Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

I was reading the conversation in the cbox and I thought it’s time for another installment of what are you guys watching? You guys won’t believe what I’m watching at the moment; nothing new, but an old TVB series called Country Spirit with Charmaine Sheh, Gordan Lam, and Sheren Tang. Actually, my mom was watching the dvd and the themesong caught my attention…. of course it was sung by Jacky Cheung and Kit Chan and you know I love him. I love all of his TVB themesongs. This is probably one of my favorite roles that Charmaine played. Her romance with Gordon got me by the heart and I’m getting to the angst parts! There was no rich prince/CEO to save the day, there was no rich handbags for a poor character, there was no love at first sight, there was no excessive make-up. And I just love how they are slowly attracted to each other because deep down they are good and kind people and the love they have for their family members planted the seed of love.

Someone once told me that you slowly become the person you love and this is the perfect exhibition of that quote. She’s stubborn, resolute, and persevering, pushing him to think better of himself and work harder despite the constant obstacles (no overnight success here!!) While his self-sacrificing attitude towards love also rubs off on her…. She runs allllll the way home to fetch his gloves and runs allllll the way back to give them to him. But when he asks, she says someone else brought them… Aigoooo, my heart…. it’s the little things they do for each other that trump the grand gestures with little meaning in today’s dramaland. You get what I mean? I hope it’s a happy ending, I don’t remember anymore….

  1. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    Sounds like such a great drama, does it have eng sub? I would totally watch it if it has eng sub. Unfortunately, I’m not watching any dramas at the moment.

    • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

      Older TVB dramas I don’t think have subtitles unless they were popular. =/ The newer ones now have subtitles.

  2. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I’m watching Rule the World now that its finally subtitled on YouTube. Very good in places but in serious need of an editing hand.

    • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

      I love Tina Tang and I feel so bad she got into that drama, it was just a very disappointing one to me. She was styled really beautiful in it, but the plot is so terrrrrrrible. I cannot count how many times and how many men attempted to sexually assault her, and how were they even supposed to related to the plot too.

  3. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    Not watching anything new atm. I tried colorful bones…but the pace is sooo slow, just like everything else too. I can’t name a single drama with good pace this year. Ru ge is even slower and also weird too. Dugu was good at the beginning but I think there are 2 writers or director, they got lazy in the middle and everything just sucks lately. I don’t understand Yang Jian and Jie Luo’s relationship, it feels very forced!

    I haven’t seen Country Spirit, I watched Charmain’s Can’t Buy Me Love last year, I did not think it was that good but it is quite better than anything from 2014 and up. I do love natural makeup the most.

    I’m just going to wait for YM and Yang Zi’s drama, hopefully they will be better. Not sure about Minglan, I have a very strong feeling that Minglan is going to be very similar to Dugu because the climax and styling are way too similar, both story are very family centered too. ZLY did not appear much in the trailer, I hope she gets the right amount of screentime because what I didn’t like in Dugu was instead of focusing on Jieluo’s development there are too many other uninteresting stuff and they could’ve give the screen to Jieluo instead. Yang Jian is a total idiot, he finally came back at last this week, and still did not get any smarter. He got potential looks and acting is also very good, but the characterization killed him though. The preview for upcoming week seems like instead of doing important things, he’s just going to childishly bully Ah Yong…ok…I rather watch him fight with YWH, to be honest YWH isn’t doing that much lately too but the thing is he’s just not dumb or, not dumb in an annoying way.

    • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

      I think Ming Lan will mainly focus on ZLY, but the other characters are also just so rich in the novel that you invest in their development as well.

      I’m in the same boat as you, anticipating YM & YZ’s drama. Have you seen the new trailer for YM’s drama? I feel the hype is starting to get real now, Fu Yao is a much more colourful as a character compared to Bai Qian and it seems YM is going all out.

      • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

        Yes I saw the trailer! It looks pretty epic! But I’m still so skeptical, we won’t know how it will be until seeing the actual thing. Like in Rule the World’s trailer and Princess Agents trailer, the actual scenes were not even that good but the snippets put up together in the trailer made it look nice.

