any good TV series recently?

[sekkar]

On 3/26/2024 at 10:17 PM, StChris said:

The Netflix version of The Three Body Problem has been released. What does everyone think? There is a Chinese dub which isn't too bad, but I prefer the original English.

 

I've also just watched the first episode so far and my opinion seems to be the same as yours, not terrible but not especially engaging either. Will probably finish it at some point, but feels like im doing it more out of curiosity to see what they changed etc rather than any actual urge to watch it for my own enjoyment.

 

 

[StChris]

On 3/28/2024 at 6:04 AM, sekkar said:

I've also just watched the first episode so far and my opinion seems to be the same as yours, not terrible but not especially engaging either. Will probably finish it at some point, but feels like im doing it more out of curiosity to see what they changed etc rather than any actual urge to watch it for my own enjoyment.

 

Apparently, episode 5 is a real banger (it's where the big action set piece takes place), so I think I'll make my way through to there at least. 

 

I watched episode 2 yesterday. While I appreciate the faster pace of this version over the super-slow Chinese one, I think they were a little too rushed to the point that

 

Spoiler

Ye WenJie's hatred for humanity wasn't quite well developed enough by the end of episode 2 for her to take the decision she did

 

I find the whole Oxford friends group they created in this one a little cringey. The friendships/romances just seem so forced and artificial. I don't think you need that kind of stuff in a sci-fi show anyway and prefer the Chinese version's nano-tech guy. It's also a shame that they didn't use the show as an opportunity to show modern China to a world audience instead of going for England as a setting.

[lordsuso]

I recommend 过把瘾, an old-school romance with solid acting and a captivating feel. Only 8 episodes and available in youtube.

[StChris]

On 3/29/2024 at 2:10 PM, lordsuso said:

Only 8 episodes and available in youtube.

 

Music to my ears, I'll give it a try for sure, thanks for the recommendation! I must be getting old, but I find these kind of 90s films/tv shows really nostalgic

[lordsuso]

I just finished 岁月. As someone who has never lived in China, this was an eye-opening show. It shows all the exchanges of gifts, favors, lies and praise that surround 面子 and 关系, in order to rise to the top. There is also romance and family life. I recommend it if you want to learn more about Chinese values, and how the Chinese navigate and think about the practices that come with. The show is not cynical and doesn't condemn nor commend these practices, it is pretty subtle and clearly wants the audience to come to their own conclusions. It has 23 episodes and is pretty easy to follow, available in youtube.

[sekkar]

Currently watching (and almost finished) 繁城之下, a murder mystery set in Ming (?) China. Well plotted and well acted, nothing bad to say about it really. Both me and my wife is looking forward to seeing the conclusion to the story tonight.

 

And the biggest draw: only 12 episodes! As @StChris recently mentioned, nobody wants these bloated 40 episode seasons... Give us something with a tight and focused script, no by-the-rails forced love stories or useless side-stories that take up 5 hours. 

 

I do have hope that Chinese productions are learning though, it feels like we've gotten much more of these high-quality shorter stories these last few years. 

[lordsuso]

I am close to finishing  四世同堂 (1985), a very interesting and moving story adapted from a novel by Lao She that I haven't read, dealing with the Japanese occupation of WW2. I prefer older tv shows because there is no annoying background music, and from my narrow experience the acting tends to be better. This show definitely broadened my cultural understanding of China and its social values, because I was frequently puzzled by the character's actions (e.g. multiple honour-related suicides, or when they force a widow to remarry right away to "save her"). 28 episodes available in youtube.

[Luxi]

On 5/19/2024 at 11:28 AM, lordsuso said:

I am close to finishing  四世同堂 (1985),

I didn't know there was a film. The novel is a door stopper, not difficult to read but I could never finish reading it.

 

I hesitate a little to recommend the IQIYI series "To the Wonder" (My Altay) here because it's rather 'niche' and has a feminist focus, but since I liked it I'm sure others would too...Here goes: it's only 8 one-hour episodes, directed by a young woman film maker, Teng Congcong, is based on Li Juan's essay collections about her life in Xingjiang and quite unlike any Chinese TV series I have watched before. It doesn't have a huge story and not a great deal of action, but it is a rare visual treat from beginning to end and will probably stay imprinted on your brain long after The End. According to "6th Tone", it was a big success in China. It skirts the recent years' situation in Xingjiang, and shows the Kazakhs with quite a bit of muted affection. Part of the cast, especially the non-Han are non-professionals and do quite well portraying themselves. I thought all the cast performed really well, but the main star here is the cinematography. The language is mixed, you'll need subtitles unless fluent in Kazakh.

