1. Scene & Heard Page 21

Story: Tan Yi Hui

Ratings JOY

The recently-concluded Joys of Life is, for now, this year’s highest-rated show with 993,000 viewers tuning in to the final ep.

Somewhere out there, ice queen Rui En could be beaming. The star of Joys of Life was unreachable for comment at press time, but co-star Zheng Geping, who plays Rui En’s father, was more than happy to rave about the stellar performance: “To be honest, some of us were confident it’d do well.” The nostalgic serial’s first episode in June attracted 971,000 viewers, putting it ahead of popular police thriller Unriddle 2 (921,000 viewers) and family drama Double Bonus (862,000 viewers). Joys still lag behind 2008’s The Little Nyonya, whose last ep attracted 1.67 million viewers, compared to Joys’ 993,000. Still, with an average viewership of 875,000, the 35-ep show is currently No.1 drama this year.

2. Cover Story Pages 32-45

Young Caldecott and the Restless City

Story by Jonathan Fam

Direct from Macau!

Besides battling heat exhaustion, we have to engage a shy shirtless hunk and witness how Rui En and Dai Yangtian fell in love. The latter not literally, of course – it would take a miracle on the Macau’s famous San Ma Lo Street for that to happen.

In Poetic Justice, DYT and Rui En play intrepid reporters who work for an online news agency. Poetic Justice isn’t your usual Ch 8 fare. We say that not ‘cos it’s the first drama since 2009’s Dreamcatchers to be partially filmed in an overseas location that’s not Malaysia, but because it’s the first time the world of journalism is used as a backdrop.

Put another way, Poetic Justice is a Cliff Notes version of Aaron Sorkin’s edgy The Newsroom cross-referenced with the marshmallow passion of Up Close and Personal and the gusto of Erin Brokovich. But ask the fiercely private Rui En if her feelings towards journos have changed since playing a, in her own words, “responsible reporter”, she chuckles, covers her mouth, and chuckles again. Um, we’ll take that as a yes.

Rui En is smiling. She seems genuinely happy.

She even initiates conversations, which is truly surprising. It’s not just because Rui En is notoriously reticent, but ‘cos her schedule here is so packed, she barely has time to catch her breath, let alone make small talk with pesky reporters.

“So how’s your holiday?” she deadpans when she catches us idling. “Do you need an umbrella? You don’t look like you want to be tanned,” she muses when she sees us melting under the scorching midday sun. “You eat carbs? You don’t look like you eat carbs,” she mock-interrogates us during dinner. Er, is the 31-year-old actres confusing us with Fann Wong? (Fact: this writer is the only one eating rice at the dinner table with the four leads. None of them touch carbs.)

Random Rui En facts: The first thing she does when she gets back to the hotel room is to turn on her TV. She finds the noise reassuring. She’s also a “closet NatGeo fan”, though she’d most likely be watching a Korean drama because “it’s important to know what’s popular now”. If she’s hungry, she snacks on potato chips.

These are just about the only things we managed to learn about Rui En during the week-long shoot. It’s near impossible to sit Rui En down for a private tête-à-tête. She is that busy. The 31-year old has been filming back-to-back dramas for three years now. The longest break she’s had were three weeks after Joys of Life wrapped and before lensing Poetic Justice began. Three precious weeks she spent “doing [her] own thing”. Has she thought about taking and extended break? “Of course,” she replies without missing a beat. “But I just decided not to.” So she intends to work until her body can no longer handle the stress? This time, there’s a pause. “Yeah, pretty much…” she says, her voice trailing off as she ponders the question. “Rui En, we need you!” a crew member suddenly calls out to her. And just like that, she snaps back to her reality and disappears.

Interlude: Rui En and DYT are more alike than you think.

Dai Yangtian: “Both of us don’t really like talking, but we communicate well with each other.”

Rui En: “Yes. I also prefer to stay in my room when I’m not filming. I like to keep work and my personal time very seperate.”

