JoleCole's Station

For those who love the Mo Shaqian and Tong Xue pairing, this is a must-watch BTS video. Hehe. After taking a glimpse at what they filmed in this BTS, my anticipation for the mini-movie is skyrocketing again. My beloved Mo Shaoqian and Tong Xue finally get more loving moments!!! Hey, if the mini-movie doesn't end up according to the direction we want it to go, at least we have these sparingly few but sweet moments to relish upon. Let's just pray the director keeps all Mo Shaoqian/Tong Xue scenes and does not cut too much out of the raw material.

Title: Ru Yi / 如意 # Episode : 42 Genre : Family Feud, Republican Era Romance, Revenge Release Date : January 29, 2012 Broadcasting Company : Hunan TV Cast : Yang Mi as Ru Yi, Hawick Lau as Tan Kaiming, Zhu Yongteng as Tan Kaiyang/Gao Qiulang, Liu Xuehua as Madam Tan

I've been meaning to compile a list of my favorite characters in SWAK and describe why I like them. This ranking is mostly based on how the character itself is written in the series. I tried not to judge too much based on the acting. Well...I'll be honest. The acting does play a role in how much I like these characters. But I still tried to make it subsidiary to the scripting of the character.

Please forgive me for continuously bombarding you all with Sealed with a Kiss fanmade music videos. I just can't help but share my love for them, particularly this one called "Qing Shang" or "A Love that Dies Prematurely." I absolutely fell in love with the intro. VERY PRETTY. Even the SWAK director, Yang Xuan, was impressed with the artistic editing of this particular MV and praised it on his microblog. The song chosen is also perfect and sung by the boy band Xin Yue Tuan. I wish this song was used as a theme song in the drama as well. Yan Shui Duo Yun, the original creator of these MVs, is a video editor genius. He/she also made the last SWAK MV I posted.

  Stratagem 3: Episode 25 - Mo Shaoqian refuses to see Tong Xue Entice the tiger to leave its mountain lair ( 调虎离山 ) Wiki    Never directly attack an opponent whose advantage is derived from its position. Instead lure him away from his position thus separating him from his source of strength.

I found another nice fanmade MV of SWAK. If you have time, check it out! The song used in this video is called "Hui Bu Qu Le" meaning "Can't turn back."

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! I really like the melody and just the overall feel of the Ru Yi's end theme song, but I just wish the producers hired a real professional singer instead of using a main lead with bad singing voice. The effect would have much more profound and comforting to the ears.

Title: Gong 2/ Palace 2/ Jade Palace Lock Heart 2 / Gong Suo Zhu Lian / 宫锁珠帘 # Episode : 40 Genre : Historical Romance Release Date : January 20, 2012       Broadcasting Company : Hunan TV Producter: Yu Zheng              Director: Li Huizhu   Cast : Yuan Shanshan as Lian'er, Mickey He as Yongzheng, Du Chun as 17th Prince Yinli, Shu Chang as Concubine Yun, Zhang Jiani as Yushu, Hai Lu as Jiajia

  Originally written by cainfreya, translated/commented/edited by JoleCole   Stratagem 2: Episode 1 - At a night club, Mo Shaoqian sits leisurely as he watches his men bully the private investigator who has been trailing him. Kill with a borrowed knife ( 借刀杀人) Wiki Attack using the strength of another (in a situation where using one's own strength is not favorable). Trick an ally into attacking him, bribe an official to turn traitor, or use the enemy's own strength against him. The idea here is to cause damage to the enemy by getting a 3rd party to do the deed.

Hunan TV just announced that they will broadcast 2 episodes per night for Ru Yi starting next Sunday, January 29th at 7:30 p.m. Yay! Now I have something to look forward to. Hopefully, Ru Yi will be more entertaining than the currently airing Wipe Out the Bandits on Wulong Mountain.

