My TW & C-Drama Allergies
By popular request (*cough* yuan89 *cough*), I’ve quickly compiled a list of My Other Allergies. These are the actors and actresses from TW- and C-dramas which I avoid like the plague. Sometimes even the mere mention of them turns me into a raging koala swinging a koala-sized cleaver hacking away at cyberspace. Not a pretty sight, people.
But to start off on a positive note (and also to give me a reason to put Zai Zai on my blog), until late last year, Vic Zhou was an allergy of mine, I could not stand to watch any of his dramas after I watched him in Meteor Garden. If it was not for Black & White, he would still be an allergy of mine today.
But now not only is he NOT an allergy, he is beloved by me. I adore him, I wish I could be his noona and take care of him. I hurt when he’s all melancholy and depressed. I am giddy when he’s doing well. I google him weekly to keep up to date on him. So, any of the below ladies and gentleman can conceivably get off my shit list someday. But I don’t see that happening in the foreseeable future.
This list does not include the legions of terrible somewhat famous TW idols who don’t know what is acting if it bit them on the arse. I just avoid any dramas starring those folks. Or watch an episode and then stop, preserving my sanity. The ones on my list are the certified big-name stars, likely beloved by many. Hence they are always leads, and get lots of projects, mores the pity.
Collectively, I am more allergic to this gang than I am to the K-drama folks. Reason being is that as a whole, each of the K-drama actors are better actors in general. That’s my bias, I find K-drama actors as a whole much better actors than their Chinese counterparts. Sorry for the digression, now on to the main course.
Oh, How I Loathe Thee:
Barbie Hsu – Da S gets no love from me. I’ve watched enough of her dramas to make this definitive assessment, I cannot stand her. Granted, she’s a pretty good actress, but her acting bugs the living daylights out of me. Maybe it’s her face, all pale and melancholy. Maybe it’s because I vividly remember her teenage years as a member of TW pop group S.O.S. with her sister Xiao S. I find it impossible for me to enjoy her performances, hence I now just avoid anything she stars in. Unless it happens to be a wuxia movie starring my I Lub You.
Peter Ho – I cannot stand this man. His smirk, his sneer, his beefy posturing, his hooded gaze. All of it rubs me the wrong way. Watching his performance in any drama is akin to A Clockwork Orange torture. He’s super grody to me. I also think he’s a heavy-handed actor, using posing rather than technique to convey emotion.
Crystal Liu – She has no passion, she has no fire in her eyes, she simple exists on screen as a perfect mannequin for all to gaze upon. I say this after watching multiple of her dramas. She has absolutely no ability to eye-act. She doesn’t engage the camera, and she doesn’t ever engage me. Normally she wouldn’t annoy me, except she’s managed to get leading role after leading role, savaging productions of dramas I would really have wanted to watch and enjoy. For that, she gets my death ray! But she’s absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, and I enjoy looking at pictures of her.
Lin Chi Ling – She’s a 0-2 so far. If I have to watch her in anything else, I would rather commit seppuku. She tries very hard, I do like that. But it’s like watching Cindy Crawford launch an acting career. She doesn’t know the right beats to acting (yet). Also – and this is not her fault, she was born with it – but I absolutely unequivocally despise her voice. It’s high, fluttery, squeaky, and always brings to mind that she is attempting to do the OPW anytime she opens her mouth. In both Red Cliff and Tsuki no Koibito, the ultimate failure was the concept and the writing, respectively. But her presence was what made a crappy production into an abysmal failiure in my eyes. I am so very proud of her for becoming a world-class supermodel and representing Taiwan, but she should not act.
Ella Chen – I don’t hate her. I confess that enough people I respect and love like her and think she is a good actress and fun to watch. My allergy to Ella is purely personal, probably more along the lines of my extreme dislike of Barbie, hard to quantify. Still, I have a hard time watching any drama of Ella’s, and rather than criticize her looks and be catty like that, just take it that she and I are like oil and water, we don’t mix.
Don’t Call Me A Hater:
Yes, these are the Chinese actors and actresses I really wish would stop acting and go find another job. But if I were to be objective and charitable, there are plenty of people who like them. So I should not be so harsh.
There are plenty of performers I don’t like that I didn’t put on this list (such as He Who Cannot Act – Wu Zhun, He Who I Just Don’t Understand Why He Is Popular – Show Luo, and How Does She Keep Getting Acting Gigs – Cindy Wang, to name a few), because only the above few have annoyed me to the point I have developed an allergy to them.