Here are a couple of reviews:    

China’s TV Hit of the Year Is a Drama About Kazakh Nomads (sixthtone.com)  

WARNING: Packed full of spoilers! Review: To The Wonder (My Altay) C-Drama. More Than a Cross-Cultural Encounter (asiandramahub.com)   

I haven't found this series anywhere besides IQIYI (who offer a generous discount in their first month subscription), Youtube has a few trailers and might eventually have the whole series but it may take a long time.

 

[suMMit]

I somewhat randomly clicked on the Little Fox "Aladdin" link and was really impressed with this animated video series. Although I had come across Little Fox before,  I have always been adamantly against using children's books aimed at native speaker children as a learning resource. Mainly because I think the vocabulary taught is not that useful and also because I'm not a child. However, This particular Video (24, 5-6 min episodes) is just fantastic imo. I guess it has been designed for children learning a second language rather than their own. I got sucked into the story immediately and ended up watching the whole thing in a few sittings. The vocabulary and grammar are so well selected in my opinion, I'd say HSK 5-ish level, but also fine for HSK4. They have done an outstanding job of making the pronunciation so clear (tones, initial, finals very obvious) but still sounds natural with good sentence intonation, it's definitely not too fast, but I don't find it annoyingly slow either. So that said, I think its actually more useful as vocabulary and grammar review with listening being secondary. As a bonus, the animation is really lovely and since the story takes place in the Middle East, it's a nice break from Chinese culture stuff (the animated food looks really cool!). My hope is that there are other Little Fox stories I can watch that are at this level and done as well as this one. Highly recommend this.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6KPvmGMlkA&list=PLZ27m2K2W5n7co8XTxdh7TPEEg0jA8uG7&index=2

[lordsuso]

For those who have watched The Long Season, is the accent from Beijing? I am really struggling to understand it (specially the younger male character biaozi).

[Tomsima]

Biaozi speaks with a Dongbei accent, not Beijing, so its no surprise the accent is a bit more challenging than you might be expecting.

[lordsuso]

I agree with the earlier posts here that 漫长的季节 is a must-see. It's the first Chinese show that has properly made me laugh (granted I have only watched dramas, but so was this one), and it also made me cry like a baby 

Spoiler

I particularly lost it at "起来!"

 

[StChris]

I finished 过把瘾 a few weeks back. It was interesting to see what Beijing was like in the 90s and how much has changed since then (compare it to 奋斗, which released just over 10 years later, for instance). It's got a 豆瓣 rating of 9.0, so it's obviously a well regarded. I spent most of the time just feeling sorry for the male lead, 方言 (a combination of bad choices and bad luck). 

 

I'm waiting for the next show with the quality of 漫长的季节 to drop. Unfortunately, they seem to come only once every couple of years.

[Tomsima]

On 7/25/2024 at 9:20 AM, StChris said:

I'm waiting for the next show with the quality of 漫长的季节 to drop. Unfortunately, they seem to come only once every couple of years.

 

True for all of us, I think!

[StChris]

On 7/26/2024 at 3:25 PM, Tomsima said:

True for all of us, I think!

 

I can't think of anything else I fancy watching at the moment, so I might just re-watch both 隐秘的角落 and 漫长的季节!

 

Below is a 豆瓣 list of Chinese TV shows by user ranking if anyone is interested. Unfortunately, most of the top ranked ones appear to be those 40+ episode mega series which I don't have the time to watch:

 

https://www.douban.com/doulist/1253915/

[StChris]

I liked 人民的名义 a few years back, so I thought I might check out 人世间 now that it's on Youtube, but it's 58 episodes of 45 minutes each! Maybe I'll try watching a bit during my gym cardio sessions and decide if it's worth the slog

[jannesan]

On 7/26/2024 at 1:43 PM, StChris said:

https://www.douban.com/doulist/1253915/

 

thanks for the link!

