The Best Director

Chapter 322: The Miraculous Yang Becomes Unmodest Again!

“I’ve discovered a secret about Michael Scofield that no one knows!” “When will T-BAG finally die?”… The “Prison Break” section on the film and TV forums was abuzz with discussions. After the lull of the summer season, with the arrival of autumn, the popularity of various hit TV series had rebounded. Fans were poised and ready for the upcoming 2004-05 TV fall season: “How will Evangeline Lilly appear after leaving the prison?” “Predict the IQ and strength of the new FBI female agent debuting!”…

The relaxing weekend passed, and the busy and tense Monday of September 27th arrived. In this new fall season, just like previous years, many series were approaching their final seasons, and many highly anticipated new shows were set to debut. They would either become new hits, perform moderately, or be cut short mid-season, and numerous series would continue with another season.

After a disappointing performance, ABC restructured its senior management. The new female CEO of the TV group, Anne Sweeney, was ambitious. She realized deeply that the screen had entered an era of big production and big publicity, and using many movie tactics was the key to gaining a surprise advantage and capturing the hearts of viewers. “Prison Break” was at the forefront, leading the trend and changing market rules, and ABC couldn’t fall behind. “The Life We Know” wasn’t a focus, “Savages” was vying for a new opportunity in sitcoms, while the costly “Lost” was the key focus!

“Alias” creator J.J. Abrams built the show with a record-breaking $5 million budget for the first episode. This was Anne Sweeney’s first bold move, but although she was full of confidence, ABC didn’t dare to schedule it on Thursday or Monday nights, opting instead for a Wednesday PM8:00-9:00 time slot.

ABC also acquired the new series “Desperate Housewives” from Flame Family Entertainment, scheduled to premiere on Sunday, October 3rd, from PM9:00-10:00, which is this week.

This series wasn’t highly regarded initially; its creation went through a very tough time. The 42-year-old creator, Marc Cherry, was an inconspicuous producer whose most famous work was serving as the executive producer of NBC’s “Golden Palace” for its final two seasons from 1990-1992. Regarding “Desperate Housewives,” which tells the lives of a group of married women in a fictional town, after more than a year, he approached channels such as HBO, CBS, FOX, and NBC, all of which rejected him; ABC considered it, but then, suddenly, there was a reshuffling of senior management at ABC, and the two executives who appreciated him, Lloyd Braun and Susan Lyne, were fired. Since “Desperate Housewives” had not yet signed any contracts, naturally, it had no follow-up, leaving Marc Cherry as unlucky as Chris Gardner.

However, as luck would have it, Flame Family Entertainment extended an olive branch to Marc Cherry, negotiating anew with ABC as the production party. Rapidly, it finally secured an order for three trial episodes. Then the main creative team and cast were found one by one, and the series was about to debut.

Although it seemed like the cast and crew list didn’t contain any magical touches from Wang Yang, his long-ago statement, “I am very optimistic about this series; it has the potential to become a new TV monster,” had already caused a stir. TV channels didn’t care whether this was self-praise or a ploy to drive up the price; they only recognized the “Wang Yang Law.” Although it was a mere three-episode order, ABC had to exert a lot of effort to fight for it. It was said that Anne Sweeney and others knew it was because Wang Yang had poached Kaley Cuoco to star in “The Big Bang Theory” for NBC, leading to the premature end of ABC’s “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter,” and this series was “compensation.”

Therefore, on the other hand, the executives of NBC, CBS, and others who had rejected “Desperate Housewives” had not paid the highest level of attention, considering it just a small consolation gift from Wang Yang to ABC, at best another “8 Simple Rules.” Armed with this “lost and regained” gift, ABC was full of hope, knowing that the “Wang Yang halo” never disappoints!

