OFFICIAL SITE HERE :)

this series started on Tuesday 19 January 2010 at 9pm on Channel 8, making it the first new drama in 2010! appropriately, it is a Chinese New Year themed drama, the second of its kind, as the first, “Reunion Dinner” aired last year around the same time, bringing the Chinese New Year spirit closer as the festivities approach. unlike “Reunion Dinner”, this 20-episode drama focuses on three branches of one family, not 3 unrelated families, like “Reunion Dinner” did.

this drama stars:

Rui-en as Yang Xiaodong
Remus Kam as Noguchi Nariyasu
Chen Shucheng as Dong Jianye
Shaun Chen as Chen Haojie
Chen Tianwen as Dong Jinxing
Darren Lim as Dong Muxing
Ann Kok as Dong Shuixing
Cynthia Koh as Jiang Mei-e
Pan Lingling as Noguchi Nako
Alan Tern as Alex
Marcus Chin as Chen Liangcai
Li Yinzhu as Mrs Chen
Koh Yah Hwee as Simin
Joey Feng as Coco
Ong Ai Leng as Mary
Henry Thia as Ding Xie

plot:
(from Mediacorp’s official page)

“The Rules for Students”… Priorities in life according to ancient wisdom

Although the Lunar New Year has yet to commence, Yang Xiaodong is already stocking up on New Year goodies in preparation to sell them during the festive period.

Xiaodong and her grandfather, Dong Jianye, run a little shop in Chinatown selling sundries. There are other shops selling dried pork (Bak Kwa), CDs, lingerie, etc. around. Everyone gets along well and she’s especially close to Chen Haojie, whom she holds a torch for, the guy who sells lingerie next door.

Haojie is actually a graduate who had been retrenched during the financial crisis. As he’s been out of job for about a year, he’s temporarily helping out at his uncle’s lingerie shop. Xiaodong likes Haojie in an innocent puppy-love kind of affection, although he’s already got a girlfriend from his varsity days.

Jianye is 70 years old and a known loner with no kin. Xiaodong is an orphan he’d adopted after her mother, Jianye’s neighbour, was killed in a fire. Although Xiaodong isn’t highly-educated, a verse her mum made her memorise as a child, and which she frequently recites, is deeply etched in her mind:

“The Rules for Students” are the Sage’s teachings.
First be good to parents and respect elders; next be reverent and trustworthy.
Love everyone and become close with the kind-hearted.
If there’s energy left over, then study books.

A dying old man’s last wish: to be reunited with his estranged family

A young Japanese man visits the shop one day and addresses Jianye as “Grandpa”. He tells Jianye that his name is Noguchi Nariyasu and that his father is Dong Jinxing, Jianye’s son. The moment he hears Dong Jinxing’s name, Jianye chases Nariyasu away and though immensely curious, Xiaodong does not dare ask more. That is, till she unintentionally finds a family portrait under her grandfather’s pillow one day. In the photo, she sees Jianye, his wife and three youths with similar looks. Obviously, this is Jianye’s family portrait. But why is it that Jianye has never mentioned anything about his family? The photo was dated 1992, 17 years back. “Where has Jianye’s family gone these 17 years?” Xiaodong wonders.

On the same day, Nariyasu returns to the shop. Nariyasu tells Xiaodong that Dong Jinxing is his stepfather and that Jianye has another son and a daughter, though he isn’t sure why the family had become estranged. Nariyasu knows that his stepfather misses his family all these years. He’s in Singapore on a business trip and had taken the opportunity to find Jianye, hoping to find out more about the family’s dispute. Xiaodong feels even more baffled.

Jianye is rushed to the hospital after fainting due to hypertension. Feeling that his own death is near, Jianye finally confides in Xiaodong, telling the latter that he hopes to see his children one more time before he passes on, and to have another family portrait taken.

To fulfil grandpa’s wish, Xiaodong and Nariyasu embark on the search for Jianye’s children with the intention of reuniting the family…

From what little clue provided by Jianye, Xiaodong finds Shuixing and is shocked to realise that though Shuixing is 34 years old, she has a 16-year-old daughter, Coco. Shuixing gets agitated at the mention of Jianye’s name and chases Xiaodong away. Xiaodong tells Shuixing that Jianye has fallen ill and wishes to see her, but the latter is unmoved. Shuixing remembers how, pregnant and helpless as a teenager, she hadn’t been able to get her father’s understanding and forgiveness. On the contrary, he had hit her with a rod, laming her. Wanting to stand up for her, Shuixing’s boyfriend had reported Jianye to the police, resulting in the latter’s imprisonment and the estrangement between father and daughter.

Jinxing and his wife, Nako, arrive in Singapore around this time with the intention of getting Nariyasu to attend a matchmaking session. Nariyasu begs Xiaodong for help, to pose as his girlfriend. Nako is enraged. Jinxing meets Muxing’s wife, Fei-e (Fatty E), by chance, and learns that Muxing currently stays around the Redhill vicinity.

Putting the matchmaking session aside, Nariyasu and Xiaodong go in search of Muxing. Muxing, however, is living in reclusion. He is an impractical man who only wants to be a boss. But every time his business fails, he would escape, choosing to ignore all and dumping the responsibilities to his wife, Jiang Mei-e. Only when Mei-e has resolved the problems would he emerge from his self-imposed seclusion (aka his room). To provide for her family, Mei-e works as a stand-in for any worker who’s absent. She no longer harbours hopes for her husband, placing them instead on her two children (Cheng Long and Cheng Feng). She wishes that her children would be successful in life.

Xiaodong asks Muxing to visit Jianye but the latter refuses

Over a decade ago, both Muxing and Jinxing had courted Mei-e. Jinxing lost to Muxing, resulting in some enmity between the brothers. During a quarrel between the brothers, Jianye’s wife fell to her death. Aggrieved, Jianye blames his wife’s death on Jinxing, causing the latter to run away in shame. After Jinxing’s departure, Muxing mortgaged Jianye’s house to start his business, but lost everything. Incensed, Jianye threatened to severe ties with Muxing… Piqued, Muxing swore never to return home until he strikes it rich…

Seeing the ailing Jianye pretending to take everything in his stride, Xiaodong and Nariyasu decide to reunite the family, to help them dispel all enmity and get them to embrace each other whole-heartedly.

interesting info:

this is Remus Kam’s 1st Mediacorp drama. he is a Malaysian-born actor who has acted in Taiwanese, Hong Kong ATV and Malaysian dramas.

Chen Tianwen, Darren Lim, Ann Kok, Cynthia Koh and Alan Tern were all in “Kinship I & II“.
interestingly, Darren Lim and Cynthia Koh were paired up in “Kinship I & II“, and so were Ann Kok and Alan Tern. Cynthia and Ann were sisters in that drama, and here, they play sisters-in-law. in this drama, Cynthia was involved in a love triangle with brothers Chen Tianwen and Darren Lim. Chen Tianwen was Darren’s uncle in “Kinship I & II“.

this is the 4th time Darren Lim and Cynthia Koh play a couple. they were previously paired in “Kinship I & II“, “The Little Nyonya” and “My School Daze“.

Pan Lingling and Cynthia Koh played sisters in “The Little Nyonya” and both were in love with Darren Lim’s character. here, they are sisters-in-law with very different characters.

Rui-en, Ann Kok, Darren Lim and Cynthia Koh were all in “My School Daze“.

Alan Tern, Koh Yah Hwee and Joey Feng starred in last year’s “Reunion Dinner“.

Rui-en’s one-sided love of Shaun Chen is nothing compared to their romance in “The Dream Catchers”, which was their 1st pairing.

thoughts:

i’m looking forward to Rui-en’s bubbly happy-go-lucky character! i’m also looking forward to Cynthia Koh as a fat woman, and Pan Lingling as a very awful person. i’ve never seen Remus Kam act before, and it’ll be interesting to watch too :)

edit: i’m enjoying this show! Rui-en is very very cute and convincing as Xiaodong! and Pan Lingling is really awful; such a psychotic character. Chen Tianwen is a timid and henpecked husband. Cynthia Koh has appeared, and is very optimistic and hardworking. Darren Lim is a miserable fellow who cannot accept failures. Ann Kok’s chemistry with her onscreen daughter Coco (Joey Feng) is quite sweet. i forgot to mention Remus Kam – he’s a very likable character. he’s sharp too – he suspects Ong Ai Leng’s real identity, while Xiaodong keeps ruining his attempts to expose her as a fake who is just after money.

***

4 episodes have aired. i’ll continue watching! :)

the next post will be “Together 当我们同在一起: FINAL REVEW”!!

qingling~

this post is continued from “The BEST and WORST of 2009” :)

we’ll explore the year 2009 as a whole, and look at what 2010 has to offer us!

***

2008 into 2009 marked the year a year-end blockbuster took the island by storm (The Little Nyonya)!

2009 marked the year of the first Star Awards to not be held in the year-end (Nov/Dec). the Star Awards ceremony was held in April instead.

2009 marked the year where a Chinese New Year drama was produced (Reunion Dinner).

2009 marked the year where a year-end blockbuster drama was produced consecutively (Together).

2009 is the year i’m proven right. haha, kinda. sorry, not being modest at all!
taken from The BEST and WORST of 2008:

PEOPLE TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2009!!

Dai Yangtian. duh. winning 2/8 of the ‘Top 8 Most Likeable Male Lead Characters 年度8大最喜爱的男角色‘ for the ONLY 2 roles he’s played is by no means an easy feat. it’s amazing. he’ll be acting in the ping-pong drama “乒乓圆”.

edit: 2 main roles in 2009! and both are blockbuster dramas! way to go!

Eelyn Kok – she’s versatile. she can be utterly miserable as Yu Meiwei in “Love Blossoms 心花朵朵开”, and the heartless, selfish, spoilt, and ‘black-hearted’ Huang Zhenzhu in “The Little Nyonya 小娘惹”… :) (PS i like the pattern of her blouse in the pic above!)

edit: although she was dubbed as Fiona Xie’s replacement for “Together”, which no doubt she was, she performed so well that i find it hard to imagine the role wasn’t originally intended for her in the first place!

