What happened to drunk malays on film?

Watching Keluarga 69 on Astro Prima, and I see a drunk P. Ramlee walking back to face an upset father at home. It's played to comic effect, but the comedy is more in the argument between father and son, rather than a stumbling drunk not being able to make sense of his situation or environment. In other words, the drinking is bad

Could we do a scene like this these days without a character saying "Astarfirllahulazeem..."? Why has a moral imperative seeped into our entertainment?

I glanced over yesterday's headlines on PAS wanting to establish Hudud laws in Terengganu. Maybe I'm just a middle-class urbanite stuck far away from the realities of Kuala Terengganu, but it smacks of politics of the worst sort - we say what we say because it'll win us support.

Is this what has happened to the Malaysian film industry? When maybe a good story was once enough, now we have to incorporate 'good' values into the scripts. Again, we say what we say because it's what we feel people expect.

I want to say, let's remember the story comes first, and let viewers decide on the morality. So there.

Labels: opinion, tv

Notes for Ghost Episode 1

For those of you who have not seen the program yet, 8TV has been generous enough to put up episodes on their website. This is a Good Thing, and I am grateful to whomever in 8TV it was who came up with this policy. (Incidentally, because I am currently out of the country, even I haven't had a chance to see it on Malaysian TV yet!)

Well, I know there were some people out there who liked reading the notes I did for Realiti, so I'll try to do the same for Ghost. However, because I was not as involved in this show, they'll be a little more sketchy, and more from the point of the viewer - less insight, more outside.

The number one thing I worry about when I first saw the pilot was: Is it clear enough? Is it clear what is happening in the episode, and does it unambiguously set up what is going to happen in the rest of the series? A very clever man once said that if your third act doesn't work, the problem is in the first act. Similarly, if you can't relate what happens in the final episode with what happens in the first... well, damnit, we should have rewrote the first.

Or at least make it clearer. So, the notes below are spoilers which explain what's going on in the episode.

• The story opens on Eza, who is rushing for dinner. She's dressed up to the nines, and is excited.


• It should be immediately clear that this is Eza's story. It was always meant to be about how she reacts to what's going on around her hopefully the audience can see how she changes from the first episode to the last. Having said that, she's not the protagonist - not for the most part anyway.
• Notice The Sweet Escape playing in the background. For the first time (as far as I know), Popiah Pictures managed to get licensing for western pop music for their shows. Actually, if you go back to previous series, some of the incidental music actually is sampled from other stuff - although you'd have to be a pedantic fan to actually be able to pick it up.
• In this episode: The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani; Clumsy by Fergie; Realize by Colbie Caillat; Apologize by OneRepublic.

• In her rush, Eza meets Zack Imran, famous movie star. He's cool. She's flustered. He just came out of the women's toilet. But the lady inside the Ladies claims there was nobody in there.
• Now, I don't know if it's clear that Zack Imran is a famous actor. An early draft had established this very early on showing him acting in a film, but I said that it was an unnecessary scene. Words I regret? A little.


• Eza is rushing to have dinner with her boyfriend, Adzam, but in contrast to her excitement, he seems a little distant. Finally, it comes out. He's breaking up with her. Eza is devastated.
• In the original script, the breakup was scripted. The final version is much better, leaving things unsaid. However, we do miss several things: That tonight was their fifth anniversary of being together, and that Adzam felt that Eza dreamt of being something more than she was, but didn't do much about it (you're meant to get that from the if-that-was-Zack-why-didn't-you-say-hi part of the conversation).

• As mentioned in her interview with The Star, Cheryl was not the first choice for this role. However, having seen her in the rushes, she definitely brings something to it that the other actresses would not have. This scene is a prime example. There's crying, as in calling up tears; and then there's crying of the pain-wrenching sort that only the loss of someone or something valuable can inspire. And, by jove, in this scene, she has even me welling up.
• Notice that the actors really eat. Ping is a stickler for things like that. If there's eating in the scene, then there will be food in the mouth, and chewing througout. This can actually be harder on the actors than you may think.


• In her despair, she gets distracted by a breakup SMS from Adzam, almost hits a car, and then swerves straight... into?... Zack Imran. He's acting strangely, and he asks her to help him.
• This was one of the problematic scenes, and Ping had written many versions of it. One reason it was hard was because we kept changing how Zack Imran died. The other reason was how to give Eza a reason to let this man into his car.
• I think I was the one who suggested that Zack already realised that something was wrong, but he didn't want to admit it. Otherwise, I thought it would be quite strange for someone to not notice that his hand kept passing through things.
• Yes, the car dips a little when Zack (a ghost) sits in it. Whenever you work with fantasy-type things, you get to write the rules of how it works. Here's one such rule: Ghosts actually affect the world around them, but do so unconsciously. It's when they want to deliberately interact with physical objects that things become difficult. Don't like it? Tough.
• We tried to explain to Ping (more than once), that just because the ringtone on your phone is Mr. Lonely, it doesn't mean that people hear that when they are calling you. But, yes, you could set both of them to be the same, I guess.


• Eza tries to drive Zack back, but the guard won't let them in. Instead she takes him back to her place, where they make small talk and she asks Zack to stay over.
• Censor Board Alert! According to some guidelines, it seems you're not allowed to show a man and a woman together in a closed room. But Zack is a ghost, so maybe it's okay...? Even better, there isn't actually a door between the living room and Eza's bedroom - it's just a curtain of beads.
• Eza's wishboard was Ping's idea, but I thought it was underused. To me, it demonstrates that Eza is a dreamer who wants to be more than she is, but she just doesn't have the gumption/determination/guts to make more of it. So, my idea was that as the series progresses, they start using the wishboard as a noticeboard, with photos of suspects and clues on it. Now, this reality takes over the Eza's fantasies, and her dreamboard does finally reflect what she wants and is going through. Unfortunately, another good idea not used...



• Eza wakes up and gleefully tells her best friend Julie that she brought Zack Imran back home. However, she is shocked when she finds out that the news is reporting that Zack died in a car accident. They rush over to the hospital, just in time to catch Zack's manager, Jimmy, make the announcement that Zack is truly dead. Then who spent the night at Eza's place...? Eza is shocked to find that Zack is really a ghost, and that only she can see him. She runs away. He chases her. Special effects ensue.
• Finally, after more than fifteen minutes of show, we get our first special effects shot. No, it's not the van running through Zack, it was the camera that was pointing at Zack, but showing not-Zack. I think they had a green-screen on the original shot, and then pasted a fake video over the monitor screen. But it's so subtle, I think people might miss it.

