Meteor Garden

The plasma TV came yesterday. Daddy and JR were so excited they had it set up right away in the living room. They moved the old one to my room so I now have my own TV but I don’t have anything to hold it yet so it’s just on my floor. I don’t really watch a lot of TV… I love movies though. While dad and JR were in the living room moving stuff around and setting the cables up, I decided to look for my VCD collection which I had brought from the Philippines. I was in the mood to watch a movie. I was actually able to find my F4 vcds!! I was so happy! I’d totally forgotten about them. I have the biggest crush on Jerry Yan from watching Meteor Garden years ago. I loved that show. I actually find it silly that I got caught up in it when it wasn’t really the type of show I would normally watch.

It was such a hit mostly to female fans. I loved it because it was different from all other programs on TV. During that time, TV shows were mostly either soap operas or talk shows. Meteor Graden was in some sense a soap opera but without the heavy drama. I liked it because it was funny (in some ways silly but cute) and at the same time it was a love story between a rich guy and a poor girl. It begins with Shan Cai enrolling in a prestigous high school and she ends up getting into an argument with Dao Ming Si who is the leader of a group called F4. F4 is comprised of 4 guys who are the sons of the 4 richest and most powerful families in Taiwan. Everyone but Shan Cai is afraid of Dao Ming Si and Dao Ming Si does his best to bring her down (she gets teased, bullied and she looses her scooter too. While she was being bullied, Hua Ze Lei – another F4 member – comes to her rescue and she falls for him.) Instead of relenting, Shan Cai gets back at Dao Ming Si by challenging him to do his worst. This ticks him off but at the same time it surprises him since no one has ever dared to stand up to him. He ends up falling in love with her and tries to win her over. I love the show because he tries so hard to win her heart and at the same time copes with the fact that she’s fallen for his best friend Hua Ze Lei. Just the entire thing touches your heart but at the same time makes you laugh. Here are some of his attempts to win her over:

Attempt #1: Dao Ming Si has Shan Cai kidnapped and brought to his home. She is frightened and confused because she doesn’t know where she is, she gets a makeover and she gets all dressed up then left in a big room by herself. Enter Dao Ming Si (Shan Cai gets even more confused as to what the hell he’s doing there) and he then tells her that she’s in his house (this, by the way starts to piss her off) and he tells her he’s fallen for her. Shan Cai goes nuts and starts yelling at him and he yells back at her telling her if she agrees to be his girlfriend she has access to the spa as much as she wants and he will give her a credit card that she can use for shopping. He also offers her a car complete with a chauffer so she can go around in comfort. Instead of being impressed, Shan Cai gets insulted because she feels that Dao Ming Si thinks she can be bought. Dao Ming Si in turn gets upset because he’s never been turned down before and thinks she’s being ungrateful (this is pretty funny especially when you see the look on Dao Ming Si’s face… he obviously has no idea what he’s doing).

Attempt #2: Shan Cai calls Dao Ming Si insensitive so he buys all these personality help books and gets his butler to do a personality test on him (his answers are funny and self-centered) and of course he fails the test and finds out he in facts falls under the category “insensitive”) The book provides several tips on how to improve himself with one ecouraging him to try to be cute and sweet. So he comes to school the following day wearing a tight yellow shirt with a picture of Astroboy in front (LOL). The rest of F4 laughs at him and even Shan Cai wonders why he is wearing it.

Attempt #3: Shan Cai gets bullied in a baseball field and Dao Ming Si comes to her rescue. He gets hurt in the process and she escorts him back to his house and helps him treat his wounds (this was pretty sweet by the way).

The story basically follows how they work out their differences and you can see Dao Ming Si’s personality gradually improving and how Shan Cai slowly gets to know his good side. Of course they come across problems caused by their differences in social status such as Dao Ming Si’s mom trying to wed him to a rich girl and disapproving of his relationship with Shan Cai.

I think girls, like me, loved the show not only because each member of the F4 was georgeous but because we loved the idea that there is a guy out there like Dao Ming Si who is romantic, who will love us and be there to catch us everytime we fall. What I loved most about Dao Ming Si’s character was the fact that he was willing to do his best for her, he’s status and reputation only came second, and he knew what he wanted and did whatever he could to show her how much he loved her. I loved seeing Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai’s character grow together.

It’s been years since I watched it. Meteor Garden 2 came out a few months after Meteor Garden 1 ended and like the first, I watched all its episodes. I own the entire series and I even own the soundtrack. Even though it’s been awhile since I saw it, I will always love that show.