The world is in trouble

Chapter 225 The strongest brain explodes! Miracles continue!
Historically, the first season of "The Brain" was in 2014. The ratings for the first episode were 1.4%, and then it rose to around 2.74%.

This data may not seem very good now, but it was very successful and eye-catching back then, and it was considered a phenomenal program. The average ratings were only slightly lower than that of "I Am a Singer".

Because in that era, fewer and fewer people watched TV. But it was different in 2004. Although online video websites had emerged because of Lin Xiao, they were still far from mainstream, and TV dramas still occupied a dominant position.

Another point is that Lin Xiao felt that the original program was not extreme enough.

Still following the path of "China's Got Talent", spending more money, finding more talents around the world, and performing more extreme intellectual performances.

Additionally, key upgrades were made to the personnel on board the observers.

They directly invited Academician Ding, whom Lin Xiao liked very much. Although he was not an academician at that time, he already had a very authoritative and prestigious status.

Although "Under the Dome" had not yet been released at that time, Academician Ding had not yet become famous.

But it can be seen from that program that Academician Ding can show extremely high wisdom and expressive ability even in front of the camera.

However, Tao Jingying's observer is still retained because of his high emotional intelligence and rich hosting experience.

But in order to increase professionalism, an additional fixed observer was added, Yan Ning, a famous female PhD from Princeton.

This beautiful scientist was once very controversial, but later became one of the youngest academicians in my country and a foreign academician of the American Academy of Sciences. She loves public speaking and has a strong stage presence.
Another observer, originally badminton coach Li Yongbo, was replaced by Ms. Deng Yaping.

In addition, there are X Observers. The program team invited two foreign academicians, one from the United States and one from Russia. In addition, they invited a very adventurous and potentially controversial Mr. Li Ao, President Liu Fei of Merrill Lynch, Mr. Xue Chunhe of Softbank China, and a super musician Mr. Tan Dun (who has won an Oscar and a Grammy).

In short, try to reduce entertainment as much as possible and maintain a high standard.

To some extent, this can be considered as Lin Xiao’s selfish motive, and of course it is also an adventure.

There are so many seasons of "The Brain" in history, and Lin Xiao tried his best to concentrate on all the amazing moments.

Not only does it reference the original "The Brain", but it also references the amazing clips from the original German version.

Of course, it doesn't necessarily have to be the same player.

But find the points that can amaze the audience, and then follow the clues to find the geniuses in this field.

Whether in terms of budget or level, there must be improvements compared to the original programs.

Moreover, because this program was replaced by "Millionaire" at that time, there was also an advantage, that is, there was more time, and everything could be done to the extreme, with several more months.

........................

Monday night, Jiangnan TV.

Lin Xiao watched the first episode of "The Brain" together with a group of senior executives from Jiangnan TV.

Although Qiu Tong, Zhang Yan and others had already seen it, this was the first time that the entire leadership watched it together.

More than an hour later!
The whole place fell into silence.

They really felt the extreme of Leader Ergou once again.

This is really the first time I have seen such a unique variety show.

After the failure of Millionaire Heroes, many people present had an idea: are all intellectual variety shows doomed to fail?

But I didn’t expect that “The Brain” would be presented in this way.

This is not some simple IQ quiz at all, it's simply a fight between gods.

That kind of genius who is far beyond ordinary people can fully release his intellectual storm on the stage.

“First of all, I was shocked.”

"This is an unprecedented type of variety show, and it is also a breakthrough from zero."

"I even had a feeling that I had opened the door to a new world, and deeply felt the gap between geniuses and ordinary people."

Everyone present was full of praise.

But... Lin Xiao could see that some people inside were hesitant to speak.

Lin Xiao: "We are all in the same boat now, so feel free to speak up if you have anything to say."

Deputy Director of Jiangnan TV: "Mr. Lin, isn't this program a little unentertaining?"

“Is it possible that my music is too highbrow to be accepted by the general public?”

Director Zhou asked, "Mr. Lin, what is your expected ratings?"

Lin Xiao thought for a while: "Around 2.6% on average."

It is hard to say whether his judgment should be described as conservative or bold.

