the maturity of family dramas, and the 1990s was its peak production period. Among them, the classics include "The Great Times", "Heaven and Earth Man", "Heaven and Earth Pride", "Laughing and Watching the Wind and Cloud" , "Genesis" and so on.As a result, a series of TV stars such as Luo Jialiang, Wen Zhaolun, Liu Qingyun, Guo Aiming, Ouyang Zhenhua, Guo Jinan, Zhou Haimei, Chen Huishan, Guan Yonghe, Cai Shaofen, etc. became popular. It was also from that era that TVB talents had the same level as Hong Kong movie stars. status in the rivers and lakes. "Big Times" can be regarded as a representative work of family dramas. Although its 40-episode story development cannot be compared with the 107-episode "Genesis" filmed in 1999, in 1991, it brought together Adam Cheng, Liu Qingyun, Lan Jieying, Zhou Huimin, Liu Songren, Guo Aiming, Tao Dayu, and Li Lizhen's It was already a rare large-scale production at that time.The story takes the Hong Kong stock exchange market in the 1970s and 1980s as the background, and takes the life and death of two families as the main line, attracting a large number of audiences.The era of change that it describes is just a portrait of the ever-changing financial world in Hong Kong. Therefore, ordinary Hong Kong citizens who are obsessed with investment have empathy for the vivid description of the drama.This play not only made Liu Qingyun and Guo Aiming famous for their acting skills, but also made this on-screen couple live and fly together.More importantly, its influence among Hong Kong citizens is unprecedented in any family drama.Therefore, a special financial term called "Ding Crab Effect" was created, that is, Zheng Shaoqiu, who played the role of Ding Crab in the play, would cause the stock market to plummet as long as any movie was broadcast on TVB.Later, some people joked that after the financial crisis, Qiu Guan has not been reused by TVB, and there is also the reason why the general public protested. After entering 1995, although family dramas are still there, they have to give way to new workplace dramas. A large number of dramas depicting the lives of professionals have been released. Among them, police dramas, legal dramas and criminal investigation dramas are the main ones. There are also many works about chefs, doctors, firefighters, and designers.Among them, "Criminal Detective Files", "Imperial Court No. 1" and "Skillful Hands" are the most appreciated by the audience.Through the detailed description of these TV series, the public has a deep understanding of the operation methods of various departments of the Hong Kong government, which not only ensures the ratings, but also plays a good role in government public relations.Therefore, the Hong Kong British government, which emphasized elitism at the time, particularly supported such professional dramas.Weng Hong, Wu Qihua, Louis Koo, and Wang Xi, who became famous through these episodes, are also on the top of the Hong Kong government's list of spokespersons for various public welfare activities. From 1998 to 2000, it was the year when ATV Asian Television made great efforts to counterattack TVB. "I Have a Date with a Zombie" attracted a large number of ratings with its strange drama, and even purchased the drama as a means to steal away the audience who needed freshness after the financial turmoil.For a while, TVB felt powerless, so in order to counter ATV's powerful offensive, TVB re-fried "Criminal Detective Files" and released the fourth episode, but the ratings were not good.In desperation, they launched a new combination, called Julian Cheung, Sit Ka-yan and Charmaine Sheh to co-star in "Moonlight on the Fifth of October". With the small production of ordinary citizens' ethics, they successfully blocked the ATV attack. After that, " Temple Street, Mother, Brothers, Macau Street and other similar plays.By the end of the 20th century, TVB still retained most of the Hong Kong dramas, and these dramas have indeed contributed a lot. Return to "Under the Lion Rock" for the fourth scene Actors appearing: Ma Junwei, Ma Dezhong, "Go Forward", "Rush to the Sky", "Blue Out of Blue", "A Beautiful Marriage", "As You Like It" "Let go of the conflicts in each other's hearts, and pursue ideals together, people in the same boat swear together, fearless and even more fearless, we are in the same corner of the world, and we will work together to overcome the rough and rough, and we all worked hard to write that immortal Xiangjiang famous sentence." At the beginning of the 21st century, Leung Kam-sung, then the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, quoted the lyrics of the famous TVB drama "Under the Lion Rock" 20 years ago as his first budget proposal. Hong Kong people recalled the fighting spirit of Hong Kong back then and won the hearts of Hong Kong people at that time.Later, his resignation and love affairs were indeed a bit of an entertainment-style ups and downs, but even "A Song" himself never thought that the new wave of TVB inspirational dramas was triggered by his whim. After 2002 TVB dramas, inspirational dramas accounted for most of the scenes. In fact, making such films is quite flattering. You just need to