 

On 7/26/2024 at 1:47 PM, StChris said:

but it's 58 episodes of 45 minutes each

 

that’s exactly my issue with chinese shows too. just don’t have the motivation to start anything with 20+ episodes.

 

on that topic, what’s the quickest way to find out the amount end lengths of episodes of a show? can’t find this info on the douban show pages, but maybe i overlook something. EDIT: ok it's right there on the douban page, i am blind

 

i would be interested in a top 100 list of shows that includes the amount of episodes for quick reference. i may do compile this myself if no one responds with one

[SunAtEight]

I watched the first few episodes of 《渴望》("Longing"/"Desire") from 1990-1991, since it comes up again and again in academic discussion of both Chinese TV shows and the time period it was made, as it's basically one of the first of the big mainland domestic dramas. As a somewhat advanced learner who still has poor listening comprehension, I found it very straightforward to understand with the Chinese subtitles, especially if you know some of the political terminology and history of the time (it starts in 1969). (Don't worry, I'm also listening to audio-only or unsubtitled stuff so the subtitles aren't a constant crutch!)

 

I'm appreciating @lordsuso's vintage TV suggestions and also watched 《过把瘾》based on their suggestion. Might get around to 《岁月》. I think domestic dramas/soap operas, if you're into them, are probably the best fictional audiovisual source for language learning in Chinese, since there are fewer jokes to get or mysteries to solve if your listening skills fail you, unlike sitcoms and thrillers), and thus you don't have the accompanying disappointment. Additionally, they're very text-focused compared to movies (lots of speaking) and (for better or worse) repetitive about major plot points and themes. I've watched and watch a fair amount of them, so I'll try to be active in this thread to document the ones I like.

[jannesan]

On 7/26/2024 at 1:43 PM, StChris said:

https://www.douban.com/doulist/1253915/

 

On 7/26/2024 at 2:24 PM, jannesan said:

i would be interested in a top 100 list of shows that includes the amount of episodes for quick reference.

 

ok i went ahead and compiled the first 100 shows from that ranking list of tv shows

if someone is interested to find shows with not so many episodes, you may use it as reference (csv attached),

i highlighted the few ones with 15 episodes or less:

 

Spoiler

name,year,rating,episodes,episode length (minutes)