• What about the puffs of smoke when the van hits Zack? Yeah, I liked it too. However, I wish he hadn't turned around, so you had him babbling, and then the van running through him without him immediately realising it.
• Recognise the hospital? Here's a game for you all: try to figure out if you can find all the locations used in Ghost that was also used in Realiti.


• Exposition time. Jimmy says: Zack was at an AIDS awareness dinner, then Jimmy left him, and that was the last he saw of Zack. Incidentally, Jimmy becomes the sole proprieter of Zack Enterprises Sdn Bhd, and a whole bucket-load of cash. We also realise that Zack knew all the while that something was wrong when he first met Eza, and was trying to hide it from her.
• The voice singing that haunting song in the background when the clips are playing is Chelsia Ng. She also sings the theme tune.


• Zack pops by. He tries to convince Eza that he was murdered, and that Eza must help him.
• This is where the first act ends, two commercial breaks in. This is why I feel the first episode is a little slow. But there's a lot of explaining to do.
• Originally, Eza did a lot more soul-searching before she decided to help Zack. However, Ping wanted there to be some action that moved forward the mystery of Zack's death in episode one, so all that "will she, won't she" stuff got thrown out.
• There was also a scene of a bomoh coming by trying to exorcise a ghost, with a very unimpressed Zack looking on.


• Eza drops by Jimmy's place. She unsuccesfully tries to convince Jimmy that Zack was murdered. Jimmy is skeptical. With Zack's help, Eza points out that she knows a lot. When Eza insists it can't have been Zack driving the car, Jimmy shows Eza a security video showing Zack staggering back to his car.
• Apart from location, Ghost also shares a host of actors with Realiti. Not only do Naz Rahman, Reefa, and Radhi Khalid return to work with Popiah Pictures, both Cheryl and Kin Wah (who appears in the next episode) were original choices on Realiti and who both appeared in the unaired pilot showreel for that show. Debutantes are Carmen Soo, Razif Hashim, Yasmin and Nas-T. There are actually links between those actors and Popiah, but I shan't bore you with the details...


• Eza tells Zack that she won't help him any more. Zack tries to convince her to do otherwise, and only the threat of being a perpetual peeping tom is what turns Eza around. Zack points out a discrepency in the security video. Somebody faked it.
• For all those of you that noticed that Zack leans on chairs, makes footsteps that tap and sit in chairs that squeak... I refer you to the Ghost rule I outlined above.
• The original idea for the eating-in-front-of-Zack scene had him telling Eza what kind of food he loved to eat, and then because she was angry with him, she makes that very same dish and eats it in front of him.


• More exposition on Eza and her (ex-)boyfriend. And then, we meet Ameesh, the hotel security guard on duty the night Zack Imran died. He denies he knows anything about that night. But he has Zack's handphone. Or at least one with the same ringtone.
• Again, we don't quite get the idea how long Eza and Adzam have been going out with each other, and what a big shock it was for her. I wish now we established a little more about their relationship.


• Eza realises that the guard has a CD - hopefully the real video of the night Zack died - and he wants to sell it to somebody mysterious. Unfortunately, she gets caught trying to steal the CD by the security guard.
• The scene is a little longer than I would like, but it all works out okay.

• The guard drives a tied-up Eza to an abandoned warehouse, where he threatens her. Finally, Zack manages to make himself touch things and rescues Eza. And they get the CD too, to boot.
• Is it clear that Zack finally gets the will to move objects because Eza's life is in danger? I hope so. The only thing about this, is that Zack suddenly finds it easy to move things. I wanted him to still struggle a little, and then get better with each episode.
• It seems Cheryl was quite terrified of the drill being near her face, so that's not really acting you see!
• Actually, quite a well done scene. It's not easy to film action, and everything here makes sense, so that's good.


• The dynamic duo finally get to watch the VCD, and they see somebody putting Zack's body in the boot of the car. Unfortunately the CD is damaged, and you can't really make out who the bad guy is.


• The mysterious buyer is quite upset that the security guard lost the video. The guard gets fired for his incompetence.
• There's actually a very amusing story about the fire scene that involves a fire extinguisher that doesn't quite work, and a director who is reluctant to say 'cut', but I'll save that for another time...
• Don't try to figure out who the mysterious buyer is by measuring body dimensions, looking at hands, etc. The actor that plays the mysterious buyer in this scene is not the same actor that plays the actual character in the series who is the mysterious buyer (did you get that?).

So, I hope you're satisfied with the first episode, and that it sets you up for the rest. I think I've outlined above all the clues in the episode that relate to the murder. Please note that (as far as I'm concerned) this episode already introduces three potential suspects, excluding Eza or the possibility of a suicide/accident.

However (and this is important), Ghost is not one of these shows where all the clues have been laid out before hand and viewers will be able to figure out whodidit straight away. There are a lot of stories to tell, and although there are a few things you can guess at, there are also herrings of the red (or at least pinkish) variety. In fact, anyone who can even guess at the actual murder before episode 7 or 8 is possibly psychic or has inside knowledge of Ping's brain.

Labels: ghost, tv, writing

Thoughts on 8TV's new series: Ghost

If Dzof has peeked from under the anonymous bedcovers of the Internet, it must mean that he has something he thinks is important to say. Well, true:



Yes, Popiah Picture's latest production, Ghost, is making its debut this Sunday. As far as involvement goes, I feel I had less of a hand in this one than I did in Realiti, for all sorts of reasons, but mainly because I tried to jam too many things into one day.

The trailer above should give you a good idea what the show is about, but I wanted to write a little about the history of the show, and what guided us through its various machinations and incarnations.

Truth be told, the very initial idea came from Ping, and I never really questioned how it really started, but we seemed to agree that it should be two things: (1) A detective whodunnit - who killed Zack Imran?; and (2) A love story about what happens when want what we can't have.

For the detective part of things, I remember that we used Veronica Mars a lot as an example, and a lot of how clues are revealed as part of the larger story arc is basically either setting up or eliminating suspects. The final solution of how Zack died was settled even before episode two was written. So, no Sashi, it wasn't a case of "the manager in the parking lot with a candlestick".

I personally worry that it may be a little complicated, but we have trust that 8TV viewers are smart enough (and weaned enough) with modern entertainment that they can figure out how things fall into place.

For the love story, this is clearly set up from the very beginning, when Eza is dumped by her boyfriend Adzam in practically the second scene of the show. If you think this is a case of will-they, won't-they, then you're right. I don't know how clearly it's articulated in the final product, but the idea is that Adzam had his own particular reasons for dumping her, and then when those reasons are turned around, he looks for reconcilliation. And, yes, in effect Zack acts as the nth party in all this.

