《周六夜现场》中国版遭下架
北京——当NBC环球(NBCUniversal)去年宣布，将制作一个迎合中国观众口味的《周六夜现场》(Saturday Night Live，简称SNL)版本时，人们都不清楚，在一个不容忍任何批评的共产党统治的国家里，这个以政治讽刺为题材的节目是否能生存下去。
Now, just weeks after “Saturday Night Live China” made its debut — with no overtly political content — its future looks even more doubtful. Viewers who tuned in over the weekend discovered that the show was not available from its host, the Chinese video-streaming platform Youku.
现在，在《周六夜现场》中国版(Saturday Night Live China)首季播出几周后，尽管其中并没有明显的政治内容，但节目的未来看来已更令人生疑。想收看该节目的观众上周末发现，无法在中国视频播放平台优酷上看这个节目。
“The site you were searching for has just gone to explore Pluto,” a notice at the show’s Youku page said.
“您找的页面飘得有点远......”，优酷主页上的一则通知说。
NBCUniversal executives in the United States and Britain could not immediately be reached for comment during China’s business day on Tuesday. A customer service agent for Youku, who declined to be identified, said that all episodes of the show had been temporarily removed from Youku pending “a rectification and upgrade of its content.” She added that Youku had removed the episodes at the request of the show’s production team.
记者无法在中国周二的工作时间里第一时间联系到NBC环球在美国和英国的高管置评。优酷的一位拒绝透露姓名的客户服务代理说，该节目内容有待“整改提高”，第一季的所有各集已暂时从优酷网上撤下。她补充说，优酷撤节目是应节目制作团队的要求。
“We don’t know when it’s coming back,” she said.
“我们不知道它什么时候回来，”她说。
When “Saturday Night Live China” was announced last year, Michael Edelstein, then the president of NBCUniversal International Studios, told the British news outlet Broadcast that the show would be “true to its format with some additional twists to keep it fresh and culturally relevant for the local audience.”
去年宣布《周六夜现场》中国版时，时任NBC环球国际工作室(NBCUniversal International Studios)总裁的迈克尔·埃德尔斯坦(Michael Edelstein)对英国新闻机构Broadcast说，该节目会“保持其原有的形式，但会有一些额外的转折，以保持新鲜感，以及对本地观众的文化相关性”。
“With Youku as a home, we are confident that ‘S.N.L. China’ will be innovative and entertaining, whilst still being culturally sensitive and respectful,” Mr. Edelstein was quoted by Broadcast as saying.
“以优酷做平台，我们对SNL中国版的创新性和娱乐性信心十足，同时也对节目的文化敏感性、以及对当地文化的尊重有信心，”Broadcast援引埃德尔斯坦的话说。
The show, one of several international versions of “Saturday Night Live,” differs from the original in key ways besides language. It isn’t live, for starters, and it doesn’t directly address politics in China or elsewhere.
中国版是《周六夜现场》的几个国际版本之一，除了语言外，内容与原版也有重要的不同。首先，它不是现场直播，也不直接涉及中国或其他地方的政治。
In the show’s second episode, one skit mocked China’s national soccer team, which did not qualify for the World Cup in Russia. “When the Soviet Union disintegrated, China’s rank dropped by about 20,” a character says of the team. “Then it dropped again when the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia broke up. And then there was the breakup of Serbia and Montenegro, and Kosovo.”
第一季的第二集中，有一个嘲笑中国国家男子足球队的小品，中国男足未能通过参加俄罗斯世界杯的资格赛。“当年前苏联解体，国足的排名一下掉了十几位，”小品中的一个角色这样评论男足。“前南斯拉夫分裂，国足的排名，又掉了四五位。再加上科索沃独立，塞黑分家，南北苏丹内战。”
Another skit portrayed a matriarchal society where polyandry is common and men are tyrannized by women. “My male compatriots, have you felt you have been bullied and suppressed by females?” a male comedian asks. “Have you noticed that the women in your family are always condescending?” (Answer: “Yes!”)
另一个小品是对母系社会的描述，在那里，一妻多夫很常见，男人被女人欺负。“我的男性同胞们，你们觉得自己受女性的欺负和压制吗?”一名男性喜剧演员问道。“你注意到你家的女人总对你居高临下吗?”(回答：“是呀!”)