Joshua Ang of Jack Neo’s “I Not Stupid” fame. after NS, he signed on with Mediacorp. most know of his wonderful acting skills portrayed in “I Not Stupid” and “Homerun”. look out for him in the ping-pong drama “乒乓圆”, where he romances Teresa Tseng of Campus Superstar fame.

edit: the lead role in “Table of Glory”, and a part in 180 episode mega-drama “Your Hand in Mine”. his year might actually be 2010 though.

Paige Chua – this newcomer appeared in 2008 and has done 3 dramas (“Just in Singapore 一房半厅一水缸”, “La Femme 绝对佳人” and “Crime Busters x2 叮当神探”) already. she looks set to rise up to bigger challenges, especially after her turn as a mentally disturbed forensic pathologist in “Crime Busters x2 叮当神探”.

edit: she had a challenging role in “Dream Catchers”, and a part in 180 episode mega-drama “Your Hand in Mine”. other than that, her appearance pale in comparison to 2008.

Rebecca Lim – she had 3 roles (“The Truth 谜图”, “The Defining Moment 沸腾冰点” & “Crime Busters x2 叮当神探”) in 2008… although only her role in “The Truth 谜图” was major. looking forward to seeing her more, as her acting is promising!

edit: she was only on Channel 5, and seems to be stuck there. a wrong prediction.

Jerry Yeo from Star Search 2007 fame. he played Jesseca Liu’s goody-two-shoes brother in “Beach.Ball.Babes 球爱大战” where he tried romancing Dawn Yeoh’s character, and then he guest-starred and played the mentally unsound genius in “Crime Busters x2 叮当神探”. i was impressed by his role, however small, in “Crime Busters x2 叮当神探”. it seemed so real and looked so real that it freaked me out.

edit: the villain in “The Ultimatum”! although the show was a failure, his performance wasn’t! he also had a small role in “Baby Bonus”. however, he’s gone back to school, so i don’t know when we’ll be seeing him next!

2009 was also the year of the departures and arrivals.

***

2010 is the 2nd consecutive year a Chinese New Year drama is produced (Happy Family).

2010 is the 2nd consecutive year the Star Awards are held in April.

2010 marks the return of telemovies! the last telemovies were more than a decade ago!

2010 might not have a year-end blockbuster drama.

2010 brings us old faces and new :)
PEOPLE TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2010!!

they don’t have to be newcomers…

Ann Kok

with Jacelyn, Biren and Ivy no longer in Mediacorp and on our screens, only Ann is left to hold the fort for 30-something leading roles. she already dominated our screens with her performances in “Housewives’ Holiday”, “My School Daze” and “Daddy at Home”. in 2010, she’s in the CNY drama “Happy Family”, where she has an auntie image and walks with a limp. we’ll definitely see more of Ann in 2010! :)

Cynthia Koh

she disappeared for a while, but she’s now the actress of choice for 30-something supporting roles. recently, she appeared in “The Little Nyonya”, and in 2009, she did “My School Daze”, “The Ultimatium” and “Daddy at Home”. in 2010, she plays a fat woman in CNY drama “Happy Familiy”.

other females…
in particular – Eelyn Kok, Tiffany Leong, Koh Yah Hwee

Dai Yangtian

you can say he’s the fastest rising star. he’s almost reached ah-ge status! i’ll be expecting more from him in 2010 :)

Zhang Zhenhuan

with 3 roles in 2009, he’s definitely one to watch. he plays a very different character in “New Beginnings 红白囍事”. no more timid roles :)

***

ok, i guess this sums up what we have in stall for 2010! :) do check out Paul Chan’s BaguaTV blog and twitter for the latest news!

my next post will be on “Happy Family 过好年”. the FINAL REVIEW for “Together 当我们同在一起” should be up soon too! :)

qingling~

THIS POST IS OVERDUE! SORRY GUYS!

earlier in July 2009, i did a post titled “Channel 8’s 2009 Dramas (Jan-Jul 09)“. to facilitate easier reference and a more complete post, i copied and pasted the entire entry here :)

i never completed this post, so i shall attempt to do that now!

do take a look at The BEST and WORST of 2006, 2007, & 2008. and Looking Back on 2008.

*some ratings have been revised. these final ratings have been reflected in the Hall of Fame*

–>

strictly speaking, “The Little Nyonya” & “Love Blossoms II” should be classified under 2008 dramas, but i didn’t manage to write comprehensive reviews on those 2 dramas, so you all really didn’t get to read how i felt about these 2 dramas! so i shall cover them here, in this post!

hope you all will enjoy reading!

***

The Little Nyonya 小娘惹
(Blockbuster drama)

official site
my 1st post
my 2nd post

this drama created so much hype! as i said before, when i was doing my Star Awards 2009 posts:

everyone expects “The Little Nyonya” to win, and why not?! it was a really good show, and it was engaging, and full of evil people. but its weak point was that it was too simple a story — it was either black or white, people was just good or bad, no grey, no conflicting struggles within a character.

“The Little Nyonya” will win [Best Drama] (based on the fact that it’s the biggest thing which has happened on Singapore TV in 20 years!)

[on The Little Nyonya winning Best Drama at Star Awards 2009]
this was expected! although in the poll i put up, it was no.3 behind By My Side and The Golden Path. well i guess enough has been said about this drama. people are getting irritated ‘cos of the over-exposure, and this is an expected result. i’m rather pleased with it, but would’ve been more pleased if The Golden Path or Just in Singapore had won :)

not only did this drama win Best Drama at Star Awards 2009, but Best Actress – Joanne Peh, and 2 Best Supporting Actress – Xiang Yun and Ng Hui – awards were also given out!

this 34-episode drama can be considered a milestone in Singaporean dramas. it created so much hype, and started a “Nyonya-craze”. but let’s not go into that. i’ll comment on the plot, and acting!

as i’ve said before, i thought it was a good show, and it could have been due to the simple plot, where black was black, and white was white – people were either extremely good or extremely evil, or just plain stupid.

the story concentrated on the life of the deaf-mute Juxiang (Jeanette Aw), and how she and her mother (Xiang Yun as Tian Lan) struggled as servants, although she was rightfully part of the family (she’s an illegitimate child). she was bullied left-right-and-centre by the mistress of the house (Lin Meijiao as Guihua), and her half-siblings (Darren Lim as Jincheng & Apple Hong as Meiyu), and cousins (Pan Lingling as Xiufeng & Cynthia Koh as Xiujuan). her weak-willed father (Yan Bingliang) never had a say. nevertheless, she was brilliant at cooking and bead-work. because of her disabilities, she was denied of an arranged marriage (to Pierre Png as Chen Sheng), and was forced to give the place to her half-sister Meiyu. she was forced to marry a ruthless and unscrupulous man (Desmond Sim as Charlie Zhang), but a Japanese photographer, her knight-in-shining armour (Dai Yangtian as Yosuke) saved her, and from Malacca, they ran to Singapore. they lived blissfully for a few years, until WWII came, and the Japanese Occupation began. both of them died, leaving their daugther, Yueniang, who grows up to be as pretty and talented as her mother.

thus begins the second part of the story, where Yueniang (Jeanette Aw) grows up happily with her grandmother (Xiang Yun as Tian Lan), and a faithful ma-jie (Ng Hui as Ah-Tao) in the Huang Mansion, as the rest of the family have fled to England. trouble begins when the family come back. and so starts the whole story again, where Yueniang is bullied by her half-cousins (Eelyn Kok as Zhenzhu & Andie Chen as Tianbao) and ‘grandma’ (Lin Meijiao as Guihua), aunt (Pan Lingling) & uncle (Darren Lim). however, she has one sweet and kind cousin (Joanne Peh as Yuzhu), who helps her and even teaches her English. Unknowingly, Yueniang falls for the heir (Qi Yuwu as Chen Xi) to the Chen family fortune, thinking he is a driver. the two lovers meet many obstacles, including that of a competition arranged by his great-grandmother (Li Yinzhu as Chen lao-tai) to pick the perfect wife for him. Yuzhu wins the competition, but gives Yueniang and Chen Xi her blessings and arranges for them to elope on the night before the arranged wedding. however, Yueniang changes her mind, and runs back, only to find that Yuzhu has been raped by Robert Zhang (Zzen Zhang). with no choice, the families arrange for Zhenzhu to marry Chen Xi, and for Yuzhu to marry the unscrupulous Robert. to punish Yueniang and make her life miserable, the family agree to marry her off to the boarish butcher Liu Yidao (Yao Wenlong). shortly after, however, Chen Xi falls very ill and Zhenzhu marries into the family to bring them blessings, hoping Chen Xi will awake. Yueniang and Liu Yidao settle their differences, and he becomes god-brother. they embark on a mission to legalize his triad business.

the story ends with Yuzhu going completely mad, as Robert tortures her and arranges for her to sleep with other men. he abandons her in the end when she gets pregnant. she even tries to suffocate her child. Liu Yidao’s business grows, and they trade in bird’s nest. Yueniang and Chen Xi don’t end up together. she marries a Caucasian lawyer, Paul, and they adopt Yuzhu’s child, who grows up to look exactly like his father, Robert. the story ends with Yueniang’s death.

writing this summary brought back many memories. it was a good series! i really enjoyed recapping the incidents which happened in the plot. this drama is a love-story, a family-themed story, a story of hate and revenge, and somewhat educational, where we are introduced to the Peranakan culture. through the many incidents in the story, we saw the strength and will of Juxiang and Yueniang, who managed to overcome obstacles, however big. the story was beautifully crafted, with beautiful sets which bring you into that era. this drama was clear-cut – we hated the evil people and felt unjust for the good people. we cursed the stupid people who had no backbone, and wished for a beautiful ending which we never got. but still, even though we weren’t satisfied by the ending, i thought it was ok. once in a while, it is acceptable for such an ending. at least we know that Yueniang and Chen Xi lived lives which were meaningful, even though they didn’t have each other. the bad people got their just desserts, although not always in ways we wanted (Gui Hua suffered a stroke, but Yueniang took care of her).

i really enjoyed this drama very much. i thought the acting was brilliant, and the plot was easy to follow and to digest. :)
you were able to feel sorry for the characters; feel hatred towards others; and just relate to the whole plot.

WATCH OR NOT?
you can’t miss this!
4.8/5.0 (EXCELLENT!)

