HCM CITY — An increasing number of locally made series are being aired on national TV networks, but audiences are displeased with the quality of the offerings and the broadcast schedules.
Many viewers, mostly youth, have complained about the quality of the TV series Full House and Doctor Brothers, remakes of Korean hits by domestic companies BHD and VietcomFilm.
"The Vietnamese versions are not interesting although several well-known artists were for the productions," said Tran Thi Mai, a second-year student at HCM City University.
"With more and more TV series produced each year, studios face a shortage of interesting scripts. Many studios have bought the copyright for several series from other countries," Do Thanh Hai, director of Viet Nam Film Company, said.
"Several series have many similarities," said Phan Chau, a second-year student at HCM City's University of Social Science and Humanities.
"We've seen dark schemes and revenge in Doi Mat (Confrontation) and Niem Dau Chon Giau (Hidden Pain)," he said. "We also don't like to see the same faces in series after series."
"We see Dinh Hieu and Ngoc Lan in Cong Mat Troi (The Sun Gate) and we're seeing them again in Cuoc Goi Luc Khong Gio (The Phone Call at Midnight)," Chau said.
Several film studios in Ha Noi and HCM City have made at least five historical TV series about King Ly Thai To, the founder of the city Thang Long-Ha Noi, to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of the nation's capital.
The 30-episode series Thai Su Tran Thu Do (The Great Tutor Tran Thu Do) and Ly Cong Uan – Duong Toi Thanh Thang Long (Ly Cong Uan-The Road to Thang Long Capital) were among the series that began filming in 2009.
Viet Nam Televsion (VTV) announced the series would be aired during the millennium celebration.
"We're waiting for these series since producers have said they will have interesting content," 12th grader Nguyen Thi Hoa said. "However, until now, nobody knows when both the series will be aired."
The filming of Tran Thu Do was estimated to cost around VND50 billion (US$2.5 million), while Ly Cong Uan cost VND100 billion.
Ly Cong Uan was shot in many locations in Viet Nam and China. The showing of the series was postponed after concerns were raised that they contained many scenes that made it look like a Chinese production.
"We can't launch it during the millennium celebration, especially because it's controversial," producers said.
The producers of the Great Tutor Tran Thu Do have not explained why the series was not shown last year.
Last week, the 40-episode Ve Dat Thang Long (Arriving in Thang Long) began showing on HTV 9 to greet the Ha Noi millennium celebrations.
"After several months' delay, we can now see one of the first historical series about King Ly Thai To made to greet the millennium," Minh Nga, a film fan, said.
The series describes historic events taking place in the country and the capital Hoa Lu before and after Ly Cong Uan was enthroned as the first king of the Ly dynasty. — VNS