Before the curtains close on this mid-year blockbuster series in two weeks time, we look at our favourite moments and a handful of outstanding characters that gave this show appeal
Headlined by a colourful cast ranging from budding newbies, well-loved veterans and fresh foreign faces, the now-airing Ch8 drama series, Joys of Life, is a light-hearted throwback to our ancestors’ lives in a still-developing Singapore during the ’50s and ’60s.
For many born in the era, it was a good walk down memory lane with once-in-a-blue-moon glass-bottled-fizzy-drink treats and roadside hawkers touting wooden pushcarts and cheap noodles at 50 cents per bowl. Whereas for gen-z babies born in the digital age who have never lived in — much less know about — squatter settlements other than the black and white pictures found in our history textbooks, it was an eye-opening and educational watch.
With a week’s worth of episodes to go before the finale episode, here are 10 reasons on what makes Joys of Life an appealing watch.
Ensemble cast
Joys of Life hits the spot with its well-balanced ensemble cast helmed by a healthy mixture of veterans such as Chen Liping, Zheng Geping, Huang Wen Yong, Chew Chor Meng and young actors like Rui En, Kate Pang and Andie Chen.
Unlike previous local period dramas, it was a refreshing change to see the lack of focus on any one of these characters as everyone had an equal share of the spotlight with their individual story arcs – everyone was the main actor at one point or another. And of course, how can we forget, the special guest appearances from ex-MediaCorp actors such as Florence Tan, Pei Xiao Ling, Lina Ng, and Wang Yuxiang? Now if we can only get Xie Shaoguang to do a cameo one of these days…
Nostalgic setting
A spinoff of the 1999 Wok of Life, which features an almost similar lineup of familiar faces, Joys of Life circa 2012 is a reminder of the type of nostalgic series that MediaCorp does best. Caught up in the demands and pressures to produce outstanding dramas each year to whet viewers’ growing appetite for better shows, we tend to forget that simplicity, light-hearted moments, and a solid script are sometimes the key ingredients to what makes a drama tick — rather than drummed up plot twists and over-the-top dramatics at every turn.
Witty script
The beauty of a good script lies in its adroit use of dialect, wordplays and puns, and as writers, we’re admittedly, suckers for it. It’s a pity such details are unwittingly lost in translation for younger viewers who are usually heavily reliant on the English subtitles rather than the actual Mandarin conversation taking place in the show. And of course, how can we forget the witty banter and retorts weaved in the script that had us cackling at our desks while catching the online re-run of Joys of Life over takeout lunch.
The origins of chilli crab… or not?
The accidental ‘invention’ of chili crabs was shown in a scene when Han Jianren (Huang Wenyong) and Han Yongyong (Rui En) accidentally toppled in a bottle of chilli sauce while cooking a crab dish for a wealthy family. While we cannot confirm for sure if that was how our famed local dish was born, it was a nice touch thrown in that had us googling for answers to double check on the origins of the dish.
Joys of Life èŠ±æ ·äººé—´ is now airing on Channel 8, Weekdays at 9pm.
Source: Xinmsn
Categorised in EN, Joys of Life èŠ±æ ·äººé—´, xinmsn.
