TV Drama Review #377 - The Queen of SOP 胜女的代价

No.of Eps: 33
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/Hunan TV,FTV,GTV
Cast:
Zhang Han ~ Tang Jun / Tom
Chen Qiao En ~ Lin Xiao Jie
Godfrey Gao ~ Gao Zi Qi
Zhang Meng ~ Zeng Chu Chu
Coco Jiang ~ Bai Ji Qing
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
After a failed relationship with her former boss and ex-boyfriend Gao Zi Qi, Lin Xiao Jie decides to start her new career in Shanghai's Huanghai dept store with the support of her internet pal Tom. When she finds out that one of her employees, Tang Jun, is actually Tom, and that he's the heir of Huanghai, she begins to doubt his intentions, resulting in a series of misunderstandings.
Review:
It has been a long time since I last watched a China-Taiwan production.The director is Taiwanese hence the whole drama is quite "Taiwanese". Haha! The plot is the usual idol-styled plot between a commoner and wealthy boys' love story, coupled with lots of corporate issues.
The cast are all quite well known. Qiao En used to be TW idol drama queen, Godfrey is well- known as a model-turned-actor in TW, but I am not familiar with his previous works. Zhang Han is famous for his role as Dao Ming Si in China's version of "Hana Yori Dango". Zhang Meng is an uprising Chinese actress while Coco is a well-known host-model-actress.
Qiao En has been missing from TW drama scene, but I think her acting is getting better after working in Chinese productions for the past few years. Xiao Jie is a plain character because nearly every idol drama has such a female lead. She's not a weakling as she mustered her courage to solve her problems, and she's competent in her work. Qiao En is older than Zhang Han, but I liked their chemistry, very natural. On the other hand, I felt that her chemistry with Godfrey was kinda missing.
First time watching Zhang Han and his acting was not too bad, though still got room for improvement. Tang Jun is the usual super nice guy who willing does everything for the woman he loves without any returns. Nothing too special again. It's the chemistry b/w QE and him that made the drama watachable.
Godfrey has good looks, but his acting is still quite raw. Zi Qi is actually quite a silly guy despite being smart and rich. He gave in too much to his ex gf Ji Qing, but does not know how to break up with her thorougly. Unlike Xiao Jie, he seemed to be quite weak in handling relationship issues.
Zhang Meng's character is meant to be hated coz' she could not get her guy and took revenge of his company. Typical evil role.
Coco is pretty but her acting was not convincing. I could not stand her high-pitched voice either, especially when she quarelled with Zi Qi. It's irritating!

TV Drama Review #375 - What is Love 花是爱

No.of Eps: 16
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/TTV
Cast:
Chou You Ting ~ Li Yi Hua
Chris Wu ~ Bai Zong You
Duncan Lai ~ Zhang Shao Qian
Kimi Hsia ~ Wu Xiao Lu
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
A woman, who is a stickler for romantic love and in hope of a monogamous marry life, meets a philanderer who loves to woo and break women's hearts. In their battle for love, will she surrender her principle and become one of his conquest, or will she succeed in making him a loyal husband? Review:
I am quite disappointed with the drama, because the plot and acting failed to meet my expectations. Initially the drama was quite interesting as Bai Zong You kept on thinking of how to get hold of Li Yi Hua, and when Shao Qian came into the picture, the love triangle became more exciting. However, as the plot moves on, Shao Qian admited defeat and "disappeared" from the drama, Yi Hua and Zong You are together but their romance bored me! The final twist at the last episode was really unnecessary, and I am not even happy about the happy ending. Haha!
I enjoyed Chris' performance when he was the support lead in his older dramas, but I began to doubt his acting when he leads a drama. This is not the first drama with him as the lead actor, but I found his acting to be exaggerated, and typical idol-styled expressions.
First time watching Chou You Ting, who used to act in TW hokkien dramas. Her acting was better than Chris, but Yi Hua was not a perfect character. To be honest, she's quite boring. I liked You Ting's scenes with Duncan more as the couple got more chemistry.
Duncan is missing from the TW drama scene for a few years, but he returned looking more matured and manly now. Noted that he's a Hong Konger, his mandarin was kind of unnatural, though accurate. Shao Qian is rather low-key and reserved, hence I can accept Duncan's rather stiff acting. Too bad, they did not made full use of Shao Qian's character by giving him more storyline.
Support cast like Kimi was okay, not much memorable scenes from them.