CBS’s sitcom hit “Everybody Loves Raymond” had an average viewership of only 15.4 million last season, a drop of over 3 million, with ratings plummeting to 6.3. Thus, the ninth season airing this year became its final season, while CBS introduced new series such as “CSI: NY,” “Clubhouse,” and “Dr. Vegas.” Determined to break the slump, FOX introduced new shows like “House M.D.” and “Nanny 911”; UPN and WB continued to struggle; and NBC had new series like “The Big Bang Theory,” “Joey,” and “Las Vegas International Airport”…

Compared to a year ago, the TV landscape at PM9:00-10:00 on Monday, the 27th, had already changed, with ABC still unwaveringly airing “Monday Night Football,” which consistently attracted over 16 million sports fans; FOX, UPN, and WB still lacked competitiveness. Under the heavy pressure of “Prison Break,” their viewership from the same period last season had dwindled to an average of just 3 million. The main change was with CBS and NBC; the Monday evening ratings champion was no longer CBS’s ten o’clock show “CSI: Miami” with 18.06 million viewers, nor was it “Everybody Loves Raymond,” or “Two and a Half Men,” which averaged 13.3 million viewers in its first season last year.

The championship belt was fastened to NBC, and to the first season of “Prison Break,” which achieved an almost inconceivable result. With an average of 21.25 million viewers over 24 episodes and a 13/20 share in the ratings, it firmly ranked fifth in the year’s primetime, becoming the new king of Monday night television.

Without a doubt, “Prison Break” had become one of the hottest TV series in America; it was also one of the hottest TV series globally. It was unbelievably popular overseas, particularly in the Asian region, where it showed unprecedented explosive power. Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China… one area was more fervent than the next. Australia’s Seven Network, the United Kingdom’s UKTV Gold, Sky TV, Phoenix Chinese Channel, Hong Kong’s TVB Pearl, Taiwan’s EBC Variety… all were in talks with Flame Family Entertainment to secure the rights to “Prison Break.”

Millions of viewers around the globe had watched as Michael Scofield meticulously and thrillingly led his brother and their partners out of prison, step by step. What’s next? Can “Prison Break” stand the test of time? Whether it’s a classic or a one-season wonder, the second season is crucial.

Tick-tock, the television screen was currently broadcasting “Who Dares Challenge” on the NBC channel, continuing its journey into a new season and challenging the audience’s limits of disgust and fear, this time with kissing a water snake. Amidst the shocked screams of the audience, the clock struck 9:00 PM—it was time! Many viewers, who wouldn’t even go out for dates, were energized, and countless others grabbed their remote controls and switched to NBC, soon hearing the familiar deep voice of “Previously on Prison Break.” Many drama fans exhaled in relief, having been separated for half a year, they could finally continue watching!

“Wow!” exclaimed Rachel as she leaned forward on the couch, hugging a pillow and staring at the screen, completely immersed in the world of “Prison Break 2.” Everywhere was filled with danger, the world seeking them, FBI smart adversaries, the pace was still breathlessly tight—it was truly a thrilling battle of wits and bravery! She hoped T-Bag would get caught, but didn’t want Michael Scofield to slip up, and she was even more eager to see Sara’s appearance… She would have to ponder over the plot for a long time.

“Don’t change the channel!” Fathers who wanted to take advantage of the commercial break to flip to ABC to check out “Monday Night Football” were scolded, they could only watch helplessly as their wives and children took away the remote control: “If you’re going to watch, watch it all! I don’t want to miss a second.” In fact, they didn’t want to either, “Prison Break” was one of those series where you couldn’t afford to miss a second. Apart from the commercials, there was also a trailer for the first episode of “The Big Bang Theory,” showing Sheldon and Leonard on the bus, wearing only T-shirts and underpants, clinging on to the handrail with Sheldon muttering painfully, “Oh boy! Oh boy!”…

“It looks quite interesting…” Indeed, with nothing better to do, Natalie never thought she’d have a day of binge-watching a series. Since returning from a trip to Africa a while back, she had bought the DVD of “Prison Break” season one to collect, and to her surprise, she couldn’t stop once she started, finishing all 24 episodes in just over a day, even crazier than writing her college thesis. However, she wouldn’t be so free soon, with “Stealing Heart” scheduled for release on December 3rd kicking off its promotional work, shooting for “The Free Zone” early next year, and “V for Vendetta” in March. But at least for now, she could still curl up on the couch.

The suspenseful music began to ring as the commercials ended, “It’s starting again!”

