A big hit on television this season is the Taiwan Television Network's program, "Happy Family" (Ho Chia Huan). This highly original game show features married couples working together, and separately, to answer questions relating to their marriage. The results have proven both humorous and moving. Positive viewer response indicates that "Happy Family" is not only widely enjoyed, but also significantly upgrades viewers attitudes towards marriage.

The show is broken into many segments giving the viewer a well paced and fresh ninety minutes of viewing enjoyment. The two most popular segments of the show have quiz-show formats. One uses a "question and response" format, and the other, a, "True and False" structure. Viewers find this light competition not only amusing and delightful, but very enlightening as well. Through the use of well researched questions and their accompanying responses, viewers can acquire knowledge about a variety of topics.

The first segment is the "question and response" game. This is a game where three competing couples are asked to give their response to a number of questions. A couple accumulates points if their responses are in accord.

In reviewing questions for the program, great care is taken to assure suitable topic material is selected. Planning assistant Fan Ch'ing-chin says questions are sought from all sources, but must be tested and discussed before use on the air. Fan says, irrespective of the nature of a proposed question, each is first tested on colleagues, friends, and family.

"Happy Family" aims to promote marriage, certainly not to create negative images. Given the show's educational nature, a question such as: "Is marriage the graveyard for love?" is not appropriate. Rather, a question such as "What is your mate's identification card number?" reveals how "intimately" the couple knows one another.

The questions raised on the program cover a wide spectrum of topics. Several of the more humorous and thought-provoking ones are: "How does the husband react to a wife who is not a good cook?" or, "Where was the first place the couple kissed?" Sometimes the questions will refer to family matters such as: "How heavy was your first child at birth?"

Such questions, while seemingly easy in many respects, have had a profound influence on the audience. Viewers are stimulated to reflect on their own marriages and family life. Hung Li-fu, the show's producer, has received many letters of gratitude from people who believe the questions have increased their appreciation of family life. One family wrote that their children have become more considerate to their parents as a consequence of watching this segment of the program.

The "True or False" segment leaves the topic of marriage for topics of information. This portion aims to intrigue the viewer with unusual and relatively unknown facts. These facts are more or less drawn from the most ordinary of situations. Here participating couples are asked to identify a situation they have just been read as true or false. A photograph or other supporting evidence may aid the couple's decision. For instance, "Usually when taking a taxi you must pay your fare, but did you know that in one area of Taipei the taxi driver actually pays you to ride in his cab?" Most people would emphatically answer, "false", but in fact this is true. Certain sections of the Hsimenting district are out of bounds for empty cabs. Thus clever cabbies actually pay people the equivalent of twenty-five cents U.S. to fill up their empty taxis so that they can drive into the off limits area and pick up the waiting fares.

Altogether, the show gives the viewers an interesting and educational array of questions presented in a light and humorous manner. With this successful combination of entertainment and instruction, the program, "Happy Family" is viewing enjoyment for both young and old.

(Gerald Hatherly)

[Picture Caption]

1. The "True or False" segment of the program calls on contestants to discern real situations from fabricated ones. 2. The question and response portion of the show provides a subtle test of a couple's mutual understanding.

2. The question and response portion of the show provides a subtle test of a couple's mutual understanding.

1. An older couple harmonize on a song.

2. The program offers the contestant an interesting and amusing variety of games and activities.