Gosh, it is difficult to write this blog. How little do I know about the local entertainment industry, set aside the region. Besides, this is probably one blog that a handful of my overseas readers will not be able to relate and the remaining Singaporean readers will disagree with. But there you go. I try not to write politically correct blogs. I try to stick to what I observe.
One evening while playing back one of the recorded TV programmes, Cynthia was in horror that her favorite show “Desperate Housewives” was not showing at 10pm as it normally did. Instead, “Desperate Housewives” was knocked over to a later time slot by a local production “After Hours”. While Cynthia was fast forwarding the recording at lightning speed, I recognized one of the actresses. She was in one of the magazines … was it FHM? … and then I screamed stop, took over the remote control, and had a closer look. As I was reading the end credits, I did recognize her name and she was in FHM. Okay, she looks better on magazine (so much fairer than on TV) but what caught my attention was the short music video of hers at the end of the show. The song in English is called “So Real” written by the actress herself and though some may criticize her vocal range, I do appreciate singers who write and perform their own songs. Besides she looks hot in the video and guess what? I do like the song. She is Linda Liao.
I don’t know how much you can qualify “After Hours” as a local production. We have a Taiwanese MTV VJ (Linda Liao), a Thai-Chinese MTV VJ who is now based in Singapore (Utt), a Swiss-Chinese MTV VJ whose hometown is at Switzerland (Max Loong), and a local actress who has won a few local awards (Joanne Peh). With such a crew composition, how “local” can the production be? Then again, we are talking about Singapore, an unique land of limited opportunity, limited resources, but happy to leverage on … “foreign talents”.
To be fair, let’s not talk about Utt’s acting. He has a good look and that is about it (sorry Utt, love it when you host MTV programmes though). I think Max’s casual and at times comical acting may win some hearts and that too is about it. As for Linda, I just cannot reconcile with what I saw on the magazine and what is on the screen. I guess she does have the overall package and guys and girls who prefer the slim girl type may adore her. I think her acting is okay. What I like is her well rounded package of a singer/songwriter, actress, and MTV VJ (again, love that video). Out of all four, I do think that our local actress Joanne, the only non-VJ, stands out to be better in terms of acting. I think she looks sweet too.
Some may discount the quality of local production. I do too. But what I like about “After Hours” is the cinematography. Some of the cut scenes do feature a slice of Singapore well – be it as Orchard, Times Bookstore, a street in CBD, Coffee Bean, or just an estate – giving the viewers like myself a sense of familiarity in a good way. Perhaps I am more into making videos these days and have been spending time with YouTube, I do get to appreciate what is behind the camera better. Script-wise, can be corny at times but surprise to say, I do enjoy the lightheartedness after a long day of … whatever (I can’t say the word “work”, can I?).
I think “After Hours” is not bad. You may wish to give it a try with an open mind. All you need to do is not to turn off your TV after “Desperate Housewives”, which I am sure half of the population of Singapore is currently watching.
Related Link: Excerpt from Channel 5 Website.