Because historically, the average viewership for the first episode of "The Brain" is around 2.0%.

Under his leadership, the budget of this program has been greatly increased, and he plans to condense all the essence of the original eight seasons into about three seasons.

However, it does reduce a lot of entertainment.

At least Zhou Jie Lun, who originally appeared in the show, did not appear this time.

It was purely a duel of geniuses, and the genius was amazing.

Everything serves this goal.

Moreover, many celebrities who were supposed to appear in Observer X, such as Cecilia Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, etc., have also cancelled.

In their place are top elites from all walks of life.

The second and third issues will even invite Nobel Prize winners.

The fourth and fifth issues will even invite Soviet astronauts.

This is undoubtedly a huge adventure, what will be the specific results?

We can only let the results verify it.

Upon hearing Lin Xiao’s expectations, the senior executives of Jiangnan TV present looked at each other.

2.6%?
That’s…that’s enough.

After all, "Millionaire" has fallen to 1.09% and is about to fall below 1%.

If "The Brain" can really achieve an average viewership of around 2.6%, it would be a sufficient victory.

The key is word of mouth and breakthrough in genre.

This program can also enhance the style of Jiangnan TV.

Director Zhou: "What do you predict about the ratings of the first episode?"

This is indeed difficult to predict.

On the negative side, "Millionaire" has dug a hole of failure, and its successor "The Brain" may continue to be stuck in this hole and it may take several episodes to jump out of it.

So, the ratings may not be good at the beginning.

But on the positive side, the first two episodes of "Millionaire" still accumulated a large number of viewers. Now that the show has been cut short and is being replaced by "The Brain", many people will come to see what the hell you are?
Even out of curiosity, some people will come to see what is the difference between this show and "Millionaire"?
Not to mention, this is the work of Master Ergou.

Lin Xiao thought for a while: "2.1%."

After careful consideration, he made this prediction.

........................

As Friday approaches, the entire Jiangnan TV and even Shuanglin Production feel the increasing pressure.

According to the original plan, "The Brain" is a normal broadcast mechanism and the current situation does not exist.

"Millionaire" was discontinued first, and then "The Brain" took its place.

This means that "The Brain" must be very successful in order to continue the miracle of Master Ergou.

The highest ratings of "Millionaire" exceeded 3.6%. Even though it once plummeted to 1.09%, in many people's minds, "The Brain" must exceed 3.6% to be considered a huge success.

Lin Xiao predicted an average viewership of around 2.6%.

This is certainly successful enough for business.

But for Ergou Miracle, it is not enough.

Unfortunately, in history, its ratings have never reached 3.6%.

In terms of popularity alone, it is not as good as "China's Got Talent" or "The Voice of China".

"Baby, what's wrong? Why are you so sad?" Li Shuang asked softly.

Hey, are you the one who is against Tian Gang?

Baby, I was calling you, when did you become the one calling me?
“It just feels like ‘The Brain’ is taking on responsibilities that it shouldn’t be taking on.” Lin Xiao said with a smile.

If we had known this was the case in advance, it would have been better for "The Voice of China" to step out and fight this battle.

Li Shuang: "Would you like to hear my opinion?"

Lin Xiao: “You say.”

Li Shuang: "The Brain and China's Got Talent are essentially the same, both are extraordinary people."

"It's just that China's Got Talent is more entertaining and popular, while The Brain is more professional."

Lin Xiao: "Is it more niche?"

Li Shuang: "Not necessarily. Do you know what I feel when I watch these two shows?"

Lin Xiao: “You say.”

Li Shuang: "It's even more shocking and amazing. I can understand the abilities displayed by these extraordinary people in "China's Got Talent", but I can't understand the abilities displayed by these geniuses in "The Brain". It's like opening the door to a new world. I often don't understand it."

"But this mystery, this feeling of complete unknown, I think is very deadly."

“It has an unparalleled appeal.”

"Baby, I don't know why you think the ratings of The Brain can't compare to China's Got Talent?"

Because of historical facts.

Li Shuang: "In my opinion, The Brain is more mysterious."

"You are absolutely right to abandon the entertainment aspect and use a more serious and mysterious lineup."

