Ugly Wudi: Chinese Ugly Betty

[yanfeng]

I just watched episode 46, and I was wondering...

click to show/hide spoilers

Is Fei Denan's girlfriend sick?How serious is it?

I'm one of those people who likes to follow serials via reading sometimes, so this is one of them!

click to show/hide spoilers

I read that his girlfriend isn't actually sick, I don't know whether it is a ruse though it might have started off as a genuine mistake in diagnosis.

[Gareth]

Thanks to everyone for the replies...I checked episode 20 and he wasn't in there...haven't had time to check the latter episodes.

Does anyone know if he'll be in latter episodes?

I'm pretty sure he appears in episode 40. In episode 41 he has this funny scene with Fei Denan in a bus.

[aznjacinda]

I just realized Liu Xiaohu (Fei Denan's actor) was in Young Justice Bao II with Ren Quan and Lu Yi and was in the same class as Ren Quan.
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Ren Quan was so cute when he was younger.

And now here's Qi Ji with his classmates in case anyone was wondering.
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Here's him in a mini class reunion on some show. Huang Shengyi is in the background as he's talking:
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So cute!
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[Gareth]

Qi Ji is awfully cute. I really like his character in CNWD.

Anyone know what this is about?

http://news.google.com/news/story?ne...qKe6OVpOXNQUhM

Something about a musical?

[owbjhx]

Anyone know what this is about?

http://news.google.com/news/story?ne...qKe6OVpOXNQUhM

Something about a musical?

Unfortunately, yes. According to Sina, CNWD Series 3 will use elements from "the style of a musical" and have an upbeat, joyous feel. Therefore, in casting the new actor who'll play Wudi's boyfriend, "the most important factor is whether he's good at singing & dancing."

I'm not sure what to make of this. Personally I think they should dispense with all these gimmicks and just concentrate on making a quality TV comedy-drama (which I think they've succeeded at, as far as Season 1 goes). That's already a hard enough job in itself!

What is certainly good news is that Series 3 will be directed by Zhang Feng, who also directed Season 1. Zhang's occasionally a bit gimmicky and he could probably do better with the less experienced actors on the set (particularly Li Xinru and Mao Junjie), but I thought he gave Season 1 quite an elegant, understated, well-measured feel. With him in charge, hopefully Season 3 won't be too cartoonish.

[Lady Zhuge]

Thanks to everyone for the replies...I checked episode 20 and he wasn't in there...haven't had time to check the latter episodes.

Does anyone know if he'll be in latter episodes?

Sorry for the false information. A poster at Qi Ji's baidu bar had said that's when he first appears. I personally still haven't seen an episode of this series yet.

I just realized Liu Xiaohu (Fei Denan's actor) was in Young Justice Bao II with Ren Quan and Lu Yi and was in the same class as Ren Quan.

He also had a role in Young Justice Bao I.

[Gareth]

Unfortunately, yes. According to Sina, CNWD Series 3 will use elements from "the style of a musical" and have an upbeat, joyous feel. Therefore, in casting the new actor who'll play Wudi's boyfriend, "the most important factor is whether he's good at singing & dancing."

I'm not sure what to make of this. Personally I think they should dispense with all these gimmicks and just concentrate on making a quality TV comedy-drama (which I think they've succeeded at, as far as Season 1 goes). That's already a hard enough job in itself!

What is certainly good news is that Series 3 will be directed by Zhang Feng, who also directed Season 1. Zhang's occasionally a bit gimmicky and he could probably do better with the less experienced actors on the set (particularly Li Xinru and Mao Junjie), but I thought he gave Season 1 quite an elegant, understated, well-measured feel. With him in charge, hopefully Season 3 won't be too cartoonish.

I agree.

I would've expected loads of things from this show, but a musical was not one of them XD I know Li Xinru can sing, and I know Liu Xiaohu used to teach at a dance academy, but still... just the thought of them bursting into song and dance in the middle of a conversation? Also, if this does follow the original (or even the mexican version, that was quite crazy), then what should come next should be pretty dramatic. Kinda hard for me to see how they'll do it if they're gonna have actors prancing around and singing XDD

It's going to be so weird. I've never been a fan of musicals, but I'll endure it out of the pure love I have for this story XD

Speaking of dancing... how cute are these?

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[aznjacinda]

No problem Lady Zhuge, and thanks Gareth! I checked episode 40 and 41 (I've been watching it from Liu Xiaohu's baidu) and Qi Ji was really good in that, although I believe he suffered a bit from being paired with Xiaohu since Liu Xiaohu's a better comedic actor. But it was still nice to see him in something. It's painful watching all the good looking film school students in China be stuck in bit parts or crappy roles.

Those two are really cute. Reminds me of Sound of Music when Maria danced with her boss. Something like that. I think I'll end up buying season 1 and 2 and watching them one day when I actually have time, but it's nice seeing bits and pieces.

