The Best Director

Listening to the mysterious and suspenseful ending music and watching the rolling credits, Joshua had just snapped back from the world of the TV screen when he excitedly looked at Wang Yang on his right, “Dude, wow!! I’m certain, I’m certain it’s going to be a ratings hit, so—good! It really makes you look forward to the next episode, to the story that follows.”

Clap clap! He clapped his hands vigorously and thumped Wang Yang on the shoulder, exclaiming, “Haha, it’s always police, doctors, funny comedies on TV… This one is truly a novel surprise, I’m in love with prison!” Sitting on the far right of the sofa, Jessica was also happily clapping. This series wouldn’t have any problems! Hearing her brother’s words, she immediately opened her eyes wide with a playful shout, “Hey! What are you talking about? That’s a nasty place.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Joshua nodded repeatedly, laughing, “But I’m in love with ‘Prison Break’! Whoo-hoo!” He whistled sharply, forgetting himself as he raised his hands and danced, swaying his body, “YOYO! I’m starting to miss my tattoos. Scofield’s tattoos are so cool! I think that tattoo alone is worth ten million viewers!”

“Just the tattoo won’t do.” Wang Yang looked at the TV screen and smiled. The atmosphere of watching TV with family at home was really different—more immersive, cozy, and also more stressful—since thoughts could be shared anytime. Weren’t millions of people feeling the same just now? Thinking of ratings, he said, “The premiere will likely have a ratings spike, you know the effect of promotions, and then.”

He took a look at the quietly attentive Joshua and continued, “The audience of the premiere of this series will definitely drop off, some genuinely not liking it and others for various reasons. So whether ‘Prison Break’s’ ratings will soar depends on how many people it can attract to this TV market tonight after all the effort put in early on. It then needs to retain the vast majority of them while replenishing those who leave with new viewers to have a chance of not just staying afloat but setting a new record high.”

“So what counts as retention? Is it now? Oh, of course it’s now!” Joshua slapped his forehead. How could such an exciting first episode not retain viewers? Ridiculous. He asked somewhat perplexedly, “How many viewers will we lose? Why must there be a loss? You mentioned other reasons.”

“You can’t keep everyone happy; no TV series can,” said Wang Yang with a shrug. The TV is like a supermarket, and the series are just brand products, but even the hottest brands won’t monopolize the entire market. He pondered and said, “The psychology of the audience is very complex, and in fact, for a type of drama like ‘Prison Break,’ there’s a particularly challenging aspect.”

As a car commercial played on the TV screen, Joshua looked at Wang Yang’s profile as he spread his hands and said, “Because its core audience isn’t housewives, there will definitely be many people who say the series provokes thought! Not emotional thought processes, but thinking about those prison-break plans, link by link in the action, oh that’s bad news! Little brother, that’s digging your own grave.”

Jessica looked at the two with a smile and silently stood up from the sofa, tidying away the drink cups and other items to take to the kitchen.

“Why?” Joshua asked spontaneously. Wang Yang patted his shoulder, smiling, “You’ll have the most critical audience! And you’ll awaken the desire for thought in some. When someone is drinking plain water, they won’t say, ‘Oh my God, is this water 30 years old? Is it from France?’ They’ll just say, ‘Wow! Not thirsty anymore, this water is so refreshing.’ But the person drinking wine will say, ‘I’m not thirsty, but the taste is off, French grapes don’t taste like this.’

“The plain water drinkers aren’t picky, they don’t care to critique the unrealistic aspects, as long as you don’t crazily move Earth out of the solar system, with the exception of sci-fi. Wine drinkers like to savor and think, and the slightest inconsistency can touch their nerves. So sometimes, the smarter, more professional, and more meticulous you are, the less appreciative it may be; on the other hand, catering to another audience group, you may find real happiness.”

Joshua nodded thoughtfully, and Wang Yang, with indifference, raised an eyebrow. That’s just how human society is; it’s not possible to change. ‘MIT-21-TEAM’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ taught him this vividly—the former required understanding card counting, teamwork, and wit duels; the latter only needed to put on various designer labels, and upon seeing those brand logos, female viewers would scream in excitement.”

“To put it simply, it’s a commercial market issue; to put it grandly, it’s a sociology issue. Either don’t do it or do your best. Take ‘Band of Brothers’ as an example. Its audience includes many military enthusiasts; if there’s even a slight mistake there, they’ll point it out—the model of the gun, the tank’s type is wrong; paratroopers don’t drop like that, wars aren’t fought like that…”

He pointed to the TV screen and smiled, continuing, “Just like with ‘Prison Break’ a moment ago, I’m sure there will be many viewers saying, that’s not real, that’s not how prisons are nowadays!”

