Qiong Yao's Possibly Missed Opportunity With Jerry Yan And Barbie Xu?

Back in 2001(that would be 20 years ago) - the Taiwanese adaptation of Hana Yori Dango or Meteor Garden was made. I was thinking about the comments on the chemistry of Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu-Wang as Doumyoji Tsukasa (Daoming Si) and Makino Tsukushi (Dong Shan Tsai) in the said TV series. I still feel Barbie has been the best Tsukushi ever and Jerry portrays every side of Doumyoji (an insecure bully who changes for the better) oh-so-well. Meteor Garden's first season aired in the same year as the remake of Romance in the Rain which the 1986 version starred Chin Han and Leanne Liu. I decided to try watching the 1986 version (even without understand almost all of it) and decided to only see the similar scenes between the 2001 and 1986 versions. So, I wonder was Chiung Yao trying to make her 2001 remake a high budget or what? I even wonder what if Jerry and Barbie were Shuhuan and Yiping instead of Daoming Si and Shan Cai back in 2001.

Meteor Garden got so popular that a second season was made. Taiwanese actress Zhen Xiu Zhen (Doumyoji Kaede or Dao Ming Feng) managed to get more episodes into the second season presumably due to better negotiation. I felt the second season left us hanging just a year after the first season. The intensity was really there. Though, I ended up DISLIKING the second season no matter how many times people say that Daoming Si became better in the end. It was dragging! Though it did show the potential that the two had again. Both Jerry and Barbie had only one coupling - stuck in the role of Dao Ming Si and Shan Tsai. Though, it seems love teams don't work as well anymore, right? Though other on-screen couples hand a reunion on-screen such as Ambrose Xu and Tammy Chen-Xue in The Mouse Loves the Rice. However, loveteams somehow don't work that well anymore like they did in the past with Chin Han who frequently got paired with Brigitte Lin (which ended in an ugly affair) and later with Leanne (who was 13 years, Han's junior). Jerry though was a year younger than Barbie in real life making the chemistry potentially better than the Chin Han x Leanne Liu on-screen couple.

Qiong Yao managed to score with Romance in the Rain with Vicki Zhao-Huang and Leo Ku. Though, I felt I wish she tried to negotiate with Angie Cai. I decided to try watching some episodes of the Taiwanese drama The Unforgettable Character which I believe could've been (and should've been) remade with the Meteor Garden cast. Jerry already proved he could still play a college student below his age. The opening of The Unforgettable Character had some scenes in college which then forward themselves to the married life. For one, I think Leanne and Chin Han could've made a return as Jerry's parents, Rosanna Gu as Barbie's mother, and I'd like to see Angie Tang resume her role as the grandmother but this time to Jerry. I think it would've been interesting to have a part where Jerry is married to another woman (I'd pick Ke Huan Ru for that part) while Barbie is married to a useless man. I felt that the plot could've been with some cast members of Meteor Garden. Too bad that it never happened.

Though, I was thinking that any possible reunion series (wishful thinking) might be trying to make an age-accurate (if ever) version of After Many Red Sunsets where Chin Han and Leanne had aging make-up on. Both Jerry and Barbie are in their 40s which would make it a bit more accurate. Barbie also has a daughter and a son too who might do well to play the part of the children. Though, another one that Jerry and Barbie could get a reunion series would be Love in the Red Dust where a love story between a businessman and a dancer end in tragedy. Love of the Red Dust also had the late Mary Hsu (who died last 2011) as the wife of the doctor who was once in love with the suffering heroine and still had lingering feelings for her.

For me, this is a missed opportunity for Qiong Yao. But what's done is done, right?

"Light The Night's" Finale (Spoilers Ahead)

SpikyTV I guess the series just kept us guessing, right? I finally got the chance to finish it after some busy nights. I was right that the killer was HANA (Esther Liu) BUT there's a twist - it was more of voluntary manslaughter than murder. Manslaughter is when one kills out of the heat of passion and that's what Hana did twice in the story. Hana had one against a client who used her and another against Sue after some unfortunate insanity attack. Hana ends up planning to hand herself over but her lover commits murder (towards a character named Chiang An) to protect her. The whole psychological thriller for me just didn't match up to what I wanted. I guess I was too used to how Victim's Game rolled out. I was expecting some real murder scheme. Instead, it was the anti-climatic manslaughter where Hana decides to hand herself to the authorities after what she did. I really still think that the finale wasn't worth too much of the wait. I was expecting something gran

I Just Finished "My Golden Life"

I finally finished My Golden Life which I was hesitant to watch. 52 one-hour long episodes? I was thinking it was easier to watch the Wuxia series that had 40+ minutes per episode such as Princess Weiyang which was quite long. A lot of episodes of My Golden Life would have a few minutes more depending on the coverage of the episode. So, I'm done and I never thought I'd actually finish it since I'm way too used to short K-Dramas. This one was rather long but it was rather entertaining in many ways. I was thinking about how Shin Hye Sun actually did well with on-screen partner Park Si Hoo. Sometimes, I'd like to joke about how they had a chemistry that looked good and felt good. Looked good? Both aren't attractive and I often joke how Hye Sun's face feels melted or how she was rightfully matched with Lee Jong Suk in Hymn of Death . Hye Sun isn't pretty but she really makes up with her good acting and likability. The same goes for Si Hoo with how he acts out hi

Just Finished "My Glamorous Imperial Concubine" (Some Spoilers)

This is another Wuxia series finished. I was having some expectations broken. The show can be full of spoilers when discussed even further. In fact, some characters are walking spoilers. If you're not ready to be spoiled - DON'T READ. If not, you can read further. I feel the show had some plot twists and turns. Besides, maybe some of the villains in this show weren't as evil as you think. Emperor Liancheng is an antagonist but dies before the show can end. Liancheng may have some idiotic obsession with Ma Fuya. It becomes even worse when Liancheng's younger sister Liansi and his younger brother Lianxi get involved. Liansi develops a crush on Meng Qiyou and even gets pregnant in the process. It seems that Ma Fuya was pregnant with Liancheng's baby but ends up in Qiyou's household after Liancheng dies. Liancheng dies doing a selfless act to save Ma Fuya. The obsessive empress Ma Xiangyun commits suicide to kill Emperor Liancheng. Emperor Liancheng's quite a

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