Michelle Topham

Yep, I read that. But having covered the Asian drama industry for a couple of decades, I tend to take that stuff with a grain of salt. :) Could be true. Could not. But I always go by the golden rule = nothing is happening until the production company announces it. You get in less trouble in my business that way. LOL.

But, hope it's true, as I wouldn't mind a short drama form for more seasons. Just recently finished the 27-episode 'The Crime Unit of Tang Dynasty' -- 15 minute episodes (about 12 mins without the credits). And, while it had its problems, it was a fun watch if you just wanted a quick hit of period C-drama without signing away 35 hours of your life :)

Yep. Didn't fall asleep until 3am. Dead today - LOL.

EDIT: to move my final paragraph to the top, so I don't come off as an absolute bitch. Hopefully :) As that's not how I intend this to sound.

(Final paragraph moved :) - Sorry, I'm not meaning to lecture, and I do appreciate your points. But I do think I know my stuff when it comes to acting and to dramas. Acted for over 20 years, written about dramas for over 30. It's my business, just like writing AI programs would be your business, if that's what you did :)

I'm a trained actor. 15 years in RADA training in the UK since the age of 6 years old (we start early in the UK :) so, yes, I do understand theatrical acting. :) Acted in theater myself, and started out my undergraduate degree in the U.S. in Theater before switching to another discipline at the beginning of my 3rd year.

And no, while I do see your point, I don't think this is intentional in the sense you mean as it certainly doesn't fit that period. As you will see from just about every other C-drama based in the Tang Dynasty, or in almost every C-drama based over a thousand years ago.

Besides, if it "fit the period" the acting style would have been the same in Seasons 1 and 2, and it's nowhere near as bad in those.

In Season 3, it's a bizarre deliberate choice by the director, IMO. The dramatic orating to the camera, while the people the character is actually speaking to are standing behind him awkwardly. The dramatic outflung arms as they artificially make a point. The over-exaggerated facial expressions and voice tones. It all looks and sounds amateurish on film. (I'm even seeing Chinese viewers commenting on this on social media).

And, yes, that exaggeration works (if not overdone) in theater, and that's because the audience is much further away from the actor, so exaggerated gestures/expressions are sometimes necessary to communicate something the audience may miss otherwise.

On film, with a camera 6 inches from an actor's face, it's silly. In fact, the only time it works on film is in comedy, and it's then usually done for comedic effect. Or for a spoof.

Which, this IS to some extent (a spoof on other detective series based in the Tang Dynasty), but the problem with that, in my opinion at least, is the director doesn't seem to know what he wants Season 3 to be -- a serious drama or a spoof -- so it's sort of straddled in the middle - awkwardly :)

Just finished watching Eps 3 and 4 while stuffing down 2 huge apricot jam-filled Krapfen (Austrian donuts). So I feel ya :) . Bloody cold here too, so a good C-drama, hot chocolate and donuts = Best way to spend a Friday night, IMO. Enjoy yours!

Hahahaha, yep. It's just so weird as I really dislike ALL of them, but can't get enough of the drama and desperately hoping the rumors of a Season 4 are true :)

What's weird for me is I don't like ANY of the drama's main characters. Didn't like them in the first two seasons either. They're all so abrasively, stupidly, arrogantly or weasel-ly unlikeable. But really detest LLF, always have, as he's weak, not particularly bright and kinda creepy. But the drama itself is superb. :)

And yep, agree with you on the vibe being different in this one. Still thoroughly enjoying it, but it's definitely a weird show for me, as some things (the characters, the over the top very amateurish acting in so many scenes, especially by Yang Xu Wen and Yang Zhi Gang) would have caused me to drop most other Cdramas by now. But... here I am on Season 3 and loving it. LOL.

EDIT: The sets in this series though are some of the most beautiful in Cdramas. Really wonderfully designed, and add such atmosphere to the series.

Living in Asia for so long and going to entertainment events tho, I've seen MANY actors in real life (Thai, Chinese, Korean etc) and, for a substantial percentage of them, either a) if they weren't famous, you'd think they were an "average looking Asian guy" and b) others were very very pretty, but not remotely sexually attractive to me. So delicate, I'd feel like I had to protect THEM :)

Some would also struggle to lift a woman, as some of them supposedly do on set.

Xu Kai tho can lift AND do squats ;)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JaUtJwHo7fU

Honestly, the few I've seen who didn't seem very thin to me were the Japanese and the Koreans, and they, as nations, seem to be more concerned with eating healthily and being a healthy size.

