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THE MISSING CHINK
Four
5-minute episodes, Channel 4, Jan 19 - 22nd 2004 Written
by and featuring Paul Courtenay Hyu, The Missing Chink stars
Paul Chan (above), David Yip, Burt Kwouk, Rory Underwood MBE,
The "Missing Chink" of the title refers to the conspicuous absence of a British-East-Asian role model in the public eye, particulary in (but not restricted to) television. Powerless to do anything about the situation (working in a takeaway), our two protagonists while away their time watching telly and reading celebrity magazines, neither of which feature anyone they can aspire to be. The lack of a recognisable British-East-Asian actor, presenter, news-reader, sportsman, comedian or celebrity in the public domain, coupled with the characters' perception that they are sexually neutered by a hostile media is the background to why our two frustrated anti-heroes muse on a variety of subjects, which include football Vs rugby, Jamie Oliver, It Ain't Half Hot, Mum, sexy white women, Miss Saigon and EastEnders.
The full series of four films was shown in their entirety to open the Electric Shadows Chinese Film Festival in Glasgow, Scotland on the 23rd January 2004.
Click here for one of the many online discussions this series has provoked
For
Touch Productions Full Guardian Review Nancy Banks-Smith Tuesday January 20, 2004 Missing
Chink (Channel 4) is a series of short comedy sketches, one each day
till Thursday, about the unobtrusiveness of the Chinese among us. If
they weren't barely there, you wouldn't risk that joke. Last night two
Chinese men, Paul Hyu and Paul Chan, were discussing the lack of Chinese
actors on TV. In the immemorial way of such things, Hyu is tall and
thin and Chan is short and Scouse. "There was The Chinese Detective
in the 80s." "What was his gimmick?" "He detected things in a Chinese
way." "He should have been a Chinese herbalist, it would have been more
realistic." "What would The Chinese Herbalist do?" "Solve crimes and
stuff." "What crimes?" "Herbal crimes," cried Hyu, tormented. At which
point David Yip, who was The Chinese Detective, came in for his takeaway,
unrecognised. Twenty years is a long time in television. Can you name
a famous British Chinese person? There's Ken Wok, Jimmy Choo, Burt Kwouk,
Iain Duncan Smith. No, wait. Wok's a mistake, Choo's Malaysian-born,
Kwouk plays Japanese and Iain Duncan Smith is an eighth Japanese. And
not what you'd call famous. The Guardian January 21, 2004 Channel 4 under fire over 'racist' show John Plunkett More than 100 people have complained about a Channel 4 documentary about Chinese culture called The Missing Chink, with one viewer branding the title "blatantly racist". The short run of five-minute programmes, which began on Monday, asks why there are so few Chinese actors and sports stars in the UK. Hosted by two Chinese British comedians, it features appearances by former Chinese Detective David Yip, Pink Panther star Burt Kwouk and England rugby hero Rory Underwood. Channel 4 bosses said the title of the four-part series was an "ironic comment on the fact that the Chinese have been overlooked in Britain." But many viewers disagreed. More than 60 people have so far complained to Channel 4, with another 48 complaints sent to new TV regulator Ofcom. "It is supposed to be addressing why there is a lack of Chinese role models in Britain which I don't have a problem with," one viewer told MediaGuardian.co.uk. "But I am so angry at this blatantly racist title. I don't see why Channel 4 should get away with perpetuating this kind of racism when there would be a massive outcry if the title was dealing with another ethnic minority and using an obviously pejorative term." A mixture of sketches and documentary, the first part of Missing Chink was watched by 900,000 viewers. In one scene, presenters Paul Courtnay Hyu and Paul Chan discussed Yip's '80s crime series, The Chinese Detective, before Yip himself walked in to collect his takeaway, unrecognised. The Observer said it was an "interesting, if flawed, attempt to meld documentary with sitcom... asking why it is still okay to poke fun at one of the UK's oldest ethnic communities on TV." The Guardian's Nancy Banks-Smith said if the Chinese "weren't barely there, you wouldn't risk that [Missing Chink] joke." Missing Chink is the latest Channel 4 documentary to be saddled with a provocative title, including Pissed on the Job and "Bodyshock", a season of programmes