***

Love Blossoms II 心花朵朵开II
(Long-running drama)

official site
my one-and-only post

this was THE BEST Part II of a long-running drama i’ve seen. the new characters they added brought life back into this series, and irritating characters were written out; the focus on the bak-kut-teh shop (Huang Wenyong, Lin Meijiao, Eelyn Kok) and its problems were settled, allowing the karang-guni father-and-son family (Richard Low, Cavin Soh, Yvonne Lim) to steal some limelight.

in my link above for “my one-and-only-post”, i’ve pretty much summarized the story, so if you’re interested, do read it :)

i thought Part I was pretty good, but Part II was better!

Part I concentrated too much on Zijing (Ivy Lee) not wanting to have another child, and her squabbles with Sammi (Patricia Mok), which got really irritating to watch as the show progressed. and the bak-kut-teh shop problems started getting on my nerves, with the spoilt Meiwei (Eelyn Kok), and scheming Wenhao (Terence Cao). i thought it was pretty cool how they managed to link good old friends Dashun (Chen Shucheng) and Dongcheng (Huang Wenyong) to the point of Dongcheng’s adopted son being Dashun’s biological son. though Miaochang (Hong Huifang as Wenhao & Meiwei’s mum)’s death was untimely, it paved the way to another chapter in Wenhao’s life, where Dashun welcomed him to the family, and finally, to his love affair with Jiaqi (Yvonne Lim), who was his mother’s lawyer and god-daughter in Australia.

we finally saw Sammi get her just desserts in Part II, although it wasn’t very satisfying. her washing toilets was a one-day stint, to help her mother (Jin Yinji) who was on sick leave. i was, however, very pleased when Kaiwang (Zheng Geping) flared up and beat his horrible brother-in-law Qingxiong (Rayson Tan), after he came back from where-ever he was, after leaving the family to clear a huge debt for him. finally, Erbo (Priscelia Chan) could stand up for herself, and had a man who truly loved her and cared for her – Jiaqiang (Cavin Soh). in the beginning, Peter (Richard Low) & Jiaqiang as garang-kuni were very entertaining, but when Peter got senile dementia, it was quite sad :( another sad part was how Zijing’s savior Zhongkun (Chew Chor Meng) fell ill with a muscluar-deterioative condition… it was very sad seeing him deteriorate, since that is similar to what he is suffering in real life (Chew Chor Meng, 加油！).

the climax of Part II had to do with Haitong (Felicia Chin)’s kidnapping by Lu Gua (Chen Tianwen), who collaborated with Zipeng (Adam Chen) as they were eager to get money out of Dashun. the incident ended with Zipeng killing himself. however, Lu Gua was still around, but in the end, they managed to get him caught, and he was put in jail — YAYY! :) the ending was pretty cliche. it was the big-happy-reunion ending where everyone was happy – those who were dating got married; those who got married had children; even those abroad suddenly returned.

Zijing & Kaiwang had twins – 1 boy 1 girl
Haitong & Daji married; had 1 boy
Erbo & Jiaqiang – she’s pregnant
Jiaqi & Wenhao – married
Wenzhu returned with her boyfriend…

this is, by far, the BEST Part II of a long-running drama i’ve seen. it was funny, sad, touching, irritating, happy, and just plain enjoyable!
looking forward to “Your Hand in Mine”, the 180 mega-drama airing later this year :)

WATCH OR NOT?
yup. i enjoyed it!

i think you can watch Part II without watching Part I, ‘cos it’ll take a long time if you watch both Part I & Part II. and to be honest, Part II was much better!
4.0/5.0 (Good) [previously 4.2/5.0 (Very Good)]

***

Reunion Dinner 团圆饭
(Chinese New Year drama)

official site
final review! :)

’nuff said in my final review, which i’d taken SUPER LONG to write, and which i was quite pleased about! hahaha :)

WATCH OR NOT?
yes!

a very heart-warming family-oriented drama which i enjoyed! it was funny, but also touching and meaningful.
4.5/5.0 (Very Good)

***

The Dream-catchers 未来不是梦

one-and-only post.

i didn’t watch this drama… ‘cos:

1) the theme didn’t excite me — engineering.
2) my family didn’t want to watch it. LOL

WATCH OR NOT?
i have no idea.

but you would probably have watched it if you’re interested in Engineering (think 2007’s “The Peak”), or if you’re fans of Rui-en, Jesseca Liu, TPH, Elvin Ng, Nat Ho, Zhang Zhenhuan, Dawn Yeoh etc.

***

Housewives’ Holiday 煮妇的假期
(heartland drama)

official site
one-and-only post.

i gave up after 1 episode, ‘cos:
MY FAMILY DIDN’T WANT TO WATCH IT.
sigh. but i didn’t think it was THAT interesting.

currently airing at 9pm on Ch 8 on weeknights is “Housewive’s Holiday 煮妇的假期“. i only watched the 1st episode, and didn’t feel that it was worth spending time to watch. it was quite funny, but i’d expect more of the same antics and ranting, raving and similar situations which appear in any other drama. i’m so sorry to announce that i won’t be reviewing this series.

WATCH OR NOT?
not for me.

many have done so already! — i think this drama holds the record for number of viewers so far in 2009!
think of it as the Singaporean heartland version of HK-TVB’s “The Family Link”, with alterations, of course.
watch it if you want mindless entertainment, which brings laughs :)

***

Table of Glory 乒乓圆
(Sports-themed drama)

this drama looks really exciting! even though a sports-themed drama like 2004’s “The Champion” and 2008’s “Beach.Ball.Babes”, this drama has so much more publicity than its predecessors, with trailers starting in February!
it’s Joshua Ang’s 1st official drama role (his role in “Crimebusters x2″ was only a cameo)! it’s also Dai Yangtian’s 3rd role, and this will be his 1st main role. wow, he progressed from unknown newbie to “new ah-ge” in only a year! i’m still amazed.

i typed “乒乓圆” into youtube, and it came up with a slew of trailers and interviews. if you’re interested, CLICK HERE!

more behind-the-scenes pictures and info from Paul Chan:
- feature on DYT and Joshua Ang
- feature on Kola Zhou

- photo gallery from Joshua Ang’s blog

- feature with links to interviews HERE (courtesy of mysteryblogger)

THIS DRAMA LOOKS VERY PROMISING! FOR SURE, WITHOUT DOUBT, I’LL BE WATCHING!!! :)

official site
1st post
2nd post

it was quite disappointing, despite all the high hopes, and interesting trailers. i felt that it concentrated too much on Tiantian (Kym Ng) & Yingxiong (Zheng Geping), and their many ridiculous antics to complete their hate-turns-to-love story. that took up too much of the drama, and not table-tennis! the table-tennis bits came later in the story, but looked sad.

the characters they focused on were not very interesting. we had the very bad-attitude DYT, who was forced to come to Singapore to train under his father (Guo Liang); we had the super emo Joshua Ang, who never uttered more than a few words, and was obsessed about table-tennis; then there was Xiaofen (Teresa Tseng of Campus Superstar 1 fame), who played professional table-tennis but never made any progress, and was always grumbling; and Ziyi (Kola Zhou), who was by far, my favourite character, ‘cos under her cold exterior, she was actually a very hardworking and driven player who had a kind heart. in the other camp (“the bad side”), we had Ma Li’an, who was intent on carrying out revenge Guo Liang’s character, and the overly-ambitious Liu Yu (Koh Yah Hwee) — both were used by Rayson Tan’s evil character.

the ending was what got on my nerves. after the whole show of yearning to play table tennis, Ah-Wu (Joshua Ang) won the finals against Jiajun (Dai Yangtian), then he swore before his mother’s grave that he’ll never to play table tennis again? not only that. the love-relationship problems were never settled! it was the case of Ziyi liking Ah-Wu who likes Xiaofen, who likes Jiajun who likes Ziyi. and there was something going on between Ma Li’an and Liu Yun (Alan Tern), but that was never settled too.

AND THE PRODUCERS SAY THERE WON’T BE A PART 2! :(
no chances to continue this story then…

WATCH OR NOT?
yes if you’re a fan of DYT. or maybe not.
maybe if your expectations aren’t high. it wasn’t that bad.
no if you’re a table-tennis fan. the scenes don’t look real, with all the jumping and smashing. too drama!
3.7/5.0 (Good) [previously 3.9/5.0 (Good)]

***

My School Daze 书包太重
(School-themed drama)

1st post
i didn’t review this drama ‘cos i didn’t have time!

this drama was aired in-between blockbusters “Table of Glory”, and “The Ultimatum”. it didn’t steal their limelight, but i feel that it had a result which was better than both! the plot was well-drawn out (with 3 story-planners no less), and although not suspenseful or full of evil people or revenge plots, this show was able to get the audience to relate to the experiences and situations of the characters.

[to be continued....]

edit: continued 6 months later for “The BEST and WORST of 2009″

–>

with still no time to review this drama, i guess i’ll have to say everything here!

i really enjoyed this drama! although it wasn’t a blockbuster, and didn’t have a fancy storyline, it was close to the heart. all of us were students at some point in our lives :)

altogether, there were 5 school kids they concentrated on: Yixin and Yijie (children of Chen Hanwei and Ann Kok), Jiajun (student from China who lives with Cynthia Koh and Darren Lim), Fatty Bonbon (Cynthia and Darren’s son), and Jialing (Lin Meijiao’s daughter). Yixin is brilliant at her studies, and is very talented and competitive; Yijie is playful and wants to pursue badminton, but his mother won’t hear of it. Jiajun is a very dilligent student who is caring, but because of his good natured-ness, Cynthia Koh starts exploiting him; even though she treats him very badly, he is still very kind to her family. Fatty Bonbon is a greedy and very lazy kid; he even resorts to pretending to be posessed by his grandfather’s spirit to escape school. Jialing is a weak student who has low self-esteem. Her mother, Lin Meijiao is a nervous wreak who constantly beats her daughter up when she scores badly in exams.

