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dangermousieEps 14 and 15 of JPLH, a.k.a. "Qing Chuan plans her escape from the mortuary temple" were a bit slower/less fun than the previous eps but still good.
The reason I liked them somewhat less what a total absence of Eight. The thing with Eight is that he might not be the only decent person Qing Chuan meets in this new world, but he is the only one who seems to possess capacity for joy. Somehow, improbably, he's managed to maintain some degree of spontaneity despite the palace. And so when he's off the screen, the fun quotient goes way down - there are plenty of schemers to replace e.g. Four if Four got taken out of the story, but nobody to replace Eight's sense of fun.
But eps 14 and 15 are still good. You know why?
a. Qing Chuan is an entirely new but equally dangerous and harsh place. She has no Eight to rescue her, or Four's words to use a comfort, or even Su Yan's friendship. She's utterly isolated and alone. And guess what? With her usual optimism, inventiveness and strength of will, she manages to rescue herself. You have no idea how much I love it! In fact, it does prove that outside the palace, QC will do just fine. She won't have a royal prince to come to her rescue, but any danger outside the palace (i.e. the Emperor's whims) she can deal with. She doesn't need royal protection unless she's in danger from another royal in the first place.
b. It's a weird thing for an Eight/QC shipper to say, but I love that the time total she spends moping over either Eight (or Four, who she did have a bit of a crush on) is zero. I love that she doesn't regret her decision to tell Eight she doesn't want to be with him. JPLH gets right what the original Hanadan manga got right and so did the Meteor Garden adaptation, but every other version either diluted (Hanadan) or wrecked altogether (BOF). That is the very important notion that gratitude and love are different - Eight might have saved QC's life at the risk of his own and this entitles him to QC's gratitude but not QC's heart. She does not owe him to love him because he saved her. And that makes the OTP so much more satisfying when it does happen - she won't be with him out of gratitude or fear or self-interest or as a desire for protection - clearly she does not need him in any way unless she wants to be with him and needs him because she loves him. And that is so much more satisfying.
Side note - I feel desperately sorry for Two. He's rather sweet but so outclassed by Four. It's a wonder he's lasted as long as he has.
I keep wondering about the sequel btw - is it going to be set in modern day or the past? Because the former could be a lot of fun but it's going to lack to overwhelming stakes of the past - the fact that death for the slightest transgression is ever-present and attitude to it is so casual is what gives JPLH the sense of danger and darkness that underlays the gorgeous fun and makes it matter.
The reason I liked them somewhat less what a total absence of Eight. The thing with Eight is that he might not be the only decent person Qing Chuan meets in this new world, but he is the only one who seems to possess capacity for joy. Somehow, improbably, he's managed to maintain some degree of spontaneity despite the palace. And so when he's off the screen, the fun quotient goes way down - there are plenty of schemers to replace e.g. Four if Four got taken out of the story, but nobody to replace Eight's sense of fun.
But eps 14 and 15 are still good. You know why?
a. Qing Chuan is an entirely new but equally dangerous and harsh place. She has no Eight to rescue her, or Four's words to use a comfort, or even Su Yan's friendship. She's utterly isolated and alone. And guess what? With her usual optimism, inventiveness and strength of will, she manages to rescue herself. You have no idea how much I love it! In fact, it does prove that outside the palace, QC will do just fine. She won't have a royal prince to come to her rescue, but any danger outside the palace (i.e. the Emperor's whims) she can deal with. She doesn't need royal protection unless she's in danger from another royal in the first place.
b. It's a weird thing for an Eight/QC shipper to say, but I love that the time total she spends moping over either Eight (or Four, who she did have a bit of a crush on) is zero. I love that she doesn't regret her decision to tell Eight she doesn't want to be with him. JPLH gets right what the original Hanadan manga got right and so did the Meteor Garden adaptation, but every other version either diluted (Hanadan) or wrecked altogether (BOF). That is the very important notion that gratitude and love are different - Eight might have saved QC's life at the risk of his own and this entitles him to QC's gratitude but not QC's heart. She does not owe him to love him because he saved her. And that makes the OTP so much more satisfying when it does happen - she won't be with him out of gratitude or fear or self-interest or as a desire for protection - clearly she does not need him in any way unless she wants to be with him and needs him because she loves him. And that is so much more satisfying.