Lin Xiao was suddenly stunned. Li Shuang's words seemed to open up another perspective for him.

Yes, it is 2004 now.

Most people have not been baptized by the Internet and have not seen much of the world. They are still full of yearning for the mysterious science and the mysterious people with special abilities.

In this era, "Science Approaches" can deceive many people.

Unlike more than a decade later, after a lot of online education, everyone has become more knowledgeable and it is no longer easy to develop inexplicable admiration and amazement.

Therefore, the impact of "The Brain" on the audience in 2004 will definitely be stronger than it will be more than ten years later.

To some extent, Lin Xiao seemed to be imprisoned by historical facts.

It's like looking for a sword on a boat.

And there is one thing that Lin Xiao did very well, and that was to be more extreme.

All for a genius performance.

There is even a feeling that the second and third seasons will not be made, and they wish they could gather all the surprises together.

It could have taken two or three seasons to create these stunning highlights, but he put them all in one season.

What is microscopic water identification, what is mental arithmetic, what is honeycomb maze, what is magic circle code.

Not only the domestic "The Brain", but also the legendary points of the original German "Super Brain" were used.

"Baby, the senior executives of Jiangnan TV seemed a little worried after watching this program." Li Shuang said, "That's because they are not just spectators, they are watching it with the eyes of professionals."

"They would watch and think at the same time, which seems irrational."

"Will the audience not understand it? Will it be too highbrow for the masses?"

“But as an ordinary audience, I probably only have one feeling.”

"Fuck, awesome!"

"Is that human being?"

"The gap between him and me is even bigger than the gap between me and a dog."

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand it. Mystery, the unknown, and the truth are enough."

“I am a professional, but I think more deeply than them, so I can also break away from the professional perspective and turn myself into a spectator.”

Lin Xiao was still lying on Li Shuang's legs, looking at her face from this angle.

"How can you think so thoroughly?" Lin Xiao asked.

Li Shuang said: "Because I love you!"

Then, she covered her nose and said, "Don't look at my nostrils from this angle."

Lin Xiao said: "You are so outstanding. What should I do if I leave you?"

Li Shuang asked, "Really? You think so highly of me and cannot live without me?"

"Then let me touch it..."

Lin Xiao was stunned. You, you are rebelling against Tiangang again?
"Baby, are you really eighteen? I don't believe it, let me measure it..." Li Shuang's little hand really went in.

"Xiaoxiao, how about we make a bet?"

Lin Xiao said: "You say."

"I bet that the ratings of The Brain will exceed your imagination. If I win, what will you give me?"

Lin Xiao asked: "What do you want?"

Li Shuang leaned over to Lin Xiao's ear and said two words. ………………

The signboard of the Ergou leader is really awesome.

The suspension of "Millionaire" had already caused an uproar, and it was a big event.

Now "The Brain" has taken over, immediately raising the popularity of this matter once again.

Professor Zhang from Peking University published another article.

"Leader Ergou is too extreme, too adventurous, and too temperamental."

"In fact, I really like Ergou now. I used to be a little dismissive of his China's Got Talent, but he performed very well, especially Ms. Li Shuang, who really impressed me."

"But he can definitely wait until 'Millionaire' is finished airing and then replace it with 'The Brain'."

"The ratings of 'Millionaire' continue to drop. Are you going to let it drop? Just let it finish airing and die."

"Wait until it's finished and dead. Then your show 'Super Brain' will take its place. Even if the ratings are only 1.5%, it's a win. 2% would be even better."

"You forced him to stop broadcasting, and then you took over the time slot. Other TV stations will say that you are too greedy, and the audience will have higher expectations of you."

“Unless you do something very different and amazing, you will definitely be scolded.”

"Master Ergou is too young and full of energy, but I still sincerely hope that you can achieve great success, because I really admire you."

“But it’s hard for me to imagine what an intellectual variety show could be like.”

“Friday night, I’ll wait and see.”

Professor Zhang really expressed the thoughts of many people, especially many satellite TV stations, which are just watching from the sidelines.

You, the leader Ergou, are too bullying and your eating habits are too ugly.

What's wrong with you letting "Millionaire" finish airing? Are you so impatient to grab it?

