I wish P'New will understand that most of us do not want to watch (read endure) straight normal (read boring) characters anymore. I believe he can, because the figures of viewers speak by themselves : there were 8.5 milion viewers for the first episode of LBC, and 6 million remained to the last (70%) ; here still 500,000 viewers were willing to give him another chance despite "My gear and your gown", but only 66,000 were still there for the last project (13%). Also his directing was much better in UWMA, every scene seemed well-thought out with each image deserving to be an art photography in itself. Now even the framing is wrong. What happened to this very promising director ? I hoped that the COVID rest would have helped him, I am disppointed again, but I still believe he can get back on track. I wish him all the best. I like him, I started learning the Thai language thanks to LBC...
I think Bright's acting was fine before Sarawat and Tine became a couple. The stolen kiss during the Pocky game…
Thank you for your answer. Your interpretation seems plausible, and I overlooked its possibility. I forgot that some BL are not meant to be BL, but first and foremost to be advertisements towards adolescent girls or young women who want to fantasize about handsome men being together and why not becoming their boyfriends one day…
Still, I think a decent enough actor would play a more believable lover, gay or not, and holding hands or Thai cheeks "kissing" (หอม) wouldn't have been too compromising. I may be wrong, but I am going to give this director, who directed Pete-Kao before, the benefit of the doubt, and let my good marks.
Hi FreshKicks! :-) I agree with everything you say. But I have seen the same things differently. I have never been fond of this series, not even before it started, and I would like to know what you think of my interpretation of the lack of physical contact. Alike you, I think Bright is not a great actor because he is unable to convey any kind of affection, at least in a m/m relationship. I ended up completing with my imagination the physical scenes that were lacking, and by feeling sorry for the director, who had to manage such an uncooperative actor. I gave an 8 to the series out of commiseration, and a 9 to Still 2gether for finally making Bright able to kiss another guy. You clearly have more knowledge about the series than I have, and you put the blame mainly on the director. Why ?
It's not the first time I read an interesting review from you. Thank you very much for the time you take to write reviews for us.
Now, time for my battle with you ;-) First, I think that the theme of a ghost who tries to go beyond his condition and become a physical being is great. It illustrates his love, and allows it to become physical. In the end we are happy with the result, but the journey, with the progression it shows, was well worth the ride. Besides, I also liked the fact that the grandpa had not been legally punished. He would have been in any mediocre series, so we may have been accustomed to such an outcome, so we may be surprised that the grandpa didn't have to pay for his crime. But this series goes beyond common on many levels. What good would it do if the grandpa was punished ? It's too late anyway, some 20 years after, in the end he deeply regretted his crime, he is no more a danger, and เมษ (Mes) forgives him… And it would cost ปรายฟ้า (Praifah) dearly. At last, the main characters are law students, and here the series says that heart and mind can dispense a better justice than law. Won't you agree ?
Consequently I believe that your marks are correct, this series deserves 10/10 in every aspect, and I am going to watch it again soon. I would give 1001 stars out of 10 to โอม (Ohm) 's expression. I very rarely go on Facebook, and I post even more rarely, but this series is my last post, a few weeks ago… Although I like to disagree, hoping that by bringing something to the table I will justify my existence, but this series did nothing for me in this respect…
You are correct, I haven't cared enough to do any kind of survey, and even if I did I wouldn't know how to carry…
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer me. Please accept my apologies for not being clear when I let you understand that your review wasn't relevant. I am a provocative type of person, especially when I am hoping for a reaction, here an answer from you.