We watch dramas because we want to be entertained, to be swept away by the story, the presentation. Rather than watch the folks I am allergic to and then rail about how much I hate them in every blog, I’ve just learned to avoid them. It’s also a defense mechanism – out of sight, out of mind. [And finally, I’ve picked the BEST pictures of everyone, just so I am not accused of making them all fugly on purpose to vent my hatred of them].
Like Zai Zai, Alec Su is also another guy who went from my allergy list to my beloved list. Alec’s earliest dramas were not his best acting offerings, and it hurt him that I watched those first. He’s come a long way, and after watching his more recent works, and noticing how smoking hot he’s become, he’s now on my obsessions list.
OH MY!!! i think our distaste for Barbie is equal. something about her just makes me wanna punch her face. i can’t stand watching her, but can’t pinpoint what it is about her i can’t stand. i just can’t. ugh.
and i’ve always loved Vic.. from the moment i saw him in MG, i loved Vic. i will watch Vic in anything.. and torture myself til the end just so i don’t miss a scene w/ Vic. ok, i lied, i couldn’t finish MARS (i wonder why?? hmm.. Barbie!!!)
im a bit biased, since i have a major fangirl obsession on show luo (i claim him as my husband hehehe), but perhaps i can sorta explain why he’s so popular around asia. his popularity really stems from his singing career, as he is known to be a great dancer and churns out pretty catchy tunes. he is also super good-looking, so he fits the position for a tw drama male lead. i wouldnt say his performances are as stellar as the heavyweights in kdramas, but he was nominated for two golden bell awards, and he does have a rather cute boy-next-door charm. also, although i dont personally find it an indication of superb acting, people in the tw industry laud his performances for his ability to tear up on cue.
he also has great comic timing, which is probably a natural-born thing, as he is the mainstay host of a tw entertainment news program, and is extremely adorable and funny on it. his MC-ing on the show also contributes a lot to his popularity, as he is often seen doing things most idols wouldn’t do, and is genuinely down-to-earth and really, really cute.
bias aside, i would say he has great potential but is just not given the right material to release his inner acting chops. he needs a role thats absolutely insane and crazy, not the typical tw romance drama stuff.
hopefully i dont sound too much like im trying to convert everyone into a show-luo-lover!
might i also add that i have an extreme allergic reaction to wu chun’s fellow fahrenheit member, jiro wang. he doesn’t get as many lead roles, but whenever he acts, my face cringes and my stomach does a double-dip. in fact, i only make this judgment based on the small snippets of news clips i see of him acting; i dont even bother attempting to watch the dramas he’s in.
You love Alec Su? Gosh, I remembered I was SO SO CRAZY about him about some 10 years ago during his Jue Dai Shuang Jiao days with Jimmy Lin. I was like, Hua Wu Que’s perfect perfect, why are all the girls liking Xiao Yu Er instead?!! haha.. XD
My love for him faded as he disappeared out of the limelight. But his mark still remains My one and only yahoo mail address isn’t my name nor ripgal…but his name.. yeah…hehehe… 😛
I hate Da S too. Never like her in anything.
I still don’t like Zai Zai, he seems so lifeless, but then I haven’t watch Black & White.
I hate Ella, Cindy Wang and Rainie Yang. I think three of them can’t act / their actings are soooo OTT.
I don’t like Jerry Yan. I don’t understand why people liked him as Dao Ming Zhi..:P
I like Wu Zhun, but I do really agree this handsome man can’t act!
PS. I like Peter Ho. dunno why!
I didn’t really like Zai Zai until Mars…but B&W was definitely his best performance. Hmm, I pretty much agree with your comments on all the actors listed. I was kind of irritated by Ella’s acting in Down w/Love though Jerry Yan has been redeemed in my eyes by his acting in both Starlight and DwL since I never really cared for his earlier works.
Though I’m also allergic to Rainey Yang…I cringe seriously cringe anytime I see something she’s in…she was okay in Devil Beside You (which mostly work because she had good chemistry w/Mike He) but everything else has been frustrating, especially Miss No Good. I also admit, I’ve been irritated by Chen Qiao En as well even though PTTF is still one of my favorite Twdramas.
But I kind of wonder whether I’m irritated by the acting or just super-frustrating plotlines…
On a side note…I want to see Ariel Lin (she’s so lovely!) do a drama with Ming Dao or maybe Mark Chao…I would totally love to see that!
