22 May 2003

Will Chemistry, a new Channel 5 romantic comedy premiering tonight, fare better than recent teen drama Light Years and comeback sitcom Under One Roof? The 13-episode series starts off on a Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus footing before twisting into a happy ending.

SAMUEL LEE talks to lead actors Howard Cheung and Lu Rui En.

WHO: Lu Rui En, 22
RUI EN WHO?: I was the ‘running girl’ in the SingTel HiCard ad. I’ve also appeared on Channel 8 drama No Problem and in Jay Chou’s music video for Secret Signal last year. I released my first Mandarin R&B album earlier this year.
WHAT’S UP: I’m now one semester away from a degree in banking and finance at Nanyang Technological University.
WHY SHOULD WE WATCH CHEMISTRY: It’s not the usual boy-meets-girl, enemies-become-lovers storyline. There are lots of supernatural and fantasy elements, and some sleaze and suspense. In Episode 1, Howard and I swop souls and go into each other’s bodies – which means I have to act like him and he, me.
WHAT DO YOU PLAY: Rachel, a stubborn radio DJ quite like me – clumsy, un-girl and jaded about love and men because of my single-parent upbringing. The only difference is that I don’t suan people (make sarcastic jibes) at every turn.
CHEMISTRY MEANS: No bedroom scene and not much kissing – both on- and off-screen – because I have no time to create any chemistry with anyone.

Chemistry debuts tonight on Channel 5 at 9pm, but will air at 8.30pm on Thursdays starting next week.

Source: The Straits Times

Categorised in Chemistry, The Straits Times.