What I really wanted to say was that "The shipper is not a BL". I thought it would be, because I saw it on gcinee ; but after the switch of bodies, I understood it was going to be a straight series parading as a BL. And, more importantly, that I don't hope for anything good about gayness in a straight series. The best is when they say nothing, which is generally the case, because otherwise we will be insulted, mocked or killed. At the very best we won't be more than a quota, akin to what Black people were in American cinema before 1970, just a side character so that the film makers and viewers can congratulate themselves for their openness. In "The Shipper" I felt that the film makers were going to settle the score with the success of BL series. So I stopped after the switch of bodies. I even gave a mark to the series (3/10 here, mainly because I very much like Ohm as an actor and for his eyes and expression). Then I wanted to check that I had been right, I stumbled upon your very articulate review, I thought I would enjoy to discuss with you, and voilà…
(me being provocative, again :) There are "good" reasons why straight series are not kind towards gays. The main stems from the fact that heterosexuality is a socially acquired behaviour (the straights obey the social injunctions), but is logically untenable by itself (they need to be disgusted enough by similar bodies, while offering theirs to the persons they love the most), so it needs morals and physical repulsion (straight people want to see themselves, and only themselves on ads, movies and everywhere because they can't afford to consider homosexuality as a possibility for themselves), together with social auto-conditioning and gratifications… But I am digressing. I am rather new to MDL (less than a week), I don't know what I can or can't say. I suppose it is acceptable to thank you for your great reviews and to wish you good luck.
I understand you are very disappointed with this series. I wasn't, and I would like to temper your opinion for potential viewers. First, all the episodes together last about 1h (not 4) ; if you don't count the intro and ending in each episode, it lasts 1 episode of an usual series. So I considered this series as the second instalment of a potentially longer series. At the end of "instalment 1" we had two friends who went on their separate ways. During "instalment 2", these friends are reunited, live some episodes together, get to know themselves and in the end decide to stay together longer than initially expected. In "instalment 2" funny moments alternate with romantic ones, for a cute result. The characters don't rush into one another, they are prude, but so is the Thai society. This doesn't make them appear as 12 years old boys : they book their hotels, buy alcohol, go wherever they want, and do whatever they want, without parents surveillance or advice. They are shy, they are prude, but I found it cute. And this isn't that slow. I don't know of any thai series in which the two male protagonists would be this close at the end of instalment 2… Where I could join you, is that I wish we had the development of their story. As it is it ends short. But I imagine there could and will be a following. And I hope it will be aired soon ; although I am not aware of anything at the moment…
Thank you for your well written review. According to what I understand from what you said, your questions would be relevant if The Shipper was a BL… Let me remind you that a series is called a BL when the main plot is about two guys who are in love with another. The Shipper is a straight series with gay undertones, or parading as a BL, but not a BL. Therefore it is not a surprise that the character who dies is gay ; or that this series is retarded, or regressive if you prefer… Did you make your survey ? I would be interested in the results if you did, although I believe you had much more interesting things to do than to dwell on this series.
Also his directing was much better in UWMA, every scene seemed well-thought out with each image deserving to be an art photography in itself. Now even the framing is wrong.
What happened to this very promising director ? I hoped that the COVID rest would have helped him, I am disppointed again, but I still believe he can get back on track.
I wish him all the best. I like him, I started learning the Thai language thanks to LBC...
I forgot that some BL are not meant to be BL, but first and foremost to be advertisements towards adolescent girls or young women who want to fantasize about handsome men being together and why not becoming their boyfriends one day…
Still, I think a decent enough actor would play a more believable lover, gay or not, and holding hands or Thai cheeks "kissing" (หอม) wouldn't have been too compromising. I may be wrong, but I am going to give this director, who directed Pete-Kao before, the benefit of the doubt, and let my good marks.
I agree with everything you say. But I have seen the same things differently. I have never been fond of this series, not even before it started, and I would like to know what you think of my interpretation of the lack of physical contact.
Alike you, I think Bright is not a great actor because he is unable to convey any kind of affection, at least in a m/m relationship. I ended up completing with my imagination the physical scenes that were lacking, and by feeling sorry for the director, who had to manage such an uncooperative actor. I gave an 8 to the series out of commiseration, and a 9 to Still 2gether for finally making Bright able to kiss another guy.
You clearly have more knowledge about the series than I have, and you put the blame mainly on the director. Why ?
Now, time for my battle with you ;-)
First, I think that the theme of a ghost who tries to go beyond his condition and become a physical being is great. It illustrates his love, and allows it to become physical. In the end we are happy with the result, but the journey, with the progression it shows, was well worth the ride.
