The Best Director

In America’s evening prime time (not late night, specifically referring to 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM in Eastern, Pacific, and other time zones, the hours with the highest viewership of the day), Friday and Saturday are the worst timeslots for TV shows, especially on Saturday, when a show with an average viewership of 9 million could become the champion of the time slot but only rank beyond 60th for the year.

Take the fall season of 2002-2003, for example, the nine o’clock time slot (9:00 PM – 10:00 PM), the total viewership for the six major networks on Saturdays was only around 35 million and about 37 million on Fridays; about 45 million on Tuesday, approximately 50 million on Sunday, and about 55 million on Wednesday.

The best time slot was on Thursday, with an audience of over 60 million, nearly 20% of Americans watching television, not even including other subscription channels, sports channels, local channels, etc.

Thus, many popular shows gathered on Thursdays, including the TV series ratings champion of the 02-03 season, CBS’s “CSI” (9:00 PM – 10:00 PM), which averaged a viewership of 26.12 million; while the departing mainstay of NBC, “Friends” (8:00 PM – 8:30 PM), ranked third with 21.14 million viewers.

Then came Monday with about 58 million viewers, with last season’s Monday champion, CBS’s sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” (9:00 PM – 9:30 PM), ranking eighth annually with an average of 18.39 million viewers.

And this season, on this Monday night, September 15, at the nine o’clock slot, ABC had the 30-plus-year tradition of “Monday Night Football,” capable of steadily attracting more than 16 million football fans; the season’s giant CBS had the eighth season of “Everybody Loves Raymond” and the first season of a new sitcom “Two and a Half Men,” and no one dared underestimate these one old, one new sitcoms, with 15 million viewers being a conservative estimate; FOX, UPN, and WB squeezed through the cracks, averaging about 4.5 million viewers each.

Another giant, NBC, was also starting its season tonight, launching the new show “Prison Break.”

Last season’s eight o’clock slot on NBC was occupied by the reality show “Who Dares Challenge,” where contestants were arranged to undergo three tests, with the second task of eating bugs, spiders, earthworms, and other disgusting creatures being the most eye-catching. Failing meant elimination, while the victor who passed all three tests could win a prize of $50,000. Last season, it averaged 13.06 million viewers, ranking 25th, and this season it would continue to broadcast as scheduled.

“Prison Break” took over the nine o’clock slot from the firefighting drama “Emergency Frontline,” which ranked 36th last season with 11.55 million viewers. This season NBC had high hopes for Wentworth Miller and “Prison Break,” so they moved it to the ten o’clock time slot to compete against CBS’s “CSI: Miami.” This move was a bit like accepting defeat, as “CSI: Miami” was also a highly popular show, ranking 12th last season with 16.45 million viewers.

Tonight, “Prison Break” would air two episodes back-to-back, while “Emergency Frontline” season five would premiere next week on the 22nd.

NBC was not thinking at all that “as long as ‘Prison Break’ gets 11.55 million viewers, it’s good.” If you said that out loud, the producers, the distribution department, and other executives would laugh. A mere 11.55 million? Who said that? Underestimating Wentworth Miller, aren’t they? The key was that they had already watched the series; cheers abounded, with the producers’ manager, Paul Jones, excitedly repeating, “Creativity! Creativity! Creativity!”

Extraordinary quality, all-out publicity, Wentworth Miller’s fame…

Combining these elements, what NBC was wholeheartedly aiming for was to deliver a heavy blow to CBS! To let “Prison Break” beat last season’s Monday champion “Everybody Loves Raymond,” the new “Two and a Half Men,” and tonight’s “CSI: Miami” into a muddle. Just as NBC was full of ambition, they heard Wang Yang say, seemingly humbly and timidly, “10 million would be good.” Paul Jones and the others were truly scared to death. What did he mean by that?

10 million people? Not even 11.55 million!?

Although in the emergency private calls that followed, Wang Yang again said, “Don’t worry, there’s no problem with getting over 12 million.” But is 12 million really that impressive? “Emergency Frontline” had 11.55 million!! People like Paul Jones were both shocked and doubtful, not understanding whether this young man had become modest due to his upcoming marriage, or if he had discovered some problem with “Prison Break”? But despite their deep contemplation, they still believed it to be a nearly perfect new type of TV series.