Chen Hanwei and Rui-en play teachers. Ann Kok is Chen Hanwei’s wife, and she used to write textbooks for MOE. she now runs a tuition centre, which Chen Hanwei later joins when he quits MOE. Rui-en also joins the tuition centre, only to start her own elite tuition centre later on. she is, however, played out by her good friend (Eelyn Kok) who is also her rival in love for Terence Cao’s heart.

so the story basically focuses on 1. how Chen Hanwei’s family deal with their children, and how he deals with his job circumstance; bringing business for the tuition centre… 2. Cynthia Koh and Darren Lim’s family, with the addition of Jiajun; we see what a good kid Jiajun is, when he looks after the entire family when they all fall ill… 3. Lin Meijiao and estranged ex-husband Chen Tianwen, who was an ex-alcholic who abused his wife and Jialing; Rui-en tries very hard to help the family.

overall, this drama really told of the struggles students, teachers and parents faced in the society today.

WATCH OR NOT?
yes! i enjoyed this drama a lot!

it was very current and funny, heartwarming and the young actors and actresses did such a good job!
4.5/5.0 (Very Good!)

***

The Ultimatum 双子星
(Blockbuster drama)

official site
1st post

i didn’t review this drama, and shall do so here!

edit: continued 6 months later for “The BEST and WORST of 2009″

–>

this was probably the most publicized drama of 2009. being the first Channel 8 drama to be shot and broadcast in HD, with 2 Ah-jies and 2 Ah-ges in the lead, there was really no reason to miss this blockbuster.

only did viewers realise that this was the biggest disappointment and an ultimate flop.

the story was cliche. Zoe and Fann were switched at birth. Zoe ended up in a rich family, the daughter of rich magnate, played by Chen Shucheng. she grew up in an environment full of family politics and backstabbing; her closet relatives being her mother, Lin Meijiao and brother, Elvin Ng. Fann ended up in a poor family, with a psychotic mother, Hong Huifang, and a loving brother, Zhang Zhenhuan.

enter Zoe’s first love, an expert gambler, portrayed by Li Nanxing. he suddenly goes missing when she was trying on her wedding dress in Macau. she’d been trying to locate him, but to no avail. as such, she concentrates on her career, in her father’s company, now headed by his god-sister (read: mistress), played by Constance Song. her whole family are scheming and power hungry; either that or they have no backbones. Zoe thinks she’s found her first love, but he seems to have amnesia, and is addicted to gambling. he is Ah-Da, and is married to Cynthia Koh. they have a son. insisting that Ah-Da is her first love, she spares no cost to try to get him to remember the past…

Fann is a successful lawyer, who has a sense of righteousness. she meets expert thief Tay Ping Hui, Chen Shucheng’s god-son, not knowing he is a thief. they start a whirlwind courtship, and is complete with another pursuer, Terence Cao, an interpol agent who is intent on catching Tay Ping Hui. meanwhile, Elvin Ng, who is actually her biological brother, falls in love with her, only to be rejected by her.

Zoe finally wins her father’s recognition and is put in charge of the company. everyone is jealous of her, including her brother, Elvin Ng, whom she protects every step of the way. to make it worse, Constance Song’s son, Jerry Yeo is a malicious and underhanded fellow who is greedy and evil. Zoe and Fann become good friends. then Zoe finds out of her parentage, and to protect her reputation and position in the family, she accidentally pushes her biological mother, Hong Huifang off the roof, to her death. this starts a chain of cover-up acts where Zoe attempts to kill all those who know her secret. she even attempts to kill Elvin Ng, and later, Lin Meijiao.

the best part was that Elvin Ng didn’t die, and ironically, he died trying to escape. he just dashed onto the road and a huge truck killed him! haha. subplots include Jerry Yeo’s torturous entrapment of Felicia, TPH’s sister, leaving her deranged and mentally unsound. later, with Zhang Zhenhuan’s help and TPH’s care, she recovers.

in the end, it really turns out that Ah-Da isn’t Zoe’s first love. Tay Ping Hui dies. the show ends with Fann ending up with Terrence, who has TPH’s liver or something. blah.

WATCH OR NOT?
no, please don’t waste your time.
well… unless you’re a major fan of Zoe, Fann, LNX, TPH.
i personally feel it’ll be worthwhile to just watch the parts where Constance, Felicia, Jerry and Elvin appear in. i was impressed by their acting :)

3.3/5.0 (Fair)

***

My Buddy 难兄烂弟
(heartland drama)

i haven’t even written a 1st post of the drama…

edit: continued 6 months later for “The BEST and WORST of 2009″

–>

i didn’t watch this drama, so i can’t comment on it. sorry!

i have to say that Christopher Lee’s role was such a nice guy; they really managed to make him look so uncle! and Zheng Geping’s role was really irritating, but refreshing. haha :)

WATCH OR NOT?
maybe. if you like a show with loud people!

upcoming…

Fiona out of year-end blockbuster! who is gonna replace her?
EELYN KOK :)

***

edit: new content for “The BEST and WORST of 2009″

–>

Baby Bonus 添丁发财

1st post
final review

you can read all about what i’ve got to say in my final review! :)

WATCH OR NOT?
it’s quite enjoyable.

i’d originally given it a 4.2/5.0 (Very Good!), but when i watched the repeat today, i had second thoughts. overall, the drama was about basically nothing. the production values were not solid, and although i enjoyed the performances, it was not a breakthrough drama in any sense. the main themes were about gambling and family. however, they were not brought across well enough. therefore:
3.9/5.0 (Good)

***

Daddy at Home 企鹅爸爸

1st post
final review

i’ve said all i want to say in my final review :)

WATCH OR NOT?
yes!

Chen Hanwei delivered a brilliant performance! the storyline was more solid than “Baby Bonus”, and although some parts of the plot were superfluous, it was close to the heart and hilarious at parts!
4.5/5.0 (Very Good!)

***

Your Hand in Mine 想握你的手

1st post

i’ve given up on this drama. all my reasons are stated in my 1st post, which will be my one-and-only post.

WATCH OR NOT?
not for me.

the humour is too exaggerated for me to handle. there is no basic plot, and there are so many characters floating around, each with their own subplots. at some points, it seems very disconnected.

***

Together 当我们在一起

1st post

my final review will be up shortly! i enjoyed all 36 episodes thoroughly! the plot flowed very well, the storyline had minimal loopholes, and the performances were excellent!

WATCH OR NOT?
you can’t miss this!!

4.8/5.0 (EXCELLENT!)

***

2009 wasn’t a good year as the dramas were rather mediocre. i could only gather 4 great dramas, which i can highly recommend!

i hope 2010 will be a better year!

regardless of whether this year’s dramas were hits or misses, i acknowledge the hard work put into every production.

THANK YOU to EVERYONE who made our dramas possible, and drama-watching enjoyable! to all of you I HEREBY EXTEND MY DEEPEST THANKS.

*all photos are property of Mediacorp

***

this post will be continued with a follow-up post titled “Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010″ :)

Dear friends, readers and supporters,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Wishing all of you a great 2010!

Hope that everything will go smoothly for you all!

:)

Best wishes,

qingling~

Dear friends, readers and supporters,

MERRY

CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas marks a fine finish of the year. Peace, hope and love fills up the senses to help you stay jolly.

Best wishes,

qingling~

do take a look at my 1st post on this drama HERE :)

i had originally planned to write a review ‘after 10 episodes’ but i was busy, so i postponed it so i could write a ‘FINAL REVIEW’; and it’s a few weeks overdue already, sorry guys!

this drama ended on Friday 27 Nov 2009 – that’s 3 weeks ago! haha ok, better late than never right? :)

***

this drama stars:

Li Nanxing as Liu Bang
Chen Hanwei as Ye Zhengkang
Ann Kok as Yang Xinbei
Cynthia Koh as Chen Meihui
Adam Chen as Chen Jinfeng
Dawn Yeoh as Xia Ruxuan
Wang Yuqing as Yang Shengdong
Yan Bingliang as Mr. Yang
Huang Shinan as Ray
Chua Aijia as Leilei
Li Wenhai as Ted
Le Yao as Mandy
Chen Huihui
Henry Heng

storyline:

this drama basically focused on 2 men – the high flying career driven Liu Bang, and the penny-pinching househusband Ye Zhengkang.

the 1st few episodes showed how Liu Bang fell from grace, when he was retrenched, and hence, became jobless. on top of that, he just moved to a new condo, and hadn’t sold his previous one. at the supermarket, he is accosted by househusband Zhengkang, who advices him to buy a particular brand of ice-cream as it is cheaper. he already looks down on his “auntie” ways. as luck would have it, Zhengkang is his new neighbour, and indirectly made him miss the auspicious hour for throwing a pineapple (symbolizing money rolling in) into his new house. he encounters Zhengkang again when he lost over $700K investing in mini bonds as he was hit by the Lehman Brothers collapse. this incident also brings Liu Bang closer to his father-in-law, who always resented him.

Liu Bang is unable to find a job, but he refuses to let anyone know about his retrenchment. he doesn’t accept a number of job offers as the salary is not what he expects. when his wife Xinbei finally finds out, she decides to go out to work to support the family, while he stays at home and takes care of cooking and cleaning.

Zhengkang, on the other hand, has lost money investing in mini bonds but won’t let his wife know. he asks his brother-in-law Jinfeng, to lend him money, but Jinfeng is a spendthrift who doesn’t have any savings. in order to ‘make up for his losses’, he lets Jinfeng move in for a monthly rent, and even conducts baking classes for his auntie friends.

over time, the 2 men become good friends, when Zhengkang teaches Liu Bang a thing or two about cooking and keeping the house in order.

things later take a 180 degree turn when Liu Bang becomes very comfortable as a househusband, and doesn’t care what others think of him, but Zhengkang, who held that opinion in the beginning, starts to waver, as he thinks he should, as a man, be the sole-breadwinner, which was the viewpoint Liu Bang had in the beginning…

the sub-plots in this drama include:

- Jinfeng and Ruoxuan’s courtship;

- unfilial son, Shengdong’s abandonment of his parents

- Zhengkang’s attempt at being his daughter, Leilei’s friend

***

i enjoyed this drama a lot! the main plot was thorough and well thought through. even though it wasn’t complex or complicating, had very little dramatic scenes, well.. this is, afterall, a family drama! it brought across the value of family, and how different families lived – the lifestyles they adopted to suit their needs.

what irritated me was when Liu Bang seemingly had reformed to become a good guy, but suddenly became super unreasonable and like his former self, when he suspected his wife was having an affair with her boss. he even attempted to quit on his wife’s behalf. this disturbed me quite a lot, as it didn’t bring across the trust couples should have. however, i was glad he came to his senses, and thought carefully about all he and his wife had been through (they met as calefares; later, Ann quit university and started working to put him, an orphan, through university, at the expense of having all monetary means cut off by her father).

i didn’t expect anything special or extraordinary from Li Nanxing, but he delivered his character across the screen very well; i hated him when he was to be hated, and liked him when he was likable :)

the main sub-plot was very boring! Jinfeng and Ruoxuan’s courtship was so bland and uneventful. i’m glad Jinfeng finally decided to stand on his feet and plan for his future, and not just live everyday as it passes. still, the chemistry between Adam Chen and Dawn Yeoh was pretty much non-existant, and i don’t see why Ruoxuan had to be well-versed in taekwando — that didn’t seem to do anything to the plot. this sub-plot focusing on Jinfeng and Ruoxuan wasn’t very well thought out, as it was quite disconnected from the main plot.

