Frost_edelweiss

I certainly did not fast forward but enjoyed to the full these first 4 episodes.

Good for me. It's slice of life and even of History seen through the eyes of a few young people who are growing up with dreams of making money, gaining fame, staying friends and supporting each other in need.

The snippet of B&W footage of "old movie" in Italian was meant to introduce Ma Siyi, the young Eurasian girl who suddenly appeared among the kids in the Flower Street neighborhood, to be raised by her grandma. It was intriguing, yes.

But kids did not have pocket money then, so they might indeed like in many countries in those more "free roaming" years (when parents were not afraid to let them run as free as young chicken) go poaching fruit on trees or on the barges. It was quite realistic, and at the same time, delightfully colorful with those round green ball like watermelons bobbing up in the water when they fell and the kids throwing them in an inflatable swimming ring. Life along the canal looked colorful also with the kids flying colored kites shaped like big red and gold fish! The "camcorder" moments recording the elders enjoying Chinese chess, or running after the kids to spank them, or comfort them, and the kids swimming in the canal were so well filmed!
This drama is very endearing in the first views of "charmed life" along the Grand Canal in Wuxi.

It's particularly interesting for those who can compare with actual memories of living and working in the area in the 1990s-2000s. Like me... There are many things that ring true although the views are slightly idealized (air and water and places are not as gritty as they really were). The problems of the waterways vs the highways started earlier ; by 2007 they were really in a slump and pollution had become an acute problem. The need for regulations and environmental protection grew more acute, while the young generation indeed looked for ways to make money by all means.
The group of friends portrayed in episode 3 and 4 in high school are well introduced and the ensemble cast is led by very good actors and actresses.

It just started.

You won't be the only one to watch : I'm on board 😁😁😅😅

Busy watching, lol. I like these slice of life and slice of contemporary History dramas, and the cast is remarkable. Even the kids were very good.

Chores done, laptop received, better screen precision.

Watched the 4 episodes and I like the fast pace, precise views of Grand Canal and Wuxi life back in the early 2000s, before highways transformed the coastal provinces.
Bai Lu as a growing girl soon in university would have the right dialect since she grew up in nearby Changzhou, also on the Grand Canal. The rest of the ensemble cast are impressive and experienced. The kid versions were adorable, conveying the sense of charmed life that children enjoyed at the time, under the care of doting families and close friends neighbors.
It is an excellent slice of life story and I am looking forward to watch it onward.

Watching. But need a pause for fuel /food/ fluids, and get a new laptop brought in through DHL with some trepidation because sender seems to have entered only part of address, so will be back in an hour when things are in order.
4 episodes on iQiyi, starting with footage from a B&W old movie ?

cool

Yes, me too it's mostly what I look for, although I also very much like dramas that feature some poetry, songs, or other cultural value that I spot or go digging more into. But I like thrills and fluff or sizzle as well, among other things. I watch all sorts of dramas and I usually rate them leniently, often even with 10s. I tend to wait putting a drama on my watch list until I watched some sample episodes so I don't need to "drop" or put on indefinite "hold" if for some reason don't have time or didn't get hooked enough.

One that I really like these days is ongoing "Filter" featuring Tan Jianci and Landi Li: that one has been my daily laughs pill since it started, it's very humorous. I was hooked from start.

Getting slightly bored by the too slow release of slow burn The First Frost, and not that overwhelmed by the chemistry of Bai Jingting with Zhang Ruonan (I don't dispute she is a good choice for the icy-hot "Wen Yifan" - for once, I read the novel, something I don't use to do, but I was too curious about what was announced as "sister story" to Hidden Love, which I just adored). Still watching for curiosity.

EITDN was another level of torrid! It was one of my random choice clicks but hooked me from start of airing, and I thought that one was fit to become "a cult classic" bridging over flaws through sheer sizzle, plot and overused sets be damned, so, it earned a 9.5 from me and many mentions and recoms on various platforms. Looking forward to watch Jesse Ren again in a future drama!

Looking forward to watch queen Bai Lu again in Northward, a serious family drama with "slight romance" landing on iQiyi today, 9hrs from now. I hope it will keep my attention...

Those who really watched and liked are free to up their vote even if already cast. There are some people who like to gun down a show or some actors for dubious reasons, sometimes even without watching the dramas, so MDL is reflecting their votes too...
Anyway, I am not looking at the ratings to dictate my choice for watching. Also one reason I go mostly with airing shows now, if they grab my attention after some sample. Why should I conform to other people's tastes of dramas?
Rainkissed Fate was a very good DGZ+CFT drama. Nice thriller, nice romance, cute leads and kids, awful antagonists to be angry at (hehehe, why should they be painted less dark than they were? But muscles and law did get the upper hand in the end), nice resolution. I had a good time.

I agree, it was quite a thriller besides a romance, and the main song is still in my head. Also 9/10 for entertainment from me (not 10, because it is not a total masterpiece since there are minor glitches pointed out, in editing, plot etc). Well, since I'm lenient and liked the time spent on that short episodes series nonetheless, the chemistry, the emotions, .... I'll up it to 9.5, not that ratings count that much on MDL but 7.7 is too low ;)
I am waiting with curiosity for the "live meeting with overseas fans" advertised by WeTV scheduled in a few days.
For once, WeTV showcases the 9 dramas DGZ features in, on the app, although the "competition" to watch does not offer free watching.

Quirks and oddities are the fun for careful watchers on the lookout for editing glitches ;) But I had a good time watching nonetheless.

Kris Wu got 13 years in jail in real life for his underage raping case+ deprivation of citizenship & a suspended sentence of expulsion to be served once his jail time is ended. China has strict laws, and multiple offenses add to the punishments, although the death penalty is less frequent (I read somewhere the 42 reasons for death penalty were reduced to 27 now). But murder and attempted murder the way that "doctor" did, he could have gotten himself life imprisonment, especially since there were repeat instances and other offenses to add there.

Criminal Law of China Chapter IV Crimes of Infringing upon Citizens' Right of the Person and Democratic Rights (http://www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/englishnpc/Law/2007-12/13/content_1384075.htm) : Article 232 Whoever intentionally commits homicide shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years; if the circumstances are relatively minor, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years.
The sentence for the rotten character in the drama was not only for "attempted murder" on Bu Yan's dad, to land him with 18 years in jail. Other offenses piled up.

yes, my mistake: I went back to check ep12: they were a stack of imaginary blue storage boxes but my mind got stuck on last view where SCC "wiped down" the illusion with a gesture as if she were Mary Poppins :)
So many moments that evoke beloved cartoon characters or movies blending live action and cartoon ones.
Lastly, ep.14, the rainbow from the Wizard of Oz. Not that SCC "summoned" it, but the scene had a feel similar to Dorothy wistfully wishing to discover what's over and beyond the rainbow.

Found this 1hr55 compilation link, double subtitles in Chinese and in English :
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9dxdjm

There will be a "Dai Gaozheng Exclusive Live on WeTV with overseas fans. March 4 at 7:00pm (GMT+8) on WeTV" Reservations open on the app for subscribers.

There will be a "Dai Gaozheng Exclusive Live on WeTV with overseas fans. March 4 at 7:00pm (GMT+8) on WeTV" Reservations open on the app for subscribers.