As for the "ghost" bits... well, we didn't delve too much into it. I had an idea that Zack should reveal his powers slowly over the season, much like Clark does in Smallville, but that idea was thrown out in the end. It's a slight shame for me, because I thought it would make for a nice third story arc, jiving nicely with the rise and fall of the other two arcs, but hey... I'm just a writer.

So, although on the surface it looks like we moved away to something more thriller-based, at the end of the day, like for most of life, it's still about love.

(AND, if you should happen to be on facebook, you can join in the fun by adding yourself to the group It's Ghost, not Hantu to keep track of the latest updates.)

Labels: ghost, tv, writing

What's new, procrastinating blogger?

Just a quick glance at the dates, and you will see that I haven't updated this blog for a very long time.

So, the usual list of things done so far will need to suffice for now:

• Contradictheory is out every other Sunday. Basically, if you turn to page 2 of StarMag, and see Huzir Sulaiman's face, you've got the wrong weekend. This week's article is about travelling.
  
• The agricultural documentary Seeds is on every Sunday at 5pm on NTV7. If you're unlucky, you'll catch an episode that I scripted. For one reason or another, I keep missing episodes. But there is one episode where Siti Nurhaliza makes yoghurt, so it can't be all bad...
• Those of you who are under the impression that the work of a writer is glamorous can come see me destroy it to dust (if I'm not being overshadowed by Gavip Yap, that is) at the 8th MPH Breakfast Club for LitBloggers to be held at MPH Bangsar Village II on 22 September 2007 (probably at 11am).
• At the risk of confusing the non-technical among you, I will also mention that I have added Dashboard Manager to my ever-growing list of Business Objects trainer curricula, as well as being Crystal Reports (v10 and XI) and Business Objects Enterprise XI certified. I now teach: Crystal Reports, Business Objects Enterprise, Web Intelligence, Desktop Intelligence, Universe Design and - you guessed it - Dashboard Manager. If you want take the official courses in any of these subjects, contact Iverson Training Centre.
• Work in Progress/Discussion: Two TV series and one... something else. This needs severe thinking and hard work.

This list may still grow...

Labels: contradictheory, training, tv

Contradictheory: Relaks, Brader

Another fortnight, another article. Maybe, perhaps, you may wonder how much of what I write stays in. Well, this week I over-wrote slightly by about 200 words, and they edited accordingly. All the 'smart, funny' comments (read 'what the heck is he trying to say?') were the first to go, but they pretty much kept the essence of it.

This was a strange one to write, because I commented about the Amazing Race Asia, so the first draft I had said, "...the finalists for the race...". Thursday's episode was aired and I hurriedly changed it to "...the winners of the race...", and added another paragraph.

They also like to change the title. Theirs was "Relaxing our way to the top". Mine was "Relaks, Brader". Not a biggie, but I like mine better.

Relaxing our way to the top

CONGRATULATIONS to Joe Jer and Zabrina, the Malaysian pair who recently won the first Asian edition of the Amazing Race. Winning US$100,000 (RM350,000) isn’t something to sneeze at, but more importantly, they managed to overcome tremendous obstacles to grab first place. So, what was their secret? That’s a tough question to answer.

Labels: contradictheory, tv

Now the whole world thinks I'm a thief

The second issue (copy? installment? Me brain works mushy on Sundays) of Contradictheory has appeared today. In it, I talk about how great it is to be able to download TV shows and movies over the Internet. For free. Naturally people will think that I practice what I preach.

Of course, those in the know will recognise Bittorrent. But there are also TV stations that provide their stuff online (did you know that RTM is availabe as online stream?).

And if your IP address says it's from the USA, NBC will make available their shows to your PC, including every episode so far of Heroes.

So, not all stuff online is illegal, and some of the Powers That Be are beginning to see the advantage of making it available on the net. Now if only all the PTBs thought that way. I'm not saying they have to give it away for free, but if you make it easy and make it cheap, then people will come by.

See it first – on the Internet

If you know how, the latest movie, TV series or song is only a download away.

ASK a Malaysian teenager what their current favourite TV shows are, and you might get an answer that includes Heroes, Friday Night Lights and Ugly Betty.

The funny thing about these three shows is that none of them are showing in Malaysia at the moment.

Labels: contradictheory, tv

Realiti on bittorrent

I've just discovered that Realiti is currently available on bittorrent from d-addicts.com. It should be of higher quality than what you get off YouTube.

Labels: realiti, tv

Take a bite out of Kitchen Confidential

I told myself: No more posts about TV now that Realiti has ended it's run. And, yet, the debut of Kitchen Confidential on Malaysian TV (NTV7, Wednesdays 10.45pm) forces me to at least say, Watch this show, even though it didn't last for more than 13 episodes, it's pretty tasty. Based on the Anthony Bourdain autobiography of the same name, it's a comedy in the style of Arrested Development set in the sizzling-paced world of haute cuisine.

Never mind the corny description, give the show a nibble. Okay, okay, give it a chance.

Labels: tv

So, Realiti's over. What next?

So, Realiti (season 1) is over and done with - what next? Well, I still don't know if there will be a second season of the show. Usually, if it takes this long for people to decide, it would mean a 'no'. Believe or not, the budget for this was quite high for a Malaysian show, and even then there wasn't enough left over to do any reshoots or rerecordings. On the other hand, if a company stepped forward and said they were willing to sponsor it, I'm sure it's something 8TV would sit up and listen to.

ANYWAY, that still hasn't stopped us discussing privately what we could do in a second season. Admittedly, they're short four or five sentence conversations, and I can confidently say that a second season may or may not include the following:

• It may use the same five kids or it may introduce a set of new kids.


• Mac, Wahida, Jay and Pop TV Girl may be back, or it may be a new set.


• It may be about a singing competition, or it may be about a different reality show altogether (think Survivor, Amazing Race, The Contender).

As you can see, Ping and I are great about planning ahead.

Nevertheless, there is another new Popiah Pictures production on the horizon. This is not Realiti. This is a completely different show. We're not even sure about the title yet. I'm currently going for Dwi Dunia or Hidup Kembar, but a good title should tell you what the show's about in an instant, and neither of these do.

The show will be similar to Realiti in a few ways:

• It will be produced by Popiah Pictures - that is, Ng Ping Ho and Anne Low.


• It will use at least one of the actors seen in Realiti.


• It will be set in KL.


• It will be a ten-episode series.