I'm sure many of you who like Sealed with a Kiss is largely attributed to the charisma of Mo Shaoqian. At least for me, I definitely fall into that category. Mo Shaoqian is one of the "smarter" Chinese television characters I've seen. He's not perfect, nor he is the typical hero. He honestly sounds more like an anti-hero. Despite his unethical actions and flaws, I still find his character irresistible and love to watch every minute of this character gets unfolded onscreen.

Title: Wipe Out the Bandits on Wulong Mountain / Xin Wu Long Shan Jiao Fei Ji /            新乌龙山剿匪记 # Episode : 30 Genre : Communist Revolutionary, Espionage Release Date : January 19, 2012       Broadcasting Company : Hunan TV Cast :  Pu Bajia as Liu Yutang, Choo Ja Hyun as Si Yatou, Ady An as Ah Xi Miaomiao, Ray Lui as Zhan Shanpao, Shen Junyi as Chen Zixian

Sohu just released this short BTS video of Ying'er. We get a closer glimpse at the shooting process for the miniseries. Mo Shaoqian fans, sorry, not much Hawick Lau in this video. I think they're going to release another BTS video dedicated to Hawick later. At this moment, I'm pretty certain  the miniseries revolves around Tong Xue since she has the most screen time.

Hawick Lau as  ﻬ Tan Mingkai   ﻬ   Son of Madam Tan. Heir to the Tan clan's business fortune. In reality, he's the biological son of a tea farmer, Mei Laojiu. Shortly after his mother gave birth to him, she died from illness. To save his wife, Mei Laojiu secretly sold his son to the maidservant of Madam Tan. Over night, this baby boy went from being the son of a poor plantation farmer to the eldest young master of Tan household. Madam Tan put her heart and soul in raising Mingkai and grooming him to become the successor of the Tan clan's business. After maturity, Mingkai studied abroad and returned with a modern intellect. Due to his comfortable upbringing, Mingkai has never seen the harsh reality of life. His personality is filled with optimism and he sees the world with hopeful eyes and happiness.

The production company has announced the official release date for this mini-movie is set on Valentine's Day, February 14.   We have slightly more than a month wait. I honestly hope we will have a satisfying ending this time! No more dreadful open ending! I also read somewhere that a BTS video should be released in a few days, so we should get to see that soon.

Shaoqian’s mother, Jiang Yun, seeks to befriend the injured Tong Xue as they share the same hospital room.  In contrast to her stern and serious son, Jiang Yun is a vivacious and fun-loving middle-aged woman who loves to play video games. Tong Xue seems to really enjoy her company because her spirited personality definitely helps to brighten Tong Xue’s melancholy.  Jiang Yun confides to Tong Xue that her husband has already passed away and she rarely even sees her son.  As they chatter, Tong Xue begins to reminisce about her own parents. She reveals that this coming hour of midnight is actually her lunar calendar birthday, the day her late parents usually celebrate with her.  Jiang Yun tries to comfort her and rocks her to sleep.  On Jiang Yun's cellphone, she reads an email message from Shaoqian saying “Today, I did something wrong again” and she replies, “Then, don’t do it again.”

I'm sure many of you have heard the surprised announcement on January 8th about Yang Mi and Hawick Lau admitting to their romantic relationship on Sina weibo.  Personally, I always wanted Yang Mi to hook up with her Gong co-star, Feng Shaofeng, but that's wishful thinking. Real life is totally different from onscreen pairing. Trivia : Yang Mi was actually the producers' first choice to play Tong Xue in Sealed with a Kiss. I think she was offered the role, but she turned it down to accept another project, Beijing Love Story. I remember during the casting phase, the casting decision for Tong Xue was announced last while it was publicized pretty early that Hawick Lau would play Mo Shaoqian. Thus, many fans speculated for a long time that Yang Mi was cast as Tong Xue. Before Sealed with a Kiss ever started shooting, fans actually created a MV with Hawick as Mo Shaoqian and Yang Mi as Tong Xue, using previous existing materials from their individual series. Now I come to think...