Dai Yangtian: “Same here. We don’t usually have meals with the rest of the crew.”

Rui En: “That’s just how it is.”

Dai Yangtian: “Both of us also have trouble sleeping in hotel rooms. That’s why I need to drink red wine before bed.”

Rui En: “I have difficulty sleeping on hotel beds.”

Behind the Scenes

My Fair Ladies: Fact: Actresses are deathly afraid of the sun. A totally-beat Rui En uses her umbrella as a tent in between takes.

Walk with me: DYT and Rui En take a casual stroll near the sacred ruins of St Paul’s Church.

Cold? Who’s cold? Rui En and DYT shares a light-hearted moment during a late night shoot.

Fight club: Rui En looks on helplessly while Desmond Tan and DYT fight in a scene.

Vote for Yanzhi as your Favourite Female Character now!

Poetic Justice 微笑正义 debuts 11 September 2012 9pm on Channel 8.

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in 8 DAYS, EN, Joys of Life 花样人间, Poetic Justice 微笑正义, Ratings 节目收视率, The Dream-Catchers 未来不是梦, Unriddle 2 最火搭档 2, xinmsn.

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987 TOP 20

This Week	Last Week	Song	Artiste	Label	Weeks
1	3	ONE MORE NIGHT	MAROON 5	UNIVERSAL	5
2	1	SOME NIGHTS	FUN.	WARNER MUSIC	9
3	4	GOOD TIME	OWL CITY FEATURING CARLY RAE JEPSEN	UNIVERSAL	4
4	4	YOUNG LOVE	JEDWARD	UNIVERSAL	6
5	2	BURN IT DOWN	LINKIN PARK	WARNER MUSIC	10
6	9	KISS YOU INSIDE OUT	HEDLEY	UNIVERSAL	4
7	10	SKY’S THE LIMIT	TAUFIK BATISAH FEATURING RUI EN	HYPE RECORDS	5
8	8	HOUDINI	FOSTER THE PEOPLE	SONY MUSIC	11
9	15	POWERLESS	LINKIN PARK	WARNER MUSIC	3
10	14	BLOW ME (ONE LAST KISS)	PINK	SONY MUSIC	2

Bottom 10 of the chart has been excluded.

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in Music, Sky's the Limit, xinmsn.

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新剧《微笑正义》讲述饰演英俊的富二代戴阳天，含着金汤匙出生，又加上有颗聪明的脑袋，在机缘巧合下认识了由瑞恩饰演的记者，而两人旋即产生感情并成为一对默契极佳的伙伴，一起伸张正义，揭露新闻事件背后的真相。

《微笑正义》将从9月11日起，每逢星期一至五晚上9时，通过8频道播出。

Poetic Justice 微笑正义 debuts 11 September 2012 9pm on Channel 8.

Source: xinmsn

Categorised in CH, Poetic Justice 微笑正义, xinmsn.

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林雯莹报道

《花样人间》昨晚大结局，收视以99万人次夺冠，观众赞不绝口，监制王尤红感动演员相处融洽，不排除《人间》系列有续集！

新传媒8频道”戏剧情牵30″年度重头剧《花样人间》，自播出以来受到坊间热烈回响，首播即刷新本年8频道电视剧的首播纪录，吸引97万1000人观看。

昨天播出大结局，有情人终成眷属，二多沦为乞丐，遭遇令人心酸，更吸引了高达99万3000人收看，成为2012年至今本地剧收视最高的一集。

《花样人间》的平均收视率则有87万5000人，同样也是这8个月来的冠军。亚军是《995》（86万6000人收看），季军是《双星报喜》（85万8000人收看）。

对于好成绩，《花样人间》监制王尤红自然很开心，归功于温馨的剧情和强大的演员阵容。

她接受xinmsn电访时表示，之前两部《福满人间》与《春到人间》会深受喜爱，是因为它们以轻松的手法处理，让观众看到50、60年代的人情味。《花样人间》也一样，突显了当年的风土民情，勾起集体回忆。