        That’s good to know about Minglan but just heard a bad news, so if you watched Dugu and hates Man Tuo, she is starring in Minglan as well and she is the wife of Feng Shao Feng. He sounds dumb like Yang Jian because Man Tuo is just not pretty at all. And this time, Feng Shao Feng even has 2 children with her so he might be dumber than Yang Jian. She wants to become the legal wife and will be very scheming, and probably even has martial arts too…

        • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

          Ah I know which character you’re talking about! I haven’t read up to the resolution of that in the novel yet. I’m quarter way in and have stopped but I looked up some semi spoilers hahah

          All I can say is Feng Shao Feng’s character isn’t that bad and is actually quite decent in the novel. He works his way up to his position, so not really a prince with no knowlege of the world. The drama between the Man Tuo (or Man Niang) is going to be epic, but it’s not a bad ending. We just have to see Ming Lan suffer a bit lol

          True with Princess Agent we all thought it’d be epic and was so let down…I have faith in this production company though, so I’m praying it will be good! The casting itself is spot on so I’ve already got high hopes.

        • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

          Man Niang wasn’t a big character in the novel, and hardly posted any obstacle for the female lead (she’s definitely not Minglan’s match lol) if I remember correctly, a huge portion of the scheming n fighting happened before she married, n her main rivals were her 2nd stepmom n 2nd stepsister. The main stepmom wasn’t a threat. The brilliance of this novel is the incorporation of modern thinking/terminology into an ancient setting imo, so I think removing the time Travelling part will diminish the enjoyment of the story I feel.

          I think they will probably expand the arc of the love story of the 2 main leads for this adaptation.

  4. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    Currently, I’m watching too many dramas to name them all. Let’s just say I’m focusing on The King’s Woman, Untouchable Lovers and Mirror of the Witch.

  5. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    A lot. But my heart is still weak to know that Siege in Fog has SE. What should i do? Stop or continue?

    Japanese dorama called Unnatural.

    Kdrama such as Misty (amazing!!), and some others. But except Misty, im not so into them. Nowadays prefer K-varshow (youn’s kitchen and hyori’s bed and breakfast)

  6. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    You guys should watch Peace Hotel with Lei Jiayin and Chen Shu! It was released in late January and completed its run mid-February, and it seems that like no one, even the people who watch without subs, knows about this show? :'(
    Even as someone who doesn’t really like Republican dramas, not even The Disguiser really, I somehow came to really enjoy this (currently only 12 episodes in though). It’s more geared toward comedy, but is also very suspenseful and full of fun plot twists. It also has an 8/10 on Douban.

  7. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I just finish marathon-ing My Mr. Mermaid. A drama mate who has similar drama tastes as mine recommended it. Glad I (an old ahjumma) gave it a chance as I do not watch sports-themed youth romance type drama. A beautifully done drama! Excellent storyline, good acting, beautiful OSTs…although it’s 36 eps, it wasn’t rushed or draggy. The Eng subs are professionally done, I think coz it’s grammatically correct! (a surprise for modern-day Chinese-made dramas!). Even the English sentences found throughout the drama (eg: motto, conversation etc) are done well. I always find it annoying when dramas and characters try to convince the audience that they speak good English or that they attend an International school where English is supposed to be the first language but once they open their mouths, I can hardly understand their thick accent and the grammatically incorrect motto etc in drama can be really bothersome! Glad this wasn’t the case in this drama! Those who say they can only speak broken English spoke broken English with minimal accent and those who can speak fluent English spoke fluent English. That added a more realistic dimension to the drama. Ok, I’m off to gush about it now!

  8. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    Literally not watching much.

    I’ve been keeping up with Smiling, Proud Wanderer 2018 and despite my initial befuddlement over what exactly was going on, I actually really like it. Compared to the 2013 version where I hated both Linghu Chong and Ren Ying Ying, I adore the main couple here. They’re actually quite likable and cute.
    Honestly not much else to say about that tho. I like the directing style and the music though. It’s almost, old-y TVB classic wuxia style but like modern fusion. Like, it has some of the popular directing/music trends in wuxia now adays but also very heavily influenced by the old styles. The martial arts, sound effects, abrupt scene cuts, esp esp the BGM (and I LOVE the ending theme, except I can’t find it anywhere except like qq or iqiyi). So I don’t think it’s fantastic or anything, but it feels kind of like an interesting art piece that I can admire and enjoy.

