A month ago, Jacky Wu co-hosted the Mid-Autumn Festival Show, which was simultaneously staged in Xiamen and Taipei and broadcast live on three of CCTV's channels.
It did not create much of a stir because this was not the first time the reigning king of Taiwan television variety shows had ruled the mainland's main network. Earlier this year, he hosted a few episodes of a singing contest show on CCTV-4, effectively bringing down the barrier and infusing a dose of vivaciousness into the nominally stolid and dry institution.
The episodes hosted by Wu ended up with ratings spiking upwards, said one source, especially in big and medium-sized cities. But those who are familiar with Wu's regular shows insist that he had toned down his trademark humour in order to fit into the CCTV code of television hosting.
Whatever the advantages and restrictions, Taiwan television hosts are swarming across the mainland and changing the landscape of variety shows -- the bread and butter of television entertainment. The top talents are credited with rescuing some of the moribund programmes and, accordingly, command salaries commensurate with their calling-card status.
The greatest strength of the imported talent, as is agreed in the industry, is their quick wit and ability for improvisation.
Mainland shows tend to go as scripted, some charge. The persona of the host, if there is any, shows off usually in the ability to squeeze every drop of tear out of the guest, as in the case of Zhu Jun and his celebrity interview show "Art Life."
Taiwan hosts, on the contrary, are unpredictable on stage. They are quick with jokes and one-liners and do not easily let guests off with self-promotion.
Stepping into restricted zones
One thing that people enjoy but are reluctant to admit is the off-colour humour popular among Taiwan hosts. Jacky Wu once asked a female guest to name an annoying thing that came to her once a month. While she remained embarrassed, Wu hit the punch line: Your utility bills. In one of the Wu-dominated shows, co-host Little S had a 10-minute exchange with guest Nicolas Tse on the "experience of farting."
The tendency to go juvenile is the result of market fragmentation among television audiences, according to Chang Chihpeng, a Taiwan television producer who introduced Jacky Wu into the mainland market.
"The more developed a society is, the more fragmented the market becomes, and this gives rise to the voice of the young," said Chang, who moved to Beijing in 2002.
"Taiwanese programming is light on education and heavy on entertainment. It is too utilitarian," said Chang, who saw mainland shows as more "balanced" and "operating within the framework acceptable to all demographics."
The golden age of the Taiwanese variety show was from 1993 to 2003. After that, talents start to leave the island for the mainland, said Wei Zhigang, an expert on the television industry at Variety China, an industry publication.
"The shift was prompted by advertisers chasing the biggest bang for their bucks," Wei told China Daily. "Global brands like P&G have a fixed amount for their Asian market advertising. When they put more money into mainland shows, their support for Taiwanese programmes would naturally dwindle."
Wherever the big money is, entertainment talent will follow en masse. Taiwanese hosts on screen and producers behind the screen began their exodus in 2002, according to Wei, and their presence here has been increasing ever since.
Innovation through imitation
It is easier for hosts from Taiwan than those from Hong Kong to make the transition, because they also speak Mandarin while Cantonese entertainers often get tongue-tied while trying to be funny in Putonghua. However, Mandarin used by Taiwan people is softer than that used on mainland television, and it often employs terms not yet familiar to the mainland public.
This gives their slight accent a special cachet as it gains popularity among the Generation Xers who are more attuned to pop culture and Taiwanese hit shows.
For a while, mainland hosts try to be chic by faking a Taiwan or Hong Kong accent. State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the government agency regulating the television industry, issued an edict banning television hosts from imitating such an accent.
But what you see onscreen is still heavily influenced by the hosting styles of people like Jacky Wu and Tsai Kang-yung, host of the popular show, "Here come Kang Xi," which is not aired here but downloaded by many youngsters. Tsai was asked to sit on the judging panel of this year's finale of the Super-girls contest.
On their part, the new arrivals, who usually act as guest hosts, have to adjust to the local culture and showcase their playfulness without crossing the boundary of decency that is more stringent on the mainland.
Financial reward is also a big factor. Chang Fei, an old-timer, once boasted that he was paid US,000 for a 2.5-hour gig in Shanghai. Wu, his perceived rival, countered that he commanded US,000 for a 5-minute appearance.
Variety's Wei explains that these figures are not reliable. Mainland television events vary wildly in cost structure. Some of the government-sponsored telethons have such extravagant budgets that money flows freely in every corner. But for a regular television show, hosts are allocated a much smaller share than those in Taiwan because the top dollar is often used to allure star guests.
For love, not money
In Taiwan, as in many Western countries, guest artists are paid a nominal fee because they consider such appearances free publicity.
Chang Chihpeng clarifies that Taiwanese hosts such as Wu earn less on the mainland for the same amount of work. "They like to come here because they treasure the applause more than the money. Believe me. It feels different to be applauded by 80,000 people in a stadium than by 3,000 in a theater. That's why first singers from Taiwan, and now television hosts, are crazy about migrating to the mainland."
Liu Bin, a producer with CCTV, believes that Taiwanese programmes are "natural and relaxed," which mainlanders should take note of. "Entertainment is the mainstream of our era."
"The Taiwanese variety show is a farce starring the host and participated by producers, guests and the audience. It is a carnival where political, aesthetic and ethical taboos and restrictions are de-constructed in a light-hearted way," said Zhang Nian, a researcher at Tongji University.
But opinions differ. Li Jing, whose "Super Interviews" were considered Taiwan-flavoured, admits that Taiwanese variety shows were ahead of the mainland by some 10 years. "But our audience cares more about the content. So, the imported talents have a hard time to adapt. And I don't think they'll be the saviour of our entertainment programming."
Yin Hong, a scholar at Tsinghua University, is not optimistic about the future of Taiwanese variety shows imported to the mainland either. "The freshness will be diluted and replaced by homogeneity. Differentiation in style will work only in the short term. Long term, it is wisdom and creativity that count."
On his part, Chang Chihpeng, the Taiwanese producer, refutes the notion that Taiwanese influence is pervasive. "Yes, local stations like Hunan Satellite Channel started using Taiwanese talent years ago, but you cannot say that simply because their hosts are good with humour and improvisation they have borrowed the Taiwanese style.
People absorb what is useful to them from all sources and start forming their own style. In our business, one has to be on constant alert for the changing winds of public taste and one has to seek excellence through self-metamorphosis."
(China Daily November 20, 2006)