“Time for bed, time to sleep!” The clock struck 10:00 PM, and in the spacious living room, the TV was switched off with a beep as Wang Yang grabbed the remote control. Jessica, sitting next to him, extended her hands helplessly and complained, “It’s only 10 o’clock!” Due to her recovery, they hadn’t been going out at night lately, and Jessica especially had to go to bed early; she felt she had even gained a whole size. Jessica reached for the remote control, acting coquettishly: “Let’s watch NFL for a bit longer, at least let me check the score now!”

“No need to check, I’m sure that tonight Tennessee can’t beat Jacksonville unless Peyton Manning plays, is that possible?” Wang Yang tossed the remote control to the far end of the sofa, took off her hair tie, and released her ponytail, letting her lovely brown hair cascade down. He urged her, saying, “I told you that you can’t go to bed later than 10 o’clock, health! Don’t you want to recover quickly and have a baby?” Jessica, without saying a word, turned around and defiantly clung to the back of the sofa, seeming prepared to resist to the bitter end.

Wang Yang couldn’t help but laugh as he patted her thigh, knowing full well that she wasn’t that passionate about NFL, she was just throwing a tantrum, not wanting to sleep alone. Nearly every night, the same spectacle unfolded. His voice filled with deep affection, he coaxed her, “My dear, be good, you know I still have to work, I need to go online to see the immediate reactions to ‘Prison Break 2’… OK, OK.” Seeing her steadfast as ever, Wang Yang resorted to his usual trick: “I’ll tell a story, sing a song, tickle you… until you fall asleep, then I’ll leave.”

“Then what are we waiting for!” Jessica swiftly jumped off the sofa, grabbed her hairband, and bounced up to the bedroom upstairs.

In the dimly lit bedroom, Wang Yang sat by the bed, gently caressing her back, whispering a tune that was indistinguishable. Jessica, lying on her side on the bed, was breathing evenly, seemingly already asleep. Wang Yang stopped caressing and whispering, watched her quietly for a while—it had been about half an hour, much like yesterday. He got up, gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, then left the bedroom to go downstairs to the study and switched on his computer…

“Hehe! Game time!” After checking web comments for about ten minutes, he double-clicked the “World of Warcraft” BETA version icon on his desktop. With a low chuckle, he logged in and entered the game world as an Orc character. Soon, though, he was surprised to find that Jessica’s game character was also online in his friends list! Could it be a hacked account? Wang Yang sent over a question mark in confusion, and the reply came back with a “LOL, I-LOVE-YOU!” before going offline immediately. “Oh my God!” Wang Yang abruptly stood up and dashed outside, “Jessica! Jessica—”

“Hahaha! I knew you’d play the game!” “How could you do that! Have you been secretly playing the game every day? Oh my God! You’re too cunning, no wonder you’re a higher level than me!” “No! You woke me with that kiss just now!” “Sleep!!!!”…

The newly premiered “Prison Break 2: The Fugitive” hasn’t disappointed the fans, at least not with the first episode, which is still as thrilling and suspenseful as ever! Hundreds of users on Metacritic who participated in early reviews gave it a high score of 9.8 out of 10, indicating that the hardcore fans of the first season are generally quite satisfied. Mariaa wrote, “Based on the first episode, the second season is going to be even more delicious! No more prison, but there are far more crises and national manhunts, and the FBI has a credible threat. They’ve entered a bigger ‘prison’, and I can’t wait!”

“Thank goodness Wang Yang didn’t lose his mind!” user Santtu said this, “I was really afraid he’d change it for those awards. We already have enough preachy TV series, who cares? Was ‘Prison Break’ about to become another one? Not now!”

Media that focus on TV series had already analyzed and hypothesized about this point. It is well known that the biggest weakness of “Prison Break” is the lack of depth in content, so much so that its stunning ratings got it a Golden Globe Award but led many to accuse it of bribing judges, and it failed to bag any Emmys recently. Would Wang Yang change the rhythm and style? Add more explorations of the humanity in familial ties, friendships, and loves among the fugitives? Not at all; instead, it went even further.

“Even better than the start of the first season! It maintains the tense atmosphere of the last season’s ending, with more intense actions, unpredictable scenes, powerful storylines, really good actors, and just the right amount of emotion. I absolutely love this show!” ElizabethM said.

