1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

Huo Sheng nodded silently.

The three tricks I learned in school haven't spread widely yet, or perhaps each TV station has its own routine and system, just with different wording.

He had at least read through the entire development history of the television industry in mainland China and Hong Kong, and had read many summary reviews and papers.

From the perspective of those who have experienced it, these things are actually very simple, the most basic of basics. But for those who are going through it right now, they seem quite impressive.

As he pondered this, he casually recounted some research findings he had learned at school before his transmigration—

To put it bluntly, it's just a scriptwriting formula that's become commonplace in later generations.

Using this, even if it doesn't help her write a great script, it can at least help Ning Wan avoid making silly mistakes.

By the time Huo Sheng finished speaking, Ning Wan had already filled a whole page with notes, her tiny handwriting stretching from one end of the page to the other, not even missing a single blank space on the margins.

Huo Sheng glanced at it and said, "Alright, that's enough for today. If you keep writing, you won't have enough notebooks."

Ning Wan looked up, her eyes still holding a hint of lingering interest. "Then I'll go back and think about it some more, and come earlier tomorrow."

Huo Sheng waved his hand and smiled:

"No need to come early, just be there on time. Tomorrow, go through the script again to check the perspective and logic, correct any minor bugs and typos, circle anything you don't understand and ask me. You'll get the hang of it as you go."

Learning through practice is faster than just listening to lectures.

Ning Wan hadn't expected to receive such an important task so soon after joining the team, and feeling a little insecure, she hesitated, "Can I do it?"

Huo Sheng said directly, "Let's give it a try first. If it works well, you can take charge of this for now."

Ning Wan took a deep breath.

"I will do my best, Teacher Huo!"

"come on."

The next day, the two officially started working.

Huo Sheng wrote out the detailed outline for each episode, and Ning Wan followed up with polishing and revisions.

Gradually, Huo Sheng felt that it was actually quite good—no wonder TVB implemented a scriptwriting team system, it turns out it's so convenient to use!

With Ning Wan's help, Huo Sheng's writing progress has suddenly improved significantly, and he is expected to complete the first draft of the first twenty episodes before next month.

As for the episode details and meticulous dialogue refinement, this can be taught to Ning Wan while we gradually improve it—it will definitely require multiple revisions, and the director and producer will also make requests.

And so, Huo Sheng's office went from being a place where one person secluded themselves to a place where two people secluded themselves together, both engrossed in writing. The passage of time was almost imperceptible, and it was almost as if nothing had happened. But TVB, which had just entered January after the New Year, was already in the midst of a heated battle.

First, they took a long look back at the past year.

TVB once again claimed the title of Hong Kong's highest-rated drama of the year, with the modern romance "No Regrets in This Life," produced by Mui Siu-ching and starring Leon Lai and Kathy Chow, taking the crown. It averaged 36 points in ratings, with the finale breaking records by approaching 40 points, causing a sensation throughout Hong Kong.

With this drama, Leon Lai and Kathy Chow both rose to stardom, with one becoming a potential Four Heavenly Kings candidate and the other securing her position as a leading actress at TVB, their popularity seemingly catching up with Vivian Chow's.

In addition, "The Greed of Man" and "The Big Family" also achieved outstanding results. The three dramas were known as the "Three Horses Carriage" and supported TVB's golden year.

It can be said that in 1991, TVB still held a dominant position in the Hong Kong television industry, performing well in dramas, variety shows, and music, and maintaining a leading advantage in the three major ratings battlegrounds: all-day time, prime time, and prime-time slots.

However, ATV was equally impressive.

In 1989, real estate tycoons Lim Por-yen and Cheng Yu-tung took over ATV, bringing in a large amount of capital that made ATV rich overnight.

They exploited TVB's long-standing weakness of exploiting its artists, poaching them to ATV for three or five times the price.

In 1991 alone, they poached Felix Wong, Margie Tsang, Eddie Kwan, Lydia Shum, Sheren Tang, Jackie Lui...

As a result, viewers might accidentally switch to the wrong channel and not even realize they've ended up watching ATV.

Then, in September of last year, ATV happened to hit the market right. Hong Kong movies such as "God of Gamblers," "God of Gamblers II," and "God of Gamblers III" made gambling films popular. ATV took advantage of this and launched "The Winner Takes All," produced by Yuen Yan-hong and starring Chan Ting-wai and Wan Yee-man. It achieved an average rating of 22 points, setting its own record in TV history.

Don't think that 22 points is a small number. You have to look at the usual base figures. TVB has a stable viewership of 30% for many years, while ATV has 10%. In other words, ATV used one drama to steal one-third of TVB's regular viewers!