which included The Boy Who Gave Birth To His Twin and the Riddle of the Elephant Man. A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: "The Missing Chink is written and performed by two British Chinese comedians, Paul Courtnay Hyu and Paul Chan. The title is meant as an ironic comment on the fact that the Chinese have been overlooked in Britain - they are a missing ethnic minority. The title and the content aims to highlight this lack of public awareness in a light hearted way." The Scotsman, 21st Jan 2004 'Missing Chink' TV Series Accused of Racism By Sherna Noah, Showbusiness Correspondent, PA News Channel 4 has been accused of racism over its new documentary The Missing Chink. Regulator Ofcom and Channel 4 have each received around 85 complaints over the four-parter, which is screened this week. The show features Pink Panther star Burt Kwouk, former Chinese Detective David Yip and former England rugby hero Rory Underwood. Channel 4 defended the controversial short documentary series as “ironic”. A spokeswoman said: “The title was devised by one of the presenters, who is British Chinese, and who believes very strongly, as do we, that the Chinese are the missing ethnic minority in Britain. “The show looks at how the Chinese have been overlooked in Britain in a light-hearted way.” The six-minute shows, hosted by Chinese British comedians Paul Courtnay Hyu and Paul Chan, ask why there are so few Chinese actors and sports stars in Britain. The spokeswoman said it had no plans to drop the final two editions tonight and tomorrow at 7.55pm. Ofcom confirmed it had received 85 complaints. BBC News, 21 January 2004 Viewers complain over 'Chink' TV A Channel 4 series about Britain's "invisible" Chinese community called The Missing Chink has sparked more than 145 complaints from viewers. Many of the complaints to the broadcaster and watchdog Ofcom criticised the "racist" nature of the show's title. The show, first broadcast on Monday, asked why there are so few Chinese sports stars and actors in the UK. Channel 4 defended the series, saying the title was an "ironic comment". A spokeswoman said the title referred to "the fact that the Chinese have been overlooked in Britain". The Missing Chink is written and performed by two British Chinese comedians Paul Courtnay Hyu - who also thought up the title - and Paul Chan. Ofcom has received 85 complaints while Channel 4 said it had received at least 60. 'Open eyes' "The title - and the content - aims to highlight this lack of public awareness in a light-hearted way," the spokeswoman said. She said neither the channel nor Mr Hyu thought the title was derogatory. "Both he and Channel 4 believe that both the title and the programme content falls a long way from being racist and serves only to open the eyes of the public to the British Chinese situation," she said. A mixture of comedy sketches and documentary footage, the first part of The Missing Chink was watched by 900,000 viewers, according to unofficial overnight ratings. Ananova, 21 January 2004 Complaints over The Missing Chink Channel 4 has been accused of racism by Chinese viewers furious about its new comedy The Missing Chink. Nearly 130 people have complained about the four-parter, which is being screened this week. It features Pink Panther actor Burt Kwouk, former Chinese Detective star David Yip and former England rugby star Rory Underwood. One viewer told the Channel 4 website: "As a Chinese I'm extremely offended." Another said: "This is disgraceful." Channel 4 bosses have defended the controversial comedy, reports Teletext. The five-minute shows, hosted by Chinese British comedians Paul Courtnay Hu and Paul Chan, ask why there are so few Chinese actors and sports stars here. A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: "The title is meant as an ironic comment on the fact that the Chinese have been overlooked in Britain. It aims to highlight this in a lighthearted way. The presenters chose the title." The channel has no plans to drop the final two editions which are due to be screened tonight and on Thursday at 7.55pm. One Chinese viewer has dubbed the show "just plain racism" and others have demanded an on-air apology. More than 80 people have complained to Channel 4 and another 48 to regulator Ofcom. In order to balance the picture somewhat, click here to see a selection of positive comments: Statement by Paul Courtenay Hyu issued 23rd January 2003
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