choose a good industry and do your homework. There is no need for complicated screenwriters or big-name niche talents, and it is still very interesting.At this time, Hong Kong people are gradually recovering from the economic recession, and urgently need such recovery-themed dramas to soothe their souls. Therefore, although the ratings of inspirational dramas are only hovering at 28 or 9 points, TVB is still one after another. , there is no other reason, according to the words of the successor Tsang Yinquan, "to comfort the hearts and ears of the market". The other episodes are divided up by comedies. From "A Father and a Daughter" and "A Beautiful Marriage" to "As You Like It", comedies in ancient costumes almost dominate the prime time at 9:30. Hong Kong people who have worked hard all day especially need to relax completely at night. Therefore, these plays full of nonsense, irony, and a lot of Cantonese jokes are highly sought after.It doesn’t matter if the setting is rough, but it’s gorgeous and gorgeous; the screenwriter’s plot is exaggerated, but the audience still loves to watch it. This wave of comedy has been blowing from 2001 to the end of 2004. Up to now, TVB is still showing the fashion version of "As You Like It", a record in the history of TV dramas. , It can be regarded as a stroke of deep ink and heavy color. This period is also the time when TVB's ordinary male artists are popping up. Most of TVB's new stars in recent years are well-behaved, but there is a lack of talented ones who have left the sphere of influence of the big-name niche stars. Potential.In "Before the Brave", Ma Junwei has been promoted from the green leaf position in the fourth and fifth "Imperial Court No. 1" to the safflower realm where he can act opposite Cai Shaofen; while "Crossing the Sky" is Once Wu Zhenyu and Ma Dezhong were twins, they supported Chen Huishan through the last years of her TVB Huadan, and also brought up Myolie Wu who was born in the third runner-up of Miss Hong Kong; Lin Wenlong, Man Songxian, Ruan Zhaoxiang, Zheng Zhongji and others were promoted from the original funny supporting roles It only took two or three episodes to get to the humorous predators. However, TVB has always had strong female actors and weak male actors, and it was at this time that there was a change. The departure of Chen Huishan announced the end of the era of TVB white-collar professional ladies.The up-and-coming star Xuan Xuan, although she also starred in many dramas, still does not have the temperament to stand out from others; Zhang Keyi won the "My Most Welcomed Actress Award" at the Taiwan celebration night in 2003, but was regarded as a school drama As a result of the struggle, boos abounded, Ada Choi, Meng Jiahui and other Huadans of the past could no longer find the demeanor that monopolized the limelight of the whole drama, and could only call themselves "five flowers and golden flowers", depending on the arrangement of the wireless upper class. Supporting plays for male actors.The romantic days of the past are hard to find. However, because TVB has always followed the route of high-quality artists, many newcomers have sprung up in the past two or three years, but none of them have bright spots, and veterans have retreated one after another. It is inevitable that the quality of the series is not high, especially in the 1990s. In comparison, there is simply an order of magnitude gap.As a result, people commented that 2003 was the year when TVB's artist structure went into decline. Fortunately, entering 2004, the style of TVB's new drama has changed again.Perhaps due to the influence of "joking" in mainland China, the release of "Golden Branch Desire" made audiences who are accustomed to TVB's ancient costume style shine.Instead of the superficial disadvantages that tend to appear in TV dramas of the same genre, thrilling political struggles are interspersed when telling the love and hatred between characters.Qi Qiyi's gold-medal screenwriter guarantees that the painstaking efforts of going to the mainland for several months to shoot, in exchange for exquisite costumes, beautiful sets and ups and downs of the plot.Maggie Cheung, Gigi Lai, Charmaine Sheh, Lam Bowie, and Chen Hao's luxurious lineup kept the ratings above 30 points, coupled with the spicy acting skills of veteran Tang Cuiwen.It is no exaggeration to call it the rare masterpiece of wireless in the past four years. The following Taichung new drama "Race Against Time", the story is based on the disputes between police and robbers, is regarded as the TV version of "Infernal Affairs", and has many similarities with the American drama "24 Hours".TVB used Tan Yaowen, Chen Hao, Fang Zhongxin, Zheng Jiaying, and only one female star, Meng Jiahui, performed flower arrangement. It was an out-and-out male drama, which formed a sharp contrast with the situation of "Golden Branch Desire", but the storyline is still It's the same twists and turns.It seems that after two or three years of adjustments, TVB has regained its position. Although it will take time to cultivate gold medal artists, the mode of multiple protagonists + complex plots has already regained its former glory.