    mmmm. Oh. Also going through my detailed rewatch of NiF2. As peeps who’ve read cbox, I marathoned it in like, a little under like 48 hrs a few weeks ago and fell deeply in love and emotional angst. But as you can gues from the hrs it took, that came with quite a bit of ff since I just really want to sprint through everything, I was that addicted. This time around I’m really enjoying the details and taking my time to actually watch everything. Unlike NiF 1, I ff’d most of the politicking in NiF2 and found the schemes and villains, while well thought out and very human, also very petty and infuriating in their self-righteousness. Somehow I found the morally grey princes in NiF1 more compelling and interesting characters. In my second watch-through, while I’m not liking them ministers any more, I can appreciate that the political details and all are still well tied into the plot (still skipping over the Puyangying dude’s scenes).

    Lol I don’t think anyone’s particularly interested, but watching a lot of youtube vlogs, travel/packing videos (no reason except I like them…not traveling anywhere anytime soon lol).

    Still loving that audiobook I found to pieces. For anyone interested, it’s called 穿越未來之男人不好當 also known as It’s Not Easy Being a Man After Traveling to the Future; can be found on webnovel.com as a translation (ongoing): https://www.webnovel.com/book/8534263705001005/It's-Not-Easy-to-Be-a-Man-After-Travelling-to-the-Future

    It’s a really really interesting setup (contrary to the title, there’s no gender swap or sex change, for anyone who iffy about those stories). I just love it because the plot is interesting, it’s NOT about the romance, it can be funny, and while the MC is kinda over powered, it gives reasonable reasons, and she’s DEFINITELY not SO overpowered as to be the end-all be-all. She’s got her struggles and clever way of getting through them. Also my true fav part of the novel is the world development. Don’t want to give anything aways, but the world building is so so so intricate and detailed and TIES TOGETHER well; that’s always my soft spot so kudos; I couldn’t ever resist this novel. It’s literally the only audiobook I’ve stuck to for over 500 chapters (I tend to the find chinese audiobooks taxing but her writing isn’t overly flowery or anything and the quality of the narration is quite good ~ I like the voices).

    That basically all I’ve been up to.

    I’ve heard good things about Siege in Fog, but ultimately I’m still holding off because schoolwork is stressing my out and I REALLY need to be on my A-game for the rest of the semester. This means not take on anythings I know I will get addicted to or obsess over.

    Even still, really looking forward to Secret of Three Kingdoms, Minglan, yeah actually just those that I’m REALLY excited about. I’m cautiously excited about Fuyao but also not as much as a lot of others I’m sure.

  9. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I am only watching Korean dramas right now and loving Misty to pieces, so dark and sexy with lots of twists and lead by the most badass female character. Only 2 more episodes to go before it wraps up and I’m hoping for another twist coming up. The latest hints just can’t be true!

    I am also watching The Great Seducer and liking it so far, even though I wish they would go darker with story and characters. Can’t blame ppl for calling it a mix of gossip girl 😛

    Recently I finished Prison Playbook and it was just plain awesome. I hesitated a lot because I’m not a fan of prison setting (and I’d just been burnt by Korean Odyssey) but wow that was one unique drama. Never thought I’d ever see a slice of life drama in prison setting of all things, but that’s really the best way to describe it. I really appreciated the unusual portrayal of prison life, focusing on the fact that every convict has a background and story. It’s a character driven drama for sure, and I highly recommend it to everyone!

    I also started watching Mystery Queen season 2, jumping right in without any knowledge and liked what I saw so I marathoned through season 1 and loved it. Now I am fully invested even though I sorely miss the side characters from season 1! Officer Hong with his cute smile, where did he go?!

  10. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    @shenmeizhuang
    Peace Hotel – that’s on my to watch list, but need eng subs/viet voice over 🙁

    Also want to watch Day and Night

    Currently just watching Dai Si’s and Zhang He’s parts in The Flame’s Daughter. Seriously their scene in ep 17, i’ve watched it so many times. So sweet >.<. Not sure if i'm gonna check out the whole drama later on. Feels like i'm already watching the whole drama from skimming through online discussions.

    Also waiting for more subs for Death Notifier: Darker.

