By Rachael Boon
Ongoing series Love Thy Neighbour has sparked a wave of criticism against local Mandarin TV dramas.
Channel 8 drama Love Thy Neighbour has not been feeling the love. In recent weeks, it has been the lightning rod for all kinds of criticism directed at locally produced contemporary dramas. Viewers have taken issue with the show’s lack of subtlety and poorly written dialogue, among other things.
The gathering storm of protest eventually involved two Members of Parliament.
Last week, one of them, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, questioned in a Facebook post the need for characters to shout or scream in order to express themselves.
Mr Lee, who is also Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development, tells Life!:”It was not just a particular episode that I based my comments on, but over a period of time. I find that Chinese local drama production has a lot of conversations that feature raised voices, a bit of screaming and shouting to express anger or frustration.”
“Of course human emotions are complex and there will be moments when you will be really angry. But I think in a good drama, everything should be in proportion – you have some gentle, soft moments and then the emotional moments and so on.”
Lianhe Zaobao senior correspondent Ang Ming Hwa agrees, saying that frequent arguments in a drama have become “the focus of the show” over the years. “It becomes a habit they find hard to break. They think that with loud voices, they will catch the audience’s attention but they actually lack creativity,” he adds.
In response, Mr Paul Chan, vice-president of MediaCorp Channel 8 Branding & Promotions says:”For each drama, the dialogue is specially crafted and relates strongly to the social status of the characters, the genre and era. For instance, in a youth drama such as On The Fringe, the teen characters would have more youth-speak dialogue. If we do not capture the essence of the different characters or genres in each drama, we would not be reflecting reality.”
Civil Servant S.L.Leong, 43, has been turned off by Channel 8 dramas because of the quarrelling scenes, which she says happen “most of the time”. She now prefers to watch Channel U’s local productions, some of which are made outside of MediaCorp.
She likes the more “wholesome themes” of shows such as Secret Garden (2010), which looks at psychological problems.
In contrast, she says Channel 8’s recent youth-oriented drama On The Fringe glamorised teen gangs. She adds:”I thought it was a negative portrayal of youngsters, even though the ending was good.”
Assistant Professor Liew Kai Khiun of Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information says the problems he has observed in recent Channel 8 dramas have to do with “little imagination, inspiration and realism in the plot of grumbling parochial and unconvincing characters.”
“I am not convinced that the audience would be pleased with the frequent pretexts for explicitly explaining government policies and the reminders on how fortunate Singaporeans are in receiving handouts.”
This trend of poorly written scripts with propaganda-like dialogue was also seen in shows such as police drama C.L.I.F., which aired in the middle of this year, says student Hubert Wah, 23.
“The police would be introduced into the scenes mid-way, which made part of the show seem like a corporate video or propaganda. It was so fake to me.”
Source: The Straits Times
Categorised in Dramas - General, EN, On The Fringe 边缘父å, The Straits Times.
If things go to plan, more Channel 8 drama serials filmed across the Causeway will air here.
As the first MediaCorp Studios Malaysia drama commissioned by the channel makes its debut this month, the television company says more made-in-Malaysia dramas are to come.
Upcoming dramas include Code of Honour and The Quarters, says the studio’s head Yeo Saik Pin,50.
Code of Honour æ£ä¹‰æ¦é¦† debuts 5 December 2011 7pm on Channel 8.
Source: The Straits Times
Categorised in Code of Honour æ£ä¹‰æ¦é¦†, EN, Ratings 节目收视率, The Straits Times.
1. SPECIAL FEATURE Page 99
7PM LOCAL DRAMA REDUX
THIRSTY FOR LOCAL FLAVOURS?
QUENCH IT AT 7PM!
GENRE LOCAL
PERIOD PRE-MODERN
Code of Honour æ£ä¹‰æ¦é¦† debuts 5 December 2011 7pm on Channel 8.
Categorised in 8 DAYS, Code of Honour æ£ä¹‰æ¦é¦†, EN.
5. Rui En
Our very own super, cute girl next door. Shy, demure and known to reject roles that involve kissing or anything intimate. Wait, what?! Why do you deprive us? Why!?
We regret to inform that scans to this article would not be provided.
Source: FHM, Xinmsn
Categorised in EN, FHM, xinmsn.
1.Bad Boys Finish First Pages 48-51
Now that you are bona fide teen idols, what teen idol things have you found yourself doing?
EDWIN: I hardly go online. I just don’t like to stare at the screen for too long so I don’t really converse with my fans.
IAN: I think this is what people like about Edwin. He’s kinda like Rui En – she’s so icy yet people go crazy for her.
Categorised in 8 DAYS, EN, On The Fringe 边缘父å.
1. Color Her Blue Pages 40-50
When you lost the Best Actress award to Rui En at this year’s Star Awards, did it turn you a depressing shade of midnight blue?
(Shrugs) I’m hopeful with every nomination, but I guess I’m still not good enough? I get over it real fast, though. Whenever I’m down, I usually spend some time by myself, and I’ll be okay. Plus, having a short memory helps. I forget what I’m angry or down about easily.
Categorised in 8 DAYS, EN, Star Awards, Star Awards 2011.
Unriddle 2 最ç«ææ¡£ II debuts 5 March 2012 9pm on Channel 8.
Categorised in EN, RBKD, Unriddle 2 最ç«ææ¡£ 2.
1. BOOS & BRAVOS Page 112
BRAVO to the kiss-ass car chase scene in On the Fringe (weekdays, Ch 8). The three-minute sequence, which saw a sleek black Mercedes in a high-speed pursuit that climaxed in a fiery explosion, provided some much-needed excitement to the predictable drama about an ex-con (Li Nanxing) struggling to stay clean but ends up working for a queen bee of a triad (Fann Wong is too porcelain-looking to be a bad-ass, but that’s another story for another time). Moral of the story: When the tough gets boring, wreck a Mercedes to spice things up. Michael Bay would’ve approved.
2. TV Synopses Pages 121 – 122
Categorised in 8 DAYS, EN, On The Fringe 边缘父å.
Comedy, drama, or action series, the drama addicts at xinmsn list down sequels and spinoffs of TV series we’ll love to watch!
Text: Joanna Goh
As fellow TV addicts, we lamented at a list of never-ending possibilities to shows like Little Nyonya, The Family Court, and Unriddle. And because we’re such astute couch potatoes and suckers for well-written, logical and relevant TV shows today, you can’t blame us for wanting more.
And while it may seem like we’re milking them for all it’s worth, we know you feel the same way too!
Unriddle
Action, a dash of suspense, thriller, and the addition of tough cookie cop babe Rui En (Xiao Man), explained for the series’ good reception during its run last year. Human-trafficking, kidnapping, murder, psychics, and family secrets – the show’s got it all. The series went with a bang, ended on a high and concluded its main story arc. That’s not just it, a hint of suspense and new unresolved riddles at the end hinted at a sequel investigative series for Xiao Man and gang, hurrah! Production for Unriddle 2 will begin in late 2011 so expect to see it on the gogglebox in 2012.
PSST: We heard that the old cast will come together again for more mystery-solving actions with new additions like Elvin Ng, Yuan Shuai and Adam Chen. In specific, Elvin’s character will be giving Xiao Man a run for her detective skills as her arch-enemy. Sounds exciting? We can’t wait too!
Unriddle 2 最ç«ææ¡£ 2 debuts 5 March 2012 9pm on Channel 8.
Source: XinMSN
Categorised in EN, Unriddle 2 最ç«ææ¡£ 2, Unriddle 最ç«ææ¡£, xinmsn.
