Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

Hu Xiaoxiao made a note of this, and when she got home, she turned on the TV as soon as it was time, sat cross-legged on the sofa, ate snacks, and watched "Fan Lihua" starring Wang Shasha.

Hu Xiaoxiao read it for several days in a row. After she finished reading it, she understood what Zhu Wanwen meant, because she herself did not know how to express it.

If this were a low-budget TV series, it would be understandable to produce it like this. After all, with limited funds, they couldn't do grand productions and relied on romance and love stories for the plot. Furthermore, neither of the two leads, Lu Xinghe nor Wang Shasha, are actors with a background in action scenes, so it's somewhat forgivable.

However, as far as she knew, the investment in "Fan Lihua" was more than that in "Mu Guiying", and the second brother was invited to preside over the production. The supporting actors were also well-known artists, but the result was such a perfunctory production.

The plot is all about love and romance, and the action scenes are all about casting spells.

The love triangle between the protagonist Fan Lihua and Xue Dingshan occupies a large portion of the plot. The two are constantly separated and reunited, fraught with misunderstandings, and their relationship is heart-wrenching. Fan Lihua, a heroine, is portrayed as a delicate woman who cries at the drop of a hat.

Fan Lihua fell in love with Xue Dingshan and wanted to marry him and go to Tang. After returning home, she told her father about this. Fan's father was furious and scolded Fan Lihua, saying that he had already betrothed her to the garrison general Yang Fan.

Fan Lihua disliked Yang Fan's ugliness and refused to marry him. During an argument with her father, he tried to kill his disobedient and unfilial daughter, Fan Lihua, but he accidentally tripped and fell, accidentally hitting Fan Lihua's sword and dying.

The Fan brothers believed that Fan Lihua had killed their father and wanted to kill her to avenge their father, but unexpectedly, they were killed by Fan Lihua by accident.

After her father and brothers died because of her, Fan Lihua wept for a while before surrendering to the Tang Dynasty.

Then comes the famous story of Xue Dingshan's three breaks and three invitations to Fan Lihua—

Xue Dingshan also believed that Fan Lihua had killed her biological father, and he could not tolerate this, so he divorced Fan Lihua once. Later, when Xue Dingshan was in trouble, Fan Lihua ran to save him, and Xue Dingshan divorced her again.

The third time Xue Dingshan divorced Fan Lihua was because she had adopted Xue Yinglong as her godson. Xue Dingshan suspected his wife again and divorced her once more. However, Fan Lihua remained deeply devoted to Xue Dingshan, and each time she was misunderstood, she would cry and be unable to explain herself.

After Xue Dingshan suffered a defeat, he finally remembered Fan Lihua's kindness and went to ask her to come to his rescue three times. The two reconciled and became a loving couple.

In addition to the original famous plot, the TV series "Fan Lihua" also added other emotional entanglements.

Fan Lihua's complicated love life with Xue Dingshan, her entanglement with Yang Fan, and then the fall in love with the prince of Xiliang. The reason Xiliang attacked Tang was because of Fan Lihua…

In the TV series, Fan Lihua not only cries and talks about love, but also repays evil with kindness in various ways.

Every fight scene involving Fan Lihua is filled with magic, computer-generated special effects, including things like moving mountains and seas, turning beans into soldiers, and invisibility. Fan Lihua can even fly through the clouds...

The computer-generated special effects were very rough and clunky. Hu Xiaoxiao didn't know how the audience would react, but she felt a bit distracted. Although the mythological elements in the original novel "Fan Lihua" were much stronger than those in "Mu Guiying," there were just too many and too exaggerated spells. Combined with the crude computer technology, the viewing experience wasn't very good.

After watching for a few days, Hu Xiaoxiao switched channels and watched programs on other stations.

After the drama "Fan Lihua" aired, housewives were not satisfied with it. The excessive amount of romantic scenes between Wang Shasha and Lu Xinghe in the drama made them feel disgusted.

Lu Xinghe is a married man, a married man. In the play, he is always being lovey-dovey and neglecting his duties. He doesn't fight but only talks about love. He also often misunderstands Fan Lihua and doesn't appreciate Fan Lihua's efforts. He looks like a scumbag.

Unconsciously, the housewives recalled the scandal that Lu Xinghe had caused that was known throughout Hong Kong. The memories that had been forgotten became clear again, and for a time, Lu Xinghe's reputation began to suffer again.

If "Fan Lihua" had only been criticized for its excessive romantic scenes and poor special effects, and its ratings were low, it might have been able to finish airing smoothly.

However, things didn't go as planned. Wang Shasha only saw Hu Xiaoxiao as a rival and was determined to defeat her, but she didn't know that their real rival was their counterpart, Baozhu TV, which was Baogang TV's true rival.

Just as "Fan Lihua" was halfway through its run, experiencing low ratings and poor reviews, Baozhu TV launched a meticulously produced drama series, "Shangwu Jingshen" (Martial Spirit), which aired in the same time slot as "Fan Lihua".

This is a story about the heroes of the Jingwu School. The protagonist has superb martial arts skills and, after joining the Jingwu School, he and a group of people with lofty ideals fight against the Qing Dynasty and resist the Japanese invasion, restoring the dignity of the Chinese people.

Almost everyone in Baogang has seen the story of Jingwu Men. This film, "The Spirit of Martial Arts," has a strong audience base. People can basically tell what the story is about just by hearing the name Jingwu Men.

Since its premiere, "The Spirit of Martial Arts" has seen its ratings soar. This is because, in addition to its familiar historical background and sentimental value to the people of Baogang, it also features thrilling and exciting martial arts scenes that are incredibly exciting and visceral. These scenes are a departure from the superficiality of previous martial arts films, giving viewers a sense of immersion, as if the actors are actually fighting in every scene.

Viewers felt very immersed in "The Spirit of Martial Arts" and were reluctant to change the channel, which led to a steady increase in the ratings of Baozhu Channel.

In addition, the complicated love story in "Fan Lihua" makes the special effects look fake, and it lacks the realism and immersiveness of "Shangwu Jingshen".

As a result, more and more viewers began to switch channels to watch more authentic stories.

The dark horse that suddenly appeared on Baozhutai completely overwhelmed "Fan Lihua," leaving Wang Shasha and Qiu Lihua stunned.

They snatched a lot of resources from "Mu Guiying" and even got to air it first. But after all the fighting, they found out that their opponent wasn't "Mu Guiying" at all. How could they not be dumbfounded?

Qiu Lihua had a vague feeling that he was in trouble, so he immediately issued various orders to the "Fan Lihua" production team, instructing them to promote the show extensively.

Appear on TV shows, play games, give interviews, and go out to various crowded places to promote your work.

However, the results were minimal, with "Fan Lihua" receiving far lower ratings than "Shangwu Jingshen" and nearly breaking historical records.

Just when Qiu Lihua was racking her brains trying to salvage the ratings, the media dealt another fatal blow to the TV series "Fan Lihua".

A veteran media professional watched both TV series and published an article.

The article first praised Baozhu TV's innovative capabilities, saying that whether it was the previous martial arts dramas or the current "Shangwu Spirit", Baozhu TV far surpassed its peers in both the innovation of martial arts and the concept of the TV series.

Then, the article offered a scathing critique of Baogang TV, criticizing the station for constantly imitating and never surpassing its predecessors. It also argued that the TV series "Fan Lihua" represented a significant regression in both its storyline and action sequences, setting Baogang TV's production standards back by ten years.