    Recently finished rewatching Kung Fu Beggar 功夫状元 for the -nth time. And just discovered The Hypnotist 被催眠的催眠师, so will probably watch that next. Hope it's good or i'll just rewatch Demi Gods Semi Devils 1997 for the -nth time again, unless i find something new (or old but haven't seen) to watch.

    Having watched so many dramas, i just end up rewatching old dramas. I can rewatch old dramas many times but cannot finish newer ones or watch them without skipping scenes =_= New ones, like i mentioned in the chatbox, i get excited and can't wait for the broadcast, but when it's broadcasting i lose interest. But investigation/crime dramas i am still able watch the whole thing so yay!

  11. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    For Cdramas, I’m slowly trying to finish Let’s Shake It. Love it to bits but I don’t want to end so I’m watching an episode every few days. Four more to go!

    Siege in Fog has great so far. Sad ending or not I’m going to stay on this ship till the end.

    Jdramas wise, it’s the end of the winter season so I’m sad to say bye to 99.9 season 2. On the other hand I’m excited for upcoming spring dramas!

    • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

      Good that you love LSI as I brought it up to you and I was not sure you like wacky dramas. We overlapped in early ZLY drama(s), Ren Jialun’s GOTD, but I noticed you watched Rule the World, The King’s Woman. I didn’t touch RTW or TKW. I didn’t watch LSI attentively as I was on the road at the time. I skimmed the last few eps. One of the things I enjoy about LSI is it doesn’t take its leads as seriously. I didn’t hate GOTD but don’t you sometimes get the feeling like the scriptwriters write the lead characters to be too self-important at times? It feels like too many dramas do too much of it. Sometimes I hope some great scriptwriters can write a good spoof to mock Mary Sue dramas. Or Gary Stu ones. That can be really funny.

      I just noticed you in the past bc we watched a few of the same dramas.

      I’m still undecided on SiF. If I had more time I’d have watched it.

      Like Julianne, I’m watching some travel videos and documentaries. I’m curious about 茶马古道. They are better suited for when one’s busy.

      • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

        Thanks for the recommendation! LSI is a great drama to watch when I’m stressed. Nothing too deep to think about and no one takes their characters seriously. Totally awesome.

        Agree on characters being too self-important sometimes.

        I watched RTW because I read and enjoyed the books. The drama production failed on so many levels but the cast was fantastic. They were just too unlucky that the script failed them tremendously.

        TKW – well, I confess, I’ve only watched the OTP cuts.

        Have you checked out the CCTV series National Treasure? Very fascinating stuff.

        • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

          Other things we both liked were Yang Zi and Qin Junjie and some of their dramas. Ah. There are too many Junjies. JJ Lin, Huang Junjie (The Big Boss). There must be other Junjies in showbiz.

          I have watched about 2 eps of National Treasure. Looks like they will cover Treasures from each provincial museum? I wish they did that before I visited C. I want to know which treasures they’ll do for Shandong, Fujian and Yunnan. As I may visit S&F in the future. I was only in Kunming very briefly.

          Yongle Gong’s mural was really nice and quiet to visit in person. A C rarity. Very low key because they moved the whole thing from another location, so it will never qualify as a UNESCO world heritage site so I don’t think it will ever make it to the National Treasure show. It’s beautiful. UNESCO designation has been associated with “UNESCO-cide” and excessive crowds. Too bad I had a horribly bad cold when I was there or it would have been perfect. Wall St J wrote about it and compared it to the Sistine Chapel. Except this is from a much earlier era.

          There was a 6 ep Tea documentary series that was really well made from a few years ago that I liked. Beautiful cinematography. Informative too. The UNESCO sites documentaries aren’t bad but I haven’t watched them all. I wish the Nat Treasures docum is a bit less flashy. Less sensational. A lot of dramatic sweeping, flashing lights accompanied by the occasional overly dramatic music. The NT eps are also too lengthy for my current schedule. lol. How many eps of NT have you watched? Any favorites?

        • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

          There is even a Mao Junjie – same characters as QJJ’s but she’s a woman.

          There are nine museums in total, though to be honest I can’t remember most of them. The idea is to pick one of the three treasures from each museum and add them to a collection being shown for the Forbidden City’s 600th birthday.