1. 红楼梦,1987,9.7,36,45
2. 大明王朝1566,2007,9.8,46,42
3. 毛骗 终结篇,2015,9.7,10,60
4. 走向共和,2003,9.6,59,45
5. 西游记,1986,9.7,25,45
6. 武林外传,2006,9.6,80,40
7. 三国演义,1994,9.6,84,45
8. 父母爱情,2014,9.4,44,45
9. 我的团长我的团,2009,9.6,43,45
10. 亮剑,2005,9.5,30,42
11. 生存之民工,2005,9.5,32,42
12. 福贵,2005,9.5,33,46
13. 我爱我家,1993,9.4,120,20
14. 大宅门,2001,9.4,40,45
15. 琅琊榜,2015,9.4,54,45
16. 毛骗 第二季,2011,9.5,14,72
17. 巾帼枭雄之义海豪情 巾幗梟雄之義海豪情,2010,9.4,32,45
18. 地下交通站,2007,9.4,28,48
19. 潜伏,2008,9.5,30,40
20. 我们与恶的距离 我們與惡的距離,2019,9.4,10,55
21. 士兵突击,2006,9.5,30,45
22. 光阴的故事 光陰的故事,2008,9.3,107,45
23. 茶馆,2010,9.3,39,42
24. 觉醒年代,2021,9.3,43,45
25. 大时代 大時代,1992,9.3,40,45
26. 大宋提刑官,2005,9.3,52,45
27. 闯关东,2008,9.3,52,47
28. 雍正王朝,1999,9.4,44,42
29. 大秦帝国之纵横,2013,9.3,43,?
30. 大秦帝国之裂变,2009,9.3,48,45
31. 围城,1990,9.3,10,45
32. 后宫·甄嬛传,2011,9.4,76,45
33. 射雕英雄传 射鵰英雄傳,1983,9.2,59,42
34. 康熙王朝,2001,9.2,46,45
35. 汉武大帝,2005,9.2,58,45
36. 黎明之前,2010,9.2,30,45
37. 山海情,2021,9.2,23,45
38. 神雕侠侣 神雕俠侶,1995,9.2,32,45
39. 人间正道是沧桑,2009,9.2,50,?
40. 贞观之治,2006,9.3,50,46
41. 天道,2008,9.2,24,42
42. 大染坊,2003,9.2,24,46
43. 沉默的真相,2020,9.0,12,45
44. 红色,2014,9.1,48,40
45. 战长沙,2014,9.1,32,45
46. 新白娘子传奇 新白娘子傳奇,1992,9.1,50,49
47. 大明宫词,2000,9.1,37,47
48. 上海滩 上海灘,1980,9.2,25,45
49. 俗女养成记 俗女養成記,2019,9.3,10,50
50. 我和春天有个约会 我和春天有個約會,1996,9.0,40,45
51. 白夜追凶,2017,8.9,32,45
52. 征服,2003,9.1,20,43
53. 一起同过窗 第一季,2016,9.1,34,45
54. 编辑部的故事,1992,9.2,25,49
55. 大江大河2,2020,8.7,39,45
56. 仙剑奇侠传,2005,9.1,34,46
57. 暗算,2006,9.0,34,46
58. 难兄难弟 難兄難弟,1997,9.1,25,45
59. 天龙八部 天龍八部,1997,9.1,45,45
60. 我可能不会爱你 我可能不會愛你,2011,8.8,13,90
61. 孽子,2003,8.9,20,56
62. 遇见王沥川,2016,8.9,38,45
63. 最好的我们,2016,8.9,24,45
64. 神探狄仁杰,2004,9.2,30,45
65. 鹿鼎记 鹿鼎記,1998,9.0,45,45
66. 风筝,2017,8.8,46,45
67. 恰同学少年,2007,9.1,23,45
68. 恶作剧之吻 惡作劇之吻,2005,9.0,20,68
69. 隐秘的角落,2020,8.8,12,50
70. 金枝欲孽,2004,9.0,30,45
71. 北平无战事,2014,9.0,53,45
72. 创世纪1：地产风云 創世紀1：地產風云,1999,9.0,51,43
73. 叹息桥 歎息橋,2020,8.6,15,45
74. 似水年华,2003,8.8,23,46
75. 舞乐传奇,2013,8.7,42,40
76. 十七岁不哭,1997,8.8,10,48
77. 栋笃神探 棟篤神探,2004,8.8,25,40
78. 炊事班的故事,2002,8.9,13,45
79. 苍穹之昴,2010,8.8,28,40
80. 棋魂,2020,8.6,36,46
81. 白鹿原,2017,8.8,77,45
82. 永不磨灭的番号,2011,8.9,34,40
83. 血色浪漫,2004,8.8,32,42
84. 大江大河,2018,8.8,47,45
85. 射雕英雄传 射鵰英雄傳,1994,8.9,35,40
86. 我和僵尸有个约会1 我和殭屍有個約會I,1998,8.9,35,45
87. 你好，旧时光,2017,8.6,30,45
88. 请你原谅我,2011,8.6,30,45
89. 巾帼枭雄 巾幗梟雄,2009,8.7,25,40
90. 生死线,2009,8.6,48,44
91. 刑事侦缉档案 刑事偵緝檔案,1995,8.7,20,45
92. 十月围城,2014,8.6,60,45
93. 在一起,2020,8.4,20,40
94. 鉴证实录 鑑證實錄,1997,8.6,20,45
95. 我本善良,1990,8.7,40,40
96. 天地男儿 天地男兒,1996,8.6,65,45
97. 少年天子,2003,8.7,40,44
98. 创世纪2：天地有情 創世紀2：天地有情,2000,8.3,56,43
99. 我在未来等你,2019,8.3,36,48
100. 琅琊榜之风起长林,2017,8.4,50,45

 

douban_top_100_shows.csv

[lordsuso]

A while back I watched 俞净意公遇灶神记 (2008, #episodes: 8). It's a show adapted from a 善书 (fable? moral story?), a tale of a failed scholar whose life changes when he meets 灶神. It was rather weird, and very hard to follow with lots of 文言文, and not particularly fun. I only recommend it if you are curious about discovering this genre.