But Wang Yang had never been modest. In the past, he had the guts to say and do things like “I have super high expectations for ‘High School Musical\'”–intent on reviving the musical movie genre, “I think Will Smith, the Razzie’s worst lead actor, could win an Oscar,” “Juno is very likable,” “I am going to win an Oscar,” “It can make you die laughing…” It wasn’t long ago that he said, “Alright, I am going to set a new genre record.” He had never been humble.

Why this time? Could it be that his fame was so great that it blinded them? This, this… wouldn’t be embarrassing, right?

Just the thought of the taunts and kicks when down from CBS, all the TV critics, late-night talk shows, and others made everyone like Paul Jones shiver. What was more fatal, given the professional blunder, “Prison Break” was a full-season commitment! And for promotion and production, they had almost blindly trusted Wang Yang to do whatever he said… If “Prison Break” failed, with only 10 million viewers?

Wang Yang could just dust off his pants and go back to focusing on making movies, saying, “I think I am not suitable for the small screen for now,” and that would be the end of it; they, however, would have to bear the responsibility for the mistake. Now it seemed good, very good, to just have 12 million viewers. Forget about a “Wang Yang-style surprise” of 15 or 16 million. Don’t even think about a surprise; it would be a fortunate thing just not to have a shock.

10 million, 11.55 million, 12 million, 15 million… These numbers kept flying in their mind, bringing restlessness and unease.

As the 21:00 broadcast of “Prison Break” drew closer, Paul Jones paced nervously and worriedly in his own living room, occasionally glancing at the NBC channel on the TV screen, then letting out a long sigh. Sitting on the couch, Samantha Jones watched a “Who Dares Challenge” contestant painfully trying to swallow earthworms, frowned in disgust, and suddenly asked, “Dad, what are you pacing for!”

Paul Jones glanced at his high school daughter and sighed with a smile, “The channel is starting its season tonight, so dad is a bit normally nervous.”

“Take it easy!” Samantha Jones suddenly laughed, knowing that he was worried about the ratings for “Prison Break.” He had been talking about it non-stop for days. She said with a laugh, “Dad, haven’t you noticed? I’m home so early tonight just to watch Yang’s ‘Prison Break.\'” Even though she was the daughter of an NBC production manager, Paul, who had signed a confidentiality agreement, wouldn’t tell her a bit of the plot, in case of leaks, let alone the opportunity to watch it in advance.

“A lot of my classmates are looking forward to this series, so you know how popular it is with the youth,” shrugged Samantha. Paul Jones was still very anxious; Wang Yang had been too abnormal this time. He shook his head, “Yang’s fame and status in your hearts can attract a large number of young viewers, but what I’m afraid of is not being able to retain you guys. There’s a big difference between movies and TV…”

“I’ll know after watching one episode,” Samantha said, getting up to go to the kitchen for some snacks.

“La la la.” Clair hummed a song, turned on the TV, threw the remote control onto the couch, grabbed an apple from the fridge, and sat down on the couch, munching while watching the NBC channel with interest. Aside from the regular show fans, she intended to also make a business out of TV reviews. Now that her blog was getting more and more clicks and her ad revenue was increasing, she could soon get a new TV!

In Canada, Toronto, Rachel cheerfully turned on the TV, feeling like another autumn-spring season was coming for TV series fans! Not a soap opera? All the better! But regarding Wang Yang’s “10 million,” she too was a bit surprised. He was someone full of drive, who wore his confidence on his face and didn’t pretend. Could it be true that people change when they’re about to get married?

Thinking about his wedding coming up in January of next year, Rachel shook her head with a smile. Without much further thought and watching a contestant submerge in a bathtub full of congealed pork lard on the screen, her face on the verge of crying from the agony, Rachel wrinkled her brows and shuddered. Disgusting!

