2006年VOA标准英语-Kid's Show TV Producer Plans Series for US

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
01 June 2006

Hollywood producer Tom Lynch is the man behind many popular children's television series. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan spoke¹ with the producer about his shows for young viewers, and his plans for a future series aimed at children in both the United States and China.

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Tom Lynch  
  

When Tom Lynch was in college, he had trouble finding direction, but the Los Angeles native noticed that Hollywood producers make a lot of money.

"And so I figured, I'll go be a TV producer, a film producer," said Tom Lynch. "I was a gardener at the time. I was working at someone's house, and they knew somebody that was working on a TV show."

That connection would lead him to Don Kirshner, the rock music impresario² who produced shows for television. Lynch worked for Kirshner for seven years.

In 1982, Lynch changed direction after the birth of his first child, and produced a pilot program for television. It was a children's variety show called KIDS Incorporated, and he sold it in syndication.

"And I flew around the country and went to the New York station and Chicago and LA here, basically with my little tape under my arm, begging them to pick it up," he said. "And they picked it up, and it ran for two years in syndication."

It later ran for seven years on the Disney Channel.

Then came more shows on Nickelodeon, Fox Kids and other networks. The Secret World of Alex Mack concerned a teenager who acquires magical powers during an accident in the lab or her scientist-father. The Journey of Allen Strange looked at an alien who came to earth in the form of a teenaged boy. A current show, Scout's Safari³, follows a 14-year-old girl who moves from Manhattan to an African safari lodge⁴, and the hit show Romeo! features young hip⁵ hop⁶ star Li'l Romeo and his real-life dad, music promoter Master P.

Tom Lynch in China    
  
Tom Lynch is a fan of Asian films, and that interest led to his latest project. He will begin filming a 13-part kids' series this year in Hong Kong for dual⁷ release next year in China and Western markets. The show concerns an Asian American boy who moves to China after his parents divorce, and his mother returns to her homeland.

"And he finds out that he's intertwined with this ancient Kung Fu myth, and he's got to save the world," noted⁸ Tom Lynch. "It's one of my favorite characters, the kid that's got to save the world."

Each scene will be filmed twice, with a bilingual cast.

"And the reason for that is that I wanted to stay very true to the Chinese television networks, and at the same time, make sure that the comedy plays for the rest of the world," he explained. "So it will be kind of an adventure for me. We'll actually set up a scene, shoot it in Mandarin⁹. Then we'll set the scene up again and shoot it in English."

The series, which is being produced with the Shanghai Media Group, presents some challenges. Chinese government censors¹⁰ must approve the scripts, but Lynch suspects that, on a children's show, they will be no harder to deal with than US network executives.

And he has worked in Asia already, producing a Chinese version of Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice awards for Central China Television.

He admits, however, that producing a series in two languages, for very different markets, presents some challenges.

"I don't know of any case where this has been done, and my friends, who all have shows in Burbank or at the Sony lot or whatever, they're like, why are you doing this? I say, I don't know," he admitted. "It hasn't been done. I'm going to go try it. "

Producer Tom Lynch says kid's culture, with its music and media stars, is becoming global today, and that children in Eastern Europe, India or China like many of the same things as kids in New York or Los Angeles

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 impresario   

n.歌剧团的经理人；乐团指挥

参考例句：

• The impresario will present an expanded series of concerts next season.下个季节将举办一次大型的系列音乐会。
• The impresario had buttoned his astrakhan coat.乐团经理扣好了羔皮外套。

3 safari   

n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队

参考例句：

• When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时，喜欢露天生火做饭。
• They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行，搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。

4 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

5 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

6 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

7 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

10 censors   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The censors eviscerated the book to make it inoffensive to the President. 审查员删去了该书的精华以取悦于总统。
• The censors let out not a word. 检察官一字也不发。