Side note - I feel desperately sorry for Two. He's rather sweet but so outclassed by Four. It's a wonder he's lasted as long as he has.
I keep wondering about the sequel btw - is it going to be set in modern day or the past? Because the former could be a lot of fun but it's going to lack to overwhelming stakes of the past - the fact that death for the slightest transgression is ever-present and attitude to it is so casual is what gives JPLH the sense of danger and darkness that underlays the gorgeous fun and makes it matter.
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Date: 2011-03-22 02:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 02:43 am (UTC)I am sort of relieved there is no full-blown drama sequel because I am not sure how/where it could go.
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Date: 2011-03-22 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 03:05 am (UTC)I was worried what on earth they'd come up with to fill another 30+ eps, not to mention second seasons rarely work half as well (Hanadan 2 being a noted exception). But a sequel movie is just the right length.
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Date: 2011-03-22 02:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 02:49 am (UTC)And I agree, movie sequel would be much better. Excited!
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Date: 2011-03-22 03:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 03:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 03:27 am (UTC)
Date: 2011-03-22 03:29 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2011-03-22 03:37 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2011-03-22 03:43 am (UTC)You know, this whole thing about FSF and YM being paired repeatedly after JPLH success makes me wonder why on earth kdramas rarely repeat successful pairings - almost never. This never made any sense to me.
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Date: 2011-03-22 04:33 am (UTC)I've always been confused why kdrama producers practically go out of the way to avoid repeating successful pairings. It's almost a conscious decision; it's like, "It's been done before, let's try something different!" In a way it's good, but in another, if I really loved an on-screen pairing, I want to see MORE MORE MORE. Perhaps it's due in part to how wary female artists and their companies are about avoiding any rumours. It doesn't seem to be so good for their careers in Korea - in HK/Taiwan/China, it's just another way to bring in the dough (see Boscolie and Ariel/Joe).
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Date: 2011-03-22 04:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 02:46 pm (UTC)mousie, it's period AND involves time travel to THE THREE KINGDOMS.
=P
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Date: 2011-03-22 02:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 03:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 03:55 pm (UTC)They had ALOT of misses in shows like:
- Eternal Faith (Well, can't blame anyone because Michelle was so much more popular)
- Twin of Brothers (ARGH I'll never forgive Li Qian for stealing Raymond)
- Face to Fate (I got my hopes up when Raymond's character kept teasing Tavia's, but that pairing never made it through)
- And a darn load of dramas they collaborated in but never got close to being paired up, like Yummy Yummy, Heart of Greed, Moonlight Resonance...
I'm a fungyi fan (more of Tavia though)!!
I can't wait for that time travel drama. Seems like it's the IN thing now huh?
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Date: 2011-03-23 03:27 am (UTC)Oh, I remember Heart of Greed, though. The pairing there was Raymond/Linda, wasn't it? That was what started that awful Raymond/Linda trend and they got to sing together on charity shows. Raymond has a nice voice but omgggg Linda. *cringecringecringe* Fungyi's a lot cuter, too bad Mysteries of Love was... so... ugh.
I've heard someone mention that they've watched 3 time travel dramas already this year, LOL. I just wonder about the details; do they BOTH time travel, kind of like Kwong Wa and Maggie Cheung did in The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow?
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Date: 2011-03-23 02:12 pm (UTC)MOL wasn't the strongest show, and there were criticisms despite the viewership success. Still, I loved it for it being the first fungyi drama in ages (and I turn a blind eye to Kenneth's horrible, unbelievable character).
I can't wait for 3K though. Since Raymond's character went back because of some electric shock (or similar) while playing a 3 Kingdoms game, I guess Tavia must be an actual person during the 3 Kingdoms period! Or maybe she was also gaming and just accidentally got brought along. HAHAH!
Speaking of King of Yesterday and Tomorrow, it's probably one of the very few shows with Kwong Wa as the lead that I like. I don't really like him (I'm superficial and I don't find his looks my cup of tea), but in that show, I totally loved him! The way he applied his experience in dealing with two-faced court officials/family members to help that guy get the trust of the CEO... The ending wasn't very memorable though...
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Date: 2011-03-23 02:21 pm (UTC)Omg LOL, they got zapped back while playing a game? That's HILARIOUS. Sure beats the whole "being sucked through a painting" thing in Gong or BBJX where Ruo Xi was sent flying into a billboard.