Adam Chen was so boring as Jinfeng! all his expressions were the same! it was the same with Dawn Yeoh too! they were so bland, and their acting was nothing compared to LNX and CHW. not at all. they really paled in comparison.

Zhengkang’s scenes were the most enjoyable! it was really funny when he was trying to be his daughter’s friend, by watching idol dramas late into the night so he would have something in common to talk to her about! his scenes with the aunties were also very amusing :) not to mention, i liked him watching him and his son, Yuanyuan; haha, he made his son keep all his secrets of his getting up to nonsense, like invading his daughter’s privacy and collecting rent from Jinfeng…

Chen Hanwei is undoubtedly the star of this drama! he was so super convincing as this “auntie” househusband! the way he walked, he talked, he looked was all so funny! Chen Hanwei really made Ye Zhengkang him! it was so natural, and so so so convincing! and he was so likable! :)

the female cast were rather bland. they didn’t do much for the plot, other than their once in a while problems at work etc. and these were related to Liu Bang and/or Zhengkang. this is, afterall, a men’s show! haha :)

Ann Kok was very convincing as a career woman, not a housewife, which she portrayed in the beginning. her chemistry with Li Nanxing was pretty good. we did not get to see much variations from Ann as her character was pretty simple.

as for Cynthia Koh, i didn’t think her chemistry with Chen Hanwei was any good; they looked like a rather odd-couple. other than the fact that she had a sore-throat for about 3/4 of the show, there was nothing special about her character or her delivery.

despite all Xinbei’s awful siblings and all the bickering over money and favouritism, i enjoyed the sub-plot where unfilial son, Shengdong abandoned his parents after taking their money the most! this sub-plot was written very well, and i despised his character and all his actions so much! this episode brought out the true meaning of family.

Wang Yuqing was brilliant! i also enjoyed Yan Bingliang’s performance as this 大男人 character. i especially enjoyed how he kept making disgusted noises when Liu Bang was discussing cooking recipies with his mother-in-law! his expressions were really so funny!

***

final thoughts:

i really enjoyed this show a lot! 20 episodes was just nice; the plot was engaging and thoroughly thought out (with the exception of Dawn Yeoh and Adam Chen’s sub-plot); the acting was solid, and it brings a warm feeling as it focuses on family, and how everyone goes through trails and tribulations, but in the end, they are all friends and family who can be trusted and look out for one another.

looks like i’ve enjoyed all 3 of Chen Hanwei’s shows this year – “Reunion Dinner”, “My School Daze” and “Daddy at Home”!

RATINGS: 4.5/5.0 (VERY GOOD)

***

my review this round is quite short!

i hope you all enjoy it! :)

i’ll be writing more on “Together” in my next post! look out for it!

OFFICIAL SITE HERE :)

this drama started on Monday 30 November 2009. it airs on weekdays at 9pm on Channel 8.
this is Mediacorp’s year-end blockbuster drama, and has 35 episodes.

this drama stars:

Jeanette Aw as Yao Jianhong
Dai Yangtian as Lin Xiao Bei
Elvin Ng as Huang Zhihao (Tarzan)
Eelyn Kok as Huang Jinhao
Kola Zhou as Qin Huimin
Zhang Zhenhuan as Yao Wuji
Constance Song as Lucy
Aileen Tan as Liu Mao Mao
Wang Yuqing as Yao Shi
Hong Huifang as He Jiao
Zheng Geping as Qin Xiang Lin
Li Wenhai as Lin Yi
Ye Shipin as Huang Lifa
Lin Liyun as Ah Wei
Desmond Tan

plot:
(from Mediacorp’s official page)

This is a 35-episode long drama – MediaCorp’s anniversary production for 2009.

The year was 1967, and Singapore started to print its own currency and made national service a compulsory thing for all young Singaporean men of lawful age. It was the year where fake eyelashes were rented out for S$4 per day; and prices of eggs plummeted to a new low that drove Singaporeans to form a lobby group on “chicken butchery” in order to reduce the supply of eggs. In the same year, “Vietnamese Rose” – a form of syphilis – came into Singapore and men who called on prostitutes shuddered at the mere mention of the name; It was also the year when Sakura and Rita Chao’s “New Peach-blossom River” was all the rage in the streets of Singapore.

There were three houses along a narrow bustling street on North Bridge Road, and there lived six families, amongst them were 6 youths of about the same age.

Lin Xiao Bei（played by Dai Yang Tian）is the only son of Lin, the tailor. He fights and gets himself into countless trouble and is a constant annoyance to his neighbours. Yao Jian Hong （played by Jeanette Aw）, who grows up with Xiao Bei, is the only person who could tame him. Jian Hong left school at a young age and with her father, they perform martial arts in the streets to sell medicated ointment. She is in the ‘turf’ for years, and is a candid and forthright girl with a sense of chivalry. Lin Xiao Bei likes her and the feeling is mutual. However she‘s unhappy with Xiao Bei’s frivolous attitude. She wishes that Xiao Bei would be down-to-earth and to succeed his father’s tailoring business. Xiao Bei doesn’t want to be resigned to running the little tailor-shop. He wants to venture into more ambitious grounds and yearns to strike it rich someday.

Another childhood friend of Lin Xiao Bei is Huang Zhi Hao (nicknamed “Tarzan”, played by Elvin Ng), who loves to day-dream. Often fickle-minded, he switches between dreams of being a car racer to a wrestler the next. Both of them are at loggerheads sometimes but turn into buddies in other occasions. Xiao Bei and Tarzan stick by each other through weal and woe. Like chopsticks, the pair is inseparable and can’t do without each other.

In addition to Jian Hong, Tarzan’s sister, Huang Jin Hao (played by Eelyn Kok), also likes Xiao Bei. She is a vain and materialistic girl with an naïve mindset. Despite not winning over Xiao Bei’s heart, she stays loyal to him as a friend. Jian Hong’s twin brother, Yao Wu Ji (played by Zhang Zhen Huan) is very timid. He likes Jin Hao but could only keep his true feelings to himself.

Qin Hui Min (played by Zhou Ying) is the only one among the few youngsters who is well educated. Though she is physically weak but with her unrelenting perseverance, Hui Min eventually became a lawyer.

The two generations of these families underwent 30 years of changes, entwined in a chain of love, hatred, bitterness, jealousy, magnanimity and forgiveness. That was their story which is also, Our Story as we, too, had been down the same path…

Singaporeans share countless common memories. Through the years of hardship when the country started out in the 60s; the oil crisis in the 70s and the stock-market crash in the 80s, Singaporeans have lived through it all. We’ve shared the joys and sorrows. With the onslaught of the current financial crisis, we are being put to test once again. And looking back at how we’ve rode out the storm over the years bears an exceptional meaning at this point in time.

interesting info:

this probably isn’t anything new, but Eelyn Kok’s Huang Jinhao role was originally given to Fiona Xie, but she later quit the production, and Eelyn replaced her.

this drama has 6 main characters, which is unusual for a local drama. 3 of the 6 main cast are originally from China – Dai Yangtian, Kola Zhou and Zhang Zhenhuan.

this is Dai Yangtian’s 4th drama. he shot to fame in his 2nd drama, last year’s blockbuster The Little Nyonya, where he paired with Jeanette Aw. he pairs again with Jeanette Aw here, and also Kola Zhou, whom he paired with in his 3rd drama Table of Glory, where he got his 1st lead role, earlier this year. this is Kola Zhou’s 2nd drama. her 1st role in Table of Glory was already a lead role, and she pairs again with Dai Yangtian here.

Dai Yangtian, Kola Zhou, Zheng Geping and Constance Song were all in Table of Glory earlier this year.
Elvin Ng, Zhang Zhenhuan and Constance Song were all in blockbuster drama The Ultimatum.
and of course: Jeanette Aw, Dai Yangtian and Eelyn Kok were in last year’s blockbuster drama The Little Nyonya.

Elvin Ng paired with Eelyn Kok in Kinship, however, they act as siblings here.

Dai Yangtian has 3 love interests in this drama – Jeanette Aw, Kola Zhou and Eelyn Kok (as i’ve mentioned above, this is his 2nd pairing with both Jeanette and Kola).

thoughts:

i’m a fan of Mediacorp’s pre-modern series, which are set in the 1930s – 60s. last year’s The Little Nyonya was really a breath of fresh air, since Mediacorp had only been doing modern series for a very long time. the last pre-modern series was probably 2004’s An Ode to Life, which was set in the 1970s; 2007’s blockbuster drama The Golden Path also featured a good part of the show in the 1970-80s, and i enjoyed those episodes very much :)

it is ironic how this series is touted as ‘Singaporeans’ journey’, as it focuses on many issues Singaporeans went through after our independence, when 1/2 of the main cast are from China. i’m not being bias, but it puzzles me why Mediacorp would choose to do this. and i’m not being discriminatory, hope you guys don’t misunderstand.

ok, let’s just not compare this drama to The Little Nyonya- this is a story about 6 ordinary young people who live in the same compound, and go through a lot in their lives. i’m really looking forward to this, as they concentrate on people from humble backgrounds and follow them through the trails and tribulations of their lives :)

i’m looking forward most to Eelyn Kok and Kola Zhou’s performances, not to mention the steady supporting cast – Constance Song, Zheng Geping, Hong Huifang, Wang Yuqing, Aileen Tan, Li Wenhai, Ye Shipin and Lin Liyun.

this drama will take one down memory lane, and relive the 1960s… i’m looking forward to it – and no, it won’t take me down memory lane ‘cos i wasn’t even born then — haha, it was my grandparents’ generation :)

***

oh wow! i’m finally done! this post is overdue! sorry guys!

