WK1

Yes, if filming is about to start in Dec, as most people seemed to think so, it is surprising and disturbing that we do not even know who the ML is.

Good to know that. If Tencent fights Youku, it is basically two billionaires in China fighting each other.

That is the disturbing thing. If filming is indeed due to start in December, which is just about 2 weeks away, there really ought to be some kind of official confirmation on the male lead.

I have zero experience with Douban and do not have an account there. Have they ever make a mistake before?? If they did, the fact that Reba is listed as the FL for Ball Lightning may well be another mistake.

It really is annoying to all of us, that nothing official has come from Reba's studio, this late in the year, what she is doing for next year.

Nah, I need facts. You mentioned that TBW only finished filming season 1. Any evidence for that? And, no offense, you said filming for TBW needs 8 month. On what basis do you say that?? Again, no offense, but you need to make statements based on facts or solid arguments. Otherwise, there is no credibility.

I stayed on TLB for months to keep that place alive and I am really proud of it. And now, really rejoicing with all the old timers there, when that drama and two of the actors there won some big awards in the US. I pushed back against people who attacked that drama, and realdealair, one of the newcomers to the TLB page, recently did that as well.

Likewise for YAMG, against those who would attack that drama without any basis.

I started MDL only recently, to defend TLB and Reba against ridiculous attacks. So yah, anyone who wants to do so ought to know they cannot do that without facing some kind of serious rebuttal. And I am hardly alone on the page of TLB. Lots of very capable there on the page of TLB.

All the timelines considering the completion of dramas, etc., I did not have any insider information. I came to those conclusions after doing hours of calculations and information checking and cross checking. Hence, I do not find your statements that it takes 8 months to film TBW reasonable. Nor have you provided any solid evidence that TBW just finished filming season 1 and Reba is about to start filming season 2 of that drama. I have no idea where you get the idea that Reba is about to start filming season 2 of TBW soon.

Someone already noted that in Douban, Reba is slated to act in a modern drama that is about to start filming in Dec 2021, all the more conflicting with what you said.

I am not really concerned about how I come across. To you or anyone else. I do what I do with diligence and with a very clear conscience. I do not go around making statements without any basis. And I most certainly enjoy a very nice and heated debate with anyone on any of the pages of Reba's dramas, starting from TLB.

Sure. But even if they do it well, drama critics will take of it and it will lose points on creativity. The bar is always set higher for all the imitators.

Sorry. Which did you drop? Pearl Eclipse or The Long Ballad?

Yes, I am aware of that. I read an article which says she flew out of Hengdian the moment filming was done. She did not even stay for the end of filming dinner. So, yah, her programme must be packed. But, the official announcement need not come from her. It should be her studio's job.

If filming is due to start in Dec, we should at least get a confirmation of the male lead? So Douban did not indicate start date? Did they indicate who is the male lead??

I only stay long and deep on Reba's drama pages starting from TLB. That is the only way to read thousands of comments related to her, get to know her, and defend her against senseless attacks in MDL. In the process, I also learned to recognise when some negative feedback could be valid.

Do not forget TBW. That will be aired before this. Latest news is that we will get to see it in Q1 2022.

Most welcomed. When you are done watching TLB, and wish to discuss the ending, please come back to this page. Many months ago, we discussed this in great depth. Some people here will be more than glad to explain to you why the ending is a happy one, should you have any doubt.

I don't. I stayed on the page of YAMG for months. And during those times, I have seen enough of people commenting on her overly white make up. Some of these people I met on the page of TLB, because I stayed on that page for more than 6 months.

I examined those comments, to see if they had any validity at all. I even try to explain to these people, perhaps she has some endorsement contracts with cosmetic companies which stipulate that she needs to use certain of their products for certain dramas. Hence, her overly white face in YAMG.

But, what is this is not true? What if it is truly the case that they made her face overly white without any financial considerations? If so, wouldn't it be better to tone down her make up? Particularly, if this does not affect her performance or people's perception of her beauty.

