[prella]

Jay Chou's 'Pandamen' tanks in Taiwan
Source: Channel News Asia



TAIPEI: Singer Jay Chou's maiden attempt at directing a television drama suffered poor ratings after it debuted on Friday in Taiwan.

"Pandaman", which Chou had earlier described as "cool", is a science fiction action drama about two superheroes from differing backgrounds who share a fascination with pandas.

The 30-year-old singer-director even expressed that he was confident the 110 million Taiwan dollars (about S$5.5million) production would be a success. However, the show's poor ratings indicate his confidence may have been misplaced.

"Pandamen", which aired on CTS, one of the four major television stations in Taiwan, attracted the least number of viewers among television shows in the same 10 pm timeslot. Chou's "Pandamen" only managed to garner 0.77 in ratings, compared to shows like the talent contest "One Million Star" (2.18) and idol dramas "K.O. 3an Guo" (1.53) and "Lucky Days" (0.79).

Viewers complained that "Pandamen" had a childish, convoluted plot that was hard to follow and pointed out that the show seemed to cater specifically for Mainland audiences as the cast often delivered their lines in Mainland-accented Mandarin.

Chou, who recently appeared in the film "The Treasure Hunter", brushed off these complaints and wrote on his official website that he "did not need high ratings". He insisted that the show was a success as "it represents a new generation of heroes" and "was a historic moment".

CTS officials also backed him and pointed out that "Pandamen" was the highest-rated show on its 10 pm slot in nearly a year.

The drama's poor showing in Taiwan was preceded by its dismal results when it first aired in Guangzhou, China. "Pandamen" was shown for three days on Guangzhou Television in late January.

Guangzhou Television reportedly paid an astronomical sum for the broadcast rights to the show, but "Pandamen" only managed to attract about 5,000 viewers on its third day, making it the lowest-rated show in the station's history.

At that time, many believed that complaints of a messy plot were due to heavy-handed Chinese censors cutting out crucial scenes for depicting gunplay.

However, "Pandamen" aired completely uncut in Taiwan.

Chou, who plays a police commissioner and appears for just two and a half minutes on the show, will reportedly attend a meet-the-fans session at Huashan Cultural Park on February 27, in an attempt to resuscitate the flat-lining show.

- CNA/ha

[doraemon♡JAY]

haha nah its okay, i was already prepared for this

hmm i wanna quote noreens post cuz she pretty much said everything i wanted to say

noreen, on 08 February 2010 - 10:23 PM, said:

Glad that I can catch the 1st episode for another encore. But I feel really sorry for Jay. Due to the Mainland China restriction, Pandamen had to be edited according to Mainland China restriction regulation and this cause such a terrible storyline for Pandamen. And because of this too, people commented that Pandamen has low IQ storyline and mentally retarded drama. And media kept spreading the news like frenzy about the failure of Pandamen and saying Jay had losing his touch. The latest news I heard is due to low rating in China, TV stations that airing Pandamen are thinking to withdraw it from their primetime. For me, I have to say Mainland version of Pandamen is terribly SUCK! It's totally 100% different (even for the 1st episode only) with Taiwan version. And because of the bad comments (which are hugely from the media) this had cause low rating for the 1st episode in Taiwan (which I think maybe due to low expectations for viewers in Taiwan due to China viewers response). But while the blind & stupid media kept insulting or downside Jay, I'm glad there are still many people and other media who realized the BIG differences between the 2 version of Pandamen and saying that Jay's Taiwan edition is better than Mainland version. And I just hope Pandamen will bounce back with better rating in Taiwan for the upcoming episodes. Good luck, Jay!!!

seriously.. there is such a huge difference between the china & tw versions..
but because the china one aired first, its influenced peoples perception of the drama and they lose interest in watching the tw one..
which is such a pity.. cuz with all bias aside, i honestly think its a really good series.
its v. different from normal idol dramas.

tbh i am quite disappointed with the ratings.. i mean below 1 is pretty bad haha, but looking on the bright side, it was actually the highest rating that CTS has got on a friday, for quite some time since it normally has v. low ratings.
and alot of producers etc. have recognised Yuhao's performance in the drama, and sent him a few scripts already.. which is really good cuz that was jay's intention to do 'Pandamen' in the first place - to boost Yuhao & Devon's popularity.

anyways im confident that ratings will increase for the upcoming episodes!
im really enjoying it.. cant wait for ep. 2!