至于演员，《花样人间》找来本地实力派艺人如陈莉萍和郑各评，加上人气火红的年轻艺人如黄鸿升（小鬼）和瑞恩，甚至邀请了不少昔日艺人客串。

王尤红说：’年长的观众喜欢看资深艺人，年轻的观众则是追偶像，我们可以吸引到两个族群。’

她补充，要不是因为碰到奥运和国庆长周末，相信收视应该会更好。

火花始料未及

这次的卡司相当新鲜，请来了台湾的小鬼和王心如，不少是第一次合作，擦出的火花始料未及。例如，小鬼和周初明培养了很好的默契，小鬼让人感觉像是周初明第二、潘玲玲和姚玟隆逗趣但浪漫的搭配也跑出位。

瑞恩与小鬼的全新搭配，令人眼前一亮，在网上也受到粉丝支持。难得的是，一向比较淡然的瑞恩，无论在访问还是NG片段中，都看得出很喜欢小鬼。

王尤红笑说：’开拍时就发现了，我们在幕后看得很清楚。’

《花样人间》为配合’戏剧情牵30’而推出，被称为《人间》系列最终回，但不少网民依依不舍，希望能看到续集。王尤红并不排除《人间》系列有第4部的可能性，仅表示’看公司’。

观众怎么说？

除了在坊间获得好口碑，《花样人间》在网上也引起热烈讨论，昨天播出大结局，成为本地Twitter上的热门话题。

xinmsn在Twitter和Facebook上征求意见，发现网友对此剧褒多于贬，怀旧剧情和场景尤其受到赞赏。

不过，许多读者认为《花样人间》结局太仓促，歌台戏不够多，相当可惜。

谈到歌台戏，她也是感到有些遗憾，但表示：’歌台戏只是一条线，不能一面倒，否则其他戏会被削弱。我们一共有17个主角，必须顾及全体。’

粉丝们期待看到小鬼和瑞恩再合唱《牵挂》，但王尤红认为其他观众可能会埋怨’怎么唱了又唱’，所以就如印度情歌一样，只播一次。

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in CH, Joys of Life 花样人间, Ratings 节目收视率, xinmsn.

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987 TOP 20

This Week	Last Week	Song	Artiste	Label	Weeks
1	3	SOME NIGHTS	FUN.	WARNER MUSIC	8
2	1	BURN IT DOWN	LINKIN PARK	WARNER MUSIC	9
3	7	ONE MORE NIGHT	MAROON 5	UNIVERSAL	4
4	11	GOOD TIME	OWL CITY FEATURING CARLY RAE JEPSEN	UNIVERSAL	3
5	9	YOUNG LOVE	JEDWARD	UNIVERSAL	5
6	8	BOTH OF US	B.O.B FEATURING TAYLOR SWIFT	WARNER MUSIC	6
7	2	WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?	RIHANNA	UNIVERSAL	7
8	5	HOUDINI	FOSTER THE PEOPLE	SONY MUSIC	10
9	16	KISS YOU INSIDE OUT	HEDLEY	UNIVERSAL	3
10	13	SKY’S THE LIMIT	TAUFIK BATISAH FEATURING RUI EN	HYPE RECORDS	4

Bottom 10 of the chart has been excluded.

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in Music, Sky's the Limit, xinmsn.

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987 TOP 20

This Week	Last Week	Song	Artiste	Label	Weeks
11	12	GOOD TIME	OWL CITY FEATURING CARLY RAE JEPSEN	UNIVERSAL	2
12	13	EYES WIDE OPEN	GOTYE	UNIVERSAL	4
13	15	SKY’S THE LIMIT	TAUFIK BATISAH FETAURING RUI EN	HYPE RECORDS	3
14	16	ALL AROUND THE WORLD	JUSTIN BIEBER	UNIVERSAL	2
15	9	PAYPHONE		UNIVERSAL	12
16	20	KISS YOU INSIDE OUT	HEDLEY	UNIVERSAL	2
17	14	ABRACADABRA	JESSIE J	UNIVERSAL	4
18	NEW	POWERLESS	LINKIN PARK	WARNER MUSIC	1
19	NEW	ALWAYS SUMMER	YELLOWCARD	HOPELESS RECORD	1
20	NEW	CELEBRATE	MIKA FEATURING PHARRELL WILLIAMS	UNIVERSAL	1

Top 10 of the chart has been excluded.