NEXT UP: Daddy at Home 企鹅爸爸: FINAL REVIEW!

qingling~

OFFICIAL MICROSITE :)

note:
i’ve given up on this drama after 2 episodes. i don’t think it’s worth spending time on, so this will be my one and only post on this drama.

as this is my one and only post, and due to the fact that this drama is a 180 episode long-running drama, this post will be slightly different from previous ones i’ve done for Baby Bonus and Daddy at Home. i will not include a cast list, nor will i copy-and-paste a synopsis. you can find all the info you want at the OFFICIAL MICROSITE :)

i will, however, include some interesting facts and my thoughts :)

interesting facts:

this is the 6th modern long-running drama Mediacorp has produced.

2003: Holland V
2004: Double Happiness
2005: Portrait of Home
2007: Kinship
2008: Love Blossoms

Chen Liping and Huang Wenyong collaborated earlier in 2008 in Just in Singapore, where Huang Wenyong was a henpecked husband to Liping’s money-faced character. it seems the same here, as Huang Wenyong is a penny-pincher who is henpecked by his spendthrift wife. in Just in Singapore, they couple had 2 daughters, and here, they have 3 daughters. coincidentally, Belinda Lee, their second daughter in Your Hand in Mine also had a small role in Just in Singapore, and Paige Chua, who played their daughter in Just in Singapore, has many scenes with them as she plays their neighbour here.

this is the 1st long-running drama for Paige Chua, Cai Peixuan and Joanne Peh. Joanne is a princess who can now add a long-running drama to her name, and joins Jeanette Aw (Holland V), Felicia Chin (Portrait of Home and Love Blossoms) and Jesseca Liu (Portrait of Home and Kinship). Fiona Xie, Rui-en and Dawn Yeoh have not done a long-running drama to date.

this is Liping’s 2nd long-running drama, following her Best Actress role in 2003’s long-running drama Holland V. this drama also reunites Shaun Chen, who shot to fame for his role in Holland V back then; this is also his 2nd long-running drama. i’m not sure, but i think this drama will be like Holland V, and be shown at one-go, unlike Double Happiness, Portrait of Home, Kinship and Love Blossoms, which were all shown in 2 parts. this is also Adam Chen’s 2nd long-running drama, as he was also in Love Blossoms last year.

this is Pierre Png’s 3rd long-running drama, following 2003’s Holland V, and 2005’s Portrait of Home. this is also Yvonne Lim’s 3rd long-running drama, following 2005’s Portrait of Home (where she won Best Supporting Actress for her role there in Star Awards 2005) and 2008’s Love Blossoms II. Cavin Soh plays a karang-guni for the 2nd time here, the last time was in Love Blossoms II; this is his 3rd long-running drama, as he was also in 2005’s Portrait of Home, for which his role there garnered him a Best Supporting Actor award in Star Awards 2005. Zhang Yaodong also stars in this drama, making this his 3rd long-running drama following his role in 2005’s Portrait of Home and last years’s Love Blossoms.

if i’m not wrong, Chen Shucheng is also in this drama, and this would be his 4th long-running drama, as he was in 2003’s Holland V, 2005’s Portrait of Home, and Love Blossoms in 2008. (thanks ZH for reminding me)

this is Yao Wenlong’s 5th long-running drama, following 2003’s Holland V, 2004’s Double Happiness II, 2005’s Portrait of Home and 2007’s Kinship, making him an actor with the most number of long-running dramas under his belt to date :)

thoughts:

i must admit that i had pretty high hopes for this drama. but the first 2 episodes really disappointed, and they were really exaggerated and seemingly meaningless. sure, Cavin Soh’s mysterious background was probably one of the big mysteries to be revealed, and one would wonder why he was still a garang-kuni despite living in such a huge luxurious house, but that didn’t keep me interested for long. although Chen Liping and Huang Wenyong’s chemistry with their daughters Yvonne, Belinda and Peixuan were great, their exchanges were somewhat meaningless and directionless; the chemistry between siblings Shaun and Paige was also pretty good, and i especially liked how Jin Yinji’s character was portrayed as their grandmother who ran a “mahjong den” and washed all her money ‘cos she is obsessed about cleanliness! :)

so anyway, i’m sorry to say that i’ll not be spending time on this drama. maybe it’s due to the fact that the characters aren’t fully developed that they all seem very boring and one-sided at the moment. Paige is too enthusiastic, Peixuan is too slow, Belinda is too obsessed, Yvonne is too objective, Liping is too materialistic, Wenyong is too stingy, Cavin is too mysterious, Joanne is too overzealous…

well i guess that’s it. i may update this post if i think of anything new, or happen to catch a few episodes which i might want to comment on! :)

qingling~

please do take a look at the very 1st guest review @ blog.dramafocus.co.cc by Green Bubble:
HERE–>

and the 2nd review of “Daddy at Home 企鹅爸爸” (by John):
HERE–>

16 NOVEMBER 2009:

i had originally meant to get this post done by the weekend, but time passed really quickly. sigh, i think i’ve not been reviewing enough, so i’m out of practice. i took ages to get “Baby Bonus 添丁发财: the FINAL REVIEW” out! i hope you all enjoy it though~ :)

Mediacorp has already aired 10 out of the 20 episodes of this drama. but i must till do this custom 1st take/ info/ intro/ anticipation post (or whatever else you may choose to call it)!

***

this drama started on Monday 2 November 2009, and ends on Friday 27 November 2009. it airs on weekdays at 9pm on Channel 8.

this drama stars:

Li Nanxing as Liu Bang
Chen Hanwei as Ye Zhengkang
Ann Kok as Yang Xinbei
Cynthia Koh as Chen Meihui
Adam Chen as Chen Jinfeng
Dawn Yeoh as Xia Ruxuan
Wang Yuqing as Yang Shengdong
Yan Bingliang as Mr. Yang
Huang Shinan as Ray
Chua Aijia as Leilei
Li Wenhai as Ted
Le Yao as Mandy
Chen Huihui
Henry Heng

plot:
(from Mediacorp’s official page)

Liu Bang works for a bank as the senior Vice-President. His wife, Yang Xinbei, is a full-time housewife who stays at home to look after the household and their daughter. Their daughter, Liu Si’en, is a bright and sensible little girl. Liu Bang has it all in both his career and family life. He is especially glad that he is able to hold his head up high in front of his father-in-law and mother-in-law, proving that they were wrong about him in the past.

His daughter, Si’en, is about to enroll in a primary school. In order to get her into a prestigious primary school, Liu Bang decides to move his family into a condominium within 1km of the chosen school. Ye Zhengkang’s family thus becomes their next-door neighbour.

Zhengkang is a “house-husband”, in charge of household chores and the care of the two children. His wife, Chen Meihui, is the boss of a beauty salon. She works to bring money to the family. This arrangement brings about many strange looks from others, naturally. But Zhengkang is not affected by this and takes pride in his role.

Liu Bang, like others, does not approve of the arrangement in Zhengkang’s household. He feels that a man’s pride should lie in his career, and that a man who stays at home would not accomplish great things. However, he’d never have expected that he would soon join Zhengkang’s ranks as well.

The economic crisis had a great impact on the financial market. Liu Bang’s bank is affected as well, and needs to retrench a large number of employees. Liu Bang, who had once offended his superior, is one of those targeted of course.After being retrenched, Liu Bang remains optimistic that he could find a similar job with similar benefits. However, all the companies are cutting costs and none of them wants to employ him at his desired salary. Neither would the egoistic Liu Bang lower himself to consider a lower position with a less attractive salary. This throws the family into financial difficulty.

After being a housewife for several years, Xinbei is suddenly recruited as an assistant editor for a magazine in her ex-colleague’s company. Initially, Liu Bang disapproves of Xinbei going out to work, but due to investments losing money as well as countless bills to be paid, he has no choice but to let her work for the time being, until he finds a suitable job. On the other hand, Xinbei is worried that Liu Bang would not be able to handle the household chores. Liu Bang thinks nothing of it and proclaims confidently that he would have no problems.

On his first day as a “house-husband”, Liu Bang runs into endless problems. Not only does he mess up the chores, he even forgets to fetch Si’en home from the kindergarten. Thankfully, Zhengkang lends him a hand and they manage to resolve everything. Liu Bang is grateful to Zhengkang for his help, and gains a different perspective of him. The two men resolve their past differences and eventually become good friends.

Xinbei is doing very well at work and earns praise from her superior, Wyman. She experiences a sense of self-worth for the first time, and shares her joy with Liu Bang. However, Liu Bang behaves like a wet blanket due to his ego being hurt. Xinbei is disappointed with his response. The couple starts to drift further apart from each other.

On the other hand, Shuyong and Aijuan are abandoned by their other children and come to Liu Bang’s place to seek refuge. To avoid embarrassment, Liu Bang hides the truth about his retrenchment from them, and lies that he is on long vacation. He even gets Xinbei and Si’en to play along and keep up the act with him. Shuyong and Aijuan are temporarily fooled.

Liu Bang is worried that the truth would be revealed somehow. Thus, he tries his best to get his in-laws sent back to Xinbei’s siblings. Shuyong misunderstands that Liu Bang is trying to get rid of them the way his other children did. He gets angry and runs away from home with his wife. They even spend the night sleeping in a park. Aijuan falls sick as a result. Liu Bang and Xinbei are reprimanded by the police for being unfilial. It is only then that Liu Bang admits the truth about his retrenchment.

During his time as a “house-husband”, Liu Bang learns that a relationship with his daughter isn’t built on just buying toys for her. What’s more important is to understand her feelings. Hence, the relationship between father and daughter gets better than before. At the same time, under the influence of Zhengkang, Liu Bang picks up various tips and tricks on being a smart “house-husband” (For example, how to save money in different ways and to put aside what is saved as his personal savings). He gains an understanding of how difficult it is to run a household, and can put himself in Xinbei’s shoes to understand her previous woes as a housewife.

