唐宫美人天下(Tang Gong Mei Ren Tian Xia) – Beauties of the Tang Palace

To Watch:
Beauties of the Tang Palace 1-35

Cast (from Drama-wiki):
Zhang Ting as Wu Mei Niang
Li Xiao Lu as Helan Xin Er
Ming Dao as Ming Chong Yan / Ming Yi
Mickey He as Pei Shao Qing
Zheng Guo Lin as Li Zhi
Lv Jia Rong as Yu Qi Lin

Zhou Mu Yin as Wang Ni Jun
Zhang Chen Guang as Zhangsun Wu Ji
Li Sha as Yang Nu Shi
Wang Li Kun as Bai He
Deng Sha as Zhangsun Ping Ting
He Sai Fei as Lin Xue Yi
Catherine Hung as Miao Feng Niang
Chi Li Jing (迟立静) as Fang Ling Su
Chen Ha Ni (陈哈尼) as Ai Jin Lian
Ye Si Miao as Jin Qiao Yu
Xiong Nai Jin as Li Ruo
Liu Jia Yuan (刘佳媛) as Le Nu
Ren Xue Hai (任学海) as Empress Wang’s father
Liu Fang as Hong Xiu
Ma Wen Long as Yuan Xiu
Luo Jin as Ji Da Peng (cameo, ep.1)

Tong Li Ya as Qing Cheng
Cao Xi Wen as Xiao Wan Wan
Huang Hai Bing as Li Shi Min
Guo Zhen Ni as Empress Zhangsun
Zhang Meng as Xuan Yu
Bai Shan as Ming Zhu
Miao Luo Yi as Princess Cai Yu (ep.19)
Dong Hui as Yuan Chun Yu

Yang Mi as Qing Luan
Gao Yang as Princess Cai Die (Ying Cai Die)
Gao Hao as Shangguan Hao
He Yan Ni (何彦霓) as Shangguan Yun Er
Deng Xi Bin (邓细斌) as Khan
Cheng Yi (成毅) as Feng Xiao Bao
Yang Sheng Wen (杨圣文) as Wang Mei Ren
He Xian Da (何显达) as Luo Bin Wang
Jiang Yi Yi as Xiao Xin Er 

Genre:
Historical, Romance, Mystery

Plot:

The story follows the ordeals of four main characters: Xin Er, Ming Chong Yan, Pei Shao Qing, and Yu Qi Lin. The stories of palace intrigue are tied in closely with the scheming and betrayal in the Tang Palace. The Emperor and his most favored Empress Wu Mei Niang are some of the most powerful players. The Palace guards, the servants, the eunuchs, the concubines, and even court officials play the dangerous game.

Xin Er enters the palace as a lowly servant to help investigate the murder of Wu Mei Niang’s daughter. As one case is solved more take their place, and as each mystery is un-rooted, romance and grudges bloom among our heroes and each moves higher up in the palace.

Review: (Possible Spoilers)
I started watching this drama because I was a bit bored after work (staying at a hotel). I thought the first few episodes were very well put together. The twists and turns in the plot, the character development, and the intense acting really put me on edge. The music was great, the costumes vibrant, and the action not too fake.

As you may already know, I love characters like Helan XinEr. She is an intelligent young woman who is genuine to her friends and good at heart. Oh why did the drama start out so well with her and suddenly tilt off into monotony during the middle stretch? I feel like the drama could have been so much shorter and so much better. At the end, all of a sudden, Xin Er is revealed to us as a forgotten Princess. This twist was so much better than the other mysteries that occurred during the last half of the drama. They simply overdid the character development. It seemed like every character had some kind of hidden secret. Ming Chong Yan with the hidden evil twin, Yu Qi Lin with her pursuit for the truth of her father’s death, Pei Shao Qing and his over-zealous and love-struck relative, and most of all Xin Er and her hidden princess identity. Everyone in the palace was either a spy, an assassin, or a masked proxy. I would really have loved for the last half of the drama to follow Xin Er as the Queen of her country going head to head against Wu Mei Niang, but then the title of “Tang Palace” would totally not have made sense.

