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.

Drama / Asian pop culture news!

( Ending spoilers for My Queen )


Big Bang Appointed Ambassadors for Ministry of Justice - Congrats to Big Bang!! I posted this because TOP always looks so confused in these group shots. Not digging Ji Yong's hair here... it would look SO HOT if he got rid of the headband. And I mean, I liked the headband when he was hanging out with w-inds... I guess my like for it is transient.

Arron Yan and Calvin Chen breakthrough, idol drama with both as male lead - A new romantice drama starring Calvin and Aaron?! Sign me up!

Also, Daniel Henney's new American tv show has been picked up for the upcoming season! It's not really my type of show (medical drama), but I will watch some of it for two simple reasons; DANIEL HENNEY IS HOT, and Julia Ormond is in it! I LOVE Julia Ormand a ton, and have since I first saw her in the 1995 remake of Sabrina. Both the 1995 version of Sabrina and Legends of the Fall (where Julia Ormond had the best role in the world... she got to be the romantic interest of; Henry Thomas, Brad Pitt (!!!), and Aidan Quinn) are in my top 10 favorite movies EVER.

Two random pieces of news. FIRST! I just found out about a new drama that will hopefully (HOPEFULLY, Taiwan!) be airing in the summer or fall.

It's called "Just Want To Depend On You", and it stars Jerry Yan and Ella. So bit of a dream cast for me (ELLLLA!). Apparently Jerry plays a cold divorce lawyer, and Ella will play a nanny to two children. There's even a tidbit in the article about how Jerry's character mistakes Ella's character for a lesbian.

I'm going to LOVE it.

Second; CHERYL YANG!

Random article about My Queen (mostly about Wen Sheng Hao, who apparently doesn't think he's attractive. Sorry dude, you're hot...)
Too deep into "My Queen"; Wen Sheng Hao hates to be a cuckold. If Wu Shuang ends up with Yun Hao, I think I'll cry. I think Ethan and Cheryl should be a couple in real life. They're SO cute together. But I think Ethan's still with Tiffany Xu... maybe not.

THIRD! Abe Tsuyoshi marries Chinese actress! Congrats to him! (But what is with all the marriages lately?!)

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...

When you search google for "upcoming taiwanese dramas 2009", my site is the first one listed. Weird.

I was trolling the interwebs looking for news about upcoming twdramas, I came across a bit of news that made me SO HAPPY... until it didn't.

Ariel Lin is supposedly involved in a drama called Paper Rose. It costars ZHANG RUI JIA! And not in a side role either, I think he's the male lead! I proceeded to get super excited for around 5 minutes, until I read that production has been delayed and it probably won't be seeing the light of day for awhile. Ariel might have even dropped it. (Not terribly exciting to me, but will be to others; Baron Chen, of Fated to Love You fame, is also slated to be in it)

This makes me super sad, because Ariel is my favorite serious tw-actress (Qiao En is my favorite tw-idol-actress. I love Qiao En to pieces, but she's really not as good an actress as Ariel is). She's got a great range, and I enjoy all of her work. Rui Jia is, of course, one of my favorite tw-actors. He's really really fabulous (seriously, WATCH ETERNAL SUMMER), and it saddens me that he's always delegated to "best friend" roles. If this drama happens I will watch it and love it solely because I love those two actors.

But anyway, this brings me back to the one thing I hate the most about the Taiwanese entertainment industry; they cannot freaking STICK TO PRODUCTION. Compare to Japan; everyone knows about upcoming jdramas. They have planned casts, they go into production as planned, and they're generally set. Twdramas are a mess. They announce dramas, but then don't do them. Casts change frequently. Production halts all the time. It's so chaotic!

As of right now, the ONLY twdramas I know will be airing soon are Black & White, and Calling Big Star (maybe Quietly Falling in love With You, as well). And of those, only Black & White has an actual air date scheduled. Good Health & Fortune is another one that looks like it could be definite (I hope! Squee! Qiao En!), but honestly, I can't tell. Even Momo Love, one I thought was happening for sure, has been postponed.

Seriously, what the hell are they going to be airing in Taiwan next season is all the damn dramas are postponed?! (Yes, I know they have other shows... Dramas aren't everything)

*sigh* This whole rollercoaster over Paper Rose has made me upset. Angry beyond reason. Way to ruin what could have been an AMAZING drama, CTV.

I'm totally going to download a drama staring Golf and Mike (when it gets uploaded, of course!)... yeah.

I think I'm overdoing the dramas right now... Seriously, I have a ton of dramas I've started downloading, but haven't watched yet;

Calling Love
Green Forest, My Home
Tokyo Juliet
Love or Bread
Rolling Love
Goku Dou High School
The Seventh Day

And I'm totally in the process of downloading Hot Shot. And yeah, they're all Taiwanese.

Not to mention I'm currently watching The Rose, and Gokusen 1. Not to mention I still have 9 other dramas that are unfinished. AND the two animes, and 6 mangas. I used to only watch one drama at a time, but those days are past. And I REALLY want to see Summer X Summer soon. And I have to finish Bull Fighting (and the rest of them...) at some point.

In other news, I'm really excited for a few upcoming dramas.

( Upcoming 2009 dramas! )

( Drama/Anime/Manga List update 16Dec08 )
(In case anyone pays attention to these things, I change the meaning of the italics again...)