China with Ben Fogle (Channel 5)
You might think a lot of TV is rubbish. But wait till you see what the Chinese have in store for us. It’s going to make The Apprentice and Celebs Go Dating look like high art.
The nation that gave the world TikTok’s inane dance crazes is now pioneering the ‘microdrama’ — soap opera served in 50 or 100 episodes, each no more than two minutes long.
Microdrama is designed to be viewed on phone screens, so the scenes are crowded and static. Characters stand nose to nose, acting out superheated emotions, with every episode ending on a cliffhanger.
It’s as subtle as a megaphone in the face, where the only type of acting is over-acting. I have an exceptionally high tolerance level for TV drivel, but half a dozen doses of microdrama would send me howling over the edge.
China With Ben Fogle saw the short-trousered traveller try out for microdrama stardom as he visited the Hengdian world studios, south of Shanghai. With a long black wig superglued to his bonce, he played an ancient warrior whose mission was to defeat the villain and rescue the girl.
Who was this girl? How did she come to be in the villain’s clutches? We’ll never know, because microdrama doesn’t have time for Oscar-bothering nonsense like narrative or characterisation.
‘Leave the girl alone!’ roared Ben, wagging his finger in the scoundrel’s face. A henchman leapt at him, but our hero blocked the blow with his sword arm and sent his attacker flying. A brawl ensued. And that was it.
Apparently, the Chinese have streamed six billion microdrama episodes in the past couple of years. It’s the future of entertainment.Â
China With Ben Fogle saw the short-trousered traveller try out for microdrama stardom as he visited the Hengdian world studios, south of ShanghaiÂ
Fogle (pictured in Shanghai) baulked at the shadow of state censorship that loomed everywhere in China
Ben was plainly as baffled by it as I am. He preferred the traditional arts, though even in a country as steeped in the past as China, these are dying out.
On the sixth floor of an office block in Shanghai, he discovered a makeshift opera theatre where the cast outnumbered the audience. Instead of selling tickets, the performers, aged 50 to 90, encouraged the audience to give them tips in the middle of songs.
Everyone chainsmoked, sharing their cigarettes, and though Ben praised the show, he couldn’t hide his anxiety to escape from the fug. He was far more at ease on an electric moped, joining a delivery driver in a downpour as they shuttled 300 parcels around the city.
Unlike most travel presenters, Ben doesn’t really want to know what people do for amusement. He’s far more interested in their work and how they earn a living.
He baulked too at the shadow of state censorship that loomed everywhere. Chinese smartphones refused to supply answers to some of his questions. ‘AI with built-in ideology,’ he commented. At the film studios, he asked an actor if any subjects were unsuitable for microdramas. ‘Politics,’ the man gulped, and his face blanched.
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CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night’s TV: You think our TV is bad? Wait until you see what’s coming from China