THE START OF GAME SHOWS IN VIETNAM

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SV96

Vietnamese audiences have not had a chance to watch any game show till 1996. 1996 marked the birth of Vietnamese television channel VTV3 and at the same time the first game show of VTV was born called SV which is the abbreviation for ‘Sinh Vien’ (means student in English). This is a beneficial playground for students from universities and colleges across the country. SV96 is completely a game show with Vietnamese intelligence, it was born while Vietnamese did not know anything about the concept of entertainment games on television. SV96 has succeeded in connecting students with each other thanks to the intellectual games and quizzes full of knowledge as well as it created a dynamic and knowledgeable image of students in public. Because of the freshness and excitement of the SV96, almost the whole country at that time turned to this program. The final match of the SV96 set a record when tens of thousands of people hustle to watch and the show also was broadcast live on the national channel - a rare thing at that time. To get to the final round including 4 teams from 3 regions, teams had to pass 5 tournaments from preliminary to final. Each match usually involved 3 teams from 3 schools, each team has a maximum of 15 members including 3 reserve members. Teams compete the skills through sections such as greeting performance, knowledge, talent and eloquence contest. SV were held four seasons in 1996, 2000 and 2012 and 2016 but the SV96 was still the most successful version gaining much attention because SV could not compete with other game shows in 2000s year - the peak year of game show development.

SV96

Tro choi Lien tinh

Another game show was popular at that time is Intervilles or Tro choi Lien tinh in Vietnamese. The MC who was in charge of this program was sent to France for a couple of months to be trained necessary skills and knowledge for a professional game show and then collaborate with the director, cameraman... about 20 people from the French media company. If SV96 is an intellectual game for students, Intervilles is a creation on motor game. There are two teams of youth representing each province to compete in sports. The games were flexibly changed in each episode to avoid boredom. The antagonism of the game caused fever during both years of running (1996 and 1997).

Other areas

VTV3 is an entertainment channel for Vietnamese people as developing a lot of game shows in various fields of knowledge such as family routine show O nha chu nhat (Be home on Sunday) which provides knowledge and useful tips for housewives, dating game show Tu anh mat đen trai tim (From the eyes to the heart) which develop mutual affection of couples through games in the program and culture game show Hanh trinh van hoa (Cultural Journey) which helps players and audiences understand culture of Vietnamese and the world.

Hanh trinh van hoa

Especially, O nha chu nhat is considered as the oldest show in VTV, which spent 9 years of broadcasting. It is said that O nha chu nhat is a gentle gameshow aiming to the whole family. Although this program was purchased under German copyright, viewers can still recognize the purity of Vietnamese culture and habits through the "Sharing" and the "Fun" rounds, where the whole family can unite together during the whole match.

O nha chu nhat

Until now, when the audience can freely choose TV shows from music, humor, children, etc. to follow weekly, the quality factor is also reduced by the level of increasing quantity. Each year, there are nearly 100 game show of all major television channels from North to South, but great game shows can only be counted on the fingers of one hand. In comparison to 10 years ago, although the poor technology and much fewer artists, the quality is the priority, and that's what the audience in 10 years later still remembers as a part of unforgettable memories.

Moreover, these games contain features of an ‘ordinary television’ defined as ‘a flow of action on the screen which is light and entertaining, mildly informative and involves lots of chatters, lots of personalities, some music and plenty of laughs’ (Holland 2000, p. 131). That is the reason why these games can attract audiences. Additionally, at the period of time when people have never approached any television show, these shows truly made a deep impression in people’s mind.

References

Holland, P 2000, ‘The television handbook’, Social Science, Psychology Press.

Nguyen-Thu, G 2018, Television in Post-Reform Vietnam: Nation, Media, Market, Taylor & Francis Ltd.