          I have not set foot in China as an adult so I’m envious of your travels! Fujian is on my list, as well as Yunnan. The former is supposedly where my ancestors may have come from – my surname is a very popular one in that province. But the recent generations of my family are mostly from Guangdong.

          Where else have you visited in China?

          I’ve seen about 5 or 6 episodes of NT so far. I think the last one I watched as either Yuan Hong’s or Qin Hai Lu’s. It’s nice that they have actors join in on preserving the treasure. At least on TV anyway. But I’m really only interested in the treasures themselves.

          Is the tea documentary on Youtube? I may look for it another day.

          YT seems to have a wealth of Chinese documentaries. I remember watching one about artists and carpenters working inside the Forbidden City Museum. Now that one was a charm to watch. Having studied a bit of Chinese art in my undergrad degree, it was finally nice to watch what I’ve learned in action rather than just reading about them in texts!

        • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

          Sichuan is another province I’d like to visit though I’m afraid of the ubiquity of the thick layer of red hot oil in their food. Curious about their provincial treasures too.

        • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

          The tea documentary was on youtube a couple of years ago. I remember it discussed Zhu Ye Qing tea. The bamboo leaf green tea. It also covered tea trade in Tunxi, Anhui. I forgot the rest.

          The Walk All Over China docum covers some very interesting areas. There was one on exquisite, multi-colored rock carvings in some town in Zhejiang. I forgot the details. I skimmed about 2 dozen eps a couple of years ago.

          I visited Shanxi, Shaanxi, Anhui provinces. Selected parts of Henan, Hainan. My travel partner (not a BFF or CP) wanted to see Hainan. Haikou in Hainan has the school that Su Dongpo built during his final exile. I visited selected Jiangnan areas.
          BJ, SH (Flight hubs). For BJ, I like the Yi He Yuan aka Summer Palace best. Some cities have much nicer cab drivers than others. Nasty drivers can be a real pain. My long-haul Xi’an driver to Yongle gong out in the boonies was really sexist and rude. I encountered some unpleasant C drivers but they were all bearable. This Xi’an driver really got on my nerve and stood out among the rest. The funny thing is his name is Pinyin reads the same as one of the villains in Advisors’ Alliance. Identical last name. I visited Guangdong as a teen.
          I was in Lijiang, Yunnan very briefly. For Fujian, the tea industry is particularly interesting although obviously most visitors are most curious about Gulangyu, Xiamen and Mt Wuyi. We have yet another thing in common about Fujian.
          For Yunnan I’m interested in Kunming’s Pu Er trade. Kunming locals are really friendly.Yunnan’s rose pies are pretty good. Yunnan dishes that I ran into were too oily and salty though. I also want to see more water villages. I had been to Suzhou and Mudu. But there are many others. Jiangnan food is quite good. And not too salty or oily. I like wasting time sitting in some tea houses that have traditional decor.

          I wish I can travel with you.

          Oh. I’m also intrigued by Hunan. But that area is more challenging to visit and I haven’t gotten close to that area either.

          Sichuan’s Zhuge Liang stuff intrigues me quite a bit. That reminds me… Jiangxi also has some interesting sights. Like Wuyuan village.

          I guess they may not do every single provincial museum then.

          I’m interested in re-visiting Taiwan too. I missed all the Taipei tea houses when I visited TW previously.

          It’s interesting how the way they process tea in Yunnan makes the Pu Er last for decades. Unlike green teas that taste bad after a year or so. Apparently some inexperienced Pu Er makers overheat maocha when they make Pu Er during the Shaqing process and end up with Pu Er that is only drinkable the first 2 years or so. After that the “Pu Er” turns into something that tastes like crappy old green tea.

        • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

          Wiki has entries for a few famous pianists from Gulangyu like Yin Chengzong.

          I haven’t checked recently. Fu Tsong may have been from GLY too. There was at least a female GLY pianist also.
          I actually have a CD from each of these 2 male pianists. FT does Western repertoire. YCZ does C ones. So I’m intrigued by Gulangyu too.
          Like you, I like C arts, but I didn’t study them in school.

