VietNamNet Bridge
- Vietnam
Television (VTV) has decided to stop broadcasting a TV soap opera series
Wednesday after it received strong criticism from viewers.

The suspended drama, “Anh chang vuot thoi gian” (The time
traveler) now in its 18th episode, tells a story of Hai Anh, a coma patient who
dreams he travels back through time to a kingdom where he unveils many
mysteries.

On air from March, the series produced by Nang Dong Viet
Company has stirred widespread concerns over its sloppy script, feeble details
and its cast’s poor acting skills.

“We are worried about the poor quality of Vietnam’s
television industry as disappointing films like this keep being produced and
shown on TV,” a Tuoi Tre reader, among hundreds of others, commented critically
in a recent film review by the newspaper.

Nguyen Thanh Luong, deputy head of VTV, said the suspension
was necessary for its partner (Nang Dong Viet) to gather more time and
resources to do a better job for the rest of the series.

The film’s production process, a hasty and problematic one,
was attributed by many to its disappointing final product.

Having a total of 36 episodes, the series’ first part was
only filmed in less than one month before it was officially aired in VTV3 in
March.

Nang Dong Viet also needs to settle their internal problems
with the cast and film crews, Luong said, after a sudden change was announced
to the initial cast.

The new cast, however, shows signs of disappointment and one
of its leading actor, model Hua Vi Van, has even backed out of the series.

“If I continue to do this film, it will be a disaster for
our industry,” he said in a recent interview with a newswire.

“The series’ upcoming episodes should be ensured of their
qualities, or else we would not allow them to be shown,” Luong warned.

However, he did not mention VTV’s responsibility as a
broadcaster over censoring and scrip checking.

In recent development, Luong also delivered VTV’s first
official comment after one of its education program for young children showed
animal cruelty against a small cat, arousing widespread anger among viewers.

“It was an unfortunate event, and we have drawn valuable
experiences from it,” Luong said.

In that TV education show, some kids tied a small cat to a
bottle and threw the bottle and cat into the water.

They laughed seeing the cat struggling for its life in the
water. Two celebrities stood there, smiling and doing or saying nothing to help
the drowning cat.

Two kids later took the cat out. The animal survived.

Source: Tuoi Tre