Have you seen Chen Qiao En’s more recent dramas? Sorry, I just wanted to know if your opinion of her has changed at all. tbh, I used to hate her because I didn’t like Fated to Love You (I know, it’s like holy grail to so many people, but I just didn’t like it). But after absolutely loving her person (like real life person through interview etc) and her more recent slew of pretty good acting, she’s definitely an obsession for me. Like her DFBB role, or SOP Queen (yeah, a lot of people didn’t like it, but to me it’s like her breakout role. She was awesome in it and had great chemistry with Zhang Han), Cruel Romance?
@ lb_tmi
Regarding Barbie: “something about her just makes me wanna punch her face.” – Heehee, you said it, not me (pssst, I feel the same way).
@ annieee
Re: Show Luo – oh, I’ve watched Show’s entertainment programs, in fact, probably more than all his dramas. He doesn’t bother me, I just don’t think he’s that good looking or that good of an actor. He’s just okay with both for me, hence my confusion over his popularity. Could be just me and my ilk, no one I know can quite fathom why he’s all that. But I’m glad you love him!
Re: Jiro Wang – you know, I kinda just ignored him in ISWAK, couldn’t believe he’d ever get a lead role. Then wham, watched 2 episodes of the terrible Momo Love, and I have newfound appreciation for Jiro – both as an actor and as a hottie. He’s a certificable hottie in that drama, and a very understated actor.
@ djes – highly recommend B&W, not just for you to see Zai Zai in a new light, but its a great drama, period.
@ ripgal – Alec is now mostly in movies. Still very popular.
@ Taohua and djes – I also can’t stand Rainie, I want to push her into a fountain or something. She has AFS for me (it’s a new term nycgrl and I coined, means Annoying Face Syndrome). I’ve never watched any of her dramas, I tried Devil Beside You and within 1/2 an episode I had to stop. She was making me lose my marbles seething with frustration with her acting.
Okay, So I have a problem with Wu Zhun, big time, the man is hot as hell and I’m ashamed to admit I check out each of his new dramas just to see his face, and see if his acting improved any.
then I get all disappointed, because however hot he is, he cannot act, it’s like he’s playing poker all the time, and honestly, thank his agents for casting him into roles that his poker face works, most of the scenes in the drama. and as soon as time comes for some emotions, he cannot deliver. and his good looks won’t get him any points from me as at this point i’m just pissed off his bad acting has ruined yet another drama.
on the subject of Fahrenheit, I honestly DO NOT understand why he of all people in Fahrenheit decided to leave and pursue an acting career. He cannot act, and someone should really tell him before he made the leap.
on the other hand, I’ve always loved Jiro’s acting, honestly, the boy’s acting is way underrated, and for his acting alone, his dramas should’ve fared better ratings. It’s sad he’s cast into so many leads (he has in so many dramas, as supporting in iSWAK and they kiss again, and as leads in a ton of others), and they don’t fare as well as his acting should bring. mainly i blame the female leads, Cindy Wang is a female Wu Zhun.
on a side note, I love the bromance between Jiro and Danson Tang, those two are so cute together, and it’s little wonder why fans ship them together more than Jiro’s love interest. they worked together five times and I have to say Comic International is not milking Jiro for all he’s worth if they’re not letting those two release an album together.
Calvin, as much as i love your smile, acting really isn’t your thing, please don’t follow Zhun’s path, please.
Aaron’s okay, I don’t like him any time he’s the lead, but as supporting, he’s always able to be cute and just funny enough to play off others. then again, his only acting has been with Jiro, who he had great chemistry with from KO.1
!!!! i feel the same way about Show Luo!! But I have never found someone who shares my sentiments!! He can’t sing, he supposedly dances damn well but I am not impressed. Yes, he is good-looking and quite funny, but this popular!??!! I just can’t wrap my head around this one.
hahahahahah… don’t know koala personally but I just laugh and love at her list here and know that we could be the best of friends if we met. hahahaha same choice as hers all of them… maybe we have the same genes. hahahahaha
hate jerry Yan too.. didn’t finish watching MG because of him.heheheh
love Zaizai after watching silence.
love Vaness after watching AC
no love/hate relationship with Ken…. deadpan
Oh My, My Dear Sytwo!
Why are we the same in all aspects. Heheheh.
First, your love for ZaiZai is at par with me.Believe me he’s the only actor I love, love,love since late 2003. Do not like F4 and so do not like MG. At first do not like him in Poor Prince. But I have no other choice but to watch him nightly coz it is shown in my fave channel. And not knowing I was already hooked on PP and so is Tai Lang. Up to now, going crazy for him. Secondly, I don’t watch movies or series with actors I do not like. Aren’t we really the same?
Love alwayZZ.