“During the day, regardless of whether you are indoors or outdoors, you are always under surveillance, 24 hours a day, with no chance of leaving the guards’ line of sight, nor an opportunity to sneak off alone to a warehouse; during visitations, the police watch closely, with monitoring and recording—you can’t play any tricks; every time you enter or exit the prison area, you’re searched, making it impossible to bring in contraband, let alone weapons in a fight; there are no beautiful female doctors in the prison clinic…”

If we’re talking about the original plot, there are even more loopholes. Inmates can’t and shouldn’t do personal work for the warden, the prison sewers would have iron bars to prevent escapes, inmates will definitely be monitored by guards during labor, making it impossible to dig tunnels opportunistically; why dig a tunnel from outside directly to somewhere in the prison’s sewer system when one could simply climb over a wall from the infirmary… If all these things did happen, it would only mean one thing: it’s a TV Series.

The currently airing “Prison Break” tries to be as close to reality as possible by transforming real-life challenges into action and crises. This makes the entire prison break plan more layered and difficult, thereby removing the excessive fluff and illogical setups.

However, no matter how much it’s improved or how much “predecessor experience” it draws from, some loopholes are inevitable, otherwise, the entire show wouldn’t work.

“These reasons are why we lose viewers; you need to be persuasive! The higher the better.” Wang Yang raised his fist and smiled at a pensive Joshua, “I’ve been in prison; even if I haven’t, wouldn’t we do our research? But bro, if any TV series or movie were made exactly like reality, they couldn’t spin those brilliant tales.”

He shook his head and laughed, “That simply won’t work, it’s impossible. Whatever dramatic or cinematic work will have its inconsistencies, all for the sake of the story. ‘Friends’ had many loopholes, ‘CSI’ actually has many too…”

“Isn’t that the job of the scriptwriter?” Joshua suddenly furrowed his brows, not considering himself any writing prodigy. Wang Yang earnestly said, “Producing is a complex and multifaceted job. You need to understand the entire production, the entire market, and what is going on in all aspects; only then you will know the market positioning, identify any issues with a script, and learn to communicate with directors and writers to find solutions together.”

Joshua nodded in understanding, realizing he needed to read more books. Becoming a good producer truly required a lot of knowledge… He glanced at the TV screen and then, scratching his head, asked, “So, how do we handle these loopholes in ‘Prison Break’? Why don’t I feel there are any holes?”

“We’ve addressed them,” shrugged Wang Yang, glancing at the TV where the ads were ending and the second episode was about to start! He summed up, “Firstly, most viewers have never been to jail, and they know this is a TV show. No one likes a show to be exactly like reality, as long as we stay somewhat close to reality and exaggerate within reason, it feels real; secondly, it is a TV series, ‘Prison Break’ is all about suspense, tension, and excitement. Get that right, and the audience will love it.”

Jessica walked out of the kitchen, quietly placing a few beverages on the coffee table and sitting next to Wang Yang. She handed him a cup of frozen red watermelon juice. Wang Yang said, “Thank you,” and she smiled slightly.

“You said it’s been resolved, so the ‘Prison Break’ now…” Joshua casually took a lemon juice and drank, immediately flinching from the sourness, shivering all over, yet his excitement surged, “Yang, do you mean you’ve succeeded in both aspects? It’s perfect?”

“I really don’t want to say it, but it is,” Wang Yang smiled without modesty, sipping his drink, a refreshing sweetness rushing to his heart. He looked towards the TV and nodded with a smile, “Just keep watching! If the first episode got you hooked, if you liked it or found it interesting; from the second episode on, you’ll find you can’t stop watching; you just can’t. That’s why we wanted NBC to air it continuously in the first week.”

Suddenly, a few loud gunshots from the TV speakers and Wentworth Miller’s voice, “Previously-on-Prison-Break,” echoed amid the mysterious music as the second episode began with a recap of the previous installment. Tens of millions of viewers in front of TVs perked up; it was starting!

“Ah ah—nobody is taking my remote, I don’t want to watch ‘CSI’!! It’s always solving cases, I’m absolutely not watching tonight, it’s too annoying!” A blonde girl tucked the remote into her embrace, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the TV screen. Her brother also shouted, “Mom, our family is following ‘Prison Break’ this season on Mondays! You can’t make it so I can’t talk with my classmates.” A gentle yet firm voice replied, “No one’s making you change the channel now, so stop the noise! You’ll miss the whole story.” A gruff voice added, “There goes my second half.” “Enough noise!”