I loved the part when they first popped into the modern day and reacted hilariously to technology. The ending = definitely not memorable; I can't remember how it ended at all! Do you? XD King of Yesterday and Tomorrow is the only thing I remember Kwong Wa in other than Journey to the West, where I absolutely hated him. But that mostly wasn't his fault; I hate Tang Sanzang.
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Date: 2011-03-23 03:26 pm (UTC)Actually, I can't really think of a drama which left a deep impression of her on me.Oh, she was great in Steps. <3 I really loved the OTP in there...and the theme song she sang!HAHA, Ruo Xi was sent flying into a billboard? An accident? I'd thought that she just woke up in the body of that Qing dynasty girl. I'm in the mood for time-travel! Am now reading an online time-travel novel, and have ordered 2 books on other time travel tales. lol...But BBJX...I'm tempted to watch just because they claim to be more historically 'correct', especially in terms of the costumes and set....I'm a history-lover. That video game thing was from the TVB drama presentation last year, so I'm not sure if they made changes, seeing how they've replaced the cast too. XP It's interesting to see Raymond time travel, because he was on the other side of time back in A Step Into The Past.
Re King of Yesterday and Tomorrow: I think Yong Zheng and Si Niang retreated to some countryside to get away from that evil man, who threatened to expose Yong Zheng's identity to the scientists. Can't remember much, but I vaguely remember the final scene being set on a grassland/hillside, with a lot of kids running around. Yong Zheng and Si Niang were discussing about visiting the other woman (you know, the one Yong Zheng had initially fallen for?). Haha technology! Si Niang was ever afraid of 'the box that moves up and down'. My most memorable scene was Yong Zheng repainting a damaged Yong Zheng painting from the Qing Dynasty.
Journey To The West! A classic. Amazingly, despite changing the lead actor between series, I did not feel the disappointment that always lingers around when such changes happen. Both Dicky and Benny were amazing in the role.
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Date: 2011-03-23 03:41 pm (UTC)Yup, a car accident, from what I saw of the trailer. She goes flying into a billboard and it looked like she was getting electrified, LOL. I guess that was their idea of a warphole of sorts? Then she wakes up in Qing dynasty with a bandage on her head. Oh, I'm so tempted to watch BBJX too - it'd be awesome to watch the same set-up as Gong, done differently. But the ending, eesh. I'm still planning on watching another Nicky Wu series to get that image of his bald Qing look out of my brain.
Oh, those TVB drama presentations are notoriously misleading. How sad! Didn't they also promote Forensic Heroes III? I loved the second season, so I'm interested, but there's no Bobby Au Yeung and the female leads are reportedly Mandy Cho, Leanne Li and Vivien Yeo.
Benny Chan's version was the only one I didn't watch completely; I was too young then and didn't pay much attention to it because I didn't recognize him as Wukong. Dicky will always BE Wukong for me! I loved the series so much I even liked the last one with Charlene Choi. XD I haven't watched the recent Mainland version though.
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Date: 2011-03-23 04:22 pm (UTC)Nicky Wu...I can't remember where I last saw him in. I think...Treasure Venturers or something...that was very very long ago, with Vicky Zhao in it as well.. I'll depend on your feedback to decide if I'll watch this. Haha, you and mousie are doing a great job at pulling me into cdramas.
If Forensic Heroes III gets filmed without Bobby, I will NOT watch it. Oh. I sound too stern, eh? I wonder if this was how fans of DIF I - III felt when they found out that DIF IV was going to be an entirely different story (DIF IV is another classic I love). Oh, are you a fan of Burning Flames?
I've only watched the TVB versions...but I heard that the Charlene Choi one is...more romcom (as romcom a chinese production can get)? I really miss all the tvb actors who have graduated and left for Mainland. Like my dear Chilam. WHen he finally comes back, he gets a poor plot to work with. =S
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Date: 2011-03-24 01:54 am (UTC)I think it's because Bernice is cheerful and lively, tough without being in-your-face about it; there's "strong woman" like Liza Wang and then there's Bernice, LOL.
OOH. Treasure Ventures is exactly the one I picked to watch! He looks good in it and I figure it'll be comparatively painless.
