In the Spring Festival Gala of 2011, when Zhao Benshan and Xiao Shenyang completed the last performance of the sketch "I'm Crazy for Song", the audience applauded warmly. They didn't know that this would be Zhao Benshan's last appearance on the stage of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala.
Over the years, the success of Zhao Benshan's sketches and the Spring Festival Gala has been as inseparable as Jing Ke and Xiang Yu. Every Spring Festival, people look forward to seeing Zhao Benshan in front of the TV.
Those wonderful words and movements have become one of the most influential Chinese New Year symbols in the whole of China.
"Zhao Benshan's sketch is successful, and the Spring Festival Gala is half successful!" This sentence once spread all over the country. It seems that in people's hearts, the Spring Festival Gala without Zhao Benshan lacks souls.
So when Mr. Zhao announced his retirement, it was obvious that the Spring Festival Gala was facing unprecedented challenges and crises.
We have to admit that Zhao Benshan brought not only laughter and joy to the Spring Festival Gala, but also a distinctive personality and brand. His departure is bound to set off waves of regret in people's psyche.
So, how can this national party redeem itself and find a new situation? Producer Ma Weidu and his team are facing heavy pressure.
Zhao Benshan's departure undoubtedly brought a cold scene to the atmosphere of the Spring Festival Gala. But just when everyone was worried about the follow-up situation, several old artists stepped forward and supported half of the show.
Cai Ming, Pan Changjiang, and the newcomer Xie Jin, they have proved the profound heritage of Chinese comedy with their strength.
Among them, Cai Ming's performance is the most eye-catching. In the first Spring Festival Gala of the new century, he was famous for his sketch "You Go, You Go". But over the years, everyone may be more Xi to seeing Zhao Benshan on the screen.
It wasn't until the latter announced his retirement that Cai Ming exerted his strength again, and he gradually regained his original laughter and language charm, and the bridges and language in his works were closer to real life.
"Master must have chosen to retire after watching my performance, and he was under great pressure. Cai Ming joked. But no one will doubt the comedy senior's redemptive work for the Chinese Spring Festival Gala.
Perhaps, the departure of one master also provides an opportunity for others to display their talents. This year, the sketch group of the Spring Festival Gala finally radiated the vigor of the second spring.
The host of the Spring Festival Gala participated in the sketch, which can be said to be a major tradition of this show. In previous years, we often saw hosts such as Zhou Tao and Dong Qing squeezing out some scenes in the sketches.
However, in the past two years, the degree of participation of the hosts in the Spring Festival Gala performance has deepened significantly.
In the Spring Festival Gala of 2021, Zhou Tao and Ning Caishen partnered and showed amazing acting skills in "The Light of the House Opposite". This is no longer a simple trick, but directly participating in the interpretation of the entire sketch as the main character.
In another sketch, Dong Qing even used the identity of a "worker" to show another kind of funny joy with exaggerated and funny outfits.
Some commentators believe that this host group has officially entered the comedy circle and directly competed with professional comedians. Indeed, in the past, we were more Xi to seeing Zhou Tao play her gentle and generous hostess style in the Spring Festival Gala.
And this year, she let go of this layer of reserve and devoted herself to the performance.
"Our hosts are also very versatile, and we hope to show the diverse charm of the Spring Festival Gala through richer performance forms. One of the directors, Huang Jianxiang, said.
No matter what the effect is, the in-depth "infiltration" of the hosts has become a major feature of this Spring Festival Gala, and it has also injected more possibilities into the program.
If the selection of the host for in-depth participation is the "internal operation" of this Spring Festival Gala, then the frequent introduction of red stars in the film and television industry is undoubtedly a big increase in the "outside world".
Liu Tao, Chen Shu, Sha Yi, Yan Ni, Wang Luodan...... Without exception, these shining names come from the TV screen. They have gradually become frequent guests in front of and behind the scenes of the Spring Festival Gala.
"Inviting film and television stars is actually our consistent strategy. Ma Weidu, the chief director of the Spring Festival Gala, said. Indeed, in this era of convergence of traffic and popularity, who can have more appeal and influence than the superstars in the film and television industry?
It may also attract young people who don't pay much attention to the Spring Festival Gala on weekdays.
But unlike previous years, this year's Spring Festival Gala pays more attention to letting these film and television stars "enter the play", not only limited to the process lineup of award presenters or the opening of the party.