On Douban, a Chinese social network that focuses on culture, users have given the American version of “Saturday Night Live” a rating of 9.2 out of 10. But the Chinese version’s rating is just 4.9 out of 10, and many viewers have ridiculed it as either not entertaining or else inappropriate for a Chinese context.
在关注文化的中国社交网站豆瓣上，用户对美国版《周六夜现场》的评分是9.2(满分10分)。但中国版的评分仅为4.9，许多观众嘲笑它既没有娱乐性，也不符合中国的情况。
“My thirst for knowledge urged me to try ‘S.N.L.’ and my survival instinct nudged me to fast-forward through,” one user wrote on Douban, referring to the Chinese version. “There are way too many things to grumble about.”
“我对知识的渴求促使我去试看SNL。我的生存本能促使我快播到底，”一位用户在豆瓣上这样评价中国版。“有太多可抱怨的东西。”
“‘S.N.L.’ is supposed to be a show poking fun at current affairs and politicians, and this is impossible in China,” another Douban user wrote. “Therefore, the show already has a congenital defect, not to mention inferior jokes.”
“SNL本来是一个取笑时事和政客的节目，但这在中国是不可能的，”另一名豆瓣网用户写道。“因此，节目已经先天不足，就别提其中的低级笑话了。”
But other social media users lamented what looked like another casualty of the Chinese government’s censorship of online life.
但其他社交媒体用户也表达了对看来是中国政府审查网上生活的又一受害者的遗憾。
“Sigh, I feel sad,” a user wrote on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like platform. “I’m not allowed to watch the movies or the reality shows that I like.”
“唉，我很难过，”一位用户在新浪微博上写道。“我看不成我喜欢的电影或真人秀。”
In a notice last week, China’s top media regulator issued guidelines that it said were meant to ensure that TV shows for young people promote “core values of socialism.” The regulator said its goal was to help young people avoid “vulgar and harmful” programs and “enjoy the summer vacation in a clean and regulated cyberspace.”
在上周的一份通知中，中国最高媒体监管机构宣布了其指导方针，称其目的为确保面向年轻人的电视节目宣传“社会主义核心价值观”。该机构说，通知的目的是帮助年轻人避免“低俗有害”的节目，“在天朗气清的网络空间欢度暑假”。
It was unclear if the disappearance of “S.N.L. China” from Youku was linked to that announcement, much less whether the show fit the regulator’s definition of “vulgar and harmful.” Calls to the regulator — the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television — were not answered on Tuesday.
尚不清楚SNL中国版从优酷上消失与这份通知是否有关系，更不知道该节目是不是监管机构认为的“低俗有害”的东西。周二，记者给国家广播电视总局打的电话无人接听。
Last month, a person close to the show’s production team told the Chinese news outlet Caixin Global that his two favorite jokes in the first episode had been cut from the edited broadcast. He said the jokes had touched on drugs, childbirth and blind dating — and one of the most politically sensitive subjects in China, Taiwan, the self-governing island that China considers part of its territory. His account could not be independently verified.
上个月，一位熟悉节目制作团队的人士对中国的英文新闻媒体财新全球(Caixin Global)说，第一集中他最喜欢的两个笑话被剪掉了。他说，这些笑话涉及毒品、生小孩和男女初次约会等内容，有的还涉及了中国最具政治敏感性的话题之一：台湾。台湾是一个自治的岛屿，大陆当局认为它是中国领土的一部分。此人说法无法独立核实。
Chinese streaming services like Youku have a financial incentive to expand their online offerings.
对像优酷这样的中国流媒体服务而言，扩大其在线服务内容是有利可图的。
In a 2016 report on China’s media and entertainment industries, the London-based consultancy PwC said Chinese advertisers spent $920 million on video ads in 2015, and that the figure was expected to more than double within five years. It said streaming services like Youku were competing for advertising revenue partly by buying rights to show American movies and other online entertainment.
总部位于伦敦的咨询公司普华永道(PwC)在2016年发布的一份关于中国媒体和娱乐业的报告中说，中国广告商2015年在视频广告上的支出为9.2亿美元，预计这一数字在五年内会增长一倍以上。报告说，优酷等流媒体服务通过购买美国电影和其他在线娱乐节目的播放权来争夺广告收入。
“Looking ahead, success might well be dictated by which online streaming service can negotiate the best deals with the American studios,” the report said.
“展望未来，成功与否很有可能取决于哪家在线流服务能与美国制片公司达成最佳的协议，”报告说。