  12. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    OMG! I loved Country Spirit so much! The angst parts killed me because remember I cried a lot… but I don’t really remember what happened in the angsty scenes hahaha. It’s definitely one of my favorite TVB dramas (Their dramas used to be so good…). I think it’s one of Charmaine Sheh’s best roles so far.

    Currently I’m watching Lion Pride, a TW drama. I highly recommend it. There’s no rich CEO, no poor girl. Only two teachers. It’s a very underrated drama. The title, sypnosis and the poster didn’t attract me at first (marketing fail!) but boy I’m glad I’ve read some reviews because it’s surprisingly great so far! =O

    • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

      The angst part is now when she is finally in a higher position than him. She didn’t want to be the leader because then the disparity in their social status would be bigger but then he learns from her that one should always seek to bring themselves up! So he tells her exactly that! GAHHH. The last night they had together before she assumes a position of power….. their lingering gazes. Speaking but not speaking.

  13. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I’m watching Siege in Fog and Old Boy right now, and really enjoying both.

    I was super unsure about Siege in Fog at first as the first episode was confusing, but it got good around the end of the second when things started to come together, and now I’m on ep 7 and trying to pace myself so I don’t catch up too fast (and yes, I did see the leaked episodes so I’m unafraid of spoilers).

    Old Boy is… light and fun. There’s a few fast-forward-worthy parts, but I’m mostly watching it for Ariel Lin. I can’t wait for the actual romance to start though. Nothing groundbreaking, but decent production value and acting imo.

    I’ve been thinking about giving Lie Huo Ru Ge another try, but I couldn’t get into it after 2 episodes of skimming and I watched a summary video of what happened so far and… doesn’t make me want to watch. I think my tastes have changed to prefer more modern dramas recently.

  14. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I rewatched some of A Fistful of Stances (TVB drama from 2010) on youtube. Loved it back then and still pretty good the second time watching it.

    Still watching Legend of Dugu 🙂 I like how it’s turned out to be about the three Dugu sisters rather than focusing on one. Yuwen Hu and Banruo’s relationship is twisted and tragic. So much angst and intense acting. Love Banruo and Jialuo’s strong sisterly bond. I don’t mind the focus shifting onto Jialuo as she matures and becomes wiser. Her and Yuwen Yong’s friendship is sweet and I wish they would’ve ended up together. I’ve forgotten about Yang Jian, the non-existent male lead. Mantuo was very annoying at the start with the over-acting, though her storyline is much more watchable now with the addition of the lady Banruo sent to help her defeat all her husband’s concubines. She brutally KO’s them with her words lol. Almost halfway through the drama now so hopefully will watch to the end.

  15. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    Currently watching Old Boy, Lion Pride, Unnatural and just finished Todome no Kiss. I enjoy them all.
    Old Boy is light and fun like @darcy said. What I like is there’re no typical drama trope, everything and everyone are smart and straight-forward. I like how the leads are gradually falling for each other.
    No typical drama trope for Lion Pride as well, no unnecessary angst. Just straight forward story telling. The only thing that I hate about the series is the waiting for the weekly episode.
    Some of the acting in Todome no Kiss can be cringey at time but the overall plot really pulled you in.

  16. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    Country spirit is one of my fave TVB dramas too! I watched it again few years back but couldn’t bear to complete it due to the heartbreaking moments towards the end. T__T

    It’s one of Charmaine’s best performance, n she n Lim jiadong has amazing chemistry! While she has her chubby face. Miss her! Nowadays she’s too skinny ): another classic which I love is Macao Street, which was bittersweet

    • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

      Oh no, is it a sad ending? For some reason, I can’t remember the ending for this series!

      I adore the evolution of their love!

      • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

        Yup, I love their love story too! And the 2nd leads’ stories too.. It’s sad that Tvb don’t make dramas like they used to.. sigh..

        If I nv remember wrongly, I think it’s an open ending. It didn’t show them together in the final episode as he disappeared due to the war, but she believed that he’s still alive and made a wine to remember him.. and the last scene was someone saying that he’s back and she ran out.. anyway in my heart I will always believe that it’s a HE!

      • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

        Don’t worry, it is a happy ending… Not even open 🙂

        • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

          Oh, thank-you!! 🙂

        • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

          Country Spirit is the 3rd installment in TVB’s Plain Love series, and true to tradition, the ending is never a true HE. Plain Love premise is always based on agricultural background, with the female lead having the resolution of steel.