Besides, I also liked the fact that the grandpa had not been legally punished. He would have been in any mediocre series, so we may have been accustomed to such an outcome, so we may be surprised that the grandpa didn't have to pay for his crime. But this series goes beyond common on many levels. What good would it do if the grandpa was punished ? It's too late anyway, some 20 years after, in the end he deeply regretted his crime, he is no more a danger, and เมษ (Mes) forgives him… And it would cost ปรายฟ้า (Praifah) dearly. At last, the main characters are law students, and here the series says that heart and mind can dispense a better justice than law. Won't you agree ?
Consequently I believe that your marks are correct, this series deserves 10/10 in every aspect, and I am going to watch it again soon. I would give 1001 stars out of 10 to โอม (Ohm) 's expression.
I very rarely go on Facebook, and I post even more rarely, but this series is my last post, a few weeks ago…
Although I like to disagree, hoping that by bringing something to the table I will justify my existence, but this series did nothing for me in this respect…
Please accept my apologies for not being clear when I let you understand that your review wasn't relevant. I am a provocative type of person, especially when I am hoping for a reaction, here an answer from you.
What I really wanted to say was that "The shipper is not a BL". I thought it would be, because I saw it on gcinee ; but after the switch of bodies, I understood it was going to be a straight series parading as a BL.
And, more importantly, that I don't hope for anything good about gayness in a straight series. The best is when they say nothing, which is generally the case, because otherwise we will be insulted, mocked or killed. At the very best we won't be more than a quota, akin to what Black people were in American cinema before 1970, just a side character so that the film makers and viewers can congratulate themselves for their openness.
In "The Shipper" I felt that the film makers were going to settle the score with the success of BL series. So I stopped after the switch of bodies. I even gave a mark to the series (3/10 here, mainly because I very much like Ohm as an actor and for his eyes and expression). Then I wanted to check that I had been right, I stumbled upon your very articulate review, I thought I would enjoy to discuss with you, and voilà…
(me being provocative, again :)
There are "good" reasons why straight series are not kind towards gays. The main stems from the fact that heterosexuality is a socially acquired behaviour (the straights obey the social injunctions), but is logically untenable by itself (they need to be disgusted enough by similar bodies, while offering theirs to the persons they love the most), so it needs morals and physical repulsion (straight people want to see themselves, and only themselves on ads, movies and everywhere because they can't afford to consider homosexuality as a possibility for themselves), together with social auto-conditioning and gratifications…
But I am digressing. I am rather new to MDL (less than a week), I don't know what I can or can't say. I suppose it is acceptable to thank you for your great reviews and to wish you good luck.
First, all the episodes together last about 1h (not 4) ; if you don't count the intro and ending in each episode, it lasts 1 episode of an usual series. So I considered this series as the second instalment of a potentially longer series.
At the end of "instalment 1" we had two friends who went on their separate ways. During "instalment 2", these friends are reunited, live some episodes together, get to know themselves and in the end decide to stay together longer than initially expected.
In "instalment 2" funny moments alternate with romantic ones, for a cute result. The characters don't rush into one another, they are prude, but so is the Thai society. This doesn't make them appear as 12 years old boys : they book their hotels, buy alcohol, go wherever they want, and do whatever they want, without parents surveillance or advice.
They are shy, they are prude, but I found it cute. And this isn't that slow. I don't know of any thai series in which the two male protagonists would be this close at the end of instalment 2…
Where I could join you, is that I wish we had the development of their story. As it is it ends short. But I imagine there could and will be a following. And I hope it will be aired soon ; although I am not aware of anything at the moment…
According to what I understand from what you said, your questions would be relevant if The Shipper was a BL…
Let me remind you that a series is called a BL when the main plot is about two guys who are in love with another. The Shipper is a straight series with gay undertones, or parading as a BL, but not a BL. Therefore it is not a surprise that the character who dies is gay ; or that this series is retarded, or regressive if you prefer…
Did you make your survey ? I would be interested in the results if you did, although I believe you had much more interesting things to do than to dwell on this series.