How can "Liyuan Spring", which was once popular, now become a 'can't watch' program in the mouth of the public?
This well-known variety show, in the unstoppable wave of revision, has unconsciously lost its former excitement and affinity, is this the inevitable fall of the show, or the dawn of a comeback? ”
On the fifth day of the first lunar month in 1994, Henan Satellite TV launched a new TV program - "Liyuan Spring", which has started the 30-year glorious history of this variety show.
At that time, China's television culture was still in its infancy, and the number of variety entertainment programs was limited, and the launch of "Liyuan Spring" was timely.
As one of the few TV programs focusing on opera performances at that time, "Liyuan Spring" brought together the wonderful performances of many opera performance artists, based on the fertile land of Henan opera, and quickly opened up its popularity and influence with its unique artistic charm.
For a time, countless grassroots opera lovers came to dedicate their talents to this popular stage without reservation.
And for those little people who yearn for starlight but have no chance to show it, "Liyuan Spring" is just like a timely rain.
On this unguarded platform of spotlights and temples, they finally have a place to show their talents; is also on this stage where there are endless eyes and applause, some people have changed their fate, some people have fulfilled their dreams, some people have become famous, and some people have transformed with this - actors, singers, and hosts. The names that have become popular in half the sky in a blink of an eye have all bloomed on the stage of "Liyuan Spring" for 30 years.
For the audience at that time, "Liyuan Spring" was more like a shot in the arm.
In that era when entertainment was mainly TV, it met people's desire for entertainment, and also achieved a small fortune in ordinary life.
Whether you are a fan of drama or have never dabbled in it, "Liyuan Spring" will meet you on time during that intellectual time on Saturday.
Perhaps it is the affinity and charm of "Liyuan Spring" that has created its popularity and well-known glory.
The three major TV awards and the positive comments all prove its outstanding contributions to cultural communication and art education in those years.
For a time, "Liyuan Spring" has become a unique landscape in Henan and even the broader Central Plains.
In 1999, "Liyuan Spring" underwent its first revision.
The introduction of new variety show elements subverted its original core positioning of opera, so that this program, which has always been good at traditional opera, had to raise the banner of "easy to understand" in the market.
The newly added opera sketches, cross talk MTV, etc., began to compete with opera performances for time and scenes.
The judges are no longer knowledgeable experts like Zhu Chaolun and Cheng Linyuan, but replaced by several well-known faces in the entertainment industry.
The host also focuses on creating suspense, and the judges always take it as their responsibility to amuse the audience.
The fleeting opera performances are in stark contrast to the occasional gags, which are dizzying but slightly exhausting.
The audience, who was looking forward to having a good time through the show, found that their limited audio-visual time was occupied by various "fillers", and they wanted to feast their eyes but were never satisfied.
What is even more unexpected is that these so-called "easy-to-understand" elements did not have the expected effect.
Not only did it not better attract young audiences, but it also caused the original middle-aged and elderly opera audience to lose.
This is undoubtedly putting the cart before the horse, and it backfires.
In this way, in the repeated trial and error, the freshness of the past has also faded, and this "Liyuan Spring", which has gone from embryonic to metamorphosing, has lost its original excitement.
In 2017, Henan Opera artist Zhang Yudong participated in a ring competition in "Liyuan Spring".
Mr. Zhang, who has been a teacher for more than 30 years, has an undoubted performance level, but he was eliminated when he won the second phase of the competition, and was even defeated by an amateur "theater fan" who had never performed.
It was a bizarre race in Dublin that surprised many spectators.
Since then, the criticism of "Liyuan Spring" has become even worse.
The audience questioned the professionalism of the judges, and some even bluntly said that this show had been crippled by Pang Xiaoge, the host.
Some people also lamented that the song "Fifteen Runs" back then, which could be a sensation, is now out of reach.
What's even more interesting is that this competition in the arena of seniority just highlights the major mistakes of "Liyuan Spring" in the later evaluation mechanism.
Having judges with varying degrees of professionalism judge the quality of a professional performance is itself a difficult practice to convince the audience.
This undoubtedly exacerbated the crisis of credibility of "Liyuan Spring".
The author used to be a die-hard supporter of "Liyuan Spring".
I remember every weekend, as soon as I heard the familiar prelude**, I couldn't wait to crouch in front of the TV and wait for the show to be performed in my best posture.
Perhaps the children of that era, many people's opera enlightenment was closely related to "Liyuan Spring".
It is like a three-dimensional opera illustrated book, which vividly presents the most authentic and ethnic tricks in the eastern, central, and northwestern regions.
Because of this, my understanding and love for Henan Opera is largely due to it.
But the higher the expectations, the deeper the disappointment.
Witnessing "Liyuan Spring" from a stage full of flowers to a personal show of the host, I can't help but choke it.
It has lost its original soul, and has been run over by the wheels of time, and finally reduced to an empty old house.
In the final analysis, the fundamental reason for the downward decline of "Liyuan Spring" after the revision is that it deviated from the original cultural standard and chose the reform direction of catering to commercialization.
As a program that is intended to inherit the excellent traditional culture of the nation, it should adhere to the bottom line of cultural attributes.
However, after the revision of "Liyuan Spring", it overconsidered the ratings, and catered to the general public with ordinary tastes by reducing professionalism and increasing entertainment, which is undoubtedly putting the cart before the horse.
Because of this, "Liyuan Spring" not only lost its original fan audience, but also failed to exchange for more new audiences.
It's caught in an awkward market crack, and it's hard to survive.
Secondly, the frequent change of hosts also made "Liyuan Spring" lose its distinctive personality imprint.
Chen Peisi, Li Xiaohong and other former hosts have brought varying degrees of popularity to the show, and these short-term hype practices have also directly led to frequent changes in the style of the column.
The audience doesn't mind the change of hosts, but they can't bear the frequent tearing of the show's personality.
When "Liyuan Spring" was "marked" by multiple hosts in turn, it naturally lost its original soul.
In addition, the irrationality of the game mechanism is also the key.
Having judges with varying degrees of professionalism judge the quality of a professional performance is itself a difficult practice to convince the audience. And compressing the performance time to create more topics is bound to cause dissatisfaction among fans.
This may be the main reason why "Liyuan Spring" is gradually sinking in the market competition.
Today, although "Liyuan Spring" has obviously lost its former style, it is still worth looking forward to as a cultural youth in the memory of many audiences.
At this moment, what "Liyuan Spring" needs to do more is to put aside the commercial baggage, regain the cultural confidence of its original foothold, and the sincerity of its initial popularity.
Compared with the fancy revision of drainage, "Liyuan Spring" currently needs to strengthen internal strength and improve quality.
Truly achieve the professionalism of the host, the authority of the judges, the fairness of the mechanism, and the open stage.
Only by returning to the original heart can this old column with a declining sense of existence be revitalized.
As a veteran opera critic said: What we need more is to show the charm of opera, rather than simply pursuing 'whether it is good or not'.
If there is no connotation, no amount of packaging is in vain.
This is also the author's expectation for "Liyuan Spring".