Libera me, Domine, de morte æterna, in die illa tremenda

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with stuff recently. I've been feeling quite shitty.

But that's beside the point; Random Taiwanese stuff!!

SO, both Ariel Lin and Xiao Gui (Alien) are coming out with albums this summer. I knew about Ariels, but not about Xiao Gui's! Ariel's comes out 17Jul09, and Xiao Gui's 24Jul09. I'll probably buy both when I'm in Taiwan, since the shipping will take 2 weeks anyway. I'm particularly excited for Ariel's album. Her music isn't really my type (poppy and ballady), BUT I adore her voice.

Summer dramas... well... I haven't been talking about them much, because, to be honest, not a lot of them really interest me. I mean, you've got;

1. Mo Nu 18 Hao (Magic 18) - Joyce Zhao and Sam Wang are the redeeming factors of this drama for me. Mostly revolves around family, and magic, and it's complicated

2. Roseate Love - I'm SO bitter about this drama it's not even funny. Like, I'm sure it'll be good and everything, but it was SUPPOSED to star Ariel Lin AND BRYANT CHANG. In a lead role! But then bad things happened, and now he's not in it, and I'm sad. Rui Jia deserves a lead role, damn it! I mean, he was FABULOUS in Eternal Summer and Summer's Tail...

3. Momo Love - Drastic cast and plot changes cooled my desire to watch this as well. I might still watch it because Vanness and Ken will be in it (along with some other Taiwanese character actors I like), but I can't say it's number one on my list.

4. Love Buffet - This one is a maybe for me. It might actually be a high school twdrama, which never happens... But Calvin and Aaron are adorable, so maybe. I THINK it's based on a manga, and I usually like manga adaptations, so yeah.

5. Fighting Spirit - I have no idea what this one is about, and I think it was only recently announced... It's a sports drama though, so yeah. Not for me.

6. Calling Big Star - I love Mike He, but the premise just seems boring.

There's a few more, but the details are scarce....

ON THE OTHER HAND, there ARE twdramas I'm looking forward to!

7. Down With Love - Ella and Jerry's drama. Anything with Ella in it automatically goes on my list. Add a fun plotline, and it's on my must-see for the summer list!

8. Easy Fortune Happy Life - I finally got the first episode of this, and I'm so excited to see it! Qiao En = LOVE.

9. Ni Shi Wo De Wei Yi - OMG I want to watch this SO BADLY, but it'll probably never get subbed.

10. Summer's Bubble - Cast changes put it down my list, but the plotline, with the fakecest, makes me want to watch it.

11. Take Care of You, Accompanied by the Lights - This is a cdrama, but whatever. The pairing of Ming Dao and Chen Qiao En makes me happy beyond words. I CANNOT WAIT for this drama.

12. Meteor Shower - Another cdrama. This is, obviously, the mainland version of Hana Yori Dano. I want to see it for the lulz.

As for the Taiwanese version of Full House... I'm not really sure how I feel about that one. I adore Wu Zun, and I think he'll be great. I haven't heard of Zhou Xun, but she's a mainland actress, so it's not like I would have heard of her anyway. BUT she's beautiful, and supposedly a good actress. One part of the story I LOVE is the cross cultural issues it'll be addressing, since the plot will go into the relationship between mainland China and Taiwan. THAT is interesting. But then, I have a thing with Taiwanese history and politics.

Thanks so much for all the good wishes re work! I'll try to get back to everyone tonight (unless I manage to fall asleep, which is looking more and more probable by the minute). It's been a long day, and I won't go into it more, but it's left me exhausted.

So yesterday I mentioned awesome (to me) drama news, but then put off writing about it, because Big Bang got in the way...

Anyway, I've heard rumors for awhile, but now, not only does it look to be happening very soon, but it's ALREADY IN PRODUCTION!

The drama I'm talking about; Good Health & Fortune (福氣安康, Fu Qi An Kang), starring my most beloved Chen Qiao En! The male lead? Why none other than Lan Cheng Long (Blue Lan)! He was in The Outsiders, but probably is best known for playing Yamen (the dude was was supposedly Ah Si's cousin, but was actually hired by Dao Ming Feng to seduce Shan Cai) in Meteor Garden. He also dated Barbie Xu awhile back.

Anyway, the plot of this drama is pretty interesting; Cheng Long plays a rich guy with a genial facade, but is really kinda evil. He is forced by his grandfather (somehow...) to marry Qiao En's character (an ordinary girl [with a heart of gold, of course!] who studies herbalism). Because he doesn't want to marry her, he decides to hire assassins to kill her. Up until the killing part, it's typical drama fare. But man, they had me at the assassins.

Of course, Qiao En will melt his heart, and everyone will be happy. BUT FIRST THERE WILL BE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATIONS!

I'm actually kinda glad Jerry didn't sign on to do this drama. I love him, but the role just doesn't seem right for him. I've only seen Cheng Long in MG, but his character was kinda evil and manipulative, so hey, it fits in my mind! It's supposed to air post My Queen, which is GREAT! I'll be losing the amazingness that is My Queen, but gaining a new Qiao En drama. Pretty even trade.

I also heard rumors that Extravagant Challenge was back on. Tenative of course, but still super exciting!

Also; How off the presses. A potential new drama starring Sam Wang; Mo Nu 18 Hao (魔女１８號, Witch 18). I know NOTHING about it, other than it possibly also starring June and Dou Zhi Kong. Which makes me think it's somehow connected to Your Home Is My Home. Or maybe not... maybe they just wanted to throw the actors together again. They ARE both on CTS...

Calling Big Star is supposed to start airing this month, but I haven't heard a specific date.

I hate whenever I go to look something up about a upcoming twdrama, my blog is always one of the first listings. Seriously, am I the only one writing about them?! That's kinda sad...

Since my last post on current taiwanese tv got a good response, I figured I'd post a continuation. Out of all asian entertainment, I know the most about Taiwan. Taiwanese entertainment is my passion. Overall, people generally tend to prefer Korea or Japan, so I thought I'd give some love to my favoritest place in the whole world; Taiwan.

( Upcoming Taiwanese Dramas )

I'm sure I missed a lot (including Momo love, Aaron Yan's upcoming drama), but whatever.

By the way, I totally did something similar to this in December. I've posted it below. (Notice the lack of fangirling on Boys Before Flowers? I thought it was going to suck)
( Upcoming 2009 dramas! (Dated from 18Dec08 )