Wow, I go away for 2 weeks and not only did The Ultimatum finally end, but the presses have also been abuzz about it’s flopping. Isn’t it funny that the only newsworthy thing about this series is its abject failure? Why is that even newsworthy? From the buzz, one would think that Mediacorp has never made a flop before (yeah right). Or is it because this flop was so unexpected–with all the big guns deployed to this project, HOW could it possibly fail? Yes, how indeed (see posts below for ideas).

But more interesting than it’s failure is how that failure is justified.

There are those who blame the script, as some so-called “insiders” are wont to do. Sure, the script is horribly written and completely unoriginal. You’ll get no argument from me about that (see previous posts). But, is it the fault of the writer for writing a bad script or the person/people who approved the project based on that badly written and unoriginal script? Also, the script is really only what’s written on the page. It is the director’s vision that ultimately drives the project. So, unless you are the kind of director that literally only shoots what’s on the page and has no vision, no creative input, then yes it is the fault of the writer for not writing something better for you to shoot.

Also, there are those who blame the actors. Part of the reason why this flop is even newsworthy is because of the big names involved. According to the Chinese press, one “insider” even went so far as to say that “The Ultimatum’s ratings loss to The Little Nonya shows that the young ones are able to carry a show and get good ratings.” Really? How is that so when The Ultimatum was the series that separated the men from the boys? The goats from the sheep? It was the handful of experienced actors (Zoe Tay and Li Nanxing absolutely not included–see previous posts) that carried the series, while the “young ones” flopped around in loud voices and flared nostrils and sucked up all the oxygen in the scene. Like I said, even Chen Shucheng’s eyelids did a better job than the upstarts. In short, all the “young ones” did not deliver.

On the other hand, The Little Nonya was not a series made up entirely of upstarts. The backbone of the series were the experienced supporting cast who made the story more interesting than it would have been if all it had were the saccharine Jeanette Aw, the stiff and awkward Dai Yang Tian, and the thoroughly bland and predictable Joanne Peh, just to name a few.

These are the usual rants. We’ve heard them before. However, it is the myriad justifications from senior Mediacorp staffers that makes it is painfully obvious that the people in charge are either clueless or have serious delusions about what it is that they produce. No wonder The Ultimatum is such a flop.

According to the Sunday Times’ Life!, Chia Men Yiang, Mediacorp’s Senior Executive Producer (EP) for Chinese drama, “admits that the producers might have misjudged Singaporeans’ appetite for the exotic.” Exotic? What on earth was exotic about The Ultimatum? Zoe Tay’s bubble skirt? Whatever delusions of grandeur this EP may have about her…er…”talents”, it is way past time for a reality check. There is nothing exotic about The Ultimatum so please stop flattering yourself. You are not some misunderstood artist. You made a dud so live with it and stop blaming the audience for not being able to appreciate the kind of exotica that only exists in your mind.

In an interview in a Chinese press, Ms Kok Leng Song, Senior AVP of Mediacorp’s Chinese Drama said that the ratings were lower than expected because of the show’s genre. And the failure of The Ultimatum shows that people still preferred family dramas. Hmm…let me get this straight. Mediacorp’s SENIOR AVP of Chinese Drama thinks that The Ultimatum is NOT a family drama even though it ONLY revolves around family? One family in particular? How can that be? Surely of all the people in the world, this person must know what a family drama is. She must know that a family drama revolves around family, right? After all, she IS the Senior AVP of Chinese Drama, isn’t she? Surely Mediacorp would not have someone so clueless helming this division would they?

Well, think again because she goes on to add that “before, family dramas always had good ratings. Local audiences still preferred to watch family dramas that are closer to their lives. So for a period of time, we were almost producing only family dramas. But we received some unhappiness (sic) with this, so we decided to do something that is quite different.” Say what? In what way is The Ultimatum different? Is it different because it has a badly written script? Is it different because it was badly told? Is it different because of the poor choice of costumes? Or is it different because of the (poor) use of HD? Or is it different because it was simply poorly thought out and badly executed?

And, as if the above were not enough, this Senior AVP also says that there are parts in The Ultimatum that are more melodramatic. Because of this, it would be “understandable” if the audience is not able to identify with it or be drawn into the story. Er, excuse me but how do you quantify “more melodramatic” when this series is ENTIRELY melodramatic? Is it when Elvin Ng flares his nostril or when Felicia Chin shouts at Tay Ping Hui? Or is it when Zoe Tay deliberately shakes her gun at Fann Wong in the field of lallang like she’s got parkinson’s? As it stands the melodrama in this series is so high pitched, one cannot imagine how it could be “more melodramatic.” Perhaps she’s trying to say that there are parts in the story that are over the top? Completely unrealistic? Implausible? Ridiculous? Badly thought out? Hmm…if that is so then please learn to call a spade a spade and stop using words you don’t understand.

Or perhaps you’re trying to say that this series failed because of SOME more melodramatic parts? That if it weren’t for these dastardly parts, the series would have been a roaring success because everything else was done so perfectly right? Well, since the logic of what you’ve said doesn’t suggest otherwise, then I recommend you join your friend Ms EP and get a reality check.

The reality is that you’ve made a dud. And the audience knows it. And now it’s a hot potato that no one wants. So let’s pass the buck. Let’s pretend we made something so highly evolved, that the audience isn’t mature enough to get it. Yes, let’s say it’s exotic. Let’s say the audience doesn’t understand the melodrama. Let’s blame the audience for their lack of sophistication and maturity. After all, they can’t defend themselves. Right?

Wrong. If anything, this fiasco shows that the audience is mature enough to know when they’ve been fed something bad. We’re way ahead of you, Mediacorp. And it’s about time you keep up. Perhaps the way to start is to make sure that the people you put in charge of making drama really know how to make drama because it is obvious that the ones currently at the helm do not. How could they when they do not even know what exotic or melodrama are? How could they if they do not even know that they’ve made a family drama? What did they think The Ultimatum was? A mystery?