One thing that really irks me in historical dramas is that for many of the main pairings, love almost always occurs at first sight or attraction from superficial beauty. I do admit Ming Chong Yan and Yu Qi Lin did build some chemistry for a believable romantic progression, but Xin Er and Shao Qing’s love story really confused me. He was head over heals at first glance, though I can’t really take this as a negative in the drama since it’s a very typical drama ploy.

The selling point of this drama was the acting and the mystery. For most part, the main characters gave the play by play as they unraveled the mysteries in the palace. Twists occurred at every turn and kept me guessing. Sometimes the culprit was obvious as I watched the heroes and heroines try to solve the cases, but sometimes I’m thrown the obvious but then given a surprise when the true puppeteer is revealed from the shadows. Props to the acting of Wu Mei Niang (Zhang Ting) and the Emperor. They are the hardest characters to read. Trust me they will get you too!

Declaring that the drama was dull could be judging a bit too harshly just because the drama was a bit stretched out. The romance was a bit weak as well but the intrigue will surely addle your brains. The first half kept me on edge which gives a plus and the renaming portion just kept me hanging on. Li Xiao Lu add oil!

Rating:
3.6/5.0

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微笑在我心 (Wei Xiao Zai Wo Xin) – Always Smile

Cast:
Zhang Jia Ni 张嘉倪 as Tian Wei
Ming Dao 明道 as Liang Yu Fang
Achel Chang 張芯瑜 as Du Yun Er
Jill Hsu 徐婕兒 as Zhao Xi
Huang Meng 黄勐 as Yan Shi Guang
Ma Ke 馬可 as Lei Hong

Genre:
Romance

Plot:
Liang Yu Fang is the grandson of a large hotel owner and is next in line to take over the reigns. There is one problem though, Yu Fang despises the responsibility and instead wants to pursue his own dreams as a design artist. When he returns back from his oversea studies, both his grandfather and older sister force him to start learning about the hotel.

At about the same time he meets Tian Wei, a hard-working and innocent girl who lives with her alcoholic father and autistic younger brother. Because her father tries to drink away his depression all the time, the running of the household and moneymaking is left to Tian Wei. Day in day out she works multiple jobs and still doesn’t have enough to pay off her father’s death. The only things that keep her going are the thought of curing her brother and the memories of her departed mother. Her mother died because of singing, and even though Tian Wei dreams of becoming a singer, she is not allowed to sing.

Without knowing Yu Fang’s true identity, she slowly falls for his devoted charm. What will happen when she discovers the truth? What if there was another woman at the hotel who was plotting something evil against the Liang family? When Yu Fang’s sister and grandfather try to match him with Zhao Xi, how will Yu Fang deal with Tian Wei and his family? In order to make money, Tian Wei starts singing again, will she ever become a star? When everything seems to be falling apart, will Tian Wei and Yu Fang be able to keep their love?

Review:
I normally stay away from idol dramas. I guess this is pretty close to an idol drama, but apparently it was aired on cctv and hunan tv so its a mainland china idol drama. Most of the cast have appeared at some time or another in Taiwanese dramas. The thing that perked my interest to this drama was Zhang Jia Ni. When I started watching Dreams Link, her character and innocent personality attracted me greatly. Although I never finished that drama (I think I will eventually) I thought she was a very beautiful actress. I tentatively started watching it, and I must admit, I was a little disappointed.

The dialogue and story line are very cliche. Not only was it cliche, it was extremely poorly written. To be blunt, I found the plot to be very predictable, very dragged out, and very un-stimulating, if there could be such a description. This doesn’t mean the drama didn’t have its highlights. In this drama, I realized that Zhang Jia Ni just has the looks of a ‘good’ character. Her voice and actions and also kind nature let her fit the role well, but if she were to act another type of character, I don’t have the confidence to say she would be a good actress. That is beside the point however, since I enjoyed watching her.

The supporting cast seemed to be decent, and I must applaud Jill for a decently invigorating performance as the antagonist. It seemed the drama revealed her story in a poor manner and I felt that it could have been done better. Her expressions often give away her true thoughts, but at the same time, they really confused me about how she felt about the other characters. I believe her acting is headed in the right direction, but in order to be a more dynamic character and affirm her thoughts on each character, she needs to better distinguish her different emotions. A lot of times I couldn’t tell what her true intentions were in certain scenes.