Moreover, they were robbing the audience of the 1991 anniversary drama "The Wrath of the Sword and the Roar of the Sand".

Isn't this a slap in the face to TVB?

Ultimately, although TVB still led in viewership, ATV had narrowed the gap in market share from 1:9 to 4:6.

This certainly caused TVB to lose face, but in reality, it wasn't a big deal. No one can guarantee ratings, and a competitor's sudden surge in popularity is nothing special. The problem was that some people took advantage of the situation – apart from newspapers like Hong Kong Television, which are associated with TVB, other newspapers were making extensive comments on the current landscape of Hong Kong television, almost as if they were praising ATV to the skies.

This is a battle of public opinion—viewers who don't usually watch ATV will now switch channels to watch the news and see what's going on.

This relentless pressure to catch up made the entire TVB tense, with everyone from top to bottom preparing for 1992.

Among them, the most anxious was Mona Fong.

Except for major events, Run Run Shaw usually retreated behind the scenes. As the current head of TVB, Mona Fong faces great pressure to meet performance targets. After all, the most fundamental purpose of a television station is to make money, and to make money, you need ratings, and to have ratings, you need good shows.

ATV's low-cost streaming service and soaring ratings are seriously impacting TVB's revenue.

This year's anniversary drama must not fail!

She called Leung Ka-shu and Wai Ka-fai directly to her office.

When the two pushed open the door, Fang Yihua was sitting behind her desk with a stack of reports spread out in front of her, and her expression was not good.

"Sister Fang."

"sit."

The two exchanged a glance and sat down at opposite ends of the sofa.

Fang Yihua was busy for another two or three minutes before looking up, putting her pen down on the table, and asking directly, "I heard from Sixth Uncle that you two are preparing to compete for this year's anniversary drama?"

"Yes."

The two responded simultaneously.

"What's the situation now?"

Leung Ka-shu cleared his throat: "I'm currently filming 'Human, Ghost, and Fox,' which is expected to wrap up in June."

"Filming for 'The Greed of Man' has just started, and the first few episodes went relatively smoothly."

Wei Jiahui continued.

Fang Yihua nodded slightly, then suddenly asked, "I heard you managed to invite Adam Cheng?"

"Yes, Adam Cheng's schedule is well-coordinated."

"When will filming be finished?"

Wai Ka-fai pondered for a moment and said, "The plan is to finish the film in August."

"August?"

Fang Yihua frowned and said, "It will be too late then. This year, we need to move up the publicity, investment promotion, and scheduling. We have to stay ahead of ATV step by step. You have already seen 'The Wrath of the Sword and the Roar of the Sand.' I don't want such a thing to happen again."

Jia Shu is ahead now, Jia Hui, you need to catch up. The anniversary film season is no joke—”

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the two of them. "I need to see a rough cut of the first ten episodes by the end of March, both parts. Is that alright?"

With filming for "Human, Ghost, and Fox" starting early, Liang Jiashu estimated the timeframe and, feeling no pressure, smiled and said, "Since Sister Fang has spoken, I'm sure I'll be fine."

But with filming for "The Greed of Man" just beginning, Wai Ka-fai was somewhat troubled and hesitated, saying, "Sister Fong, there are only two months left until the end of March. The post-production editing, dubbing, and sound mixing for the first ten episodes alone will take a long time..."

Fang Yihua raised her hand to interrupt him, "If time is tight, we'll work overtime. If we don't have enough manpower, we'll transfer people from other groups. If we don't have enough equipment, I'll get approval. I only care about the results."

She looked at Wai Ka-fai, "Can your film do that?"

If you stubbornly insist on saying no, you probably won't even have a chance to compete.

He could only reply, "Sure, but I need the editing team to schedule it first, and I can't compete with others for the dubbing studio."

"OK."

Fang Yihua answered readily, then turned to Liang Jiashu, "What do you need?"

Leung Ka-shu smiled and waved his hand: "No need, I have enough manpower. As for Producer Wai, if you need any help, just ask."

This was clearly an attempt to show that he was in complete control, but Wai Ka-fai acted as if he hadn't heard it and laughed, "Thank you for your kindness, but I can handle it myself."

Fang Yihua glanced at the two of them and said, "Alright, that's settled then."

At the end of March, I sat in the editing room watching the first ten episodes. Whoever's best, we'll use them; as for the other one, we'll just put it in a late-night slot.

After hearing this, the two of them fell silent for a moment.

They spoke almost simultaneously:

"Understood, Sister Fang."