The second wave of television contests
After the Supergirls phenomenon of 2005, television was naturally inundated with similar reality-based programming. But still, the Shanghai Media Group (SMG) stood out for bringing some of the most entertaining contests to the small screen.
My Hero put a nice spin on the boy-band concept and propelled a bunch of pretty boys to fame, who knew a little bit about singing, dancing and acting but did not really excel in any of them. Let's Shake It continued the winning streak by putting together second-rate celebrities and over-the-hill stars to compete on the dance floor. It created drama on the stage and intensity in the audience, inadvertently reviving a few careers and providing plenty of fodder for water-cooler chat.
While almost every television station has a contest or two and "PK" is still a buzzword (short for "player kill" in game parlance and used as "vs" but can also be a verb), not every televised competition is created equal. The glut was obvious and it may be time for a new format to break through.
(China Daily 01/04/2007 page18)
