First Episode 53: 软弱

[renzhe]

A part of the Grand First Episode Project -- See this thread for more info.

Miss Irresistable meets Mr. Irresistable. But he's married to her sister. Uh-oh. Based on a novel by 张宇 (no, not the Taiwanese singer!)

Overview - emule - tudou - youku

Following the most ridiculous intro sequence in the history of television, we get started with a meeting of two gangs of thieves. Apparently, they've been stepping on each other's toes, so they decide to settle it once and for all. they will "service" the same train, and the gang that steals less money will disappear from that train line in the future.

We also meet 于富贵 and his wife 刘伟, who are living in a small house in a small city together with their daughter 苗苗. 刘伟's younger sister 刘莉 is coming to stay for a couple of days, and she would like 于富贵 to encourage her to study, so she doesn't have to live a life of poverty like them.

刘莉 is a young woman with a devil-may-care attitude and a talent for getting through life, and getting onto trains without tickets. She has a quick run-in with one of the gang leaders on the train, before being kicked off for not having a ticket. While waiting for the next train, she witnesses the two gangs settling the winner. She makes the rest of her trip on a cargo train and wakes 于富贵 up (he works the late shift at the factory, 刘伟 is at work). They go shopping, and run into a thief and 于富贵 helps apprehend him. The thief is angry, and tells him that he will make him "call him daddy" in the future (叫爷 ) He also meets the policeman 何满子.

于富贵 doesn't have a shower at his home, so he takes 刘莉 to shower at the factory (there's a huge boiler there, and they all shower there). He has a scare after he runs after a thief trying to steal some copper, and doesn't find her when she's back. A bit later, the thief comes to visit him and make him call him "daddy". 于富贵 receives a beating and is rescued by the two sisters and taken to a hospital. 刘莉 runs off to the police station and makes 何满子 visit him at the hospital. After he's released from the hospital, 刘莉 helps him wash the wounds, and he feels the call of the forbidden fruit for the first time.

秀才 xiù cai * scholar / in Ming and Qing times, a person who has passed the county level imperial exam

起码 qǐ mǎ * at the minimum / at the very least

文明 wén míng * civilized / civilization / culture

分晓 fēn xiǎo * the result (becomes apparent) / now one understands

扯淡 to talk nonsense

出路 chū lù * a way out (of a difficulty etc)

车厢 chē xiāng * carriage

考上 kǎo shàng * to pass a university entrance exam

犯人 fàn rén * convict / prisoner / criminal

锅炉 guō lú * boiler

春运 Chūn yùn * Chunyun (the high traffic load around Chinese New Year) / Spring Festival travel season

裤兜 trouser pocket

吨 dūn * ton / Taiwan pr. dun4

煤 méi * coal

高看 respect / see someone in

划破 huà pò * to scratch (damage by cutting) / to slash / to streak across (lightning, meteor etc)

裤衩 underwear

小姨 xiǎo yí * (informal) wife's younger sister; sister-in-law

夜班 yè bān * night shift

包谷 bāo gǔ * maize / corn

翅膀 chì bǎng * wing

水位表 water level meter

压力表 pressure meter

水碱 limescale (white deposit left by water evaporating)

保卫科 security section

活该 huó gāi * (coll.) serve sb right / deservedly / ought

姑奶奶 gū nǎi nai * (informal) father's father's sister; great aunt

企业 qǐ yè * company / firm / enterprise

保卫 bǎo wèi * to defend / to safeguard

处长 section chief

公安局 gōng ān jú * Public Security Bureau

围裙 wéi qún * apron

蘑菇 mó gu * mushroom

This was decent. Production and acting are pretty standard, and the characters are interesting so far. 刘莉 is played by 田海蓉, who also played the secret agent in 狂花凋落. It is also based on a novel, which is usually a good thing, but I'm not so sure anymore after watching 倾城之恋...

One that could possibly turn out to be good. At 20 episodes, worth a shot.

Edited February 9, 2010 at 02:21 PM by renzhe

[renzhe]

I've seen a few more episodes of this and it seems like a decent drama. It's not very expensive, but the major characters are likable and the relationships complex. It's not at the level of 空镜子 or 我们俩的婚姻, but it's definitely not bad.

The next few episodes show 于富贵 and 刘莉 getting too close, which hurts his marriage with 刘伟. He also decides to join the police. The situation improves after 刘莉 leaves, but is likely to become complex again.

Don't know if I'll watch this one any longer right now, but I might come back to it at some time later.

[lordsuso]

I just finished this, I really enjoyed it. The plot is not very interesting, but I really liked the main characters and the everyday-life scenes. The actors that play the main couple are also very very good-looking, which doesn't hurt. 

[StChris]

Good to see that people are still finding these first episode posts useful - this one was from 2009!

[lordsuso]

They are indeed! and thanks to renzhe's Index Thread it's easy to find them (the only shame is that most links are understandably dead)