Watching the recap of the first episode, Rachel on the couch reminisced a bit. Full of mystery, suspense, and anticipation, she didn’t feel anything was unreasonable or dragging. She couldn’t even jokingly label it a “soap opera”! She pursed her lips and shook her head, that guy always managed to surprise! Without further thought, as the recap ended, she immersed herself in the new scenes, focusing intently on the show!

How to satirize “Prison Break” to hurt its viewership? Inside the CBS program department office, Caleb Dier frowned slightly, even taking jobs from the distribution and public relations departments into consideration. But no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t come up with any feasible criticism.

“`

If they criticized those minor inconsistencies with reality, they’d become the laughing stock of the industry. Is this your first day watching TV series? Or do you think this is a documentary? Even the highly regarded “CSI” has its flaws. The damn thing is, there’s nothing worth criticizing about “Prison Break” right now!

Claiming the content is corrupting viewers? Consorting with criminals? Caleb Dier rubbed his forehead and looked at his silent colleagues, After hearing the tense “ding ding ding” soundtrack five minutes into the show, he coughed unnaturally. Let’s see how the second episode goes.

As time marched on the TV screen, the frowns on the brows of the CBS and ABC executives, the main competitors in the two-time slot, grew tighter. “Damn Wang Yang” had been uttered countless times by different people, each with a begrudging exasperation; “Damn Wang Yang” was also affectionately exclaimed by viewers more times still. Rachel, Clair, and all North American viewers grew more surprised and captivated. They thought the first episode was good enough, but who knew the second would be even more suspenseful and thrilling!

Watching Robert Knepper’s portrayal of T-Bag pulling out his white pockets and sticking out his tongue in a perverted manner, many viewers cursed: “Pervert, trash!” “Disgusting!” “Definitely a hateful guy.” When Michael Scofield appeared, countless female viewers and gay men murmured, “Why is he so handsome?” Male viewers and lesbians sent similar words to Evangeline Lilly: “Isn’t she the sexiest doctor?”

“Wooooo—” The piercing sound of the alarm swept through countless living rooms, accompanied by tense music. As gang conflicts intensified, inmates rioted in their cells. Watching the chaotic scenes on the screen, T-Bag’s ferocity, Scofield surrounded by danger, viewers couldn’t help holding their breath, allowing their heartbeats to quicken. Rachel leaned forward, hugging a pillow, and muttered, “Now I’m really breathless!”

“Oh my God, oh my God!” In a women’s dormitory building at the University of San Francisco, three girls in a triple room watched a TV they’d chipped in to rent together. Fortunately, they were all fans of the amazing Yang to different extents, and none of them had any objections to watching “Prison Break” tonight. Evelyn felt her heart so tense it was uncomfortable, her forehead was covered in a fine sweat, and her breathing became rapid.

Her roommate, the white girl Sophia, glanced at her and thought that while the plot was indeed tense, it wasn’t that exaggerated. This girl is really into it! The dark-haired Chinese girl Lillian asked, “Evelyn, what’s wrong with you?” Only after the riot was quelled by the prison guards did Evelyn exhale and, wiping her forehead, she said, “I was just… so nervous…”

“Squeak, squeak—” On the TV screen, Scofield squatted by the washbasin, slowly unscrewing the basin’s screw with a long screwdriver. The camera swept over his calm face, showing the screw slipping out smoothly. He methodically unscrewed a few more, pulling open a small crack between the walls, and the camera suddenly entered the sewer behind the wall—a new world of prison breaks.

Wow! Evelyn couldn’t help but shout, this is how it started! Clair, Rachel, and all the viewers felt a surge flow through their hearts, overtaken by excitement and anticipation. Countless families vying for the remote control ended up watching “Prison Break” and let out yet another “Wow!” of the night. The blonde girl looked at her smiling mother and laughed, “Mom, I was right, wasn’t I? You can have the remote control now—go ahead and change the channel!” A burly voice chimed in excitedly: “That’s a touchdown! Will we see him enter the sewer in the next episode?”…

“This is a big problem,” Caleb Dier said, almost inaudibly in the CBS office, but the frustration on his face let others know his mood, and they felt the same. Watching this tight, rhythmic, and detailed story, the second episode was already climaxing and then left on a cliffhanger; this was surely a magical series. Even they, the “enemies,” watching closely for a thorough analysis, felt a little tense—what about the average viewer?

Caleb Dier crossed his arms and sighed inwardly, he had proposed to the higher-ups not to underestimate Wang Yang and tried to get this wunderkind over to their side as much as possible. This season it was “Prison Break,” but what about the future? But they, with hot detective series like “CSI,” “CSI: Miami,” “Without a Trace,” and “NCIS” under their belt, thought CBS embodied justice and shouldn’t get involved with criminal dramas like “Prison Break.”

