Rants and Weekly Raves (RAWR) #357
Anne: This is my first time at starting the RAWR post. While I do not watch the breath of dramas that Trot watches, and I tend to watch a lot of stuff late, I will try my best to keep this post going to offer everyone a place to come and discuss their favorite current dramas.
I still have not gotten around to The Broker.
and it's the first time I've ever seen him fight like Jason Bourne...
(Update) Okay, I did watch like 30 minutes of it. But I doubt I will continue. The heavy handed propaganda in that odd scene with the FL and her "professor" where one spoke English and the other Mandarin has put this show forever on the shelf for me. Sigh...I think I'll wait for his BL drama.
For this week, I want to introduce something new. I want to start a conversation on the role that made you a fan of a particular actor/actress. I've been thinking about this for quite a while, about what exactly captivates the audience, why similar story lines work for some but not for others, and how a certain role can change your perception of the actor/actress even if you have seen them in previous works. We can try this for a couple of weeks to see if anyone likes this idea.
Drama of the Week (Oldies but Goodies):
I was trying to think of a true comfort drama, but I drew a blank this week. The one title that kept popping into my mind was Go Princess Go. So I decided to name this an oldie but a goodie. I cannot remember where I first heard of this, but it was probably in one of the posts or comments in this blog. My first impression wasn't that great because the beginning was a bit of a mess. I didn't understand the femme fatale trio and their "hunting" of the cheating boyfriend. And then the costumes! They needed the layers because the fabric was so shear. And the royal physician. That Hat! Is that Chanel?
This show not only made fun of itself, but pretty much every other show in its genre. I loved Zheng Peng Peng's direct commentary into the camera. I loved her male perspective in enjoying the benefits of her husband's many concubines. It's the first where I noticed Peter Sheng (which of course led me to Oh My General). I remembered Alan Yu (whom I saw first in 3110). This was also my first introduction to Fiction Guo (who did a fantastic job as Yang Yan, the clumsy martial arts expert), and he has since grown into other comedic roles. I loved everything about this show...with the exception of the ending. None of them made a bit of sense.
I have watched this show probably at least 4 times all the way through. I've read the book and translated for a friend of mine. I was obsessed with this story. Qi Sheng was actually quite the romantic in the book. He knew what Zhang Peng Peng wanted more than anything was to become the Empress Dowager, and he fulfilled her wish (by faking his death when their eldest son was old enough to take over the throne). Even up until the very end, Zhang Peng Peng's inner male monologue was still the same I-guess-I'll-have-to-make-do-as-a-woman, he knew and the readers ALL knew how much he loved her husband.
When I fell in love with...
Jing Chao
Before he appeared in Princess Silver, I don't think I ever had a strong impression of him. I cannot remember him in anything before this drama. And the only reason I started this, was because of Luo Yunxi because I was coming off my Ashes of Love obsession. The story was long, with all sorts of twists, and with a plot that is so over-the-top it made Ice Fantasy seem almost normal. But I am a sucker for these complicated and twisted plots that offer no resemblance to reality, with a hero that is such a paragon among man that there is no way this person exists. Despite the ML's character being just unbelievably in love with a woman to the point that he GAVE up his fight for the throne, the character that I LOVED the most in this was Fu Chou (and let's not start with why NO ONE in the story realized the pun of his name...seriously even with my 2nd grade Mandarin I figured it out), played by Jing Chao. And the one SINGLE scene that made me realized how much I LOVED his character, was the transition of this one particular scene.
He started with confusion and that shred of hope that what he suspected was not true.
And ended with the final realization of the horror that he personally forced the woman he loved (the Princess) to drink a horribly painful poison and pretty much ended any potential "feeling" she could ever have had for him. This entire scene is the first time in any drama where I actually felt sorry/sad for the villain!!!
I don't know what it is about his face that is so engaging over the screen. But after this, I found Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: The Survivor and Burning. (And no, nothing can make me watch The Legend of Xian Chuo.) I still haven't found another show that he is/was in that compares to the complex character of Princess Silver.