[Li Na]

I watched two episodes of Pandamen and felt that it was childish. The plot was messy and the editing was not up to mark. Therefore I thoroughly agree with the Taiwanese viewers.

[★cinnamon_coffee]

Poor Jay He put so much effort into it and yet the outcome is like this. He says he doesn't need high ratings but I'm sure he's a little sad deep down..
I haven't watched ep 1 yet due to lack of time but I'm planning to do so this week.

This post has been edited by ★cinnamon_coffee: 08 February 2010 - 01:37 PM

[marikuraba]

sorry, much as a fan of jay i am, it's about time jay is brought down to earth.

his first few albums..up to still fantasy was great, but everything after that went downhill. he is stretching himself too thin. he should realise he cannot simply just rely on his huge fanbase forever. his acting is pretty basic as well, but every tom, dick and harry director wants to cast him in their movies just so they can tap his popularity.

jay -- hopefully this will be a wakeup call for you to go back to the basics, to your roots - your brilliant songwriting/composing...that is where you started and that is where you are the best; and that was where most of your fans became your fans. not because of initial d, golden flowers, treasure hunter, kung fu dunk or pandamen. it's your music, dude.

[Love. Music.]

I havent seen any episode.
i was waiting for it to be released more but it seems like people arent even subbing it which means its not catching alot of people's attention
well it sucks for Jay cuz he was really excited and in all the interviews he was so proud...
too bad his project wasnt as likable as what he has assumed,
oh well at least he tried.

[franzii]

Pandamen's competitors like KO3 and One Million Stars are really a tough competitors.
KO3 will nearly end so the fans will hold on more to the drama. while One Million Stars is a reality show it's kinda exciting too.

so as a result... Pandamen's rating will not be that high. maybe after KO3 ends... the rating of Pandamen will goes up.

Go Jay! I know you can do it!

[Wang Ai Mi]

Poor Jay, I know how much he concentrated in this project

How come???? Rating is below 1

Maybe it's because Pandaman is airing in the same time of "One Million Star" --"

Anyway, Pandaman, jia you!!

[peacex]

seriously, i thought chi ling was kindaof normal. havent watched pandamen but it didnt attract me to watch it.

[glued]

marikuraba, on 08 February 2010 - 08:44 PM, said:

sorry, much as a fan of jay i am, it's about time jay is brought down to earth.

his first few albums..up to still fantasy was great, but everything after that went downhill. he is stretching himself too thin. he should realise he cannot simply just rely on his huge fanbase forever. his acting is pretty basic as well, but every tom, dick and harry director wants to cast him in their movies just so they can tap his popularity.

jay -- hopefully this will be a wakeup call for you to go back to the basics, to your roots - your brilliant songwriting/composing...that is where you started and that is where you are the best; and that was where most of your fans became your fans. not because of initial d, golden flowers, treasure hunter, kung fu dunk or pandamen. it's your music, dude.

totally agree with what you said. He is spreading himself too thin and not concentrating in the right areas, he has to get back to his roots to stay top in his game.

[~Sw33tz~]

glued, on 09 February 2010 - 11:52 AM, said:

totally agree with what you said. He is spreading himself too thin and not concentrating in the right areas, he has to get back to his roots to stay top in his game.

I agree too.

He is very talented, just that now he focuses on TOO much and too broad that it isn't Jay Chou whom we all totally fell into his idol trap all those years ago.
Like I loved his old albums than his new ones, yes the new ones are different, but it isn't as nice for some reasons compared to old ones. It is like really hard to find good Jay songs in his new albums, before you could like 6 out of the 10/11 songs, now 3.... that isn't good enough for Jay...

Hope he wakes up and does things the way he use to.

ChiLing was so... normal.... Ok I did watch it like 30 mins after I watched Avatar (again) but still.... the best bits where 'Chinglish' other than that... it hardly had a plot....

