See China

The annual Spring Festival Gala on China Central Television (CCTV) is watched by more people than any other annual TV event on the planet.

It’s loved and hated in the same way Christmas specials and other regular TV events in the West have their boosters and their detractors.

Below is a review of the 2010 Spring Festival Gala, by Roddy of Chinese Forums. You can read other takes on the Spring Festival Gala at The China Daily and The Global Times.

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The 2010 Spring Festival Gala wasn’t very good. The two discoveries of the 2009 show – comic Xiao Shenyang and magician Liu Qian – both returned but failed to add last year’s value, and nobody else – newcomer or old hand – picked up the slack.

Despite talk of Xiao Shenyang getting his own skit in which to shine, he was left supporting a Zhao Benshan effort which got a few laughs but none from the belly. Whether or not Xiao Shenyang could have carried an act himself is up for debate, but either way he was under-utilized here. Even those who despise him didn’t have anything to get their teeth into.

The other comedy pieces were lacklustre. Looking back, Jiang Kun, Dai Zhicheng and Zhao Jinsheng’s threesome and the Feng Gong-led sketch stand out as respite from what seemed like a lot of long skits about husbands and wives, but at the time they didn’t split any sides.

Liu Qian magicked coins and then his arm through solid glass. But once you’ve seen a man put a ring in an egg as we did last year, he can’t really surprise you. The performance part of the act perhaps needs
work – he leaves us impressed, but not entertained.

Wang Fei (王菲 aka Fay Wong) performing at a Spring Festival Gala always seemed a bit odd, and she looked somewhat unsure about the idea herself. Regardless, her performance of Legend was one of the better parts of the evening and thankfully she dodged the indignity of a few dozen dancers in lime and pink confections. Song Zuying wasn’t so lucky, but still managed to look like she was enjoying herself.

The geographically-motivated quartet of Wang Leehom ( representing Taiwan) Sun Nan (P.R.C), Joey Yung (Hong Kong), and Chita Yu (Macau) made a strong argument for a return to miming, at least for performances thrown together using a map.

A tribute to the China’s U.N. peacekeepers killed in the Haiti earthquake was of course expected, but bringing the bereaved families into the studio . . . well, it served as a not-in-Kansas-anymore
moment.

Add in the usual politics (“Party Policy yakshi”, went one song), ethnic minorities (yakshi is Uyghur for good) and randomness (a song about taking photos?) and you’ve got a pretty forgettable evening.

Which is, of course, what we all expected.