I'll go more into detail about the series in my review (which will be posted by next week, since the finale airs on Monday). For now, I wanted to share the below article in particular because it is truly very well written and brings out the essence of the series almost perfectly.
What I found extremely interesting is that I had almost the exact same thought as the writer of the article in terms of the qualities that makes this series so good, the great job that Tim Gor (and his scriptwriting team) did on the script, and also the way Raymond Wong portrayed the main lead character of 'Tung Boon Seen'. You'll understand more when I post my review...
Lastly, I just wanted to say that it was EXTREMELY DIFFICULT translating this particular article because of the words that were used in Chinese (which was perfect in conveying the 'attractiveness' of this series) -- it was a bit of a struggle to find the best translation for particular words because I didn't want the meaning to be 'lost in translation'.
Anyway, for all those "Bottled Passion" fans out there (yup, you can count me in as part of that group now...LOL), I'm sure you would probably agree with alot of what was written in this article.
Enjoy!
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For TVB series “Bottled Passion”, the biggest ‘attraction’ is not the male or female lead
Originally published: 12/31/2011
Source: ifeng.com / Nam Fong Daily News
Translated by: llwy12
How long has it been since we’ve seen Niki Chow (周麗淇) in a TVB series? If we recount the last TVB series she was in, it should be modern series “The King of Snooker” from 2 years ago. This time around, seeing her in TVB’s currently airing series “Bottled Passion”, one can’t help but have a ‘long time no see’ feeling. What hasn’t changed is that Niki still gives people a feeling of ‘freshness’.
Not that long ago, the onscreen couple of Niki Chow and Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎) attracted many a viewer to their television screens, to the point that it seemed to be only when the two of them were paired together that the series would be especially good to watch. This time around, in “Bottled Passion”, the male lead paired with Niki is Raymond Wong (黄浩然) – a face that has appeared in quite a few TVB series in recent years. This new pairing definitely has a certain ‘freshness’ to it – in terms of looks, Raymond may not be considered the ‘stunningly handsome’ type, but overall, he fits the tastes of most female audiences; as for Niki, since she doesn’t appear often in TVB series, she is bound to garner the attention of audiences who find her appearance in a series refreshing.
The series’ Chinese title was originally《大话情人》[“The Lying Lover”] and was later changed to 《我的如意狼君》[literally translated as ‘My Ideal Wolf Husband’] – one can’t help but praise the wisdom of changing the title, as it brings a more ‘enchanting’ aspect to the series. Even though the cast arrangement in this series may not be considered ‘all-star’, a particular name associated with the series is sure to resound loudly with audiences: ‘golden’ producer Lee Tim Sing (李添勝). Indeed, Tim Gor’s series are generally well worth watching, as the plot is fast-paced and the story-telling effect is strong, which often evokes in audiences the desire to ‘chase’ each episode – each time, he incorporates just enough ‘tension’ in the series to draw audiences in and the more they watch, the more ‘flavorful’ the series gets. It definitely would not be an exaggeration to say that the biggest ‘attraction’ to the series “Bottled Passion” is not the male or female lead, but rather the producer Lee Tim Sing. In almost every episode (usually at the end), there is a climactic moment – this seems to be a unique characteristic in most of Tim Gor’s series. From “Rosy Business” and “No Regrets” to “A Fistful of Stances”, which of his series does not lead the audiences by their noses and evoke a dedicated following? Even with “Bottled Passion” airing in the dreaded post-Anniversary ‘cannon fodder’ timeslot, there is no way to hide the inherent ‘well worth watching’ nature of the series.
In terms of the acting, the character of ‘Tung Boon Seen’ that Raymond Wong portrays in “Bottled Passion” is quite a departure from the mostly ‘simple and honest’ type characters he portrayed in the past. His character in the series is quite complex and can best be described as a ‘semi-villain with the intrinsic qualities of a good-natured person’ – an almost perfect illustration of the expression “guys who aren’t bad, women won’t love them” [男人不壞, 女人不爱]. This seemingly ‘bad’ guy toys with women’s hearts in order to fulfill his plans for revenge against a particular family, but yet at the same time, his genuine concern and insistence on finding his childhood friend ‘Ngau Nai Tong’ [‘Milk Candy’] evokes feelings of sympathy and affection. Towards this ‘conflicted’ and ‘contradictory’ character, audiences will naturally feel both love and hate, though for most, they probably cannot bring themselves to hate him. It’s obvious that Raymond Wong put a lot of effort into portraying this character, as his emotional scenes came across very sincere and meticulous. At times, it even seemed like he was acting with his eyes, as the emotion that his tear-filled eyes conveyed in certain scenes had the effect of momentarily taking the focus away from everything else going on in those scenes.
As for the female lead character of Tsui Sum, her forthright personality suits Niki Chow well – in fact, it can be said that the character is an easy and familiar one for her. Also, her naturally refreshing look is a welcome departure from the heavy makeup and costumes that audiences have been exposed to in recent series. In short, her character is the type that is generally pleasing to audiences.
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Chinese Version:
《我的如意狼君》：最大的牌不是男女主角
2011年12月31日 09:16
来源：南方都市报 作者：林丹丹
有多久没看过周丽淇的戏了？上一部应该是两年前的时装剧《桌球天王》，此次《我的如意狼君》里见到她，略有一种“久违了”的感觉。不变的是，她给人的感觉依然“清新”。
曾几何时，周丽淇与郑嘉颖这对荧屏情侣，吸引了多少眼球与关注，仿佛只有他俩以情侣身份搭档的剧集才特别好看。这次，男主角是黄浩然这张近来在TV B剧集中常出现的面孔。这一组合新鲜得来也蛮有“清新感”，或许黄浩然不是那种很惊艳的帅，但也符合很多女观众的口味；周丽淇不常在TV B露脸，也会让人格外留意几分。
《我的如意狼君》前名《大话情人》，不得不赞叹后来的剧名改得好，更为引人入胜。虽然该剧的演员阵容不算“庞大”，但监制李添胜的名字绝对够响亮。没错，添哥的剧集很耐看，情节紧凑，故事性强，总让人忍不住要追着看，张力十足，越看越有味道。不夸张地说一句，该剧最大的牌不是男女主角，而是监制李添胜。几乎每一集都有高潮，这似乎是添哥出品的独有特色。从《巾帼枭雄》系列到《铁马寻桥》，哪一部不是每一集都牵着观众的鼻子走？即使《我的如意狼君》是在台庆颁奖之后的尴尬档期播出，依然掩盖不住“好看”的本色。
以往看黄浩然扮演的多是单纯或是老实人的角色，这次扮演的佟本善可就“复杂”得多了，可以说得上是有着好人本质的“腹黑男”，几乎是淋漓尽致地诠释了什么是“男人不坏，女人不爱”。这位情场“狼君”为了复仇大计将女人玩弄于股掌之间，俨然是大坏人，但对儿时的玩伴牛奶糖却一直念念不忘，却又令人心生爱怜。对于这一矛盾体人物，观众自然是又爱又恨，估计多数都是恨不起来。黄浩然诠释这一角色也很给力，感情戏显得真挚细腻，各位眼神控们要注意了，他好些时候是在用眼神在演戏，泪光盈盈的眼神瞬间秒杀一切。
女主角徐芯爽快的性格也很适合周丽淇，这种角色对于她来说可以说是驾轻就熟了，清新的妆容在一众浓妆艳抹当中显得尤为脱俗可人，总之就是讨人喜欢。（作者系媒体从业者）
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