1
Disappointing
I watched this after having watched a couple of seasons of the original Korean version. I started with Season 2 simply because it’s much higher rated than Season 1 here on MDL. As this Chinese version follows the same general format as the original, it was impossible not to compare them.
The main positive is that I found the panel of this Chinese version much more tolerable than the Korean panel. Or at least they got less on my nerves, despite all the squealing. It helps that the panel took up a bit less screentime that could be better dedicated to the participants, though it was still too much for my tastes.
The negatives compared to the Korean version include:
1. The participants go into the house with much more competitive mindset, while not making the same effort to develop close or lasting friendships with those of their same gender the way they tend to do in the Korean version. This was particularly true of the men early on who seemed to be mostly focused one-upping each other. I’m not at all surprised that most of women immediately gravitated towards the dreamy eyed laid-back unthreatening guy who basically couldn’t care less what the other guys were up to.
2. One result of the above is that I didn’t really like many of the contestants. I took an almost immediate dislike for most of the guys (though Junjun did start growing on me). With the women it was more one of those cases where I ended up sympathizing with the underdog, only I would have picked Wen Pi right from the beginning long before it became apparent that none of the men were interested in her (which certainly didn’t improve my low opinion of the guys). Two of the other girls had that infantile overly cutesy act going that I can’t stand but I guess must be popular among at least some Chinese men. I wonder if this is a cultural thing as none of the women in the Korean reality shows I watched even came close to that extreme and the two women from the Japanese Terrace House I can remember trying to put on that act eventually got found out and ridiculed, even though they didn't act nearly as extreme as these two on this show.
3. The method for selecting the final critical dates seems almost purposefully designed to discourage any couples that were beginning to be formed up to that point. I can see the value of pushing participants into dating different people, but that should come earlier in the season. If the producers were really interested in romantic outcomes, then they should allow the participants to select their own final dates. If not, you end up with a bunch of final climatic dates in which most are disappointed either by who they were forced to date or by the lack of romantic interest from their date (but kudos to the participants for at least attempting to fake enthusiasm). The fact that one of the couples might still be together doesn't really change my opinion.
4. The product placement is ridiculously over the top, to the point it was distracting. Featuring the participants in ads throughout the season may have at least earned them some additional income (one hopes), but it wasn’t always even clear what was an ad and what was supposed to be part of the action (assuming there was any difference to begin with). I’ve gotten used to a certain amount of product placement in k-dramas and c-dramas, but this went way beyond anything I’ve seen before.
I’m not sure I’ll watch any more Heart Signal seasons (either Korean or Chinese) as this simply isn’t my favorite format for this genre. I’m finding I much prefer the approach taken by the Korean “EXchange” and “My Sibling’s Romance” series. And my two favorite Asian dating shows continue to be the Netflix one-off “Nineteen to Twenty” and “Offline Love”.
The main positive is that I found the panel of this Chinese version much more tolerable than the Korean panel. Or at least they got less on my nerves, despite all the squealing. It helps that the panel took up a bit less screentime that could be better dedicated to the participants, though it was still too much for my tastes.
The negatives compared to the Korean version include:
1. The participants go into the house with much more competitive mindset, while not making the same effort to develop close or lasting friendships with those of their same gender the way they tend to do in the Korean version. This was particularly true of the men early on who seemed to be mostly focused one-upping each other. I’m not at all surprised that most of women immediately gravitated towards the dreamy eyed laid-back unthreatening guy who basically couldn’t care less what the other guys were up to.
2. One result of the above is that I didn’t really like many of the contestants. I took an almost immediate dislike for most of the guys (though Junjun did start growing on me). With the women it was more one of those cases where I ended up sympathizing with the underdog, only I would have picked Wen Pi right from the beginning long before it became apparent that none of the men were interested in her (which certainly didn’t improve my low opinion of the guys). Two of the other girls had that infantile overly cutesy act going that I can’t stand but I guess must be popular among at least some Chinese men. I wonder if this is a cultural thing as none of the women in the Korean reality shows I watched even came close to that extreme and the two women from the Japanese Terrace House I can remember trying to put on that act eventually got found out and ridiculed, even though they didn't act nearly as extreme as these two on this show.
3. The method for selecting the final critical dates seems almost purposefully designed to discourage any couples that were beginning to be formed up to that point. I can see the value of pushing participants into dating different people, but that should come earlier in the season. If the producers were really interested in romantic outcomes, then they should allow the participants to select their own final dates. If not, you end up with a bunch of final climatic dates in which most are disappointed either by who they were forced to date or by the lack of romantic interest from their date (but kudos to the participants for at least attempting to fake enthusiasm). The fact that one of the couples might still be together doesn't really change my opinion.
4. The product placement is ridiculously over the top, to the point it was distracting. Featuring the participants in ads throughout the season may have at least earned them some additional income (one hopes), but it wasn’t always even clear what was an ad and what was supposed to be part of the action (assuming there was any difference to begin with). I’ve gotten used to a certain amount of product placement in k-dramas and c-dramas, but this went way beyond anything I’ve seen before.
I’m not sure I’ll watch any more Heart Signal seasons (either Korean or Chinese) as this simply isn’t my favorite format for this genre. I’m finding I much prefer the approach taken by the Korean “EXchange” and “My Sibling’s Romance” series. And my two favorite Asian dating shows continue to be the Netflix one-off “Nineteen to Twenty” and “Offline Love”.
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