The show will be different in a few ways too:

• It will focus on the two main characters and not (repeat: not) be an ensemble piece.


• There will probably be no singing, off-key or otherwise.


• It will probably have very little english dialogue and no hokkien (the closest thing to this I can think of that Popiah Pictures has done is Impian Illyana, but the tone will be closer to Realiti.)


• It will use special effects.

I'm sure the last point may have made people sit up. Hmm. That's all I can tell you now, simply because the rest we haven't really decided yet. Probably due out sometime mid/late 2007.

Labels: realiti, tv

Things I learnt from Realiti

Whew. Realiti has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride. For my own good, I should do some sort of 'lessons learnt' post. Because it's always good to relook over what you've done and cringe at your mistakes. And if I do it as a post, I can get some of you to shout at me if I've missed anything out, or got anything wrong. Anyway, this is what I know, now that I've done the show:

• Writing an ensemble show is hard. Wah, we watch shows like Lost and Firefly and then get delusions of grandeur that it's really easy to plot multiple storylines over a course of a season and have them come together to make sense. It's not. It's hard for several reasons.
  
  • First, instead of having one interesting story, you need to come up with five. So, you end up with some good stories (Burn/Melody), some okay stories (Nickson), and some 'hmm...' stories (Baby, Amir). And you have to come up five interesting characters, with five different voices, and five different styles... Argh.
  
  
  • Second, it's almost impossible to stretch a story arc over ten episodes without it either being very slow, or very soap operatic. What worked was the Burn/Melody story, where it started with 'Melody is on drugs' and then transformed into 'Burn's love-redeems-all'. Roughly three episodes for each, and almost seamless. What didn't work so well was Amir's story (The ran-from-kampung didn't really segue that well into throw-the-competition-for-your-family line), and Baby's (I think the poison-pen letter storyline was too short; the resolution of the blackmail storyline was too stretched out).
  
  
  • Third, crossing-over storylines need work to make it feel natural. There needs to be a really good cause-and-effect at work. I tried to cross-over Burn's storyline to Baby's; however, in the process, I lost sight of the competition, so that had to be ditched. On the other hand, I did like how Baby's story created tension between Amir and Dayang.


• Having a clear theme would be a good thing. Sometimes, I felt like we lost direction about what the show was about. Yes, it's about a singing competition, but it isn't just that. It's more about what you would do to win the competition. The tag-line I end my notes post with has the phrase, "What would you do to become a star?". This isn't the official line, this is just something I realised very late into the writing process (despite having Ping point out that it's "all about the competition" a lot of the time). If I had this stuck on my monitor as I was writing, I think everything would have hung together much nicer.


• Planning helps. Having a good idea where you want to get to really makes a difference. That whole run between episodes 7 to 10 I think works because we had a strong theme (eliminations), and because we knew who would reach the final, so we knew which stories had to be wrapped up when, so we knew how to pace (most) of them... Compared to, say, Impian Illyana, when the episodes were more standalone, so they didn't really fit in that well.


• Malaysian audiences don't always have patience. Rather, until they've bought into the show, they don't really want absorbing storylines that have subtle turns. Well, I'm not sure that I know what I'm talking about in this one, but let me try. People thought episodes 1 and 2 were slow. But I've been through them (again), and I think there's at least as much fat in episodes 6, 8 and 10. I think audiences need to identify with a character first, before you can put them in a grind. Compare this with the first season opener for Battlestar Galactica (very tense, slowly builds up), or a lot of mid-season episodes of lost (it's all about the character and lots of 'hmm' moments). And I'm a huge fan of Inspector Morse, but I notice very few people in Malaysia took to that show. So, the lesson is, hit with a bang, then another bang, then another bang, and then slow down.


• Extreme characters become popular. I should already know this, but people like characters that make larger-than-life decisions. I think Baby (when she's bad) and Nickson (when he's gay) stick in many peoples' heads, whereas Amir and Melody are a little more low-key.


• Songs and music can tell stories. Duh. But what I mean is that I regret not pushing for songs that fit into the storyline better. The song then tells the story or reinforces the theme. For example, Melody singing 'All By Myself' to Burn on the rooftop. But it's hard to find songs that fit the style of the singer and the copyright/licensing restrictions that you have.


• Banter resets tension. Okay, this really isn't a lesson learnt, but it's quite funny to see how I've handled banter throughout my writing career (I do use this term loosely). At the beginning, I used to have a lot of banter, but Ping kept cutting it out. And then I learnt that "shorter is better", so I started to cut down on it myself. But then I realise that it's not that you want to cut unnecessary banter, but you need it to let stories breathe in between scenes sometimes. So now I wish I had pushed for a little more in some scenes (e.g. in Burn's dyslexia story).

There's probably a few more things I can write about, but I'm geting hungry, and I need to eat. Man cannot live on words alone, you understand.

Labels: realiti, tv

Realiti - Episode 10 notes

So, the final episode of Realiti, with a grand final and a whole slew of stories being wrapped up. What's surprising is that everyone thinks it ends on a cliff-hanger, but we didn't really mean to design this with a second season in mind - it should be watchable on its own.

Personally, I'm a little disappointed with this episode. It's okay, I guess, but for a season finale, it should be more than okay. Several things work against it: the season storylines seem to trot down to a gentle amble, the performances in the finale aren't the best, and some of the acting and writing feels a little rushed.

On the other hand, there are some pretty awesome shots (particularly in the Burn story) and it does end with a bang.

Nevertheless, I've said it before, and I'll say it now. Notwithstanding my bias, I think that Realiti is the best Malaysian show on television this year. If you agree with me, you should drop 8TV a line and thank them for it.

Missed it? YouTube it: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

• This is the only episode that I practically had no involvement in. Although I knew broadly what was going to happen, the devil was in the details. There was a time crunch, and I had to be out of town when Ping wrote it, so the first time I saw the script was when it was a shooting draft. I had some immediate comments, but because they had to do with structure, and because they were so late in the day, they couldn't be incorporated.


• The biggest arguments I had with Ping throughout the whole series was whether to return Melody to the competition. I simply felt it was too unrealistic, and a too drama-minggu-ini for my liking. Her waking up, okay. Her fighting against the odds to see Burn for perhaps one last time at the final five performance, perhaps. But for her to have od'd, woken up, be fit enough to reenter the competition... aiyo, too much lah. So Ping and I fought, and fought, and fought. And he won out. But I have to grudgingly admit that having Jay press for her does lend credibility to it.


• A bit wierd, to see Nickson drop back into happy-gay mode after his storyline has been wrapped up. But he does work as light relief.