CHINESE/TAIWANESE
Be Loved in the House: I Do
This week we finally reached the end of this unevenly paced drama. (But what in the world is this episode 13 that Viki has in the queue?) So these last few episodes with the "ex" was all unnecessary right? I mean even if Yi Zi Tong didn't show up, Shi Lei and Yu Zhen were already developing into a romantic relationship. Shi Lei was going to confess! Yes, it was a bit slow, but there was no need for the "ex" to be there! And to find out that Shi Lei set everything up with Yi Zi Tong???!!! So the rival was just here because he felt GUILTY for being the reason that Yu Zhen was in a coma for 6 months?
You know what is one of the weirdest thing about this, and probably every other drama... what is with the all the CLOTHES that the characters wear when they go to bed with such thick bedding? About two episodes in, I'm wondering why in the world do these guys sleep in long sleeves?! Aren't they hot?
Then after the bed scene, when they were "sleeping" naked...without being COVERED up mind you... the only thought going through my head was..."I wonder if they were both freezing".
Please someone, make at least one show where people aren't dressed for bed like they would be if it was 0C outside and you had the heater on low because you needed to save on the electric bill.
And can anyone explain WHY Hao Ting from History 3 (MODC) showed up? What swimmer person? Did I miss a scene in MODC? This of course led me to a good 30 minutes of going through MODC. And then googling to find out that they were both in a drama called "Swimming Battle"... But this can't be it, right? I must be missing something.
And speaking of MODC, that left a scar carved deeply in my psyche, I saw that there is a MODC #2, it's the second story of HISTORY 4. I didn't look too deeply... but MDL had the keyword "identical twin" listed... I guess we all know where this is going? I can't even begin to understand the thinking behind revisiting this. So...what are they trying to say, that Hao Ting wasn't with Xi Gu on the mountain like we THOUGHT?!!?
Meow Meow Boss
Chinese/Taiwanese romantic comedy misnomer strikes again! What I thought was a short, silly and funny drama with a hot guy, who is a cat, and a cute girl vanished like the dark gritty smoke leftover after the effigy burning. Long story short...Jiang Ke Qi (the FL) saved Hao Yang (the cat) when she was little. In order to repay her, he decided to open a company to leave to her so she would have an income for the rest of her life. But in 5 short episodes, our hero falls in love and vows to stay with her even if meant he would revert to being a cat or disappear all together. Episode 7 started with the revelation that the Jiang Ke Qi conspired with the 2nd ML (who is a husky) to drug Hao Yang in order to force him to return home, so he won't die type of thing. It's like MODC all over again! Up until the last second, I would've thought that Hao Yang could somehow find his way back. But nope! All my hopes were shattered when in the last 10 seconds of the episode, this prophetic scroll of her grandfather's open and reveals her death.
Boom. End Scene.
Why don't I ever learn?
KOREA
So Not Worth It
Did anyone watch this on Netflex? I started this late, and I have two more episodes before I'm done. I quite like the concept. I like the multitude of different characters. Se-wan and Jamie are pretty standard Korean drama CP, the rich boy who is hiding out and the hard working but poor girl with the family issues who captivates him. Each episode is it's own story with the over-arching story line linking the episodes together. The episode when the friends went to confront Carson's ex-boyfriend for cheating and ended up receiving gifts and getting all chummy with the ex and his new girlfriend was an interesting twist. It's an easy watch and something I haven't been exposed to in Korean drama land until now. The only thing I don't get is the laugh track. Sometimes it seems off? And I don't know if it's because the translation is off or the joke is just funnier in Korean.
Well...this is the end for this week, as I ran out of time to discuss Dr. Qin. I have gotten through 16 episodes, and that weird comedy smooth out so it wasn't as out of place. I can go into more details next week.
Hope everyone has a great rest of the week and crossing my fingers for something interesting to premier!