I would love to see season three though. Gimmicky though it sounds, it seems like a cool idea and it could work. I remember watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode and loving it. It remains in my top favs BtVS episodes of all time.

And Hunan wouldn't even need to spend too much effort on finding songs unlike Joss Whedon (producer of Buffy, who wrote all of the songs for their episode). Because of Supergirls/boys they have amassed not only some amazing singers, but also some really talented composers that have stockpiled lots of good unpublished songs. I guess that may even be a reason why they're doing it.

There seems to be a trend in China, with more and more musicals being produced, and since I love musicals this trend makes me really happy. Hope this musical season becomes a sucess with more experiments like it to follow!

[Gareth]

I love these two so damn much xD

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[owbjhx]

I would love to see season three though. Gimmicky though it sounds, it seems like a cool idea and it could work. I remember watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode and loving it. It remains in my top favs BtVS episodes of all time.

And Hunan wouldn't even need to spend too much effort on finding songs unlike Joss Whedon (producer of Buffy, who wrote all of the songs for their episode). Because of Supergirls/boys they have amassed not only some amazing singers, but also some really talented composers that have stockpiled lots of good unpublished songs. I guess that may even be a reason why they're doing it.

Ah yes, Once More, With Feeling. That's one of my faves too.

The idea of a musical is fine, but it's one thing doing a 45-minute 'musical episode' or a standalone 1.5-hour stage musical, and quite another thing doing a whole season's worth of the stuff! Suppose conservatively they have 15 minutes of song & dance per episode. That means 10 hours of music, lyrics & choreography across the season, which is surely unprecedented. If the songs are anything like the show's opening theme, which isn't so great, just 10 minutes is going to be tortuous (let alone 10 hours!). And surely you're not suggesting they fill that 10 hours with leftovers from an amateur singing contest rather than commission a score specifically for CNWD...?

It'll be great if it works, of course. But it just sounds like a scheme from Hunan TV's merchandising salesmen rather than a workable artistic direction.

A bit OT, but have you seen Joss Whedon's new show, Dollhouse? Eliza Dushku (Faith from Buffy) is the heroine, and a lot of the writers are ex-Buffy too.

[ChineseChik525]

I just realized Liu Xiaohu (Fei Denan's actor) was in Young Justice Bao II with Ren Quan and Lu Yi and was in the same class as Ren Quan.
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Ren Quan was so cute when he was younger.

Here's him in a mini class reunion on some show. Huang Shengyi is in the background as he's talking:
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So cute!
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oh i love young justice bao II!! its my favorite one of the 3 (?) they made. that first picture is so cute! i love it

and yes, ren quan was VERY cute when he was young. *sigh* and you never see him in anything anymore? what happened to him?

and ooo qi ji looks pretty cute too i like him better without facial hair. in fact, i like all guys better without facial hair

Also, if this does follow the original (or even the mexican version, that was quite crazy), then what should come next should be pretty dramatic. Kinda hard for me to see how they'll do it if they're gonna have actors prancing around and singing XDD

It's going to be so weird. I've never been a fan of musicals, but I'll endure it out of the pure love I have for this story XD

Speaking of dancing... how cute are these?

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dramatic? as in how? details please! hehe thanks

and the dancing is so cute! was this a promotion for the show or something?

A bit OT, but have you seen Joss Whedon's new show, Dollhouse? Eliza Dushku (Faith from Buffy) is the heroine, and a lot of the writers are ex-Buffy too.

haha i heard about it! wanted to watch it, but im always busy friday nights.
have you seen in? is it good?

haha wow my post is all like off topic! lol

p.s. oh, and btw owbjhx, since you watch fox, do you watch bones? its my favorite show ever (off topic again! lol)

[Gareth]

I just finished watching episode 53, and I would like to know

click to show/hide spoilers

what were Denan and An Qian's brother fighting about? Hadn't Wudi and Pei Na been there, they ceirtanly would've beat the crap out of each other!

[Ghaleon]

I remember watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode and loving it. It remains in my top favs BtVS episodes of all time.

OH yeah, "Once more with Feeling". That's one of the great BTVS episodes. I thought "Hush" was great as well. It's the complete opposite of the loud musical OMWF because everything is completely silent in Hush.

[Gareth]

Does anyone know when the season finake is airing?

[owbjhx]

I've just watched the first few episodes of Season 2, and to say I'm disappointed would be an understatement.

Most of the things that made Season 1 a cut above the rest of Chinese TV seem to have disappeared. It is now as near-unwatchable as everything else. The plot is a flimsy contrivance tacked together by a series of ridiculous misunderstandings. They've cranked up the soap opera factor, with the result that the harder scenes are over-exaggerated and the softer scenes are sentimental and preachy. Season 1's thoughtful ensemble drama model, with its measured pace and naturalistic textures, has been replaced by a much narrower, shallower approach to storytelling. And all the characters have become caricatures of themselves and are barely recognisable from their more rounded Season 1 incarnations.