This episode of “Prison Break” SE02EP01, with rave reviews and anticipation from many North American viewers, was quickly uploaded to eDonkey resources and swiftly spread across the globe. Chinese subtitle groups have also kicked into gear, with Eden, YYeTs, ZZTV, and others…

“TV’s autumn season kicks off the first battle, and ‘Prison Break’ Season 2 continues on its strong championship path.”

Fast forward to Tuesday, Nielsen’s freshly baked report on Monday TV viewership is out. Compared with last season, it shows no surprises or shocks. “Prison Break” continues to dominate the prime-time evening slot! Viewership reached a record high of 23.5 million! The ratings hit 15/25! The audience that had watched the series over the summer through DVDs and other channels all gathered in front of their TVs, exclaiming, “Once you watch one episode, you’re hooked.” The success of “Prison Break” is indeed well-deserved.

While “Prison Break” saw an increase in viewers, the channel-turning numbers also rose, with CBS’s “Everybody Loves Raymond” suffering a decline, bringing in only 13.86 million viewers yesterday and ranking fifth; following that, “Two and a Half Men” also dropped to 14.10 million, ranking fourth. Fortunately, the 10 o’clock slot for “CSI: Miami” snagged the runner-up spot with 18.60 million, salvaging some dignity for CBS; ABC’s “Monday Night Football,” secured third place with 15.49 million viewers.

“Clap clap clap!” In the NBC headquarters at Rockefeller Center in New York, a thunderous applause echoed through the meeting room as Kevin Reilly and the top brass of NBC’s entertainment division laughed with glee. The season began smoothly! Although the 10 o’clock slot opposite CBS’s “Las Vegas” garnered only 11.40 million viewers, the 8 o’clock slot “Who Dares Challenge” took the top spot with 10.20 million viewers, and with “Prison Break” shining in the 9 o’clock slot, wasn’t there ample reason to be thrilled? This trump card had firmly secured its position, maintaining its strength!

“Everyone can rest easy now, a full-season order for ‘Prison Break’ Season 2 isn’t a problem, and we’ve bought another big surprise,” said Kevin Reilly today, wearing a red striped tie that made him stand out vibrantly and look triumphantly happy. He looked at the subordinates around the conference table and said with a smile, “How could there be such a fantastic gift as Wang Yang? We really ought to thank Glenn A. Larson, who gave us ‘Knight Rider’, and gave us Wang Yang.”

Everyone laughed heartily, basking in the joy of victory. The market currently has three series with the “miracle halo,” two of which are within the laws and principles set by Wang Yang and both are on the NBC channel’s program schedule. “Prison Break” has just proven its might once again, and “The Big Bang Theory” is approaching its conclusion. They have only that tiny bit of almost forgettable worry. As for Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, or any compensation gifts sent by Lloyd Braun, no one cares. The show “Desperate Housewives,” which hardly sounds good by its name, could exceed the 8.15 million viewers of “Alias,” which was aired in the same time slot last season on Sunday nights, and rise to 10 or 12 million, would already be terrific. This is partly because the gift was due to the new executive, Robert Iger’s satisfactory ass-kissing to Wang Yang and the situation involving Kaley Cuoco.

Indeed, ABC was also dissatisfied with the name “Desperate Housewives” and some of the storylines that “did not interest” housewives, preferring the show be named “Wisteria Lane” or “The Secret Life of Housewives,” asking Marc Cherry to make changes and thus not signing it. The new executives did not place much importance on the new drama plans by their worthless predecessors.

However, unlike CBS, Anne Sweeney and others at ABC did not curse “Prison Break” Season 2 or “The Big Bang Theory.” Right now, ABC can be said to be on the same team as Wang Yang, and they have no intention of attacking Monday and Thursday nights, only hoping for change on Wednesday and Sunday. Conversely, seeing Wang Yang not encounter the “Office Building Rule” on TV screens, they were quite pleased as it meant the chances of “Desperate Housewives” becoming miraculous were greater.

Without a hit series in hand, CBS had a very different mood, having already lost their Monday night champion spot. They had finally awaited for Thursday’s strong rival, “Friends,” to end, which was the perfect timing for “Survivor: Vanuatu” to explode at the eight o’clock slot, boosting the viewership of the sitcom-led “Two and a Half Men” and securing the leading position for the next five or six years. Now here comes “The Big Bang Theory,” what a joke! Curse it, even if it doesn’t work, curse fiercely! “The Big Bang Theory” is trash!

