@snoopy i can see it.

All the boot-lickers....

Is it just me? In the picture above, they have this husband and wife look...

@snoopy I have seen him in many series and he is a decent actor and can be good depending on the role. Sad that some have not even seen him in a drama but immediately judge him right away.

I've never watched Huang Xiaoming's dramas or movies before. My opinion of him was not so good especially after his high profile wedding with Angela Baby. So I was surprised by his performance in Winter Begonia. At first I thought Huang Xiaoming would pull down the drama but he didn't. He actually did quite good and was very charming as Cheng Feng Tai. His chemistry with Yin Zheng was superb!!! In real life, I think he needs to learn how to control his mouth and pick a good script...

@coralie HAhahaha...that's what I thought too!!!

@coralie Lol, so true!

@snoopy totally agree, think she looks cool

@wm2017 I also never find Loisa Mak attractive but I never thought she had a nose job! She must had the same plastic surgeon doctor as Kelly Cheung!! Good job done there!! Another person that surprise me is Kay Tse. Did Kay used another person's photograph and pretended it was she in the photo? This is because she looks nothing like the girl in the photograph.

@snoopy I agree with you. Katy acts better than majority of actresses in TVB

@xystus I also think she looks cool. Not sure why she gets a lot of negative posts here. At least she can act better than the majority of fadans in Tvb...

@snoopy A lot of Chinese productions have grandiose settings. Some are faker than others and adds to the pretentiousness, I agree. Empress of China was the worst. The issue is that majority of the time, the settings look way too pristine and new. No signs of age or dirt or anything like that. But the opposite of grandiose is raggedy and poor, and I don't think that is acceptable either. It can detract from viewership if the plot has nothing going for it. But JoL has a lot going for it...like I said, a bit of everything. In regards to ASITP and JoL comparisons, I know this will touch some nerves as many consider ASITP as the ultimate classic which no other competitors can surpass. I think of it that way myself, too. But I definitely think JoL channeled ASITP properly and integrated Nirvana in Fire as well, which is what made it great.

@annechen Indeed the first 20 episodes of Ming Lan was boring. I also had to press forward button to continue watching. But the later episodes was quite interesting even though Zhao Li Ying's performance was a bit weak. The reason I watched Ming Lan was because I couldn't continue watching Joy of Life and Youtube recommended to me. I think Step into the Past was definitely better than Joy of Life. I mean it was so obvious that the main lead, Zhang Ruoyun was trying to emulate Louis Koo. He already has the haughty/smug look and his pretentious acting makes the drama even more cringy. (Might be the script's fault). And then the script, the scriptwriters wanted it to sound smart/witty by including modern slang in it but it was too overly done. Other than that, the setting was too grandiose that it's quite distracting. Take Fan BingBing's "The Empress of China" as an example. It gave the feeling of pretentious/over the top. Sometimes less is more. Maybe If I didn't watch Step into the Past and Nirvana of Fire, I would think Joy of Life is good. As I'm very picky when it comes to drama because these days Chinese drama is very long. I would rather spent time rewatching something good many times.

@snoopy I thought Story of Ming Lan was boring.. I couldn't even finish up to ep.10. Medicore acting and same old plot. Just my opinion though. Agreed with the others, Joy of Life was good. Nothing like the Step into the Past other than the time travel. It is a lot better.

@snoopy haha guess we all have our preferences. story of minglan is ok, about 20 episodes too long and repetitive plot. If they kept it short and sweet, I think the ratings and reviews would be a lot higher. as for joy of life...well, personally speaking, I loved both a step into the past and Nirvana in Fire so maybe that's why I love joy of life so much - great mash-up between the two. As to the lead guy, yea at first I wasn't thrilled with their lead male selection, but now I don't mind. I think honestly almost anyone can do well in this role, so it doesn't have to be him, but he did well enough in the role that I can overlook the first few cringy episodes of his acting. He is much more comfortable in his acting later on.

@coralie Lol, I actually had a hard time finishing Joy Of Life. I watch it because a lot of people saying the drama was very interesting. The main character was so pretentious that I had to press the forward button whenever he turns up. Like he was so "Yao Yeng"..errr can't stand him. The good things about the drama was the king, 2nd prince and the costume. For me, the story is like a copy of "A Step in to the Past" & "Nirvana of Fire" but no better than them. Unexpectedly, I enjoy Story of Ming Lan more than Joy of Life.

@snoopy I didn't watch this yet, but I don't know if I want to. I'm not a republican era fan. That period always connote war and hardship to me, so I don't like most of them.

@snoopy It is more than looks and Ron’s acting has gotten better over the years. Plus, he has charisma which is also very important for an actor to have.

@coralie I found one gem, 鬓边不是海棠红 - Winter Begonia. Everything from the casts, cinematography, script, costumes to the OST are exquisitely beautiful. Yin Zheng is very very talented. The drama was a surprise for me as I didn't expect anything because I'm not a fan of the Republican Era, Peking Opera and Huang Xiaoming. But it doesn't matter because you will be captivated by the drama once you started.

@snoopy Agreed. Way too wooden even after given so many chances. He's definitely one of those that coasts by on his looks.