Some of this is the fault of the screenwriters, but I find it hard to blame them given they did such a good job with Season 1. The culprits are surely the producers, who instead of carrying on in Season 1's vein have insisted on wasting money and effort on various gimmicks (i.e. fashionable costumes and sets, the environment, the 'interactive show' concept) and - perhaps most importantly - replaced Season 1's director Zhang Feng, who did a perfectly good job, with the more famous Jiang Jiajun.

Jiang's directing is flashy but incompetent. With his swooping camera shots, spasmodic cuts and intrusive music, he thinks he's filming a pop music video or some cr*p Hollywood action movie. He is utterly tasteless in his use of computer graphics or 'humourous' daydream scenes, and he evidently tolerates dubbing. Instead of reigning in the cartoony instincts of the less talented actors on the set (e.g. Mao Junjie, Han Li and Zhang Yafei), he indulges them. Jiang spent 6 years at TVB and should really have stayed there.

Some things have improved. Li Xinru seems to be more assured in her role, and the makeovers given to the actresses generally make them much prettier. I'll watch the Season through to the end - maybe it'll improve. But otherwise, Jiang and the producers might just have ruined a great show. The high viewing figures show how successful they've been in reaching the lowest common denominator.

I'm glad they're bringing back Zhang Feng for Season 3, but with the CNWD gimmick machine starting up again, I wouldn't count on the producers doing the right thing and leaving Zhang alone to clean up the mess they made.

p.s. oh, and btw owbjhx, since you watch fox, do you watch bones? its my favorite show ever

Never seen Bones, unfortunately. Actually I don't really watch Fox as such...

[ChineseChik525]

Never seen Bones, unfortunately. Actually I don't really watch Fox as such...

lol, well, i was just wondering

[kiropuppy]

has anyone been watching this (season 3)?
i find the musical parts a bit irritating... what do you guys think?

[owbjhx]

Am about halfway through Season 3 and finding it fairly watchable. What a difference a change of director makes! Jiang Jiajun, who in Season 2 pretty much ruined a great show, is no longer in charge; Season 1's Zhang Feng is now back at the helm. The directing is still a little gimmicky and the cuts rather jarring, but thanks to Zhang, Chou Nu Wu Di is ugly no more.

As the previous poster noted, the song & dance bits are indeed a bit irritating; but they're mercifully brief (and overall only amount to a few minutes each episode) and, to be honest, the quality could be a lot worse than it is. More problematic is the fact that the entire Lei Jiong / Ada / Wudi's-new-job subplot - in other words, almost everything the producers have attempted in order to extend the show beyond its successful base in corporate comedy-drama - is fairly mediocre. However, I do like the fact that Lei has so far been an antagonist, and that Wudi is having to prove herself all over again.

I'm glad that Season 3 follows the Season 1 model: ensemble drama, slow-burning plot development, huge character arcs, heavy textures. But it's a lot darker than Season 1, which had an upbeat feel due to Wudi's gradual rise at IDEA and accumulation of small victories. Here, it seems that most of the major characters are fighting for their lives, and no amount of song & dance can lighten the tense, oppressive mood. I hope I won't have to wait until Season 5 to see the good guys finally win something. That'd be almost as painful as Jiang Jiajun's directing.

[owbjhx]

Not sure if this is of interest to anyone other than myself, but filming for the fourth (and final, as it turns out) season began back in October and is scheduled to complete in January, with the show to be broadcast in February. The working title is Chou Nu Da Fan Shen.

I'm looking forward to it, because Season 4 will apparently constitute a return to the style of Season 1. There'll be no gimmickry this time round - none of the fashionable nonsense that defaced Season 2, nor the song & dance that had me lunging for the fast-forward button so many times during Season 3. Instead, the focus will once more be on boardroom battles and comedy, with Zhang Feng continuing to direct. I consider this 'back to basics' approach to be a good move. There'll also be a major new character: Wudi's little cousin Lin Wuxin, to be played by young starlet Xie Huiqing:

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[SirLizard]

I have seen a few episodes of "Chou Nu Wu Di", but I often can't tell what is happening (I don't understand Chinese). I have seen every adaptation of "Yo soy Betty, la fea", so I can usually figure out what is happening in "Chou Nu Wu Di" based on what happened in YSBLF, but sometimes the scenes in CNWD are just too different from YSBLF. I also haven't been able to watch all of the episodes from all four seasons of CNWD. I have an "Ugly Betty" website that examines all of the international adaptations, but I have been unable to write a synopsis for CNWD. I was hoping that someone here could help me. My website is http://www.jerriblank.com/betty/ugly-betty.html and the CNWD page is here: http://www.jerriblank.com/betty/china.html

I don't need anything that goes into extensive detail, but at the very least I would like a general overview of the main events that took place during each season of CNWD.

I'd like to say thank you in advance to anyone who is willing to help me with this project.