I do not know everything. Everything I know, I learned from staying on the pages of TLB and YAMG for months and months, reading hundreds of comments on Reba, her performance and eetc. Some comments seem valid. Some are pure nonsense. Over time, it is not difficult to differentiate the two.

I also happen to come from a deep background of valuing people's feedback. More than 30's years' experience. And, I am still learning.

Even if minority, I would still take note, if there is any legitimacy at all. The people who pointed out that her make up was too pale did so by pointing the clear difference between the colour of her face and the colour of her neck. And, if you look closely enough, it is indeed true. While many of us simply ignore that, if enough people get annoyed and are distracted by it, I do not see any harm that future production teams take notice of this.

Also, if some international viewers took notice of this, I would imagine, lots of fans in China would do the same.

Let me give you an example. When the trailer for The Blue whisper was first released, some international fans noted Allen was wearing fake muscle pack. You note what? I read some online articles that lots and lots of viewers in China noted those fake muscle pack.

Hence, if making Reba's face less white in future productions, and this does not affect her performance at all, why not?? Less people will be distracted. Her face will also look more real and less fake.

I have seen lots of Reba's photos in commercial shoots, and the make up was just nice, not overly white.

Like I say, any production team that aims for perfection should take note of any negative feedback, especially if those feedback has legitimacy.

This definitely is good news!! Did Douban indicate when filming for Ball Lightning will start?

Yes, she already finished filming LOA yesterday, and then rushed off to Beijing for another matter. So, we should get something official very soon!!

Yap. So far, not a single bit of evidence has been provided that they only filmed part 1. If they cut down on the overall episode count from 60 to 40 plus, they do to need to worry about new regulations. It will be well within the regulation, even if the 2 seasons are combined into 1.

Novoland Pearl Eclipse is airing now and that one has 48; TLB has 49. So, anything in the 40s and just below 50, there is no fear about passing the new regulation.

I do feel that they really want to avoid splitting TBW into 2 seasons, hence they reduced the overall episode count.

Having said the above, if someone can provide solid evidence that they have yet to film season 2, of course, we will believe. Without evidence, if we wish to speculate, it is better to bet that they have already finished everything.

Here is what I think happened. They usually test the all the costumes, before they start filming a drama. It is very possible that during this phase, when they tested the silver hair wig on Allen, he did not look nice at all. And visuals are very important in a historical drama. Perhaps, just perhaps, that is the reason why they went with black hair. He has already two historical dramas in black hair and he looks great in both.

Yes, lots of similarities with One and Only, in that regard. The only difference is that Yang Mi's can fight and Bailu's character does not know martial arts.

Love between a master and disciple has also been used as a trope in some other dramas, so I don't know if viewer will fault Pearl Eclipse for that. For instance, one article mentioned that love between master and disciple is also found in Ancient Love Poetry.

I know someone is going around, saying that they only finished filming season 1. Now, in theory, this is not impossible. But, if you sit down and analyse, it is not probable. Why?

1. They filmed TBW for about 4 months. That means, they can cover about 43-44 episodes. If they need 60 episodes, they merely need another month or so. Why not just finish the whole thing?? Why do 43 episodes now and do 17 episodes later, knowing how difficult it is to bring so many people together??

2. Allen is now filming another drama called Qing Jun. I do not know when filming started exactly, but it is sometime in Sept 2021 and will not end till about Jan-Feb 2022. Reba already finished filming Legend of Anle. So, if they have yet to film season 2, it means Reba has to wait around 3.5 months for Allen. Do you think that is likely? If so, Reba might even take a new project in Dec. film for 3-4 months, and by that time Allen would have finished filming Qing Jun. This is entirely possible.

3. Third reason why it is not probable is the big gap. If season one is shown in Q1 of 2022, and season 2 only began filming in Feb 2022, it may mean they can only show season 2 end of 2022, or even in 2023! This is totally undesirable. The gap betweeen season 1 and 2 will be too big, and people would have forgotten about the contents of season 1.

If there are 2 seasons, and the 2 seasons are highly connected, it stands to reason that they should be aired as close together as possible. The recent dramas, One and Only & Forever and Ever, is a good example.