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in Music, Sky's the Limit, xinmsn.

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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 花样人间 is now airing on Channel 8, Weekdays at 9pm.

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in EN, Joys of Life 花样人间, xinmsn.

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987 TOP 20

This Week	Last Week	Song	Artiste	Label	Weeks
11	14	YOUNG LOVE	JEDWARD	UNIVERSAL	3
12	NEW	GOOD TIME	OWL CITY FEATURING CARLY RAE JEPSEN	UNIVERSAL	1
13	17	EYES WIDE OPEN	GOTYE	UNIVERSAL	3
14	18	ABRACADABRA	JESSIE J	UNIVERSAL	3
15	20	SKY’S THE LIMIT	TAUFIK BATISAH FEATURING RUI EN	HYPE RECORDS	2
16	NEW	ALL AROUND THE WORLD	JUSTIN BIEBER FEATURING LUDACRIS	UNIVERSAL	1
17	19	TIME BOMB	KYLIE MINOGUE	WARNER MUSIC	2
18	8	LET’S GO	CALVIN HARRIS FEATURING NE-YO	SONY MUSIC	11
19	9	MORE THAN THIS	ONE DIRECTION	SONY MUSIC	7
20	NEW	KISS YOU INSIDE OUT	HEDLEY	UNIVERSAL	1

Top 10 of the chart has been excluded.

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in Music, Sky's the Limit, xinmsn.

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Text: Joanna Goh

Boy, have things changed in the local fan club scene since our last feature on it.

New fan clubs with snazzier names have sprouted overnight (yes, we’re looking at you Kimchis, Ianizers and Edwinners), RBKD joins Fannatic Fann Club as the only fan clubs that are officially registered as a society, and DAInamics who once travelled as far as to Heng Dian, China to support their idol disbanded, went through an ugly split, and has since regrouped to form a brand new fan club dubbed “DYT Galaxy” in June 2012.

Forming one-half the backbone behind an artiste’s success in showbiz, you spot these fan clubs rallying and pushing for votes to get their idols in the top ranks year after year at the annual Star Awards, hollering their lungs out and frantically waving fan boards at mall events and shows. Brought together by a common love for an actor or actress, it’s no surprise if they start to hang out like regular pals seeing how a handful of clubs have gone beyond the call of “fan” duty to put their time and energy to good use through regular voluntary activities.

In no order of superiority (we prefer going by alphabetical order), we present to you, a handy guide to the local fan clubs.

RBKD – The Official Fan Club of Rui En
Official fan club of Rui En, created in 2008 with 111 active members

To join RBKD as an official member… you got to have at least PSLE qualifications or equivalent, with parental consent for below 18 years old. There are three types of memberships (honorary, priority and ordinary) opened to the public, for more information head on down to https://rbkd-online.com/join/

Membership perks and privileges include… bonding activities with fellow Rangels and invitation to the private gatherings with Rui En.

Gatherings are usually held… at least once a year depending on Rui En’s schedule. The fanclub also holds many key-bonding gatherings which includes volunteering efforts, outdoor and sporting activities, amongst itself for members to get to know one another better.

RBKD’s last meet-up with Rui En was… at a small café in May, where they had the entire level 2 to themselves.

Recruitment to RBKD is… opened from June 15, 2012 to March 31, 2013 for the membership year starting from July 2012 to end-June 2013.

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in RBKD, xinmsn.

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