A blog kept by Hangzhou student Rainbow has a roundup of popular Chinese TV programs. At the top of the list are quiz shows such as ‘Happy Dictionary’ and ‘Ability & Fortune Big Exam Room’. Rainbow explains the popularity of these shows:
“As the saying goes, “Curiosity is an incurable disease of human” … As a result, this kind of programs is always attractive.”
She also mentions dating or ‘quick matching’ shows and says that even if participants don’t find love on the show itself, participating “is said to be a good chance of making more friends.”
The final type of popular show is what she calls the “craptacular” which is “anything that looks spectacular but really is nothing but crap” which basically means the Spring Festival extravaganza on China’s CCTV 1. This annual kitschfest provides the audiovisual background noise to hundreds of millions of family gatherings during the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year. It is probably the world’s most-watched TV show.
As Rainbow puts it: “The craptacular is right propitious to the happy warm atmosphere at that time.”
Rainbow’s blog is here, her entry on TV shows is here and the guy who taught her the word ‘craptacular’ is here. Click below on ‘Continue reading…’ for the Chinese names of the shows she mentions and links to some of the shows
Quiz Shows
Ability & Fortune Big Exam Room 才富大考场
Dating / Quick Matching Shows
Special Men & Women (非常男女)
Craptacular