[MRDragon]

marikuraba, on 08 February 2010 - 04:44 AM, said:

sorry, much as a fan of jay i am, it's about time jay is brought down to earth.

his first few albums..up to still fantasy was great, but everything after that went downhill. he is stretching himself too thin. he should realise he cannot simply just rely on his huge fanbase forever. his acting is pretty basic as well, but every tom, dick and harry director wants to cast him in their movies just so they can tap his popularity.

jay -- hopefully this will be a wakeup call for you to go back to the basics, to your roots - your brilliant songwriting/composing...that is where you started and that is where you are the best; and that was where most of your fans became your fans. not because of initial d, golden flowers, treasure hunter, kung fu dunk or pandamen. it's your music, dude.

this is pretty much 100% how I feel. Still fantasy was still very good, all his albums after that didn't have the same feeling.

[Choccho]

Well, I have watched all 29 episodes...and in my opinion, overall story line and the plot is good, compared to many Taiwanese idol-drama romantic series which I never watched. Jay's work is unique on its own, it's clean, neat (as opposed to what viewers says it's messy, I don't think it's messy at all).

The only setback I would say is the leading casts, Yu Hao, Dan Tou and 2 leading actress (sorry, I forgot their names). Honestly, their acting is not strong and consistent enough to be taking on leading roles. I believe, the poor ratings has got to do with that as well. I'm sure the ratings would have been better if Jay used other experienced actors/actress. And the fact that Jay only appears for less than 10 scenes in all 29 episodes, this is a little disappointing, even though he has said he is just a guest star. But viewers would still want to see Jay, especially all his fans and supporters, including myself.

He and the cast has put in tonnes of effort in it and to receive such poor feedbacks, I really do feel sorry for Jay, but he is not to be blamed. If I'm not mistaken, on the credits, he was just the Director, I was trying hard to look out for the names who actually wrote the whole story and plot, Jay's name never appeared....but anyway, if people would say that his storyline is childish, then I guess they should also evaluate others who are involved and not only Jay himself.

As for his confidence level, well I think in whatever that you do, you need to display your 100% confidence in your own work despite the outcome. I think he has done it and if people do not accept, I think he is able to take whatever criticisms, as long as he has done what he should for himself and for his group of friends.

[KAY's-Entertainment]

i just watched the 1st episode it just SUCKS, why adding cartoon?! why is she playing piano like a crazy woman?! that mask is redic, cheap hero drama BOOOOOOOO

[WinSpecToR]

He can't act anyways so its ok.

[Swt_Azn_Gurly]

i've to agree with you gusy... this drama is terrible
he just need to stick with his singing! jay is still adorable!

[keroshy]

KAY, on 09 February 2010 - 06:06 AM, said:

i just watched the 1st episode it just SUCKS, why adding cartoon?! why is she playing piano like a crazy woman?! that mask is redic, cheap hero drama BOOOOOOOO

it anit no cheap superhero.
look...jay took his time and his money to do this drama.
he even have to fly back to re-film some of the things.
but..if you don't like....just don't criticize it. it's jay's hero. ok?
it's just ur opinion.

Like what ramylynn says, jay's works are unique and clean. thats why all of his works, like secret, is always different. its not childish, Jay's just open-minded.
But like what jay say, he dont care about the rating.
cuz he made history..and jay did. he create a new superhero in Taiwan.
and im gonna support him till the end.
Anyways, even though the rating is low...we will still love Jay Chou:]
And his fans will be waiting for his next album in March.
I, as a huge Jay Chou fan, was so excited for this drama. I couldn't wait to see more. He's so awesome.
------------
But it's so good to hear some news about Jay.
I got worried after his name wasn't mention for 2 weeks.

This post has been edited by keroshy: 09 February 2010 - 05:12 PM

[RichTCovers]

You can tell it's gunna be mediocre when the name is 'Pandamen', I mean, wth? What's next? Lionmen? Hippomen?

