It’s interesting to see reception for a drama morph as it progresses and recently aired sci-fi romance C-drama Derailment has seen exactly that. Two weeks ago when the drama premiered it was received poorly thanks to female lead Liu Hao Cun’s bad real life reputation and also the confusing promos making the drama seem overwrought and weepy with a confusing storyline. But as the drama continued on the reviews have turned positive and while the drama won’t be a hit it’s now no longer considered a flop or poorly made. Liu Hao Cun’s visuals plus actual good acting has helped turn the tide on audience impression of her. So C-ent insiders are saying that her decision to do this drama and now focus on her movie career is now proven to be a smart choice. The drama is also apparently well made and smartly written and could become a cult hit down the line.
Cult hit? Nobody cares about this one in China.
Down the line
The script is a mess. The screenwriters really messed up badly at some points. BUT the drama is very well directed, produced, edited and etc. I can say they did spend a lot of money on the technical aspects.
The acting was really good from everyone.
I’m sure Derailment would have being a success if it had popular stars in it. Dramas with popular stars always are successful despite having terrible everything else.
Agree with this
Liuliangs are popular with investors because they pull crowd regardless they have skills or not.
I watched several eps out of boredom before Koala uploaded this post since there’s nothing really interesting currently both in Kdrama and Cdrama. Otherwise would appreciate some recommendations. I did think FL’s acting was pretty good. Was she the one whose parents had a certain scandal that some C fans gossiped about in another thread? Well, her private life aside (that I’m usually indifferent to unless she was convicted of some serious crimes and I’m way more interested in drama reviews than tabloid gossips that many C fans visiting this site seemed to love talking about instead), She appears to be a good actress per her performance in this drama. Director Zhang Yimo did have good eyes to cast acting talent. Nonetheless, the drama, like most of the C dramas, has nothing else interesting to commend. I dropped the drama although the lead actress was really good.
BTW, the character played by the ML, Lin Yi, is a douchebag in my opinion. That’s the major reason I dropped the drama cos I can’t stand watching him and project the girl’s romance with an obnoxious guy like that. Perhaps he would get a turn on his personality later on. Too bad! I don’t have patience for a dragging plot with inconsistent character development.
Is she the girl who’s parents own a dance studio where a child got injured and became paralyzed and they refused to pay compensation mandated by the court? She’s cute.
Yeah. Agree though, she’s cute
Her acting was good, but this drama’s story was terrible. Apparently, it deviated from the book. Sold as a suspense, but watching paint dry was more exciting and fast paced. None of the other actors, except maybe the crazy ex-boyfriend, had a performance that was memorable. The ML’s character alternated from being bland to SOB. Usually, I am not this negative, but I was unable to look away from this train wreck. Each subsequent episode made me question my sanity instead of hers for continuing to watch.
@Guest
You made me laugh with “… watching paint dry was more exciting and fast paced…”. Interesting way of comparison. 😂😄😅😁
Not surprising. priest’s books get really poor drama adaptations and this one is no different.
It’s getting abit more attention because of the copyright controversy it’s gotten itself into but with Blossoms Shanghai on air, it’s going to be very difficult to get anyone to care about this show. BS is doing wonders for its main cast, it’s like some sort of glow up working with Wong Kai Wai.
@Guest
I dropped “Blossom Shanghai” after six episodes. I dragged myself to get that far. The story is weak. Tang Yan’s voice is annoying.
I personally really like it although I think it would have been better done in a miniseries format with longer episodes and weekly airing although that’s not possible. It’s not the easiest show to watch, I’m on episode 12 and I cant watch more than 1 or 2 episodes at a go – I don’t think it’s just Tang Yan, the whole show is noisy but I think that’s the exact cacophony it’s going for. I first visited SH around 2000ish, never seen that many people in my life before and it feels pretty much like that lol (brings back memories of being utterly confused at the railway station). But I do find myself going back for the next episodes and I never FF any scenes – I do that for every C/K drama, it takes me about 20-25 mins max to finish a cdrama episode. I’m also a huge fan of political intrigue/ Wall Street movies so this is just up alley but many have commented that such themes aren’t exactly the most public friendly.
Recent dramas have been lackluster. The only one which I’m still watching is The Mutations despite its bad pacing, and that’s because I ran out of stuff to watch.
I recently started watching Marry my husband… I just love those rebirth themed dramas. It is quite good but female lead has lost so much weight due to her relationship case and stress…
It is no bad so far.
@HL
Try Perfect Marriage Revenge too. I was reluctant but it’s a makjang without all the negatives they have. Fast paced, no fillers, funny ah, veteran actresses that knock it out of the park. It’s really a fun watch and most importantly, already done lol
@Hmm, thanks for recommendation!!! I do like a few veteran actress, they have something many young actress lack.. Will catch it!
@HL Oooh, rebirth drama. I haven’t take notice of Kdramas recently, will give it a try. Thanks!
Blossoms is shedding audience every single episode.
Considering the hype, money, director and actors it is actually a major fail.
Not surprising, I don’t think WKW was ever a box office guarantee, either you like his shows or you don’t really care for it.
If I’m not mistaken, Derailment (novel) is written by Priest who is also the one who wrote Word of Honor (novel). If that’s the case, I can see how some fans of their work will try to check this one out in a way.