TV Drama Review #355 - In Between 半熟恋人

No.of Eps: 15
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/TTV
Cast:
Johnny Lu ~ Meng Ke Huai
Janel Tsai ~ Li Xiao Yang
Darren Qiu ~ Cheng Shao Yu
Li Wei Wei ~ Yuan Jia Lin
Patrick Li ~ Meng Ke Wei
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Meng Ke Huai is a popular romance novelist who suffers from writer's block because he no longer believes in love. When a crazy fan trapped him over night with an innocent bystander, he found the inspiration he needed to finish his book. The bystander was Li Xiao Yang, a senior flight attendant who desperately wanted her boyfriend to propose. They became fast friends over the incident. As time pass by, he found himself attracted to this woman who he knows but not that familiar with.
Review:
I guessed TW idol dramas are lacking good original plots with a fresh & mature cast. I am glad that other time slots are coming up with good dramas. "In Between" is quite a trendy & chic drama, though the story was a little flat somehow. It's good to see characters who are independent and knows what they want in life.
First time watching Johnny Lu and he's surprisingly not too bad. I enjoyed his performance as the impefect Meng Ke Huai. Johnny is not handsome, but he got the hunk's body...haha! Very matchable with model Janel. Liked their chemistry.
I've watched Janel before, but most of her roles are minor. It's goot to know that not only Sonia & Bianca (other model-turned-actresses) can act ya! Janel is very convincing in her role, and her acting is very natural.
Darren is not too bad in his role, though I found Shao Yu rather typical as he's the usual rich guy cum boss. His romance scenes with Li Wei Wei are alright, though not convincing to me.
Li Wei Wei's Jia Lin is the most complicated character. She's not a bad person deep down, but she acted like one. She's selfish, but she's honest with herself too. I am glad she ended up with someoe who truly loves her, but it's a hurtful process for Mr. Shao Yu.
Patrick Li is back with a support role, and he's slightly more serious this time round. Too bad he started on another drama towards the end of "In Between", hence we cld hardly see him. Hope to see him in more serious roles next time.

TV Drama Review #347 - I Love You So Much 粉爱粉爱你

No.of Eps: 16
Yr/TV Stn: 2012/CTS
Cast:
Lan Cheng Long ~ Chang Yu Jie
Li Jia Ying ~ Xia Le Di
Nick Chou ~ Chang Shao Feng
Shara Lin ~ Wen Xi
Tom Price ~ Daniel
Mao Di ~ Mao Di
Synopsis: 
Xia Le Di is an arrogant, self-absorbed socialite before her father's backrupcy which left her penniless. She believed that it happened because his competitor stole "Mona Lisa," a revoluntionary makeup technology that his company "Miss Beauty" developed. She vows to get it back. Thus, she went undercover at JEALOUS, the rival company, working as an assistant to Chang Yu Jie, the heartless operation manager/lead makeup artist. While she focused her investigation on him, her romantic interest wandered to his charming half-brother Chang Shao Feng, who turns out to be the person in charged of developing "Mona Lisa"...
Why Watch?
I always mentioned that Lan Cheng Long is not a very good actor. Despite that, he's one of the reason for me to watch this show, which has a substandard title. Hahah! I can't say the plot is fresh, but the cast combi is rather new.
LCL is not woody anymore. He's very expressive and full of emotions. I thought his character suits him, but due to some other factors, I found Yu Jie flawed. 
I am abit skeptical about Nick Chou, who is more well-known for singing. Well, his acting was better than I thought, but still green la.
LJY is very new to me, but she's quite natural, though sometimes her acting is abit over.
Overall, it's still watchable, and it's a good "break" from Settv's idol dramas. Hahaha! 
Why Skip?
The character development is not very convincing, especially Yu Jie.  Since he clearly put down his love for Wen Xi, why still wavered and nearly got married to her? It doesn't make sense. He suddenly becomes indecisive and hurts Le Di again & again. That sort of explains the ending, which Yu Jie and Le Di did not end up together.
Saying about the ending, I don't think Le Di chose Shao Feng, since the 2 are still competing for her affections prior the last scene. I was disappointed la, but I wouldn't fault Le Di for making that choice. Haha!
Tom Price and Mao Di were under utilised, which is a waste to me. Ha!
As for Shara's Wen Xi, I think she shld remained in the past, or maybe just lost her memory for good. All the nice things about her was gone once she chose the wrong path.
Need sometime to get used to Shara's voice, and she's rather new as well, so more room for improvement.