Title: Beijing Love Story / Beijing Ai Qing Gu Shi / 北京爱情故事 # Episode : 39 Genre : Modern Drama Release date : January 2012      Broadcasting Company : Zhejiang TV Screenwriters : Chen Si Cheng, Li Ya Ling Director : Chen Si Cheng     Chief Producer : Teng Hua Tao     Produce r: Li Chen Cast: Chen Sicheng as Cheng Feng, Li Chen as Wu Di, Zhang Yi as Shi Xiaomeng (Autumn), Yang Mi as Yang Zixi (Spring), Zhang Xinyi as Lin Xia (Summer), Tong Liya as Shen Bing (Winter)

Someone just leaked a page of the production team's scene schedule online, which reveals A LOT of details about the story. I just finished translating it. Read it at your own risk! MAJOR DETAILED SPOILERS ! I highly recommend those who want to save the suspense/ excitement for later should not read this!! My reaction? Let's just say it's mixed. I'm going try to keep my expectations low and reserve my final judgement till I watch the mini-movie.

I've been doing some intense browsing on Chinese forums to scout more information about plot of the mini-sequel. Some fans actually went to visit the film sets. They were able to watch the cast shoot some of their scenes and posted online what they saw. Basic Info : Will most likely be released before Valentine's Day Mini-movie completed shooting in 156 hours (6.5 days). Ying'er spent 80 hours on the set to shoot her scenes while Hawick Lau stayed 60 hours. I honestly hope this isn't an indication of their actual screen-time in the mini-movie.  The original director and scriptwriter did not return to work on this project. The entire feel of the series/story will mostly likely be different. Don't have too high of an expectation! Confirmed cast members: Hawick Lau (Mo Shaoqian), Ying'er (Tong Xue), Li Zhinan (Xiao Shan), Wen Mengxiang (Liu Yueying), Chu Hanlun (Zhang Zhiyuan), Liu Kenan (Zhao Gaoxing), Zheng Long (Wen Hao) and Angelina Ma Wei (new sexy look...

I guess I over worried about a ghastly ugly wig being put on Hawick Lau's bald head, because he won't be wearing any! The new Mo Shaoqian no longer sports that suave sophistication he projected in the first drama, but a more down-to-earth casualness in a down jacket and a knitted beanie. Somehow I totally cannot imagine the ever urbane and polished Mo Shaoqian to dress so casually. -_-|| Argh. He looks more like he's in the mafia. I know I shouldn't be too nit-picky and accept what they can give us, but I really miss his clean-cut dress suits. Edit : I heard that the reason for Mo Shaoqian's lackluster new look was due to severe time restraint. They rushed through the pre-production stage to accommodate everyone's schedule. The production team had absolutely no time to even work on Hawick's looks and he went immediately straight to shooting when he arrived. Please do not tell me the writer is going to throw at us the lame excuse that he just got of...

Even though I was very disappointed with Mo Shaoqian's new look, but I couldn't contain my excitement when I saw Tong Xue and Mo Shaoqian lying in bed together. Don't think dirty! They're fully clothed and not doing anything inappropriate for the underage to see. At most, I think Tong Xue is just giving Mo Shaoqian a soft peck on the lips. HEHE. I hope it's a good indication that these two tormented characters can overcome their painful past and reconcile. I just really want my cliche happily ever after ending for them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Since 2011 just ended, I just wanted to do a quick personal review of all the TV series I've fully watched/attempted to watch/or managed to dip my fingers into last year. First, I must confess I have a peculiar/somewhat unpredictable taste in dramas and also an incurable habit of loving to speedily skim through my dramas because of the strong urge to know what happens next or the lack of patience. Sometimes I may get too easily distracted by a new drama and completely abandon the current drama I'm watching. The dramas I don't finish do not necessarily mean I hate them. More often, it just means that these "unfinished dramas" failed to sustain my interest for too short of a time period to make me want to watch it completely in one sitting or follow it all the way during the initial broadcast period. I may go back to finish them at a later time when I have more time or regain the mood to resume where I left off.