“Oh my God! How disgusting.” In the spacious and elegant living room, Jessica clutched Wang Yang’s arm on the sofa, gnashing her teeth sympathetically for the contestant. She couldn’t imagine if she was to be thrown into such a vat of lard…

“If this show had come out in ’98, I wouldn’t have had to go hungry.” Wang Yang smiled as he touched his lips. Although it was indeed disgusting, he didn’t find it impossible to achieve. Glancing at her puzzled face, he chuckled, “These challenges are too easy. I’m sure as hell not going to die, NBC wouldn’t dare to play it like that. So, what’s there to be afraid of? Just boldly take the 50,000 US dollars!”

Jessica rolled her eyes at him, saying earnestly, “Yes, you’re a warrior, but I won’t allow you to compete.” Wang Yang hugged her, nodded and laughed, “As you command, my queen! Actually, I was just bragging. I wouldn’t dare to take up the streaking challenge.”

Glancing at the wall clock nearby, it was almost time for “Prison Break” to air at 9:00 PM—an inaugural screen appearance! Jessica’s gaze softened as she looked at his face, her lips curving up, “Yang, I’m reminded of the day ‘Paranormal Activity’ premiered, when we drove to the cinema.” Wang Yang also remembered something and laughed, “When buying the tickets, the cashier at the cinema asked us not to make too much noise.” Jessica widened her eyes in laughter, “You remember that, huh!”

“Of course, I remember every single detail of that night.” Wang Yang smiled, looking at the TV screen where “Who Dares Challenge” was approaching its end. He wasn’t very excited about his first time on the screen, but was filled with anticipation. How high could this “Michael Schofield” fly? He continued to laugh, “At the time, I felt helpless, but also a little proud. I was wondering, what could Jessica be thinking?”

Recalling the situation at the time, Jessica grinned, flashing her teeth, “I was embarrassed, wondering, what could Yang be thinking?” Wang Yang leaned closer to her ear, whispering something with a mischievous smile, kissing her ear. Hearing his words, Jessica gave a surprised “Oh!” and punched him in the chest, scolding, “Bastard!”

The two were about to share a long kiss, despite the disgusting scenes on TV in front of them, but there was another family member in the room, Joshua, who was there to give instant feedback. After all, though he was Latino, he somewhat represented the market of young American men; also, Wang Yang was to impart some of his production knowledge and experience to him, as Joshua would continue to be one of the assistant producers for “Firefly.”

“Here it comes!” Joshua came into the living room from the kitchen with a tray holding three cups of drinks, followed by a lackadaisical Danny. He handed the drinks to Wang Yang and Jessica, who laughed and drank without a moment to say thanks. Joshua shook his head, “Sigh, I’m just here to serve.”

As the time neared nine o’clock, the TV screens in thousands of households were showing commercials. The countdown of a few dozen seconds ticked for the premiere of a new show—ABC’s “Monday Night Football,” CBS’s “Everybody Loves Raymond,” NBC’s “Prison Break”…

“Hey, ‘Prison Break”s about to start! Don’t forget to watch,” Joshua yelled.

At 8:59 PM Eastern Time, a Caucasian high school boy in New York was on the phone, pressing the remote and asking, “The one produced by Magical Yang, right? On NBC?” In Chicago, a young Caucasian woman settled into the couch, bubbling with excitement, “So looking forward to this, will it be as thrilling as the promo suggested?” In San Francisco, an excited Chinese girl turned on the TV shouting, “Magical Yang, Magical Yang!”

In Los Angeles, a blonde Caucasian girl was clutching her remote control, screaming shrilly, “Aaaah—Mom, don’t fight with me! Let’s watch half an episode of ‘Prison Break’ and see how it goes, missing one night of ‘Raymond’ won’t matter. Anyway, missing an episode or two of a sitcom won’t kill us.” A younger Caucasian boy beside her yelled, “I vote for ‘Prison Break’, it’s bound to be cool!” A deep voice rang out, “You guys, hand me the remote!!”…

“Tss tss tss…” The sudden buzzing sound of tattoos filled the TV speakers. Paul Jones took in a deep breath, turning his gaze towards the LCD screen. The tattoo artist was completing the final part of Michael Scofield’s tattoo. He settled onto the couch, sweat dripping from his forehead. Nielsen’s viewership monitoring had already started, but reports wouldn’t be out until tomorrow—10 million, 11.55 million, 12 million, 15 million…

“Don’t worry, Dad!” Samantha Jones sat enraptured as she watched Michael Scofield rob the bank, munching on chips and remarking, “This Wentworth Miller is really cool… Don’t you trust Magical Yang? You’re definitely in for a surprise.” She spoke while watching, but soon she stopped getting distracted by conversation, fully absorbed by the storyline unfolding on the screen.