• Funny how Burn and Melody are a little cool to one another when you first see them meet up. I'll just assume they saw each other earlier and got the mushy stuff over and done with then.


• The attack on Wahida was a little overdone for me. My original story idea was to just have an envelope on the windshield wiper.





• Burn and Joe's phone conversation - solid gold. "Apasal lu tak bunuh aje gua malam tu, bro?"


• Baby's storyline is the weakest of the three. I got that impression from the first read. It's not clear what's happening, it's just a lot of exposition. Although Baby makes a decision at the end, it's not as strong as I would like.


• Another thing that annoyed me - Baby's kidnapper was arrested somewhere that looked very similar to where Burn and Joe met up with the drug dealers. Almost exactly the same, in fact, even though the two stories don't really have anything to do with one another. Must be a really seedy part of town.


• Cheyenne Stutzriem (Fazrina) gives quite a good performance in this episode. I don't know her that well, but we did have a conversation where I told her that if she was naughty, we'd put her in a velcro suit and stick her to the ceiling. She didn't really believe me, for some reason.


• Even though we didn't discuss this, it's interesting that Ping decided to go with the 'all the contestants love one another' idea for the episode, although it real life, you usually see some degree of factioning between the kids. It would have been an idea to get Amir/Baby facing up against Melody/Burn.


• There was that moment between Mac and Wahida which got fans of Maria Farida all a-flutter. Mac was indeed meant to have a story arc waaay when we started, but he got pushed aside by the kids' stories. And yes, the backstory (that we never actually got around to saying) is that Mac and Wahida had a pre-existing relationship.


• Carmen Soo with her hair up - nice. Carmen Soo with her long hair down - very nice.


• That bit where Mac gives the kids his farewell speech is hyper-cheesy. I would have rewritten it, for sure.


• Songs sung this episode: Best of Them All by Douglas Lim (all contestants); Selamanya by Douglas Lim (Baby); Looking Down by Douglas Lim (Melody); Akustatik by OAG (Amir).







• Personally, I really like that group piece that all five do before the final begins. They're all pretty much in tune. They all look nice. And it's a nice song. What more do you want?


• Okay. So Melissa says she's not so good at singing. I think she can actually do better than she thinks she can - it's all a vicious circle of poor confidence and self-fulfilling prophecies. However, it's horribly obvious Baby did not sing her finale song well at all. Based on the judges' comments, I can only conclude that they were all stone deaf that day, or maybe they were on some sort of hyper-optimistic happy pill.


• That bit where Burn says goodbye to Melody and she gives him her locket is really well photographed. It actually really is directly behind the stage at Sri Pentas 2, but obviously better lighted than usual.


• Although I was initiallly okay with how the Amir/Jay story ended, now I wish that Jay had a little more of a comeuppance. Suffered a bit, you know what I mean.


• We weren't quite sure who would win, right up until we were planning the ninth episode. What we did agree was that whoever won would have to also lose something. So, Melody wins, but she loses Burn. We had an alternative where Amir wins. If I remember, it was something like: Jay stops paying for the hospital bills, Dad falls ill, Amir has to decide whether to stay in the competition or go back home, Amir decides to stay, Amir sings, Amir wins, but you find out that the father has passed away. We're callous with lives like that.


• Okay, the big question that lots of people asked after the end. What happened? Is that how it ends? Is Burn dead?!! When Ping and I were planning this, we weren't thinking of a cliffhanger for season two. In fact, Ping's original idea was to have one of them die in the other's arms. Melody in Burn's, Burn in Melody's, I can't remember which. But I was worried about the sentimentality and said it should be handled really carefully. Then his script called for Joe to emerge from the back seat when Burn gets into the car, but now you don't see the death. Finally he decided on what you see on-screen, which I think is an even better ending. But I'm avoiding the question: is Burn dead? Well, I don't know. It depends if there is a second season. And even then...

Realiti. 10pm Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Nazrudin Rahman, Juliana Ibrahim, Kee Thuan Chye, Reefa, Lydia Ibtisam, Nell Ng, Cheyenne Stutzriem, Aishah Sinclair. Special appearances by Fat Fabes, Carmen Soo and Fly Guy. What would you do to become a star?

Labels: realiti, tv

Best of Them All - Cast of Realiti

So I said I wouldn't upload any mp3s, but I kinda really like this song, so I decided to YouTube the sucker. Nice song, all the kids sound okay - what more do you want?

Labels: realiti, tv

One Step by Chelsia Ng

The voters have spoken: If it's Melody Yeoh you want, it's Chelsia Ng you'll get!

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

One Step by Melody, from the first episode of Realiti.

Labels: realiti, tv

Realiti - Episode 9 notes

We're now one step away from the last episode of Realiti, and personally, I honestly don't know if the next is the last ever episode or not. 8TV haven't said whether they want a second season. If you are curious (or you really want to watch a second season of Mac trying to be tough, yet nice, to a bunch of good looking people), drop them a note at their website. Actually, if you want a soundtrack of their songs, or merchandise (they have a notebook with the five kids on the cover), then you can ask them for that as well.

Talking about the soundtrack, I have managed to get hold of the first cuts of the kids singing songs. These are recordings of Ashraf, Zizan, Mel, Chelsia and Alvin warbling, before final post-production, so it's all a little raw and... er... not as in tune as we would like. I want to put a track or two up, but I shall leave it to you all to decide which of the five get the priveliege. Vote in the poll in this post, and if you want one song in particular, tell me in the comments below.

So, as usual, don't read these notes if you haven't seen the episode. You can watch them on YouTube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

• Although Ping is credited as scriptwriter for this episode, I actually came up with the first draft of the story outline. There are big differences between that draft and the final version, and it's Ping's final script, so that's why his name is up there. But it would have been nice to have a 'story by' credit. I am indeed a whore for attention.


• Yes, the question must be asked: Why would Baby keep the photo of Fazrina when it has "I KNOW YOUR SECRET" plastered all over the back? Well, erm... because it serves the plot (*cringe*). Actually, I originally wanted it to be a letter, but Ping argued that a photo would be better because it better reminded Baby of how poorly she's stayed in touch with her daughter. Of course, if Baby wanted photos of Fazrina, all Baby would have had to do is ask Constance. But that doesn't serve the plot.


• The bits where you see Amir or Burn sitting on a ledge. Well... they are really sitting on a ledge. With no safety cables. They're not jumping around, but I myself have a very sensible fear of falling long distances, so I would have probably not done this as an actor. (There could have been a crew member ready to leap across to grab him if needed - he'd be called a grip, right? Geddit? Grip?)


