feeling so tired today..just finish lunch i ta bao "yong tou fu" come back eat ..yummy! last night just finish watching "A dream named desire" episode 7,8 9. Today i going to watch episode 10..yeah i like this hong kong drama..i remember last seen was 2001..when i was in sec 1 =) "美丽传说 " A dream named desire 美丽传说

THE CAST:
Monica Chan aka Rita: She played a very likeable role in the beginning of the series. However, towards the end of the series, Monica Chan’s character became what I would call a "mixture of all the silly and na"ive female characters in Chinese series". Her character’s silliness caused me more frustration than characters of Kenix or Flora Chan in "At The Threshold of an Era". It was nice to see her so honest, gentle and caring in the beginning of the series. However, her character later suffered unnecessary misfortune that she caused upon herself. I did not understand how she could not stand Chris’ wife but could stand the pervert behaviour of Tim’s brother and father and all the ridicule and scoldings from her mother-in-law and even the old maid in the family had no respect for her. I know that the scriptwriter probably wanted to show the audience marriage into a rich family might not be at all pleasant but there is no one on earth who could go through all these abuses. By the way, the old maid in the family was a really annoying character. Who did she think she was? She even scolds Tim. However, it is really hilarious how Tim threatened to buy milk as a repayment for her care when he was young. There was one moment in the series when Rita convinced Tim to let her go to jail for him. What sort of man was Tim? Letting his wife, and she was PREGNANT, to go to jail for him. I don’t know whether it was something wrong with my tape but after the scene Rita convinced Tim, it then showed her in jail. I did not recover from a shock for 15 minutes since I thought that Rita was dreaming of it. And what sort of legal system is it anyway? This is not ancient period when you just turn up, say that you commit a crime then people put you in jail without investigation. Even Justice Bao would not do that. He would go to extensive length to behead whoever deserves it. Anyway, back to the series. At the end, after being stabbed by Pauline, Tim was in need of a kidney so Rita donated her kidney to him. So did Rita love Tim more than Chris? She probably really cares for him and because he is the father of her child. I guess the writer just added this information to show us that Tim was the one who did the wrong in the relationship and Rita is later free to reunite with Chris.

Simon Yam aka Chris: the character of Chris is built as an ideal man. He is intelligent, caring towards the one he loves, but ruthless to his enemies. He loves every other woman except his wife. Though she trapped him into the marriage, but it was still his son, and if he really loved his son like he meant to, he should learn to live with her. It was his fault that she became mentally unstable and evil. Chris loved Rita initially and then switched to Michelle and then turned back to Rita. However, his switching back and forth is not that unreasonable. The series justifies his feelings by showing how strong his love for each sister is. Yet, the fact that Michelle got HIV but Chris did not contract the disease left me speechless. If his character just paid a little more attention to his son and could see how the little boy trembles every time he sees his own mother, he would have realised the problem from the beginning. However, if he had done that, he would become an ideal man that probably no woman on earth could resist throwing herself at him. Simon Yam proved himself to be an experienced actor and managed to bring out the charisma of the character. I also like the actress who played Chris’ wife. She portrayed the desperation and jealousy of her character very well.

Loletta Lee aka Michelle: This character was probably written for Loletta since she played the role with so much ease. It was such an enjoyable experience to watch her playing an independent and headstrong girl. She looks very young and pretty. Her character has so much depth and in opposite to Monica Chan’s character, Michelle is a woman who dares to love and to live. While Rita is so weak and submissive, Michelle fights for the one she loves.

Ben Wong Chi Yin aka Tim: Ben Wong has surely surprised me in this series. This is such an extraordinary improvement from his days as Ah Hoi in "A Kindred Spirit". Ben managed the transformation of his character from an honest, dumbfounded guy into a scheming, vengeful man very well. Yet, in my true opinion, as an honest dumbfounded guy, Ben is not as good as Kwok Chun On. As a scheming, vengeful guy, Ben is not as convincing as Sunny Chan in "At the Threshold of an Era". Anyway, his acting has surely improved. By the way, what is wrong with his hair?

Alice Chan Wai aka Pauline: It was a difficult task for Alice to portray a girl’s descending path into a despicable, shameless woman. Alice failed to grasp the complexities of her character and so failed to catch the viewer’s attention. She became a very annoying character in the series and every time she called that rich Taiwanese man "daddy", she gave me this really "ewwww" feeling. The existence of her character probably was to show how kind-hearted or what I would call "silly and na"ive" Rita was. She tricked and trapped Rita into many unthinkable situations and Rita still helped her every time she was down.

Tin Yui Lee aka Ada: Tin Yui Lee is beautiful, young, and talented. Ada is a very different type of woman from the other three. Her personality and her lives were not affected by the beauty contest except that it gave her the chance to marry into a rich family. Her goal in life is always clear, she knows what she wants and how to get it. The basics of her character are consistent throughout the series. So out of four female characters, I find Ada and Michelle very appealing and realistic.

The most annoying character would have to be the father of Rita and Michelle. All he did was yak on and on without any action. He always threatened someone but never really carry out the act.

THE ENDING: Tim escaped from jail and took his daughter out for a day. He was then shot by the police. However, before dying, he had a chance to mend things with Rita. Though Chris was relentless in his pursuit of Rita, a few years passed before Rita agreed to give him another chance.

THE IRONY: Tim was never the favourite son in the family. His father hated him for his hesitance, his inability to be ruthless and calculating in the business world. He was disliked because he did not take after his father’s personality. However, the irony was that Tim was the real son while his brother was the result of his mother’s adultery act.

OVERALL: the series was very entertaining in the beginning, dragging a little bit toward the end. The pace of the series might be too slow for some viewers. Overall, the series is very depressing with not a single light moment. It appears as though anyone who enters the beauty contest would be doomed to a life of misery. Why did they have to kill off Michelle’s character? Just so Rita and Chris can be together again? It might be realistic to expose the truth behind beauty contests but can’t they just have one successful story? Not everyone has to die or end up in jail. It does convey a very negative image about beauty contests, though I see it as an event where people use beauty to seek fame and fortune.

The rest of the cast was quite good. The dialogues were not long-winded. I do not see that many ATV series since I often have a hard time understanding what the characters were trying to say. For instance, I was totally put off by the series "My date with a vampire 2" since the dialogues were really pretentious and gave shallow interpretation to life or very crappy "so-called" philosophy. But that is another story. However, this series is different. I find the development of characters, the dialogues and the plot engaging. It might not appeal to some viewers since the plot is quite depressing and the love stories are repetitive (two sisters in love with the same guy, poor girl married into rich family, etc...). If you are looking for a series that is full of action or is light-hearted, you should keep away from this series. However, if you are into series like "Flaming Brothers", "Cold Blood Warm Heart' or "Secret of the Hearts", this is the series for you.