Then don't blame everyone for having higher expectations of you.

Even if you get a 2% viewership, we will scold you bitterly.

………………

Friday night at 21pm.

Almost all the key figures in the entire satellite TV circle are watching Jiangnan TV’s “The Brain”.

The senior management of the entire Renren Group and many senior management in the Internet industry are also watching.

We would like to see how good your show is since you are so eager to grab the time slot.
It started after ten minutes.

Everyone really only has one feeling.

This... method, I have never seen it before.

You, your guest lineup? Isn't it too risky?
Except for Tao Jingying, the rest are either writers, economists or scientists.

When each person's title comes out, it's really scary.

There are several academicians, PhDs from top universities, the director of the Institute of Geography, and so on.

You, you are doing a variety show?
Why does it look like a science program?

Then, each talented contestant came on stage one by one and began their intellectual performances.

Li Shuang was right. In this era, most people have not yet been exposed to the Internet. Moreover, Lin Xiao’s first season of “The Brain” is a complete collection of the essence of several seasons of the Chinese and German versions.

This feeling is...

Where am I?

What am I looking at?
So fucking awesome?

Even though I don’t understand some of these things, I just think they’re amazing.

This is totally a fight between gods.

Master Ergou, I admit that you are awesome for making the show like this.

But we are not optimistic.

Do you overestimate our audience?
The way you completely abandon celebrities, abandon entertainment, and just indulge in the world of genius is a typical case of your music being too highbrow for the masses.

………………

Professor Zhang from Peking University, however, was fascinated by the show.

He was too lazy to watch the previous "If You Are the One". Although he gave a good review of "China's Got Talent", he thought that the leader Ergou made the originally sensational and popular program quite high-end.

But he really didn't expect this "The Brain".

It really hit him hard.

Where did you find so many talented people?

How do you come up with so many amazing moments for these talented people to perform?

After reading it, he couldn't wait to write an article.

"Master Ergou, I take back what I said before."

"You were right to force Millionaire to stop airing. It was a farce and a disaster."

"We all know that quiz shows are outdated, but there is still no answer to what the new quiz show is, even in the world."

"Tonight, the answer came out."

"I really didn't expect that a program could show the world of geniuses so vividly. I consider myself to be a person with high IQ, but in this program, I also doubted my IQ for the first time."

"Without a doubt, this is the most advanced variety show ever, and it even raises the tone of the entire Jiangnan TV station."

"I even think this show has elevated the tone of domestic variety shows. I can proudly recommend it to many of my foreign friends."

"I am somewhat pessimistic about its ratings."

“But I think that when Master Ergou launched this program, he had already won.”

………………

If there is someone who cares more about the results of "The Brain" than Lin Xiao himself, it is undoubtedly Qiu Tong.

What Liao Feng said was right. If "The Brain" failed, at most the reputation of Master Ergou would be damaged, but he, Qiu Tong, would be completely finished.

In fact, there was something he kept in his heart and dared not say out loud.

After watching "The Brain", he was filled with admiration and worry at the same time.

The song is too highbrow and few people understand it!

It's not just his opinion, but also the opinion of the entire Jiangnan Radio and Television senior management.

He opened Facebook and Renren communities as usual.

I found that there are a lot of posts full of praise, almost all of them.

This gave him a bad feeling.

Because when the first few episodes of "Millionaire" were cursing, the ratings were very good. In the last episode, Liao Feng sent the most professional team to re-edit the show, changing the previous style and going for realism. The result was also praised by everyone, but the ratings plummeted.

He knows that sometimes the audience is unwilling to do something.

Even after the show was over, the top management held a short meeting to unify their minds.

“First, we need to lower our expectations.”

"Secondly, we have already made a decision, so let's not change our minds. Since we have decided to cooperate with Master Ergou to the end, we must thoroughly maintain this relationship."

"No matter what the ratings of this program are, at least the reputation is very good, and it has greatly improved the style of our Jiangnan TV."

“So, let’s set a tone here.”

"As long as the ratings exceed 1.5%, we will declare it a success."

"As long as the ratings exceed 2.0%, we will hold a celebration party."

