Here's a sideways answer: watch the classic film LOCAL HERO. The music is lovely, the scenery is just beautiful, the story is simple, the villagers charming -- and you, like the ML, consider moving to this village as the story wraps up. I've seen this film around 20 times and love it.
Now if you get 20 or so minutes in and consider it really slow and boring, MEET YOURSELF is way way longer... and... the music isn't as good, the scenery/photography isn't as pretty, the story is too simple, the villagers are almost as charming... but... I feel it simply doesn't have the same alluring effect on me, that of moving into this village maybe.
I'm more than halfway thru and wish I could walk, but I'm interested to see how it ends and I don't believe in fast-forwarding or skipping ahead. Sigh.
I agree with your story notes. I fear that these competing channels are too desperate for hours of content instead of shows worthy of 40 episodes.
So I recently saw a 'murder mystery' show that wasn't that long and squeezed two episodes in. I wasn't expecting so much until my wife and I got HOOKED, but the hook is funny. It's not the mystery as much as the relationships in the story. You got the feeling the producers really wanted to do a straight drama but couldn't inspire interest, so instead they weaved in two murders to get it produced. I kinda miss it.
Ignore the MEH title and the MDL rating. It's only 15 episodes but does so much in that time, yet doesn't feel rushed or crammed. I gave it a 9. I want a Season Two.
Thanks. That was adapted from an original analogy I feared might not cross from West to East successfully -- a Christmas tree.
The tree can be real or synthetic. Big or small. It can have lights and decorations of any color. Why I recently saw one upside even, which I thought was a form of protest but actually is a thing.
But a piano in a large bathroom wrapped with strings of yellow zucchinis is NOT a Christmas tree. Even if you spray the words "Christmas Tree" on it.
Christmas trees must be recognizable as such and offer areas of creativity. For instance, you could string together brooms and mops and dusters into a Christmas tree shape, spray paint it purple, cover it with golf balls... if it looked enough like an Xmas tree.
"there's no rules in what you call "screenplay", art is limitless and boundless"
My bad. I shouldn't have said 'rules'. That's shorthand for a term I had o invent 20 years ago whenever stuck in this debate: best practices.
Using your idea, art is achieved with that best combination of invention slamming into best practices. New twists on older practices.
ANALOGY-- A dining room table. There's a million ways to build one. Wood, glass, metal -- some combination of such. Paint, stains, etchings, you name it.
But at the end of the day, it still has to be a dining room table, which means it will follow 'best practices' that make tables 'good'.
It can't be crooked, causing plates to fall off. It cannot have more holes in it than swiss cheese, making it difficult to place utensils down. It cannot be too hot to lean your elbows on.
What you're arguing is "If you can eat dinner off it, it's a perfectly fine table." I'm arguing, yes, sure, but if you need a tall ladder to get to the table and eat your dumplings -- perhaps the table should follow a 'best practice' and be lower to the ground, in fact at a common height for common seats.
Crystal is the lead character. Whether you like hearing this or not, the lead character is more compelling when they're doing something... more compelling than just watching people.
"Oh my friend died and now I'm depressed!" isn't doing anything. In fact, the author was attempting to follow a best practice known as 'make the protagonist sympathetic'. This wasn't the writer being 'limitless and boundless' but instead someone trying to follow a 'rule' -- and they fumbled it.
Of course we feel bad if our lead loses her best friend, but that friend wasn't around long enough for me to care much about her. That's what made it cheap. Many a poorly written drama shows friends driving after some drinking and BOOM a car slams into them, almost killing them both. Not compelling. Just cheap melodrama.
Oh, and I'm sorry, but the very idea that ROSHOMAN killed traditional story writing is nonsense. There have only been thousands of good stories since utilizing the same best practices.
I just saw FLOW. Many people it was an 'entire new experience' in cinema, and in a sense that's partially true. But did it follow a list of best practices? ABSOLUTELY.
1. The story begins and ends with an almost identical image, but it has evolved. 2. The story features a lead character who actively tries to survive a calamity. This character doesn't just sit around and watch others try to survive. 3. The lead character has a form of a character act, learning precisely what to do when it sees deer running. 4. The lead has a near death experience but survives it before the story's end. 5. The story avoided flashbacks 6. The story took place in a time frame of a few weeks (different rules for TV here) 7. The story chose the correct lead
It goes on and on. All good stories follow as many best practices as they can, but then try twists on a few of them to make things interesting.
I see what you mean. You're saying let the flavor of 'strawberry' be 'strawberry'. That's fair. But I still believe there's something off about Crystal's character, or lack thereof. But again I respect her enough to cut her some slack.
The character I really like -- though she's done almost nothing yet -- is the shy writer girl who always seems distracted. Talk about real, lol
Alas i couldn't finish it . It feels like two kids are playing detective detective . Like what were you doing…
I'm almost finished with the series and only noticed one DUH! moment in Ep 11 where, yeah, a child would have figured out someone was in likely peril. One momentary lapse of quality, though, in an otherwise very well written piece.
A lot of dramas will be released at the end of the year 2020 or sometimes it is 2021 even though there is 2020.…
Who knows. I'm not a military story type, even though I enjoyed THE YOUTH MEMORIES more than I thought I would. I'm interested because of Wan Qian, who was the surprise WOW in THE TALE OF ROSE. Have you seen her in that yet? (I just ruined the surprise, lol.)
All countries have their faults, China has a problem with censorship, while the U.S has problems with accessibility…
"You did know these comments were about a Chinese drama, not a USA one? LOL" and "you are off topic"
针状头 -- Your initial post had nothing to do with this Chinese drama, evidence of which is that the drama hasn't aired yet. You are instead blathering about Chinese vs. American politics, completly off topic.