Ming Dao. Let me see. He’s a boy band singer. I don’t want to say too much about his acting. I’ve seen plenty of his works, such as Legend of Star Apple and also Knock Knock Loving You. I’ve noticed, especially in this drama, that he really likes to enunciate his dialogue, which makes it a little awkward when he is saying all his lines. I don’t have too much against him, but I think I prefer him playing the antagonist.

I think the best parts of this drama were the music. I think that most of the songs are actually sung by Zhang Jia Ni, as she did in Dreams Link. She has a beautiful voice and my favorite parts of the drama were watching her sing on stage. When she dresses up she looks amazing and her expressions are to die for.

I may have been a little critical while reviewing this drama since I do have a lot of beef against idol dramas. If you love Ming Dao or Zhang Jia Ni and you want to watch a simple-minded and entertaining drama, don’t be afraid to take a look at this one. It is a bit childish to my opinion, but there are still a few cry cry scenes. The humor is a bit dry as they are cliche, but I guess it still worked on the occasional chance.

Rating:
3.3/5.0

Music Videos

Watch Online (Complete): Click Video to go to Youtube

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敲敲愛上你 (Qiao Qiao Ai Shang Ni) – Knock Knock Loving You

Cast:
Dylan Kuo as Cheng Xue Ge 程雪歌
Wu Ya Xin as Yao Zi Wang 姚子望
Ming Dao as Zhao Guan Xi 趙冠希
Coco Jiang as Zhao Guan Li 趙冠麗
Amanda Zhou as Xiao Bu 小步

Zhang Chen Guang as Yao Wan Chuan 姚萬傳
Feng Yuan Zhen as Yao Zi Qi 姚子期
Ah Mei as Yao Hui En 姚匯恩
Wu Wen Xuan as Hui En’s mother

Taken from Wikipedia.

Genre:
Drama, Romance

Plot:
Yao Zi Wang is the third daughter of the Yao business family. Her entire life has been devoted to gaining her father’s praise and recognition, however, her father only has his eyes on his only son, Hui En. No matter how capable Zi Wang is, she is unable to change her father’s heart. One day in Shanghai, she meets a brilliant musician Cheng Xue Ge and also the playboy Zhao Guan Xi. Who would know that these fateful meetings would set off a chain of events far into the future.

Ever since she was young, Zi Wang has grown up in a household without love. Everything is a transaction. By chance, Zi Wang meets Xue Ge once again, but instead of a happy reunion with a longtime crush, she finds out that Xue Ge’s father, the man who was the closest to any family member she has ever had, was on his deathbed. Zi Wang resolves to help Xue Ge learn how to survive in the harsh business world and to bring his father’s company out of bankruptcy. Xue Ge already has a longtime girlfriend who is also a musician.

Can Xue Ge be the one to move Zi Wang’s heart? What will happen when Guan Xi begins to chase after her? Will Xue Ge be able to overcome his kind personality and become capable in the harsh business world? What will happen when his girlfriend comes to Taiwan to accompany Xue Ge?

Review:
First off, I have yet to finish this drama. It’s a 20 episode series I believe but so far I have only seen the first 16 episodes. I just had to write this review to let people know that there is this great Taiwanese drama out there.

Thank God for a Taiwanese drama without the lame cute scenes or ridiculous humor. I really enjoy this drama for its seriousness along with the star-studded cast. Once again, the lead actress is surely a character to sympathize with and feel for. Taking a look at her family and also her own ability, we really feel the mask that she must wear each day. The acting of all the leads is fairly decent and the story is not obtusely unbelievable. I have to say with Taiwanese dramas like this one, I feel that there is a future for the entertainment industry in Taiwan. Although this may not be popular there, it is a great under appreciated drama.

I will have a much more comprehensive review when I finish watching this series but I really wanted other people to see the goodness in this drama.

Episode 1 Part 1/7: Click the video to go to the youtube site with the remaining parts.

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