For example, Sha Yi and Yan Ni participated in the performances of sketches and cross talk respectively. They not only brought a nymphomaniac effect to the show, but also showed a different artistic expression.
"I hope there will be more integration and collision between the film and television industry and traditional programs. "This is about the expectation of the new generation of Spring Festival Gala.
If the joining of film and television stars is the "external introduction" of the Spring Festival Gala, then the most surprising change in the 2020 Spring Festival Gala comes from the "internal breakthrough". This year, a large number of Internet celebrities and the new generation of small fresh meat began to "crowd" the Spring Festival Gala, marking that the Spring Festival column, which has the longest life in history, has also entered the era of traffic.
"In the past, the faces of the Spring Festival Gala were relatively simple, and most of them were old artists. Now I'm finally young!" Many young viewers commented. Indeed, in the era when everyone is Xi watching Zhao Benshan and Xiao Shenyang take care of the stock of the Spring Festival Gala, the addition of new things such as Yao Di and Ai Ge has really brought a lot of new ideas.
"This is in line with the law of the times. The producer of the Spring Festival Gala said that the main purpose of joining young idols is to attract more 8090 groups and expand the scope of influence of the Spring Festival Gala.
Indeed, the fans behind these newcomers can almost form a "big country", and the Spring Festival Gala must take action to dock with it.
Of course, as a deep-rooted symbol of the National Spring Festival, should we fully embrace the traffic culture and make the Spring Festival Gala a traffic game? This makes many viewers full of doubts.
We may need to think more carefully about the relationship between traffic and content.
In the face of menacing traffic stars, the production team of the Spring Festival Gala also took active action, and they chose to coordinate new and old resources through the two traditional sections of sketches and choruses.
As a result, batches of new generation of small fresh meat gathered at the sketch scene of the plot skewers. And a chorus called "Youth Positive Energy" is densely printed with the faces of Internet celebrities wearing halos.
This obvious alternation of the old and the new has set off polarized evaluations in the field of public opinion. Veteran audiences who defend tradition seem to have a hard time adjusting to the stiff and astringent new faces in the skit.
But for that group of millennial young people, these idols on the TV screen that they are very familiar with in their daily lives have undoubtedly become the biggest finishing touch of the Spring Festival Gala.
"Our main consideration is the influence and appeal of these small fresh meats. The producer of the Spring Festival Gala said frankly. And the facts have also proved that with the joining of these traffic newcomers, the attention and discussion of this year's Spring Festival Gala among young audiences seem to have increased unprecedentedly.
Even if sometimes he is complaining about the stiffness and intransgression of his performance.
"It's better to have saliva than no one to talk to". This is probably the wisdom of traditional Chinese culture. This is also the inevitability of the new generation beginning to integrate into this Spring Festival column with the longest history.
Traffic and ratings, this is a real problem that every Spring Festival Gala producer must face.
"Today's sketch actors are all reading scripts stiffly, and they don't have any sense of humor at all. Some of the old viewers complained. Indeed, those old artists have long been familiar with acting, and every eye movement has a deep meaning.
In contrast, it is inevitable that newcomers will show stage fright in front of the camera.
"This is an inevitable process of replacing the old with the new, and everyone should give them a little time to grow." The producer said that while the traffic brings vitality to the Spring Festival Gala, it also affects the stability of the program.
But only by forging ahead can this show keep pace with the times.
The Spring Festival Gala may be in a delicate stage of transformation from "boutique" to "popular". The balance between passion and reason may be the key. Let's wait and see, and let us give blessings.
This evening program that belongs to the whole people will definitely shine with new excitement in the alternation of the old and the new.
This year's Spring Festival Gala is undoubtedly an attempt and breakthrough in the biggest move of the traffic element. The alternation of the old and the new has brought a fission-like impact, we have seen the panic of the little fresh meat stage fright, and we have also seen the helplessness of the old artists fading.
The inconsistencies of these run-in periods are inevitable.
But we should pay more attention to the fact that in this seemingly chaotic process of change, the Spring Festival Gala is still sticking to its true colors. Those songs and dances with a sense of traditional rituals still build a solemn and sacred time and space.
The roots of Chinese culture flow quietly in the long river of time. This is the eternal soul of this show.
Perhaps the turmoil will be temporary, and the chaos will return to calm. We believe that time will tell. This evening program, which is endlessly alive in the soil of Chinese culture, will continue to appear in front of everyone with a new look.
Let's wait and see, the precipitation may be a more brilliant essence.