Hand me the popcorn, STAT!

Characters:

• Ren Zhong (任重) as Chen Jun (程俊)
• Zhang Li (张俪) as Ouyang Yu Lu (欧阳雨露)
• Zhang Duo (张铎) as Shen Qing Chuan (沈青川)
• Wang Yan (王阳) as Wang Bo (王博)
• Du Jiang/Wayne Du (杜江) as Zhao Chong (赵冲)
• Zhang Jia Ning/Karlina Zhang(张佳宁) as Ai Xiao Tian (艾小天)
• Zhou Fang/Cassie Zhou (周放) as Zou Qi Meng (邹倚梦)

Details:

• Chinese
• 50 episodes
• Original run: Nov 18, 2014 – Nov 30, 2014

Quick Rundown:

Three best friends are selected by their professor to intern at the emergency clinic of a large hospital, shadowing three young doctors around. While not of anyone’s original choosing, the doctors and interns must grow together and learn about the meaning of life, beyond just their own but also that of others.

Estelle’s Take

My mom literally pestered me for a whole week to give this show a try, so I finally did on Sunday night. While it did not captivate me immediately (but then again, does any ever?), it is not full of cheesiness that I just want to click stop right away. The script is clearly written for the young adult audience, and is not meant to be taken too seriously, although I supposed that can change at any moment. I have already seen two episodes and it has a healthy mix of humor and heart.

Since there is an uneven number of boys and girls cast, you just know there is bond to be unrequited love and heartbreaks. I’m not sure who is matched with who yet – besides the obvious – so there is a small amount of suspense there. Some of the characters bother me a bit with their unnaturally dramatic behaviors, but this is a TV show after all, and I can’t be too picky about over exaggeration or else where do you get the misunderstandings and plot twists?

Over all, I would say give this show a go if you can look past the bad medical practices here and there (hello, consultant on set, anyone?). A reliable source (aka my mom) promised me that there are some pretty good lines in this and the plot will only thicken over time, so I’m banking on that. I’ve seen pretty good series so I’m hoping this one won’t disappoint. At roughly 35 minutes per episode (sans commercial) it won’t take too long to tackle, but with my current roster of shows lined up, you might have to wait a bit for my review if that will be the deciding factor in whether you see it or not.

This & That:

• Ren Zhong broke out in the scene with 2010 hit Marriage Battle with David Tong and Ma Yi Li. He was featured in another series of the same director, 2011 Beijing Youth with both Du Jiang/Wayne Du and Zhang Li.
• Zhang Duo participated in Romance in the Rain during his college years.
• In 2013, Du Jiang/Wayne Du welcomed his first child, a boy, with girlfriend (at the time) Huo Si Yan. They have since gotten married. The couple will star in upcoming series, Zai Jian, Lao Po Da Ren (roughly to mean “goodbye, wife”)
• Zhou Fang/Cassie Zhou was in 2010 series Choi Nv Wu Di Mei which is similar to American series Ugly Betty. She was also Liu Hong in the new Return of Princess Pearl, which both Anna and I do not acknowledge/have not seen.

• Zhang Jia Ning/Karlina Zhang was in series, Luo Hun Zhi Hou (roughly to mean post naked marriage; naked marriage means marrying without financial stability) with Wang Yan. The series debuted in May 2014.
• Wang Yan was in Perfect Couple earlier this year.
• Zhang Li is currently dating Sunny Wang who just appeared in episode 10 of Mr. Right Wanted. She can be seen in Jiang Nan Si Da Cai Zi and Bu Shi Bu Xiang Jia of this year.
• The series also boasts cameo appearances from big time celebrities such as Sun Hong Lei (孙红雷), Wen Zhang (文章), Yao Di (姚笛), Du Chun (杜淳), Qiao Zhen Yu (乔振宇), Ma Su (马苏), Huo Si Yan (霍思燕) and Chen He (陈赫).