Haha, that's what EVERYONE is saying though, so you're not alone! People are saying that Forensic Heroes without Bobby is like The Academy without Ron Ng. Apparently it'll have Wayne Lai instead, but no matter how much I like him, he doesn't quite cut the "intelligent forensics" type. I looooved the 1st Burning Flames, but haven't watched the others. I heard the 3rd one was terrible. Wong Hei <3 He's so fat and old now. ;_;
Most of the best TVB actors have already fled to China, particularly the veterans. D: I used to wonder why I don't see people like Sammul Chan on TVB anymore and then realized they're all filming in China.
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Date: 2011-03-24 01:11 pm (UTC)Treasure Ventures! Was his name Xu Ruo Xi or sth? I only remember how he was great at the flute (he was such a charming character) and how he and Vicky...fought off....zombies? lol! Tell me if I'm wrong.
Wayne Lai! I've yet to watch Rosey Business 2. Have you? Is it better than the first? I'm not a big fan of pre-modern dramas, so am hesitating... I've watched the whole installment of BF, but BF2 is my true love. Wong He's character was such an atypical hero. I enjoyed watching his character grow stronger, but yet in the end, he was still the same person he was at the start - afraid of dying and leaving his (VERY VERY CUTE) daughter behind. I can't believe how BF3 made the icon of BF into such a different character to like. Argh!
The thing about TVB actors going to Mainland is that we'll never get to hear their real voice. =(
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Date: 2011-03-24 02:18 pm (UTC)Speaking of No Regrets, I was slowly helping sub the drama on Viki, but I kind of lost interest. Super dramatic makjang dramas where everyone's yelling at everyone else = not really my thing, and like you, I don't really like pre-modern dramas. I'm shallow and I like people with pretty hair and clothes! XD What I've seen so far, I know that Sheren's character is cold and business-minded, but she has some crazy birth secret and the rest of her "siblings" hate her, so they're trying to reveal it?
Ooh, BF2 was good too? I should go back and watch it then; it's the type of series where I'm afraid they'll kill him off (or his close family/friends) at any point and ruin it for me, so I was dragging my feet. BF3 was pretty crazy, from what I've heard. Not to mention the weird cast changes!
Nicky Wu's character in Treasure Ventures is Shui Ruo Han. :D He looks SO much better with hair! At first I was irritated that his character never spoke, but then he started speaking and I began to wish he didn't, LOL. Unless it's dubbed (but I don't think it is), Nicky Wu has an extremely weird voice. It's kind of squished and raspy. The plot of Treasure Ventures is all sorts of weird, too. I'll probably post about it soon, LOL.
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Date: 2011-03-24 02:48 pm (UTC)BF2 was good, very good. At the very end, you get to see Wong He display what I think all firefighters pray for everytime the alarm goes off. Go watch it!!
HAHA! I got one character right! And yes, he's much better with hair. Or is it the work of time?
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Date: 2011-03-22 03:58 am (UTC)Awwh, poor Two. He's so lost in this world, despite his best efforts -- a sad example that simply having good intentions and generally being harmless really isn't enough in the palace, you have to be smart, strong-willed, even manipulative as well, just to survive.
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Date: 2011-03-22 04:52 am (UTC)I got the sense in MG she fell for him not because he wore her down but because she decided she liked him due to interactions, but MMV. Kdrama version though just made my blood boil.
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Date: 2011-03-22 02:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 04:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 04:29 am (UTC)Re: FengMi collaborations, the Gong movie's been confirmed by Yu Zheng (screenwriter/producer), but there have been many rumours of Gong 2 as well. Who knows, but from what I've read, the plot for that was going to be something like, "8th can't get used to the 21st Century and disappears one day. QC goes to find him and ends up time-travelling to another period where 8th and 4th were still battling" or something. My reaction to that was "Please God, no!" So even if we're still going with that for the movie, at least it'll be shorter and less prone to disaster.
I looked up Ming Yun Jiao Xiang Qu after I saw the mentions above. Articles are saying that FengMi will have "a lot of intimate scenes"? Yes please! And apparently ever since Yang Mi was finalized as female lead, fans have been sending messages and phoning in asking for them to cast FSF as male lead, LOL. Hopefully that's a sign of many moooore collabs between the two to come, and hopefully also happy ending ones. Have you seen the trailer/MV for Hu Fu Chuan Qi? It looks ridiculously depressing.
