Upcoming TW-Dramas (Jan ’10)

There’s not a lot of new TW dramas lined up for January (compare to K-dramas or doramas) but they each offer something different.

Lucky Days

Golden Bell Award 2009, After-Post

Did you guess right? Or were you shocked?

Vic Zhou, From Prince to Prick

Although Meteor Garden was an instant hit that pushed the genre of idol drama to the center stage of Taiwanese entertainment, I didn’t care for it.

Suffice to say that for an idol drama, a pretty face supersedes the ability to act — with few exceptions. For that reason, Meteor Garden failed to reach me on an emotional level. But since then, the pretty faces who owe their thanks to Meteor Garden have grown and became more than just another pretty face.

In a recent interview on Shen Chun Hua’s Life Show (沈春华Life秀), Vic Zhou — the brooding Hua Ze Lei from eight years ago and the now gallant Chen Zai Tian — unveils stories about his childhood, family, relationship, and how he has changed over the years.

I was impressed with the unassuming way in which he presented himself. He is not a great speaker, but a candid one that demonstrated his family value along with a sense of maturity and a willingness to embrace the past.

Here is the interview:

Black & White, Episode 5

Recovering from his outburst, Zai Tian meanders along the streets and caught his reflection in the display window. He turns curiously and studies himself. With a slight hint of self loath, he reaches a hand and covers his face with the palm. Slowly extending all five fingers, he gasps his face as if it were a mask. Then, he lowers his hand and touches his reflection.

(I really like this scene. The arrangement of this scene is very simple — an actor and a reflecting surface — yet it conveys both a powerful emotional undertone and a creepy ambiance.)

Black & White, Episode 1

Harmonious right? Hah, not if you count the phone calls and the angry mother who is making the calls.