• Originally, I wanted the drugs to be in tablet form, with a design etched on them. This is how they are branded, with hearts or doves, or something equally peace-loving. Ping opted for some alien-like logo. I would have preferred something more ironic.


• Joe calls girls 'chicas'. I only know one person in real life who says this, but that's license enough for me to use it in dialogue.


• Originally there was more Jay/Amir interaction about the newspaper rumour in episode 8. Because of time, it's now in episode 9.


• I don't know if Ping intentionally sourced Nike so that Joe's wearing a sweatshirt from them when he says, "As the shoe company says, Just Do It, man". But it's a nice touch.


• The scene where Dayang enters Baby's room and takes her photo was meant to be in episode 8. I originally had her find personal photos of Amir and Baby together, which she tears up in a fit of anger. After writing this, I took to calling Dayang 'Psycho Girl', and Lydia used to crinkle her pretty brow at me everytime I called her this. Of course, trust her to give a pretty sensitive portrayal on screen, so she isn't 'psycho' so much as 'sedih'.


• Incidentally, does anybody else think it's strange that Baby would have a photo of herself on her desk? Or it's just completely in line with her narcissism.






• The food that you see Dayang eating when Amir goes to see her is probably really her lunch. Lunch and dinner is provided on set, and they always come in these white polystyrene boxes, with nasi, one veg, and one bit of animal. No, the cast and crew don't get a long buffet line or a catering van or a menu. And everyone pretty much eats the same food - the only differences are halal/non-halal/vegetarian.


• I distintively remember writing the Amir/Dayang dialogue, where Amir says that why do those in the kampung accept that people help one another, but people from KL are more cynical, and assume there is an agenda. This is one thing I wanted to get through about Amir - that he is genuinely a nice guy, but in trying to be nice, he gets into trouble. I personally have a problem that I find it hard to say 'no', and when I do, it's usually too late, so there's a whole bit of me in Amir, I guess.


• That bit at the end of the Amir/Dayang conversation, when Dayang asks Amir to not see Baby again, is something that resonates with me. When I write stuff like that, it feels like I'm exposing myself - even though hardly anybody out there will know what it means.


• I think this is another good episode for Melissa and Zizan, acting-wise. Wish they were like this in Table for Two.


• I had a scene which shows Burn stealing a set of crutches, in order to pretend to be a patient and sneaking into the hospital. But, "the nurses dig me" works as well.


• When Baby slaps Amir, I keep thinking, "Hit HARDER!". Mel's just too nice.


• The montage of Burn calling for money is actually not great writing. Montages like this are shortcuts for "time passes...", where the same thing is said in practically every cut. But they're easy to write.


• Okay, authenticity check. In real life, on the day of the performance, the kids spend practically the whole day at the stage, preparing for the show later that night. In retrospect, it would have been better to set the whole episode at Sri Pentas, against a background of rehearsals. But, I think it was hard to find shooting time there, anyway. My bad, though.






• That whole bit from Burn and Joe visiting the dealers and then the ensuing fight is completely Ping. My version had a lot of detectiving, and Ping complained, "Where do they have time to do that?!!"


• So, when I set a scene in a completely new location, Ping rails at me for increasing his costs. When he writes a scene in a drug dealer's hideout in Bukit Bintang, it automatically makes the final cut. Wonder why.


• Ping said that the fight scene between Burn and Joe was incredibly intense to shoot. Ashraf and Reefa went full force into each other.


• Despite fighting in some back corridor in the seedier side of KL, note that their clothes stay clean. Most of the nicer clothes and furniture are sponsored. Don't sit on the wrong sofa on set or you'll get roundly scolded for it.


• "What do you mean, tinggal dua saja?" Hahahaha. I love that bit.


• Songs sung: Pernah by Ferhad (Baby); NowWhy2 by OAG (Amir); Ayu by VE (Burn).


• I know that even Melissa herself says she can't sing, but I think what she did for this show is pretty nice.


• "I'm Burn, man. Always ready." - My line, that. Heh.


• It's actually pretty obvious that Burn was going to lose this one. There was no reason for Amir to lose votes, and Baby's story isn't over yet.


• And yet, for those who watched the "next week" clips, you know there's one more person's story to wrap up...

Realiti. 10pm Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Nazrudin Rahman, Juliana Ibrahim, Kee Thuan Chye, Reefa, Lydia Ibtisam, Nell Ng, Aishah Sinclair. Special appearances by Fat Fabes, Carmen Soo and Fly Guy. What would you do to become a star?

Labels: realiti, tv

Realiti's Nickson: How his story came about

"Why was Nickson kicked out? To prove the point that gays can't be on reality TV? That's tragic isn't it?"

That's what Karin wrote below, as a comment to episode 8 of Realiti. And yes, I agree that if that was the point, then it would be extremely tragic. But, of course, that wasn't really the point we were trying to make.

(I was going to reply to this in a comment, but then realised that it would have taken up a little bit too much space. And everything I write below is from my vague and fuzzy memory. Ping might contradict what I have here, and if he does, I'll edit this post to accommodate his comments.)

First of all, the idea of Nickson as an effeminate character was Ping's from the very beginning. He felt that people would like watching him, and I think the original preview audience feedback supported it. People like a campish character who bitches about everything and generally acts silly.

I personally didn't like that we had to resort to that kind of humour to reach an audience. It's a cheap shot, and because we're doing it over and over again, it's a bucket-load of cheap shots. Like buckshot made of rock salt or something. Not difficult to get hold of, and leaves a funny taste in the mouth. On the other hand, there were real-life people who fitted the mould (Adam of Malaysian Idol 2, for example; or Bob from Akademi Fantasia), so it wasn't really that far of a stretch to put them in.

Never mind, I said. What's the story? What is it about them that will change throughout the series? I don't remember there being any doubt that we would be tackling Nickson's effeminity (is there such a word), one way or the other. Exactly what, we debated upon that.

One choice would be to have people insisting that he be more manly, that he stop being so soft. This is exactly what happened to Adam of MI2. Judges kept telling him to firm up, add a little masculinity to his performance. I always wondered, "Why?". The core of every performance is honesty, and if somebody feels a fake in what they do, then I don't think they do so well. So, I thought this would be an interesting dilemma.

The other choice was to actually step up and make Nickson gay. If we did that, the dilemma would be different. He would have had more to lose. Can an openly gay character win votes on a reality show? Maybe, maybe not. There certainly would be controversy, but I think there have been plenty of Malaysian artists who have that implicit lifestyle. So being gay, in itself, may not cause that many problems.