After gradually accepting his role as a “house-husband”, Liu Bang begins to enjoy his new life.  However, when he hears people talking behind his back about how he is useless for depending on his wife for money, his ego suffers a beating. On top of that, rumours from others lead him to believe that Xinbei is having an affair with Wyman.  This leads to a big fight with Xinbei.

Liu Bang finds out after investigating that he has misunderstood Xinbei. He decides to change his attitude and be a good “house-husband”, who supports his wife hundred percent in her career. However, a rare opportunity comes knocking on the door at this point. An investment company is asking him to manage their operations in China for at least three years. Liu Bang is anxious to share the good news with his family. But when he sees Si’en playing happily with her friend, and how happy Xinbei is when her article nominated for a prize, he hesitates…

interesting info:

as Green Bubble stated in his review (HERE), this drama features a “cross-pairing”, as Li Nanxing and Ann Kok; and Chen Hanwei and Cynthia Koh, play couples, but in The Ultimatum and My School Daze earlier this year, Li Nanxing and Cynthia; and Chen Hanwei and Ann Kok, were couples respectively.

this is Campus Superstar 2009 (Season 3) runner-up Chua Aijia’s debut role, making her the first alum from CSS3 to star in a drama. Campus Superstar 2’s female runner-up Koh Zhengning had starred in 2009’s Chinese New Year drama Reunion Dinner, coincidentally, Chen Hanwei also starred in that show. Campus Superstar 1’s female winner Teresa Tseng was the 2nd female lead in sport-themed drama Table of Glory earlier this year too.

thoughts:

the most interesting feature of this drama has to be Chen Hanwei’s ugly ‘auntie’ househusband role. he is equip with a ponch, PCK-style permed hair, loud garish shirts and Liang Simei glasses. sounds scary? yes, he does look really awful!

i don’t expect anything new from Li Nanxing, although his character is an awful person when the show starts.

as for Ann Kok and Cynthia Koh, i expect Ann’s character to be like that of in My School Daze, as she returns to the workforce after being a housewife for many years, to maintain the household as Li Nanxing gets retrenched. Cynthia Koh’s role is pretty shallow, she’s a glamorous beauty centre boss, and is forever not at home. her character does not seem to make much of an impact.

the plot sounds very mediocre. it will probably bring laughs, but i’m worried the story will be very stereotypical, where a career high-flyer like Li Nanxing suddenly gets retrenched, and has to stay at home while his wife goes out to work, and he has to juggle housework, the usual messiness of cooking and messing up everything in the house… and of course there will be someone there to help him, in this case, Chen Hanwei’s super “auntie” househusband.

however, with 2 Star Awards Best Actor winners at the helm of this drama, i don’t think it will disappoint, where acting is concerned.

i’ll be watching! i really really really want to see Chen Hanwei’s turn as this ugly “auntie” or rather, “uncle” househusband!! :)

***

oh wow! i’m finally done! been a few weekends since i’ve promised that this post will be out! the drama has only 5 more eps to go! i’m enjoying this show, and what i’ve written here reflect my thoughts when i first decided to watch the drama. i didn’t think it’ll be any good at all; and yes, i was surprised at how much i’ll enjoy it — enjoyed it even more than Baby Bonus!

i’ll try to get the “after 10 episodes” post out soon!! :D

NEXT UP: Your Hand in Mine 想握你的手 & Daddy at Home 企鹅爸爸: after 10 episodes!

qingling~

do take a look at the 3rd guest contribution @ blog.dramafocus.co.cc by Kim:
HERE ==>

CLICK HERE for my 1st post :)

14 NOVEMBER 2009:

i’ve promised all of you readers that i would get this review out by today, though i’m not sure i can do it now; i’ll try my best!! :)

it’s been ages since i’ve last written a comprehensive review, so if there are any problems in my structure, please let me know, thanks! :)

ok, here goes…!

this drama stars:

Felicia Chin as Huang Liping (Apple)
Tay Ping Hui as Li Jiacheng (“Supermart”)
Jesseca Liu as Zheng Xiaoyang
Zhu Houren as Zheng Facai
Xiang Yun as Huang Meiling
Darren Lim as Zheng Guo’an
Terrence Cao as Simon Koh
Apple Hong as Angel
Lin Meijiao as Long Baoyin
Jerry Yeo as Ah-Xiang
Richard Low as Ah-Nan
Joey Feng as Ruth

storyline:

i was actually quite surprised that this drama wasn’t the usual 20eps, but 23eps! i think it’s a bit too long for a drama of this genre, as some parts tend to be very draggy (Xiaoyang and Simon; Guo’an and Angel).

the main plot was about Apple and her baby Olympic. many episodes were spent on emphasizing how irresponsible Apple was – how she just dumped Olympic at home, with her mother Meiling or with her neighbour Jiacheng, and would go to the pool parlour and try to win money by playing for it; losing badly many times. as the show went on, she made use of Facai’s sympathy to cheat him of his money.

she was forever borrowing money, and couldn’t stay in one job for long because of her bad attitude. she just got worse and worse, dumping Olympic with Facai’s family, and slipping off on a gambling ship, losing tons of money, and in the end, she made Facai and his family adopt Olympic, in return for the $80K he spent repaying her gambling debts. all this was done behind her mother’s back, and when her mother ran into trouble while performing in South Africa, Apple went there to look for her; but her mother had returned home. Apple begged Jiacheng not to tell her mother the truth, when she was living it up in South Africa, and Olympic was staying with Facai’s family. the truth came to light, and in order to see her grandson, Meiling befriended Facai’s wife Baoyin, and was thus hired as their part-time helper. however, Facai was afraid his wife would find out about Meiling being his first love, and tried means and ways to get her to quit. however, the truth couldn’t be concealed for long, and Baoyin came to know of the truth, leaving Facai’s family in dire straits. the worst problem was when Baoyin found out Apple could possibly be Facai’s daughter…

i was very irritated with Apple, as she was constantly trying means and ways to get money without doing any work. i was always surprised how Jiacheng was so willing to help her, even though she lost all his money, he was still concerned about her and Olympic. the best part was when everyone gave up on her; Jiacheng (nicknamed “supermart” as he stocks all Olympic’s daily needs in his house) refused to help her anymore, and even the soft-hearted Facai turned her down. the only one who believed in her was Ah-Xiang, and it was partly because of Ah-Xiang’s predicament that she woke up and decided to pull her self together. however, that was not enough, and her mother still gave her the cold shoulder for a few episodes. it was sad how her mother ignored her and didn’t believe her; but yet, she deserved it. she just took advantage of everyone before.

therefore, the main plot was crafted well, and it was very believable. Apple didn’t turn over a new leaf overnight, and there were still traits of her selfishness lurking around — even when she’d gotten the job at the shoe shop, she attempted to steal a pair of slippers for her mother; i always wondered why her initial motives weren’t discovered. i liked how they added Ah-Xiang’s predicament into the story, showing her a real-life example of what her son would feel about her if she continued her incorrigible ways. although the whole idea about ’selling’ her baby was quite difficult to believe (yes, i can’t imagine how Baoyin wanted a grandchild so badly she would want to adopt a child for her son and daughter-in-law.), it was made more credible mainly because of her mother’s connection with Facai, and how she could be his daughter, therefore, he’d like his ‘grandson’ to have a life without worries. Jiacheng’s role was the least developed. the story couldn’t do without him, but his existence was purely to assist and help her look after Olympic, lend her money, and later ignore her.

other than the part when everyone gave up on Apple, i also liked the last few episodes, when the kidnapping occurred. that was probably the most exciting episode; it was very believable too, especially since Ah-Nan was an underworld figure who’d just come out of jail, and saw the opportunity to fleece money out of a rich guy.

the subplots were rather boring and it felt meaningless to add them in, especially in the case of Simon and Xiaoyang, and Guo’an and Angel.

although they managed to portray Xiaoyang as a very independent and career-minded woman, they needed to add Simon in to give her a love-interest. while Jiacheng was always secretly in love with her, he was a very boring character. the exchanges between Jiacheng and Xiaoyang were very boring… there was nothing new; Jiacheng would forever be that ’square’ ‘woodblock’ character. they needed Simon to give that subplot an edge, especially when he hid the fact that he was the restaurant’s landlord, and wanted to raise the rent by 20%. they didn’t manage to develop Simon and Xiaoyang’s subplot very well, although their restaurant partnership introduced the talented chef Ah-Xiang. how Xiaoyang and Simon finally ended up together was kinda anti-climax. i mean, wow, Simon’s a philanthropist. but what has that got to do with the fact of him concealing the fact that he was indeed the landlord who wanted to raise their rent by 20%? i didn’t like Simon’s character at all.

the least developed subplot was between husband and wife, Guo’an and Angel. the main idea was to bring Angel down a notch, and make her realise she isn’t the all-powerful career woman whom the company couldn’t do without. her existence was pretty superfluous. the most important thing she did to affect the plot was to reveal all the truths to Baoyin.

the subplot between Facai and Guo’an was more interesting. it was very believable how father and son couldn’t see eye-to-eye, and how the father favoured his trusty loyal humble employee Jiacheng, and asked his son to model after him. although most of their exchanges involved money, Guo’an was able to go through various hurdles to prove to his father that his concepts work (even though i found him really irritating, as he was constantly picking on Jiacheng, even though he didn’t do anything to offend him), and through this, Facai managed to accept new ideas and without any worries, hand his business over to his son.

the earliest subplot involved Meiling and Facai’s past, which was quite interesting and made sense. i think Candyce Toh (from Project Superstar) did a pretty good job with playing the young Meiling. there wasn’t much of a subplot between Facai and Baoyin. although they’d portrayed Baoyin as a volunteer for the women’s association in the beginning, she later didn’t seem to be involved with the women’s association anymore, and was constantly shown as being at home – that was inconsistent. i also liked how Ah-Nan kept popping up here and there in the story, to give everyone trouble and make the plot more exciting.

characters and acting:

Felicia Chin as Huang Liping (Apple)

it was interesting how the scriptwriters made our main lead such a horrible character, but this just paved the way for her character development. through the 23 episodes, Apple went through a lot, and audiences were able to see how she matured, and finally treasured what she had around her. through her, the scriptwriters also managed to emphasize how gambling ruined lives. although she isn’t a character i grew to love, i was pleased that she finally came to her senses. i actually thought she was great with Ah-Xiang, but of course she had to end up with Jiacheng.