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Date: 2011-03-22 04:59 am (UTC)Re: plot for sequel. Oh God, no. Unless they travel to the future and battle killer robots. :P (Though for a movie this may not be bad).
LOL re intimate scenes - isn't it just kissing in cdrama terms? :P They chopped bed scenes in Sunny Happiness and Summer Desire to bits.
Re: fans. Yes, you go fangirls! Represent me in spirit!
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Date: 2011-03-22 05:07 am (UTC)LOL I have no idea, doesn't it imply bed scenes? I almost never watch modern cdramas, so I don't know what they do with them, but Taiwanese dramas love their bed scenes, so I thought it'd be along those lines. Oh well, more kiss scenes will still be more than we get in kdramas. In kdramas, it's like you have to threaten torture on the writer before you'll get ONE measley lip-bump (yes, they cannot be called kissing).
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Date: 2011-03-22 05:10 am (UTC)cdramas do have bed scenes, just more abbreviated than twdramas (no surprise there :P)
I can't see why YZ would want to ruin his cash cow, but who knows. I have to say, whatever else he does right or wrong, the man knows how to make OTPs that really really work for me, so I have high hopes that, whatever else, the OTP won't be ruined (they don't seem to be sticking in new rivals and I can't see QC going "well, you tried to off me repeatedly and then buy me by threatening Eight's life but all's forgotten, ILY."
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Date: 2011-03-22 05:32 am (UTC)You never know with YZ. Gong was actually a departure from his style, which is generally a lot more angsty and serious. And besides OTPs, there's also the portrayal of characters and putting together a story that has just the right balance of awesome romance and angst; YZ does get these things right. I don't mind new male rivals (I find rival conflict hot and QC is a girl who knows what she wants/is decisive once she makes up her mind), it's female rivals that are silly. But Eight is so head-over-heels for QC that I doubt anyone will turn his head anyway. I lolled so hard when that irritating maid who's always trying to trick QC attempted to seduce Eight and got epically rejected.
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Date: 2011-03-22 05:44 am (UTC)Re: YZ. Yes, I figured. FWC is angst-central and, from what I hear, his other stuff is too. He seems good at lighter stuff though, if Gong is any indication, and I wish he'd make more of that - it's less emotionally exhausting and less overwrought. More my thing. By now, poor OTP of FWC went through so much I am sort of emotionally detached and wondering "oh God, what now?" whenever something bad pops up.
But whatever you may say about YZ, he knows how to make his stuff addictive. Generally, I have a really short attention span, and even shorter for airing/subbing in progress dramas, yet I cannot stop watching either FWC or Gong.
Re: maid. That was LOLtastic.
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Date: 2011-03-22 06:04 am (UTC)The subbed trailer is both loltastic and cute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ4fY7wDS2I
I think it's in the early stages of being subbed on Viki, but not sure whether there's any significant progress. I was kind of hoping it'd be Mickey He/Myolie Wu, actually, LOL. It'd make an interesting circle of pairings - Mei Ren Xin Ji had FSF/Myolie and Mickey/Yang Mi, Gong had FSF/Yang Mi and Mickey/women he didn't want, so Mickey/Myolie would complete the rounds.
Oh, speaking of subs in progress, I think we're re-releasing the subtitles for the first 12 episodes of Gong soon. I've been working on ironing out a lot of the name consistencies and timing errors with another editor. Plus a hopefully non-glitchy, 720p version of Episode 1 coming soon!
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Date: 2011-03-22 01:23 pm (UTC)Re: Gong subs. Woohoo!!!!
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Date: 2011-03-22 01:39 pm (UTC)http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DXYSTC90
Best of all, it matches with the subs so they don't have to be retimed, THANK GOD. XD
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Date: 2011-03-22 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 02:51 pm (UTC)Sorry, but I love the love pure.
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Date: 2011-03-22 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 03:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 03:06 pm (UTC)Ok, so the first one was DBY.
I think the best bed scene (haha, what a term) I've watched was the one in Long Vacation. I love the whole lead up, and how the screenwriter handled the morning/noon after. Beautiful. Better than my previous favourite from Long Vacation.
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Date: 2011-03-22 02:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 02:56 pm (UTC)