"We at Jiangnan TV can no longer bear the turmoil. We need to have a contingency plan. If the ratings of this program are not very good, then Renren TV and other TV stations will launch a public opinion attack on us."

"We must hold on, fight back resolutely, and maintain absolute unity and solidarity with Lightning Entertainment."

"We can all see that Ergou is a genius. Even if this show is a little highbrow, it doesn't hinder his talent. Even if the ratings aren't particularly successful, he can still make a hit with a few minor adjustments in the future."

Director Zhou emphasized this very strongly because she was really afraid that something unexpected would happen inside the station.

As soon as she finished speaking, Vice President Qiu Tong knocked on the table.

"Yes, Director Zhou has a far-sighted vision."

"First of all, I firmly believe in the vision and talent of Ergou. No matter what, the ratings of The Brain will not be bad."

"At most, those people outside will make more stringent demands."

“We must unite internally and be prepared to withstand the storm of public opinion that may come at any time.”

"I can tell you that Master Ergou's expectation is a 2.1% audience rating, but once this number comes out, our enemies will still attack us in an overwhelming manner."

"After we go back tonight, everyone needs to prepare their manuscripts to deal with tomorrow's situation."

After the meeting at Jiangnan TV ended, everyone worked overtime until late at night to prepare for any possible disturbances.

Be on full alert as if facing a powerful enemy.

On the other hand, Renren TV and other satellite TV stations are also sharpening their knives.

Many people even drafted press releases.

Because I have also heard that the expected ratings of Ergou Jiaozhu are 2.1%.

For someone else’s show, it might be great.

But for "The Brain", it is completely unqualified.

As soon as the ratings came out, they were immediately bombarded.

A result that is obviously good is described as a Waterloo or a huge failure.

In order to express his attitude, President Qiu Tong did not even go to Jiangnan TV the next day, but went directly to the office of Lightning Entertainment and Shuanglin Production.

He followed Master Ergou and Li Shuang to wait for the ratings results.

It’s a pity that ratings cannot be bought, otherwise he would really be willing to spend more money to buy these ratings.

The only problem now is that if the audience rating is around 2%, the station, the radio and television group, and even the higher-ups will not say anything and will not waver in their cooperation with Master Ergou.

Advertisers and brands may have some complaints, but that doesn’t matter. They can just give them a little compensation in the next advertising bidding for If You Are the One.

"Jingle Bell……"

The cell phone rang again.

Qiu Tong took a deep breath and adjusted his expression. No matter what the ratings were, he would smile happily and celebrate with Master Ergou.

"Old Qiu..." The other party's voice was calm.

Qiu Tong: "Go ahead."

The other party slowly said: "2.96%!"

I...my day!
In an instant!
Qiu Tong's mind went blank again.

The other party continued: "I really want to ask Master Ergou."

"How did he do it?"

“I don’t understand it at all.”

"How did such a high ratings come about?"

"Does he know magic?"

Qiu Tong held the phone in his hand, with only one sentence in his mind: I, I can’t understand it either?
I don’t know how such high ratings came about.
Then, President Qiu Tong hung up the phone, no longer pretending to be enthusiastic, and directly dialed a number to his superior.

"Leader, the ratings are 2.96%."

"Yes, it was very successful. Even... I can't say it was very successful. It simply exceeded expectations."

"No, no, what credit do I have? All this is due to your foresight. If you hadn't made the decision at that time, we would still be in the quagmire now."

“And success is not just about ratings, but more about style.”

"Yes, I'm with General Manager Lin. I'll convey your congratulations to you."

Then, he called Director Zhou.

"Master, let everyone go home and have a rest."

“We won, and we won big!”

After finishing several phone calls, Qiu Tong lay on his back, not caring at all about losing his composure in front of Lin Xiao.

Because now he really got through it safely.

He really won the bet completely.

After a long while, he bowed deeply to Lin Xiao and Li Shuang and said, "Thank you for your kindness!
"From now on, I will follow your lead!"

........................

Note: I have a headache and took painkillers to write, so the number of words today is a little less. I would like to ask, benefactor, can I still ask for monthly tickets?

(End of this chapter)