EDIT: And again, because there's always someone who will arrive with the silly "body shaming" argument -- I have ZERO concern if an actor is naturally thin. Good for them, and I'm jealous :) But very concerning for those forced to adhere to an unhealthy stereotype, and for the audience watching them and thinking they should look like that too, IMO.

Then again, I feel like that about the opposite extreme too -- where we're all suddenly supposed to believe a 300lb woman is "healthy". Nope. Sorry. Not fooling me on that one.

Yep, saw photos of Cheng Yi recently in day clothes and Ye Gods, very thin. Although he's another one who, reportedly, eats an apple and thinks that's "a meal".

Don't think I"ve seen Tan Song Yun in anything although her face looks SO familiar? Will be interesting to see how it turns out as, yep, the premise of this one sounds really unusual.

And yep on either Lu Yu Xiao or Song Zu Er. Song Zu Er does the BEST ugly cry I've ever seen from any actress - regardless of nationality. So talented :)

It's amazing how people still don't realize the foundational nutrition you get as a child and a young adult affect you for the rest of your life, isn't it? And sorry to hear about your grandmother. WWII and its after effects damaged tens of millions of people for life.

Thanks, although my mother is now 86, looks like she's about 70 and probably hasn't sat down for more than 10 minutes for about 60 years. :) My dad and I call her "The Energizer Bunny" and we're convinced all that housework /yardwork she does every day has helped counteract some of the malnutrition. She badly broke her collarbone when she was 17 tho, and even back then the doctor said the break was likely so bad due to malnutrition. She's suffered from shoulder pain ever since.

And no, didn't do ballet long enough, and I love my food waaaaay too much to ever be malnourished - hahahaha.

Might want to tell that to Napoleon :) (just teasing you :)

So many amazing looking Cdramas. So little time.

Way I'm going it will be some time in 2026 before I get to this :)

Hahahaha, it's great isn't it :)

Yep, ballet dancers are generally undernourished worldwide, especially the women. Danced for a few years in my teens, and it's crazy the amount of pressure you get even from dance teachers to remain dangerously undernourished. I stopped when I was about 16 as I was sick of feeling like I was starving all the time :)

It's sad, because malnutrition is a thing. Even for mega stars with huge amounts of money. Saw a video last year about one Asian actress (sorry, can't remember who?) who lived on a few apples a day for a while due to a part she had just been given. Didn't do her any good, as it wouldn't do anyone any good who's literally surviving on around 500 calories and missing out on important nutrients.

My mother was dangerously malnourished as a child (not my grandmother's fault, scumbag grandfather disappeared after WWII and married another woman -- as a bigamist - left my grandmother with ZERO money to bring up 3 kids). So my mother and her brothers grew up always hungry as my grandmother, even working 2 jobs, could only afford so much food and clothing.

My mother is in her 80s and still suffers from ill effects of malnutrition (bone issues etc) that she likely wouldn't have had had she been able to eat nutritious meals. Some of these actors, IMO, will see the same ill effects as they age. Sadly.

I will say, while I am absolutely loving the series as usual, the acting in it is TERRIBLE. Almost every actor dramatically over the top, with Yang Xu Wen even worse than normal in the series.

No sense of subtlety to being a bit dramatic whatsoever. LOL.

Yes, I'm sure, it's a director's choice as the drama is meant to be a spoof on similar historic detective series to some extent but, Ye Gods, it's hard to watch in some scenes, and I'm only on Episode 3 :)

Settling in to watch more episodes tonight :) But now so excited since you told me Yu Yi is back. He was my absolute favorite supporting actor in Season 2. Loved that whole arc. Will let you know what I think when I get there!

Don't worry, he'll gain weight eventually. :)

My grandfather used to describe my dad as a "running hound" he was that thin :) Now, in his 80s, he's definitely gained the weight he should have had on his body from age 10 to age 70 - LOL.

My mother has gone from telling the story about my grandad calling him a greyhound to talking about him as 'The Buddha' - ROTFL.

Liu Xue Yi has a habit of being paired with poor female leads, but the scripts he gets are his worst downfall.

Desperately hoping Against the Current turns out to be a fabulous scripts, as he's one of my all-time faves, and I'd hate to see him get another one on the level of The Princess's Gambit or Kill Me Love Me (which I'm still in the middle of and still enjoying, primarily because of him and FL Wu Jin Yan who is decent, but the script is terrible).

Still only on Ep 2 (got flooded with work :( -- Can't wait!!