He vividly remembered at the meeting, their queen president Nancy Tellem, who had created shows such as “Survivor” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” jokingly said, “Don’t take Wang Yang too seriously. We only need to do our part well.”

But now, how many are filled with regret? Watching the gang leader threatening to cut off Michael Scofield’s toes, counting down the seconds until the end of the episode, leaving behind a huge cliffhanger with still no grounds for criticism! Caleb Dier closed his eyes and pondered, “We’ve got a big problem.”

“Damn it, I knew it! We should have snatched that kid earlier, oh damn it! What are we dealing with now?!”…

As the credits rolled on the LCD screen, Samantha Jones suddenly laughed out loud in the spacious living room, turning to look at her father, Paul Jones, excited, she said, “Dad, I don’t know what you were worried about? God, what were you worried about? This series is incredible! I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Its ratings can’t possibly be just 10 million, I told you!” She paused to shout, “15 million!”

“`

“I hope so!” Knowing that his daughter was truly obsessed with “Prison Break,” Paul Jones felt even more reassured, and a rare smile appeared on his face tonight. Samantha Jones immediately begged again, “You have to tell me, Dad, did Michael really get his toes cut off? I won’t tell anyone, I swear! I swear on my blog! I swear to God!” Paul Jones said without hesitation, “No way.” Then a gentle voice added, “Samantha, don’t make it hard for your dad.”

“OK, OK.” Samantha Jones hopped off the sofa, excitedly heading to her room: “I’ll just call Magic Yang myself!” Paul Jones laughed, “He’s even less likely to tell.”

“Damn it! I want to see episode three, episode three!! Oh my God, I have to wait until next week!” Clair cursed under her breath, suddenly realizing the truth in Magic Yang’s words about the remote control; indeed, if she could fast-forward to next week, she would press it without hesitation! Pondering what to write in her review, Clair headed to the bedroom, muttering curses. How to describe the delight this series brings is simply indescribable…

Rachel murmured softly, “Cool,” the second episode had completely captivated her, that feeling had returned—the intense desire to cling to the TV without eating or sleeping, not moving half a step away from the sofa! If the 24-episode disc of “Prison Break” were right beside her, she would definitely binge-watch it in one go, frightening!

“Have to wait until next week to see the third episode!” Although many were accustomed to this pattern, still countless viewers felt mad at facing this reality, 7 days later!! Who on earth came up with the idea of one episode per week? This is mental torture!

“Wow! Dude, just can’t stop! Jesus, even housewives would fall for it, with Wentworth Miller being so handsome, so good-looking, why wouldn’t they love it?” Joshua came to his senses and excitedly turned his head to look, only to see Wang Yang and Jessica, seated farthest away, whispering affectionately to each other, completely ignoring him in their sweet atmosphere. Joshua spread his hands and stood up, walking towards the door: “Grandpa and Grandma, I’m leaving, bye!”

Even though it was late at night, the online forums for the series saw post after post commenting on “Prison Break,” with a variety of topics: “Such a prison is unrealistic,” “The BUGs of ‘Prison Break’.” However, at a glance, the pages were more filled with exclamation points; aside from the few nitpickers saying, “There are many problems, but it’s very suspenseful,” the fans’ attitude was overwhelmingly positive.

Evelyn posted, “Right now, all I can think about is ‘Prison Break,’ pondering the use of those props, the entire escape plan… Just like ‘MIT-21-TEAM,’ this series is brilliantly astounding!” Alan-D posted, “No doubt ‘Prison Break’ will be the biggest surprise of this fall season, so glad Magic Yang joined the TV show lineup!!”…

Soon, September 15th became the past, and daylight chased away the night. The next day, when NBC executives saw the Nielsen ratings report for the 15th, they were as shocked as their counterparts at CBS, ABC, and the like!

Then the NBC executives couldn’t help but burst into gleeful laughter; as it turned out, Magic Yang really was too modest—!!! Way too damn modest!!!

“This is a tremendous victory.” NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks (Rebecca-Marks) expressed to the media with great pleasure: “We are very pleased to see NBC’s Monday night come to this. We have already received a lot of viewer feedback, five stars! ‘Prison Break’ has brought an astonishing energy. We know how excellent the next 22 episodes are going to be, so we are starting to discuss with Wang Yang about booking a second season, and we believe ‘Prison Break’ will be one of NBC’s aces.”

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PS: I’m truly grateful for everyone’s recommendation tickets, moved beyond words, I’ve made up my mind, I will resolve the issue with the unstable updates in the next few days, thank you all! (To be continued, for further details please visit . More chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)