But what if his fanbase were primarily young, teenage girls? How would that play out? As I asked, what if Daniel of MI2 had told all his teeny-bopping pink-clad hyperactive female fans, "sorry girls, I'm more interested in guys". I think he would alienate his core base, and lose votes.

Of course, it doesn't have to be sexual orientation. In fact, we put Amir through a similar sort of wringer with all the accusations of him being involved with Baby. But the big difference is, Amir doesn't choose which way to go. With Nickson, we tried to put it at his feet. Make a choice: Deny your close relationship with Calvin, or lose your chance to win Malaysian Star.

(Incidentally, Karin, it is this element of choice that is important in storytelling. Remember, Raz or David said that you shouldn't have an Act of God as a key plot element? It should be a choice. And it can't be an easy choice. That's what I like about the Burn/Melody storyline in episode 7. After Mac discovers the drugs, everything that happens to them is a result of choices made. I think that the Nickson story in episode 8 lacks that build-up.)

Despite what you may read into what I've said above, I need to make one thing clear: We were NOT trying to tackle homosexuality as an issue. We were trying to tell a story, and those issues happened to be the mechanisms to tell that story. We were certainly not trying to say whether it's right or wrong.

If we had Nickson admit his relationship with Calvin, and then carry on to get the votes, then there wouldn't be a dilemma. He wouldn't have lost anything. It would have been a bad story.

(Myself, I feel that a personal lifestyle choice is... well, personal. As in, not anybody elses business.)

Labels: realiti, tv

Realiti - Episode 8 notes

We're heading to the final stretch now. My feeling is that the fan-base is growing, which is good but it's unfortunate there's only two episodes left after this. I have no idea if there will be a second season, you have to ask 8TV about that.
If you missed it on Sunday, say thanks to YouTube: YouTube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

• When I wrote this, I mainly dealt with the Burn storyline and the broad aspects of the Nickson story. There also was a Baby story which got shunted into the next episode. Anyway, here is the script.


• I'm not entirely happy with this episode. The Burn storyline is okay, but the Nickson and the Amir stories don't feel so natural. I wish now I had spent more time on those.


• For completeness, based on the poll for episode 7 that I posted earlier in this blog, Nickson would have been kicked out, Amir would have come out top, and Carmen Soo would have had a million-dollar recording contract.


• A lot of stories got moved around between episodes 8 and 9 (and maybe 7 too). Not enough time, and because I wrote too much anyway. This is why there might be some scenes in the script that you don't see on the screen.


• The opening scene, where Burn gets recognised by a VCD seller, was initially meant to be my humourous take on how Burn's life can never be the same now he's been on TV. Imagine getting sold a VCD on Petaling Street by Daniel. Then, somehow, the idea that grew into Burn betting on himself. I thought that Burn would have too much pride to want to rejoin this dumb competition. But when there's money on the table...


• The ringtone that interrupts Joe's work in the beginning wasn't as cheesy as I had imagined it. I wanted a monotone version 'All By Myself' (matching Melody's original song in the last showdown). Like this one. And then that song changed. Not that it was my idea to do so.


• Not once, not twice, but... many, many times, Chelsia has accused me of purposely putting her in a coma so that I didn't have to write dialogue for her to act to. "You made me lie in a hospital bed, what kind of acting can I do with that?!!". Hey, don't blame the writer, I go where the story flows, babe. (Now I'm going to get killed for calling her 'babe'...)


• I hope I didn't go too overboard with Jay in this episode. He really comes across as being a bad guy, even though Naz puts sincerity in the role.






• The bit where Mac tells Burn that David has problem paying the bills is pretty clumsy exposition. Sometimes you just want to get the facts out, so you write straight dialogue that says "He's got problems paying the bills". The only reason you might have noticed this is because you get focussed on Mac and Burn arguing on Burn rejoining the competition.


• How do I write scenes in Hokkien? I don't. I write in English, somebody else translates. (Not sure who, Douglas Lim maybe.)


• Ping regretted not having more interaction scenes between the students. In one way I agree, because those scenes can be a lot of fun - a lot of one-liners, very fast. But if the stories are good enough on their own...?


• The whole Amir/Baby-buys-Harry Potter-for-Fazrina came from Ping. It's meant to bring Amir and Baby closer together. And for a chance for Dayang to get jealous. Because Lydia playing jealous looks scarily natural. Which I like, of course.


• "Cakap dari hati". I didn't remember I put this in originally, but it's one of the things I say a lot: "Act from the heart". Now I think about it, I realise it's something that permeates all three storylines in this episode - I didn't even mean it to be this way. Sometimes the story tells you more about the writer than the story itself.


• If you go back throughout my history with Popiah Pictures, you'll notice that the shows never have good fathers in them. It's mostly either fathers who cheat or fathers who are abusive. At best, it's fathers who abandon their families. However, there was a script I did for him for an abandoned series, where a father and a daughter learned to reconcile with one another. Probably why that series was abandoned, neh?


• There's a quick bit on TV when Juliana is wearing a red dress. Mmm.


• Baby gives Amir a guitar pick. Hopefully you all with long memories will think back to when Dayang gave Amir guitar strings (back in episode 1) to show him how much she cared for him.


• I screwed up somewhere on the Baby dialogue when she's confronted by the press about her relationship with Baby. As it is, it's not clear whether she's talking about Amir or whether she thinks the idea of her having a relationship during the competition is just silly. She should avoided all doubt and said: "You ingat aku dengan Amir? Please-lah - aku pun ada standard, tahu."


• And then just before Baby goes up to perform, she can talk to Amir. "Aku nervouslah" "Baby jangan gementar. Baby boleh beri persembahan yang hebat." "Thanks." "Baby ada standard, kan?"





• The songs sung on tonight's episode: Meant to Be by Douglas Lim and Angel Wong (Baby); Khayalan by VE (Burn); Venusia by OAG (Amir); Katakan Saja by Ferhad (Nickson).


• Amir sings exactly the same song he did in the last showdown (in fact, he sings the first verse EXACTLY the same - like it's recorded or something...). I think this wouldn't have been allowed. I wonder if it's because Ping and I weren't sure exactly when he was going to get eliminated, that Azizan didn't have enough songs prepared.


• That intro to Burn's song - pretty cool cinematography. In fact, pretty cool performance all throughout.


• Don't like the laughing and booing for Nickson's and Amir's performance. A bit too loud and too much.


• The way Nickson reveals his love for Calvin on national TV was debated between me and Ping. I wanted Nickson to pull Calvin up on stage. And then just pull him. Ping showed his quiet disagreement by saying, "You're joking, right?!! Tell me you're just playing with me". Sometimes I know when to stop arguing.