          There’s a lot of interpretation on CS ending, whether it’s just her dream (she waited for him till old age) and they reunited in death.

          For those who is interested in Plain Love series:
          Plain Love 1: Kathy Chow, Gallen Lo (Rice)
          Plain Love 2: Maggie Cheung, Gordon Lam (Tea)
          Plain Love 3 (Country Spirit): Charmaine Sheh, Gordon Lam (Wine)

  17. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I used to love this song soooo much. I actually liked both the tvb series…this was on wine but the other was on tea making. That was equally good too. Tvb dramas actually has more varied and relatable dramas in their hey days. Unlike kdramas they don’t just do typical chaebol+candy type romances.

    I am actually just trying to psyche myself into finishing Lets shake it , Tientsin mystic and untouchable lovers. Not sure why I have such trouble keeping interest in anything for long. Was scouring recent kdramas but everything is rather meh…the few good ones seemed quite heavy on slice of life or darkish plot. Good to hear there is a taiwanese drama worth watching. Will check out Lion Pride and todome no kiss. Tq for the recommendations.

    • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

      I still love this song very mucho!! Can’t remmeber much of the Tea drama though. Lol. Yes, TVB did a lot of relatable dramas in all genres back in the day!

    • 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

      Yes I love the one about tea too! Lin Jiadong can play characters whom are being bullied so well.. it breaks my heart.. feel like watching both dramas again. Haha

  18. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I’m currently watching:

    1. Old Boy (starring Ariel Lin & Liu Ye) – I LOVE IT. Some parts are very funny!
    2. Siege in Fog (starring Elvis Han & Sun Yi). I LOVE IT. some parts are very intense. The main leads have great chemistry with each other.
    3. Legend of Dugu (starring Ady An & Jeremy Tsui, Hu Bing Qing…) I like it, but I hate the 2nd sister so I might stop watching it.
    4. To Love, To Heal (starring Jiang Chao & Li Sierra). It’s only ok to me.

  19. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    Kappy,

    I enjoyed Countey Spirit. It was the drama that cemented Charmaine’s status at TVB.

  20. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    Siege in Fog!!! Only up to ep15, but still really liking it so far. </3
    I also recently finished My Huckleberry Friends – the episodes after the time skip were off but everything else was super adorable and satisfying; I haven't liked a high school drama this much in ages (couldn't get into A Love So Beautiful). May watch With You after this.

  21. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I’m not watching anything right now, but I am anticipating three dramas to be release- Legend of Fuyao ( I read to the latest translated chapter, and it’s quite hilarious.), Guardian, and Rise of Phoenixes.

  22. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I watched Country Spirit when it aired.. Had a good impression of it but I don’t remember much. I did rewatch the prequel (if you can call it that) a few times though. Plain Love II was and will always be one of my fav TVB dramas.

  23. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    Currently watching Siege in Fog and rewatching General and I. Thinking about starting the kdrama The Great Seducer (kdrama remake of the French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses).
    Yeah, I’m in a dramatic mood. Like, really dramatic.

  24. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I am currently watching Siege In Fog and the Ady An drama. Loving both. Probably like SIF a bit more since I only like Ady and Mr Evil Hot in the other one.

    I am also watching Because of Meeting You with Deng Lun and Ton Yi, cos I need more Ton Di fix. Everyone loves Elvis Han but I am all for Qin Sang. Gotta say watching through Ton Di’s filmography is like putting yourself through emotional torture. Not one of her works is a comedy. At least Because of Meeting You has a happy ending, even though you get tortured non stop for 50 episodes.

    I have watched Country Spirit multiple times, my favorite character was Sheren Tang’s Youngest Miss, she’s super smart and resourceful and is just so lerfect all round. Very Mary Sue which I usually hate but I liked her.

    Did not like who she ended up with though.

    The themesong is my fav of all the TVB themesongs, i still have it on my play list.

  25. 47 thoughts on “Drama-Binging: What Are You Watching? (16)

    I’m actively watching 烈火如歌 and Faceoff. I just started rewatching 漂亮的李慧珍.

What do you think?