Mainland Dramas On Crack?

I've finally got around to release my first audio podcasts for my blog.
So here's the downloadable audio version of this entry! Get it now while it's fresh and hot ;)


Mainland Dramas On Crack
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I can't help but notice the rapid speed at how dramas are deteriorating in the mainland entertainment industry. First I saw a little bit of it in 娱乐没有圈, but it didn't look too serious then - only a couple of cliches and exaggeration here and there...

Meteor Shower's H4

Main leads of Si Si Xin Dong

Now, china is trying to compete with taiwanese dramas in how exaggerated we can get. I'm serious. Actually, by now, after seeing the first episodes of 丝丝心动, it's beginning to clearly show evidence of taiwanese romantic-comedy madness. Not that I have anything against taiwanese dramas in general - I actually really enjoy them. Fun and always entertaining. But immensely overacted. Formulaic. My complaint now is that chinese dramas are taking that very aspect of taiwanese dramas that I find really irritating - and plastering that over all their new idol dramas. Here are examples of that frustrationadfjklness pulled directly from 丝丝心动, china's most anticipated romantic comedy of this year. From the very start... a grandma with a wig, rapping and dancing.

And it only gets worse from there. Exaggeration after exaggeration. On top of that, everyone's voices were dubbed. More cartoon-like gestures and sound effects. Unnecessary, fancy visuals.
The main reason I love mainland dramas are that they have unparalleled witty lines, and their undubbed voices, epic storylines. That is why I absolutely adore mainland dramas for, so I sincerely hope they won't take that away just to purely attract popularity.

Now, what I do like about mainland shows is that you can (almost always) look forward to the content, as most romantic comedies get increasingly better as you watch them, for example Si Si Xin Dong's episode 2, when the plot really gets rolling...a bit. I like how they added technology to match our current times (which is something a lot of dramas don't do)... like how Xiao Hou introduced a robot dog to the two girls staying at Ouyang's apartment. Jenny Zhang is indeed naturally pretty, I love her cheerful expressions. Another thing I like is the theme song, which is a really sweet and soothing touch.

As for the upcoming (very anticipated) Meteor Shower 2, I know it's one of those new idol series that have more eye candy and fan service than actual content. But the first series was light and fun, and witty as well, so I'm not going to start cringing on it yet.