Paul Jones had already read the script and watched all 24 episodes of the series. Yet, watching it on the NBC-branded home screen, he still couldn’t help but be amazed at its ingeniously novel production, the suspenseful tension, with not a drop of filler content. The gripping twists unfolded one after another within a single episode, making even the tension-filled “24” seem utterly inferior.

Apart from “creative” he really didn’t know how else to describe this series, unparalleled? The magic that Yang talked about that leaves you breathless?

Thinking of this, his anxious heart suddenly settled down, 12 million was definitely not a problem.

“Damn commercials! Please, hurry up!” Watching the Coca-Cola advertisement on the TV screen, at least millions of young people cursed, what the hell! Can’t there be no commercials?!

“Mom, stop fighting with me! I want to keep watching, I want to keep watching!” The blonde girl clung tightly to the remote control, while the white boy also cried out anxiously, “Forget ‘Two and a Half Men,’ sitcoms are all about laughs! I want to know Michael’s plan!” A gentle yet authoritative voice sounded, “Stop bickering, let’s just finish this episode.” The girl and boy instantly cheered, “Yay,” but a gruff voice interjected, “My football game…”

As the first half of the episode passed, it seemed that the story’s setup was complete. Evangeline Lilly, portraying Doctor Sara, made countless men’s hearts skip a beat with her sexy and sizzling depiction! But what was truly captivating was the suspense presented by the plot, and as the second half of the episode gradually intensified, accompanied by stirring music, everyone’s emotions rose as well. Suddenly, the living room burst into an “Ah,” and Clair cursed in frustration, “Oh my God, these damn commercials! I want to fast-forward, I want to fast-forward!”

After the long yet brief commercials ended, the last part of the first episode began. When viewers saw that the exaggerated tattoo on Michael Scofield’s body was actually the blueprint of the prison, Clair’s eyes widened in shock, Samantha Jones exclaimed excitedly, and the family fighting over the remote control all gasped in surprise: “Now it’s getting interesting!” Countless teenage, young adult, and adult viewers also gasped, saying, “This is so cool!” “I want that tattoo too!”…

“Wow!” Rachel couldn’t help but laugh out loud, propped her chin, and murmured happily to herself, “As expected, it’s not a soap opera, it’s amazing.”

The plot was full of detail and extremely tight, not even hinting at the prospect of opening secondary storylines. It was a natural and tense flow, and without those damn commercials, she thought she would indeed be left breathless! Rachel had been watching TV series since she was young, from thrilling dramas to light-hearted sitcoms, but she had rarely seen a series that was so riveting, never dragging yet always dazzling, and bursting with cliffhangers.

How could this series only have 10 million viewers? It should be at least 15 million!

She didn’t understand production, but she understood appreciation. If it could maintain the incredible standard of the first episode, it was definitely the kind of TV series that viewers couldn’t leave after watching just half an episode.

“Thank goodness there are two episodes back-to-back tonight.” Taking advantage of the commercial break, just like many other viewers in front of their TVs, Rachel stood up to go to the restroom. She had taken a few steps when she suddenly stopped, “What about next week? What should I do tonight? The third episode?” She frowned, “Should I ask Yang for spoilers? No, no, no!” She continued walking, “That would be against the code of drama fans.”

At the New York CBS headquarters building, the program department office, department manager Caleb Dier and others exchanged glances. They then looked toward the large TV screen tuned to NBC and were somewhat silent. Caleb Dier said in a deep voice, “Maybe we have some trouble this time.”

“I knew it, I just knew it! We should have gone all out to snatch Yang. Monday or Thursday, could he not be an outstanding TV producer?! Now NBC has got the magic Yang!!”

Patrick Green, the ABC production department manager who had intended to compete for ‘Prison Break’ but later withdrew, was at home, roaring with frustration and indignation, “Damn magic Yang!! Damn NBC! 10 million viewers? Damn it!”(