They had reason to be pessimistic, the very reason that made NBC nervous and led the media to predict “The Big Bang Theory” would fail, “Freaks and Geeks.”

This series, with an IMDB rating of 9.3, tied for seventh place on the ranking of American TV series history alongside the likes of “Prison Break” and “South Park,” was a short-lived series that launched James Franco and Seth Rogen to fame. Its viewership numbers were abysmal, with an average of only 6.77 million viewers, ranking 93rd! In the 1999-2000 season, it aired 18 episodes on NBC before being abruptly canceled, and the last three episodes had to be aired on the Fox Family Channel.

Why did this happen? With such complete failure, yet having such a devout fanbase, all the TV media at the time could joke was, “It seems there are only over six million freaks and geeks in America.”

Now the geeks are making a comeback! “The Big Bang Theory” keeps promoting itself with terms like “FREAKS genius” and “GEEKS scientist,” does Wang Yang not know the existence of “Freaks and Geeks,” the loser with an aura of failure surrounding it? Obviously not, “The Big Bang Theory” clearly learned and borrowed some elements from “Freaks and Geeks.” The character played by Linda Cardellini, Lindsay Weir, is similar to Kaley Cuoco’s Penny, who suddenly barges into the lives of the freaks and geeks; there’s a tall, obsessive-compulsive nerd, there’s a sleazy Jew…

Why shouldn’t “The Big Bang Theory” be the second 6.77 million? Why did it take over the timeslot of “Friends?” Of course, there are many differences between the two, one features high school students, the other Caltech professors; one is about adolescence, the other science; one is a 60-minute single-camera comedy, the other a 30-minute multi-camera sitcom; one is Paul Feig, the other is Wang Yang… What will happen?

“Why did you choose to produce a show with such a theme? There are very few TV series of this type, and ‘Freaks and Geeks’ didn’t do well in the ratings before. Are you scared?”

As the countdown to the 30th Thursday begins, “The Big Bang Theory” is about to premiere. In an exclusive interview with the Los Angeles Times, Wang Yang was asked this important question by the interviewer. There wasn’t a hint of fear in Wang Yang’s answer in the newspaper, those reading the paper could almost see his smiling face, a smile full of confidence: “Actually, I really enjoy watching ‘Freaks and Geeks.’ Its poor performance was a very complex and unfortunate thing.”

Then he launched into a lengthy discussion: “Simply put, ‘Freaks and Geeks’ didn’t maintain a good distance! Its geeks didn’t interest the majority of viewers. It’s a very subtle psychology; we all know that every school has its freaks and geeks, and many people even think that’s the Asians, often they are the unpopular group. But ‘Freaks and Geeks’ is a teen market positioned as a teen comedy, so you could ask high schoolers, ask middle schoolers, do you watch it? ‘Why do I want to watch that group of ‘losers’? They’re not cool at all. Why don’t I watch basketball, bands, rich kids, pretty girls? They’re cool.'”

“Freaks and geeks endure a lot of misinterpretations and attacks. They are groups that schools should focus on, and everyone needs to understand each other well, not take things for granted. But as a producer facing a general audience, you can’t blame them for that; you have the power to change the public’s perception of geeks, it’s just a matter of how you use it. Frankly, I am very confident about ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ its first episode will kill people with laughter. Why? Because it is a very, very cool series. The protagonists Sheldon and Leonard are not losers, they are geniuses, Caltech professors, they are scientists. This distance is just right, wonderful, mysterious, and it will be successful.”

This edition of the newspaper with the full interview surprised many, Wang Yang was not being modest this time!

It seems that after the spirited battle over “TDWP” and emerging victorious, Wang Yang became even more reckless. When answering the reporter’s question regarding ratings expectations, he said, “Maybe ‘TBBT’ won’t be loved by everyone, I just hope it can achieve the success of ‘Friends,’ I believe it will.”

He did not repeat the claim of “over 10 million viewers” from last year’s TV Series magazine interview, nor did he cite specific ratings numbers, yet all fans, all audiences could feel an aura emanating from Wang Yang’s words. What is the success of “Friends”? At least over 20 million viewers at its premiere! (