"You are just targeting President Trump"
傻子 -- You brought up the topic of America, I'm replying to it and its wanna-be dictator.
"You are also not considering all those who abstained from the vote"
粥脑 -- The fact that China and Iran refused to vote isn't as bad as countries that chose to vote against condemning Russia.
"This means Trump did not 'side' with anyone at this time."
阴囊舔舐者 -- He voted alongside such freedom loving countries as Russia and North Korea
All countries have their faults, China has a problem with censorship, while the U.S has problems with accessibility…
Your President is trying to make America more like Russia. Just yesterday he refused to side with Europe/United Nations in condemning Russia's attack of the Ukraine. His personal corruption and professional corruption makes you either profoundly ill-informed or a troll.
I've now seen this writer/director's two films. She (and her crew) are unbelievably talented at turning the mundane into fascinating cinema. Shao Yi Hui has Woody Allen's ability to discuss social topics and create characters you could watch for days -- not just hours.
1 
Now if you get 20 or so minutes in and consider it really slow and boring, MEET YOURSELF is way way longer... and... the music isn't as good, the scenery/photography isn't as pretty, the story is too simple, the villagers are almost as charming... but... I feel it simply doesn't have the same alluring effect on me, that of moving into this village maybe.
I'm more than halfway thru and wish I could walk, but I'm interested to see how it ends and I don't believe in fast-forwarding or skipping ahead. Sigh.
So I recently saw a 'murder mystery' show that wasn't that long and squeezed two episodes in. I wasn't expecting so much until my wife and I got HOOKED, but the hook is funny. It's not the mystery as much as the relationships in the story. You got the feeling the producers really wanted to do a straight drama but couldn't inspire interest, so instead they weaved in two murders to get it produced. I kinda miss it.
https://kisskh.at/744977-interlaced-scenes
Ignore the MEH title and the MDL rating. It's only 15 episodes but does so much in that time, yet doesn't feel rushed or crammed. I gave it a 9. I want a Season Two.
The tree can be real or synthetic. Big or small. It can have lights and decorations of any color. Why I recently saw one upside even, which I thought was a form of protest but actually is a thing.
But a piano in a large bathroom wrapped with strings of yellow zucchinis is NOT a Christmas tree. Even if you spray the words "Christmas Tree" on it.
Christmas trees must be recognizable as such and offer areas of creativity. For instance, you could string together brooms and mops and dusters into a Christmas tree shape, spray paint it purple, cover it with golf balls... if it looked enough like an Xmas tree.
My bad. I shouldn't have said 'rules'. That's shorthand for a term I had o invent 20 years ago whenever stuck in this debate: best practices.
Using your idea, art is achieved with that best combination of invention slamming into best practices. New twists on older practices.
ANALOGY-- A dining room table. There's a million ways to build one. Wood, glass, metal -- some combination of such. Paint, stains, etchings, you name it.
But at the end of the day, it still has to be a dining room table, which means it will follow 'best practices' that make tables 'good'.
It can't be crooked, causing plates to fall off. It cannot have more holes in it than swiss cheese, making it difficult to place utensils down. It cannot be too hot to lean your elbows on.
What you're arguing is "If you can eat dinner off it, it's a perfectly fine table." I'm arguing, yes, sure, but if you need a tall ladder to get to the table and eat your dumplings -- perhaps the table should follow a 'best practice' and be lower to the ground, in fact at a common height for common seats.
Crystal is the lead character. Whether you like hearing this or not, the lead character is more compelling when they're doing something... more compelling than just watching people.
"Oh my friend died and now I'm depressed!" isn't doing anything. In fact, the author was attempting to follow a best practice known as 'make the protagonist sympathetic'. This wasn't the writer being 'limitless and boundless' but instead someone trying to follow a 'rule' -- and they fumbled it.
Of course we feel bad if our lead loses her best friend, but that friend wasn't around long enough for me to care much about her. That's what made it cheap. Many a poorly written drama shows friends driving after some drinking and BOOM a car slams into them, almost killing them both. Not compelling. Just cheap melodrama.
Oh, and I'm sorry, but the very idea that ROSHOMAN killed traditional story writing is nonsense. There have only been thousands of good stories since utilizing the same best practices.
I just saw FLOW. Many people it was an 'entire new experience' in cinema, and in a sense that's partially true. But did it follow a list of best practices? ABSOLUTELY.
1. The story begins and ends with an almost identical image, but it has evolved.
2. The story features a lead character who actively tries to survive a calamity. This character doesn't just sit around and watch others try to survive.
3. The lead character has a form of a character act, learning precisely what to do when it sees deer running.
4. The lead has a near death experience but survives it before the story's end.
5. The story avoided flashbacks
6. The story took place in a time frame of a few weeks (different rules for TV here)
7. The story chose the correct lead
It goes on and on. All good stories follow as many best practices as they can, but then try twists on a few of them to make things interesting.
The character I really like -- though she's done almost nothing yet -- is the shy writer girl who always seems distracted. Talk about real, lol
针状头 -- Your initial post had nothing to do with this Chinese drama, evidence of which is that the drama hasn't aired yet. You are instead blathering about Chinese vs. American politics, completly off topic.
"You are just targeting President Trump"
傻子 -- You brought up the topic of America, I'm replying to it and its wanna-be dictator.
"You are also not considering all those who abstained from the vote"
粥脑 -- The fact that China and Iran refused to vote isn't as bad as countries that chose to vote against condemning Russia.
"This means Trump did not 'side' with anyone at this time."
阴囊舔舐者 -- He voted alongside such freedom loving countries as Russia and North Korea
https://kisskh.at/photos/Xdg5LX_3