It’s Recess time at the Playground! Which of course means I’m on vacation, this time for two weeks (as opposed to a meager one week last August to Maui). Come sunshine or typhoon, clearly I’ll still be posting since I’m OCD like that, it just won’t be that often. Last time I took a long vacation, I inaugurated Recess posts … Continue reading →
I make no excuses for raving about Material Queen when it first premiered, waxing in recap after recap about its merits both superficial (its breathtakingly gorgeous) and substantive (tightly plotted story with exhilarating character development). So when it hit a huge plot ditch in episodes 10-11, I took a break from recapping it hoping it would regain its footing and … Continue reading →
This episode was really hard to watch, and even harder to write about. Some things took me by surprise, while others were to be expected. Material Queen continues to astonish with it’s attention to detail, especially character depth and nuances that TW-dramas rarely focus on, usually electing to use broad laughs and big tears to leap frog over plot developments. … Continue reading →
This episode was like the calm before the storm. Taiwanese dramas are predictable in that it deals with each plot development almost exclusively rather than simultaneously juggling multiple threads. The issues may be raised here and there, but the drama likes to tackle each one at a time. Last episode put an end to the market place takeover kerfluffle, resolving … Continue reading →
I want to give Lin Chu Man a country to run. She would tell the politicians to stop bickering, accept no whining, think of creative solutions to problems, all with a “my dictionary does not have the word ‘failure’ attitude”. And did I mention she’s so insanely gorgeous the world will melt at her feet anyways. The fact that she’s … Continue reading →
Why did I use a picture of a scraggly unkempt dude holding a gerbil in a plastic ball for my recap for episode 6 of Material Queen? If you read the recap you’ll appreciate his uniqueness. We ought to first have a moment of silence for poor Elizabeth the Sixth, the innocent victim of corporate evildoers. The man holding Elizabeth … Continue reading →
Our Material Queen Lin Chu Man isn’t so material anymore. Lead actress Lynn Xiong returned to Taiwan this week for additional promotional rounds for her drama Material Queen with Vanness Wu. At this point if Lynn does one MQ promo event, Vanness does another. They are like oil and vinegar, but I’m the happy bread soaking up their chemistry onscreen. … Continue reading →
I feel like I just discovered a greater purpose for why I do recaps. While K-dramas are covered extensively by so many great writers, TW-dramas never really had the quality to lure people to write about it. Even the two TW-dramas I’ve recapped this year have been great fun and well-made, but ultimately nothing mind blowing. Until now. Material Queen is a drama that … Continue reading →
It’s official: Material Queen is the TW-drama equivalent of Firefly. No wonder I am so taken with this drama, and so damn appreciative and protective of it. Almost a decade later and I’m still stinging with the pain of what Fox did to the crew of the Serenity, allowing one of the best shows EVER on network television to get … Continue reading →
It’s hard for me to describe exactly why I’m fascinated by Material Queen, but I do understand why it’s not a ratings juggernaut that the same directing-writing-acting combo of Autumn’s Concerto was. The dazzling directing finesse and cinematography aside, it’s just so odd of a drama. There is very little hook – it’s like reading a novel transposed onto a … Continue reading →
Material Queen feels like an anomaly. It’s like the incongruity of having The Sopranos air on the CW after an episode of Gossip Girl. It’s thought-provoking, with none of the characters being one-dimensionally stupid or as a plot device. Episode 2 completes the Paris arc and moves the story back to Taiwan again, where suddenly the world of MQ doubles … Continue reading →
Material Queen feels like a post-modern fairy tale. It tells a love story by going backwards, where everything will end with finding love, rather than love leading to a journey together. This drama is so brilliantly directed that your eyes feast on the visual splendor of each scene, the camera flowing seamlessly from shot-to-shot. PD Chen Hui Ling is undoubtedly … Continue reading →
I am human, not a super-hero Koala or even a Koala who has discovered the means to bend space and time. With that said, I really am “my heart wants but my body cannot do” (a Chinese proverb for desiring to do something that you are physically incapable of) with respect to Material Queen. I watched episode 1 of the … Continue reading →