GBA Race: Danger Zone is the overlord that breaks the convention in every way | Opinion
Nominated for 8 awards at 57th Golden Bell Awards, Danger Zone is one of the most outrageous Taiwanese dramas of the year in terms of the development and reversal of the plot, as well as the visual impact of the action scenes.
Given that Taiwanese dramas now enjoy relatively abundant production resources, what are the advantages of the five nominees competing for Best Television Series at this year’s 57th Golden Bell Awards?
With previous success in The Victims’ Game, David Chuang (莊絢維) and Allen Chen (陳冠仲) are considered the most daring directors to explore diverse genres and themes and to challenge Taiwan’s long-existing casting culture after Cheng Wei-Hao (程偉豪), the director of The Tag-Along. Paying homage to Black & White (2009), Danger Zone sublimates the scale of its genre, production funds and length (20 hours in total), setting a high bar for the commercialization of Taiwanese drama.
If Taiwanese drama hopes to compete with other countries on the international stage, the industry needs the strong support of the technical teams behind the scenes. From this perspective, it is indeed imperative for GBA to create a number of new technical achievement awards to give out recognitions. Not only does the behind-the-scenes team achieve groundbreaking work, but the creatives and actors also lead Danger Zone to present a self-evident impressive performance. But it’s precisely this dashing drive that drags the audience to sprint forward achieving a certain aura that lacks the complex and subtle sentiment that the cast of The Victims’ Game builds up so successfully, owing to the structure.
Danger Zone’s extensive length also loosens the structure and misses the focus of each episode’s theme, which somewhat makes the one-of-its-kind series pale in comparison with its fellow nominees.
Read the other analyses for the nominated Best Television Series of the 57th Golden Bell Awards.
The Making of an Ordinary Woman 2: A cure for the maladies of contemporary civilization
Gold Leaf: the uplifting warmth among Taiwan dramas
Danger Zone: the overlord that breaks the convention in every way
Seqalu: Formosa 1867: the most unstoppable period drama
Light the Night: praised as the Taiwanese Squid Game
Will, one day, Taiwanese drama march on to the Emmys?
These are my analysis of the nominees of the 57th Golden Bell Awards for Best Television Series. Looking at the major TV and movie awards around the world, we would find that the logic of the awards varies. No matter how much big data and professional analysis are conducted, it is impossible to precisely predict the considerations of the committee composed of different professional fields. The saying of “being shortlisted equals gaining recognition” is not created to comfort the nominees, but to reflect the committee’s dilemma when decisions are hard to make.
Would the Golden Bell Awards signify the Taiwanese Emmy Awards? Or, as we’re always asking, “will, one day, Taiwanese drama march on to the Emmys and win big like ‘Squid Game’”? The answer is a resounding yes. It took 20 years of hard work for Korean dramas to fully blossom. For now, it only took two or three years for Taiwanese drama to embrace its revival.
If we keep up this momentum with resilience, a wider global audience will surely appreciate and embrace the beauty of Taiwanese dramas in five or ten years.
Original text from Dramago.
Written by Cheercut
Edits by Chen Shan-Shan
Copyedits by Yang Lee
Translation by Maggie Sur-Han Chang
Editorial review by Whitney Hung