Felicia Chin did really well as this ah-lian. she dressed the part and spoke the part – she was very convincing :) she didn’t lapse into speaking normally, and she was always heard with that ah-lian accent. her wardrobe was perfect, even her accessories, and hairstyles were perfect. the way she waved her arms, how she walked, slouched and squatted were really done naturally. i can’t imagine any other actress attempting this role; she looked every bit like what i would imagine Apple to be, and was very immersed in the role. although i didn’t feel much for her chemistry with Tay Ping Hui, they were pretty sweet in the end.

Tay Ping Hui as Li Jiacheng (“Supermart”)

he was the most boring character in this drama! Jiacheng was the typical ’square’ ‘woodblock’ ‘upright and old-fashioned’ guy, and yet he was so helpful and caring toward Olympic and Liping. an honest guy, he can’t tell lies, and gets drunk very easily. he served as the link between Liping and Facai, and was constantly the mediator to settle whatever problems which crop up. there was not much development for his character, but i was quite surprised he, being the oh-so-uber-good guy, actually gave up on Liping, and refused to talk to her for quite a while.

Tay Ping Hui did a very good job at portraying Jiacheng. all the small actions, like opening his eyes wide, with a super blur look, pushing his specs up whenever he was nervous, walking with his feet outwards so he walks funny… and of course his dressing – he was always neat and tidy, he always sat straight, and was very stiff when talking to Jesseca Liu.

Jesseca Liu as Zheng Xiaoyang

she’s the beauty of the drama; modern, daring, self-reliant, independent, capable and stubborn. she is first introduced breaking up with her cheating boyfriend and very nonchalantly leaves their restaurant, and terminates their partnership. she never wants to rely on her family, and wants to prove her worth – and she is definitely capable of doing that, thriving in the F&B line. i didn’t like her character. most times, she was very stubborn and would think she’s always right; she’s also unreasonable and too overconfident (as my reader rhythm of life pointed out), making her very irritating.

when Jesseca first started acting, she was given all those demure and timid roles. here, she takes on the challenge to play this very strong-headed modern woman. Jesseca managed to bring across Xiaoyang’s character very well, so much so that i was so irritated and annoyed at her character and her actions (or lack of them). she was very natural and although i didn’t feel much for her chemistry with both Tay Ping Hui and Terence Cao, she nevertheless did a good job :)

Zhu Houren as Zheng Facai

Facai is an old-fashioned businessman. he refuses to take risks to modernize his business, and would continue with his old methods, and impose them on everyone around him. this causes the feud between him and his son, Guo’an. it is also because of Facai that Guo’an detests Jiacheng, as Facai constantly asks Guo’an to model on Jiacheng’s down-to-earth attitude. Facai is a very faithful husband, although he made a mistake which involved his first love 20 years ago; that is his deepest darkest secret. upon knowing Apple is his fist love Meiling’s daughter, he forms a soft-spot for her and agrees to help her numerous times.

Zhu Houren is a brilliant actor. no matter what the role, he’ll always give a solid performance. i especially liked him as Facai, because his expressions were priceless. one of the funniest scenes was filmed in Liang Court, where Meiling spotted Jiacheng and Facai with Olympic, and they tried means and ways to make her think she was seeing things. Zhu Houren’s expressions there were really funny, ‘cos he was so afraid their ploy would be exposed, and yet he was glad he managed to trick her :D his onscreen partnership with Tay Ping Hui was also really good; it felt like Jiacheng was his son more than Guo’an was.

Xiang Yun as Huang Meiling

Meiling and Facai were very in love when they were young, but because of her money-faced mother, she was forced to go and perform overseas, and could not marry Facai. in the end, she married underworld figure Ah-Nan, hoping to escape her mother’s clutches. she managed to escape her mother’s clutches, but was stuck in Ah-Nan’s clutches, and he would abuse her and extort money out of her. fortunately, Ah-Nan went to jail for many years, and Meiling and Apple were able to live a peaceful life. it was Meiling who insisted Apple not abort Olympic, and bring up him. she cares the most for her grandson, and took up a few jobs to support the family.

Xiang Yun does not disappoint, no matter what role she takes on. Meiling was a very real character; Xiang Yun portrayed her as a very supportive mother who took all her daughter’s nonsense, and was like her daughter’s ‘good friend’ (Apple called her ‘mei-jie’), but later, in despair at her daughter’s incorrigible state, she ignores her totally. Xiang Yun’s onscreen partnership with Felicia Chin was very good, and it really felt like that were on very good terms. Xiang Yun’s ‘black and blank face’ when she was ignoring Apple was really a painful sight; for a mother to give up on her beloved daughter like how she did; it was really heart-wrenching.

Darren Lim as Zheng Guo’an

Guo’an was an ambitious character. he was all out to prove to his father that his new viewpoints and business ideas would work. he ended up spending a lot of money to prove his point, and to realise his dream. i found him really irritating, especially when he was attacking Jiacheng. his feud with his father were never pleasant to watch, as one of them always walked away in a huff. however, another side of him was seen when he dealt with Olympic, he was caring and gentle.

Darren Lim is a very versatile actor; in Baby Bonus, he was this super ambitious and rather hot-tempered man. he really appeared to be at odds with Zhu Houren, but his chemistry with his onscreen wife Apple Hong was very bland. interestingly, Jesseca Liu, Darren Lim and Apple Hong were all in the cast of 2005 drama Through it All, where Darren was in love with Jesseca, and Darren collaborated with Apple to scheme an evil plot. i thought that Darren and Apple’s chemistry in Through it All was much better, even though they were not cast as a couple. overall, Darren’s portrayal of Guo’an was believable and was a job well done! :)

Terence Cao as Simon Koh

probably the most irritating character in this series, Simon is an ambitious and business-minded guy. he did not see the point in telling his girlfriend that he was indeed the landlord of the property they ran their business on, especially since he wanted to raise the rent. a great part of the series was him trying to put Jiacheng down, as he could tell Jiacheng was in love with Xiaoyang. Simon managed to win Xiaoyang’s heart in the end, but they broke up regarding the landlord business. in the end, he turned out to be a philanthropist, and that was the strangest twist ever. and it wasn’t even believable.

i don’t find Terence a particularly good actor, but he did a pretty good job here. his portrayal of Simon managed to annoy me so much that i sighed everytime he appeared onscreen. he had this sinister air about him that it was difficult to figure out what he was really thinking. i didn’t find his chemistry with Jesseca Liu anything to shout about.

Apple Hong as Angel

Angel is the typical career woman who puts her career first before anything else. she has a 5-year-plan with regards to giving birth and starting a family. her 5-year-plan was the main reason why Facai and Baoyin were so eager to adopt Olympic. her character developed quite a lot, especially when she moved out because Olympic was disturbing her sleep. this brought the couple closer together. when she hurt her leg and was on crutches for a long time, she realised that the company could do without her, and her life suddenly lost direction. in the end, all ended well, and she found out she was pregnant, and brought happiness to the family.

this is not Apple Hong’s best performance. she came across rather stiff, and her chemistry with Darren Lim was not good. i failed to see why so much time was spent on her, especially since she was not that important to the plot’s development. Apple failed to impress me here; i’ve seen many roles where she has done better, and gotten more into the role – this is something which i didn’t see here.

Lin Meijiao as Long Baoyin

the official head of the family, Baoyin was introduced to the series as a volunteer for the women’s association. however, as the story went by, she was no longer associated with the association anymore. the most crucial thing she did was to befriend Meiling, and later expose the ‘dirty linen’ between Meiling and Facai. she stayed angry with her entire family, as they all knew the truth but kept her in the dark, for many episodes. near the end, she was kidnapped by Ah-Nan, in an attempt to extort money out of Facai.

this is Lin Meijiao in a good role; as a good mother and supportive wife. Meijiao doesn’t disappoint, no matter whether she is in an evil role, or a normal role. she managed to bring the style of Baoyin across the screen, and we could feel the love and care she had for her family, and how hurt she was when she realised her whole family knew the truth but kept her in the dark. her scenes with Olympic were also quite touching.

Jerry Yeo as Ah-Xiang

he was introduced as a very talented chef with an awkward temper. a pool fanatic, he agreed to jump ship to work for Xiaoyang if she beat him in a pool game. it was here that he met Apple, who was coaching Xiaoyang. he fell for Apple at first sight, and his temper changed for the better. his role was not very significant, other than being a chef in Xiaoyang’s restaurant. he also befriended Jiacheng, and gave him tips on how to win Xiaoyang’s heart. he’s my favourite character of the show – his sincerity toward Apple was very touching. he was the only one who still believed in her when everyone had given up on her.

Jerry Yeo is a good actor; i’ve been a fan since i’ve seen him in his debut performance in Beach.Ball.Babes. he impressed me most in Crimebusters x2, and later, as that sickening evil ungrateful son in The Ultimatum. for Jerry to get a good-guy role again was great; however, his character was not very important, and he popped up at random. i enjoyed Jerry’s portrayal as Ah-Xiang, i thought his chemistry with Felicia Chin was quite sweet, and a far cry from their exchanges in The Ultimatum.

Richard Low as Ah-Nan

an ex-convict and member of the underworld, he is Meiling’s horrible husband and Apple’s father. he didn’t appear much in the series, but when he did, trouble was around the corner. the worst thing he did was the kidnapping saga, but obviously he wasn’t a very smart kidnapper XD

Richard Low is always great to watch! Ah-Nan looked really scary and murderous, but he didn’t have the guts to do much, and his expressions were really funny, as he was trying to look scary, but he was blur and hesitant at the same time (when he was a runner for the loansharks and had to pour urine on people’s doors).

final thoughts:

this drama shouldn’t have been stretched to 23 episodes. the scenes with Guo’an and Angel were unnecessarily long and draggy; as was the case with some of Simon and Xiaoyang’s scenes. nevertheless, all the scenes with Olympic were really sweet and could melt your heart. this is a must-watch series for fans of Felicia Chin and Tay Ping Hui, as they gave stunning perfomances. although i didn’t feel much for most of the couples, as they lacked chemistry, the overall chemistry between all the cast members was present and gave the series a very human touch.

RATING: 4.2/5.0 (VERY GOOD)

*ALL PHOTOS BELONG TO MEDIACORP.