A Mobile Love Story

I ploughed through the final 10 episodes of this free Mobtv series today. I was excited to find that all the episodes were up on the website late last night but since I could hardly open my eyes already, I had to leave the marathon to today.

I started early, right after Doraemon which finished at 10 am. And I've just finished. Thankfully, it was a rainy afternoon so I stayed in and completed the series.

It's a pretty awesome show. Much better than most of what's been showing on Channel 8 these days. Well, apart from the over product placement of Sony Ericsson phones and the excessive "reflections" shots. I think they mean something ... couldn't be just for aesthetics.

The script's well-written, the photography's well done and the actors' performances were great. I'm glad I gave it a chance. When I first found out about the free first 10 episodes, I wasn't so keen since it's basically a Chinese show plus it features Christopher Lee (eww). But I had seen Wallace Huo in Sound of Colours previously on Sunday mornings. I liked him in that show so I didn't mind checking him out in this new drama.

Seriously, the first episode got me hooked. The story is well-paced and the characters are well-developed. The lead female, Han Xue, is also an excellent young actress and complements Wallace's character well. Christopher's character is really annoying in the first half of the story but with time, his character slowly becomes endearing. I think that is one of the strengths of this drama; that the people and stories involved seem real, like they could have been you or me, like the events could have happened to anyone of us, and how would we have dealt with the issues and dilemmas then.

True enough, as the story develops, it hit more of my soft points. There are a number of similarities between the stories and my own experiences, I could've written the script. He he ...

Do check it out (it's free after all! Only requires a free registration with the Mobtv website). The concept on the surface is really quite cheesy - Girlfriend leaves Boyfriend at the altar after finding out that she is terminally ill. Boyfriend falls into endless despair trying to locate his runaway bride. Girlfriend loses her mobile phone at the subway station. Another Girl picks it up and begins a SMS relationship with Boyfriend. Girl finds a job at Boyfriend's company with neither realising they have been SMS buddies for a year. They gradually fall for each other. Girlfriend resurfaces.

But once you begin watching it, you'll find no cheese in it. The ending is not quite the way I'd have liked it but on hindsight, I'm glad they didn't make it the way I'd have liked it because it'd have been far too predictable. Instead, it has been beautifully executed to the extent of philosophical sometimes ... or maybe it's just me who wants to believe that a digital relationship can exist.