[reiyi]

I like the pianos used in the series. Such unique colors. It's showing in local TV, so, I'm watching it on and off. It's not that bad. But, my housemate complain that the costume is ugly. I have to agree that the costume doesn't look cool or heroic. It's hard to make a panda costume look cool.

[plue]

It seems to me that he's a bit too confident from his success in music career and first little success in acting. Being a well-versed director requires years of experience. This and the failure of his movies should be a wake-up call for him

[Choccho]

Everyone has different opinion.....no big deal....Jay critics can say what they want. I feel that as an actor, singer or director, or as an individual, you need to have 100% confidence in whatever you do, whether there will be criticsms or praises later....what Jay is doing, is for himself and for his friends in this drama. So poor ratings will not affect him in any way.

Personal opinion, I think he is one artiste that does not hide his thoughts or filter through whatever he wants to say just to please the audience and the media. It's not easy to be Jay when you r in the entertainment business, I mean, generally, all artiste have to show the best of themselves to the whole world....but Jay is not.
He openly admits that he is childish, he likes to dream of the impossible and trying every way to achieve it. Some may say that Pandamen is childish, yet some would say is not. To me, it's not childish, he has his own style. About Jay's recent movies, well, thank God he is not involved in the script-writing or directing, if he did, I think there will be more 'comments'.

And to me, he is a good actor, his acting is never like acting, if u know what i mean, he has a style of his own. if not, Eric Tsang and other veteran actors will not be collaborating with him.

[reiyi]

ramylynn, on 10 February 2010 - 09:04 AM, said:

About Jay's recent movies, well, thank God he is not involved in the script-writing or directing, if he did, I think there will be more 'comments'.

Well, the only movie he actually wrote and directed himself did well in box office and gain good comments/reviews. This should say something about his ability.

As for acting. He has his own style. Some actors sell charisma and uniqueness instead of pure acting. I think Jay Chou is this kind of actor.

plue, on 10 February 2010 - 07:48 AM, said:

It seems to me that he's a bit too confident from his success in music career and first little success in acting. Being a well-versed director requires years of experience. This and the failure of his movies should be a wake-up call for him

I like the movie he direct i.e. Secret. A very good job for a first time director.

This post has been edited by reiyi: 10 February 2010 - 04:22 AM

[fatty2]

doraemon♡JAY, on 08 February 2010 - 11:10 AM, said:

seriously.. there is such a huge difference between the china & tw versions..
but because the china one aired first, its influenced peoples perception of the drama and they lose interest in watching the tw one..
which is such a pity.. cuz with all bias aside, i honestly think its a really good series.
its v. different from normal idol dramas.

tbh i am quite disappointed with the ratings.. i mean below 1 is pretty bad haha, but looking on the bright side, it was actually the highest rating that CTS has got on a friday, for quite some time since it normally has v. low ratings.
and alot of producers etc. have recognised Yuhao's performance in the drama, and sent him a few scripts already.. which is really good cuz that was jay's intention to do 'Pandamen' in the first place - to boost Yuhao & Devon's popularity.

anyways im confident that ratings will increase for the upcoming episodes!
im really enjoying it.. cant wait for ep. 2!

i agree, Pandamen have a very unique storyline. only Jay would dare to have the courage to do such an unusual drama .

& the overcensored China version has affected people's perception of the drama serial as the China version has become so disjointed bcos of the censoring.

[vivid89]

heard about this show a while back but didn't really follow up after that.
he must be disappointed with the ratings after all the hard work he put in

but well, i didn't really like the shows he was in either..

[TataLOVESJayChou]

I'm a huge fan of his, but sad to say I won't be watching Pandamen. Though, it's not just because I'm not interested in the story, but also because I don't really watch Taiwanese dramas.

[keeyshane]

he's not the kind of person to care a lot about ratings, but the reviews might still affect him.
all directors wants a positive acknowledgement on their work right?

oh my jay, please go back to music, please put more of your time here.
its where you belong.
the wait for your next album is killing me.

[aljab123]

this isn't a drama for adults
its good that jay's childish but most of his fans aren't
if ur going to sell, why not sell something your fans want

if jay keeps making crap like this its seriously going to destroy his career and finances

i hope to see better things from him in the future