'Thank God You're Here' Complained About Violent, Sexual Scenes

Since its broadcast, the show has received positive feedback for its novelty but has also been criticized for its many silly situations, with excessive statements and offensive actions.

Thank God You're Here is a sitcom copyrighted by Australia. Vietnam is the third Asian country to buy the copyright to produce the show. The main characters of the show include 4 department heads, 4 guests (who are celebrities) and judges.

Thank God You're Here airs during prime time on weekends. The show features famous artists such as Hoai Linh, Viet Huong, Tran Thanh, Chi Tai, Cong Ly, Xuan Bac... After 5 weeks of broadcasting, Thank God has created a fever with the number of viewers increasing with each episode.

Viet Huong and Anh Duc in the skit in episode 1.

The highlight of the show is the element of surprise, because the performances are completely unscripted. The head of the department only provides the context, then the content of the skit will follow the direction that the players handle. The random situations that arise are a test of the behavioral culture and wit of the participants. One of the players who conquered the audience was MC Hoang Phi, in the skit with Viet Huong in episode 4. Not only was he witty and skillful in solving each situation that Viet Huong posed, the MC made the audience admire him because of his action of blindfolding a participating boy's eyes and ears, before he unleashed a string of words that children should not hear with Viet Huong.

Hoang Phi's performance was highly appreciated by Hoai Linh, not only because it was funny but also because it conveyed a message to the audience, about the attitude of adults towards children.

However, from the beginning of the program until now, performances like Hoang Phi's are very rare. Most of the remaining performances stop at the level of pure entertainment. Some of them even have funny scenes that are considered offensive.

This is first shown in the excessive images and language. For example, in episode two, Phi Thanh Van appears with many flirtatious words and sensitive actions such as hugging her chest, approaching male colleagues, crawling around in a low-cut short skirt...

In addition, in the skit of Viet Huong - Anh Duc in episode 1, some comments said that the artists' language was "vulgar, not funny".

The most criticized scenes from the audience were the violent scenes in episode 5. Audience member Tran Mai Phuong commented on the performance of Thanh Thuy, Dai Nghia and Ngoc Tuong: "The performance was like a mess. Ngoc Tuong also controlled himself well, being beaten, pinned down, stripped of clothes, pulled by hair by Thanh Thuy and Dai Nghia... I couldn't stand watching it. I hope the violent scenes will be restrained a bit, if they are too much, not only will it not be funny but it will also be offensive to watch."

A reader also expressed: "I'm disappointed, especially the heads of department Viet Huong and Thu Thuy. Why did they use violence in the situation I gave them? Are they out of funny ideas...?". This reader thinks that the organizers are lazy in investing in the show.

Another person wrote: "I hope the directors have more interesting and profound scripts that bring more laughter to the audience. Episode 5 was a bit sad to see the audience criticize it so much. It was violent and vulgar."

Ngoc Tuong was left scratching his head in episode 5. Photo: Pham The Danh.

The limitations of Thank God You're Here can be explained by the format of the show. The players don't know what to do, everything is unexpected and confusing. As one reader commented: "It's not easy to have quick, timely, profound and witty reactions. Participants in the show must have a good foundation in behavioral culture and quite broad knowledge about culture and society. In particular, they must be intelligent, sharp and have a sense of humor."

In response to the gossip about the show, comedian Viet Huong shared: "Thank God You're Here has been carefully edited, cut, and polished before airing. The goal of the show is entertainment. We serve hundreds of families, we cannot please all audiences."

Regarding the fighting scenes, Viet Huong emphasized that the stage effects made the audience feel heavy.

The comedian added that the players are an important factor in each skit. The agility and intelligence of the guests determine the success or failure of each performance. What both the head of the department and the guests learn after each skit is that they have more experience in improvising in life.

According to VnExpress