• Incidentally, Ahmad Izham Omar co-wrote Katakan Saja. (Izham is Chief Operating Officer/Big Boss for 8TV.)


• My original version of Nickson's confrontation with his dad was a lot harsher. I much prefer my version over what eventually was shown.

Realiti. 10pm Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Nazrudin Rahman, Juliana Ibrahim, Kee Thuan Chye, Gambit, Reefa, Ian Ng, Wong Yok Kim, Lydia Ibtisam, Nell Ng, Cheyenne Stutzriem, Aishah Sinclair. Special appearances by Fat Fabes, Carmen Soo and Fly Guy. What would you do to become a star?

Labels: realiti, tv

New and good stuff on TV these days

That time of the year again when I talk about new television shows. What's interesting is that every year, the way I source these shows gets a little more sophisticated. At this point in time, practically all the television I watch (including Malaysian shows) comes across the Internet.

What's changed this year is that it's even easier than before to do this. It's now possible to set up your PC to automagically download shows as soon as they are available, and you can watch it at your leisure, whenever you want, (and if you're using a laptop) wherever you want. It's kind of like Astro Max except... better.

Even if you don't want to do this, you can pretty much watch everything directly off the net. The first three shows listed below have the latest episodes available on the official websites, Battlestar Galactica can be bought off iTunes (if you can get a bloomin' account with them!), and the last one has episodes on YouTube.

Let's face it, TV won't be TV anymore. It'll be anytime, anywhere via the 'net.

Anyway, what's on that's new and good these days?

• Heroes: Best US show debuting this year. In my Humble Opinion (tm), of course. If I say that it's about a disprate group of people who each discover they have special abilities and that they try to come to grips with newfound talents while saving the world... you might think, ho-hum. So what. But it's good. Great story-telling, good characters, a true ensemble piece. Each episode has seven disprate storylines to follow, and yet it doesn't confuse. Tremendously engaging. You've got to watch it to get what I mean.


• Friday Night Lights: Based on the book and the film of the same name, it focusses on a head coach of a high school American football team and his problems in trying to mould them into a team of winners. The thing is, this team is all that the town has, and everybody invests a great deal of hope and emotion in it. It's shot in a really nice shaky-cam, docu-style way, and the acting and dialogue sound completely natural and unforced. Even if you don't like American Football (I don't), it's worth a look.


• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Aaron Sorkin's back, baby, and he's still on form. The creator of the West Wing has returned to network television which so cruelly spurned him three years ago with a show about - wait for it - network television. It's based around a live comedy show, something like Saturday Night Live, except that it runs on Friday nights, and stars Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry (better here than in Friends, I reckon). Only unfortunate thing in real life, the ratings aren't so hot, and it may not be around past December.


• Battlestar Galactica: Yeah, baby. Season three is back with a bang. It starts off with the humans taking the battle to the cylons the only way they can - using hit-and-run tactics, inflicting maximum damage and carnage to high profile targets. Like terrorists. The cylons, on the other hand, impose martial law and use torture and severe punishment to try and keep order. Like certain present-day governments I can think of. Edgy and brave, this science fiction show debates present-day issues more effectively than any other drama on television. I've just watched episode 2, and my jaw is still hanging from what I saw happen in the end. (Also, Grace Park in a flight suit is... erm... nice.)


• Veronica Mars: Neptune's favourite chirpy-yet-noirish amateur detective is back for a third season, and she's still pretty chirpy and noirish, if a little more grown up. As if having your best friend murdered and then later, thinking your dad got blown up isn't enough to prematurely age most people. The creators are trying to move the show to a more adult level by placing Veronica in college, and tackling student rape as a storyline. And you know what? It kinda still works. Veronica may be Mars to you, but she Rocks for me.


• Realiti: Of course I had to mention this. I think it's the best locally produced thing on television this year. If anyone has seen better, tell me. But if you say Gol & Gincu - I don't think so. And I'm not just being biased - I wrote an episode for that too, you know.

Labels: tv

Realiti - Episode 7 notes

So, finally, the first elimination episode. This episode is special because I wrote it, and because it aired so close to my birthday - and because it's actually pretty good. Or at least, I think so. Of course, I am biased and am watching it with a very refracted sense of criticality, but I really do think it works as an episode. Of course, anybody out there who watched it and thought it sucked, I apologise profusely. But if any of you liked it - cool.

Missed it? Don't fret, say thanks to You Tube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

• Because it's my episode, here's the script.


• Finally, the first elimination episode. It's taken so long to get here just because we love all our characters and didn't want them to disappear so early. We actually spent a fair amount of time trying to decide who would be eliminated when, and were changing it around even during the episode 9/episode 10 drafts. And the winner? Heck, there were three names in the air up to the very end. The rule of thumb is this: if a character still has a story to tell, he/she doesn't get eliminated. Or not really eliminated anyway, as the "Next Week..." clips demonstrate this week.


• Talking about the "Next Week..." clips, I feel that it spoils the surprises. My advice is to not watch it for the next few episodes.


• Notice how Baby's wound shifts from the center of her head to the side. And then later on disappears. This indeed is the magic of television.


• There are some problems in timing. When exactly is the showdown? Baby says it's in two more days. The next day, both Juliana and Mac say that it's in two more days. What they obviously mean, because the showdown is in the evening, they have two more days to prepare. Anyway, when they say "two days", what they mean is "tomorrow".


• I wish I had written a rehearsal scene for them, but this episode has so much story in it, there isn't really much space left for anything else. The dialogue that Mac has just before the show was initially meant to be during rehearsals, but it's all talk and no sing.


• Early on in the episode, as they are meeting the fans, Nickson says something like, "ikan kat pasar tu kan, dia potong dengan laser, tahu", which is definitely not something I had written. That's Alvin for you. Ad-libber. Scene-stealer.


• In the original draft, Burn palms the drugs when Mac barges into the bathroom. Mac then grabs hold of Burn's wrist, not Melody's. I still prefer the original version. But because I don't have the word 'Producer' next to my name, they went with the other one.


• I'm actually quite happy with how the Nickson storyline works in this episode. It's not so direct about Nickson's gayness, but I hope that it's clear that that is one of the sticking points in his relationship with his father. Anyway, it's a lot more obvious next episode.


• I like the scene where Mac, Jay and David argue about whether Melody should stay in. First draft by me, and then lots of rewrites, and Ping had a strong hand in the final version, I think. Does David want Melody to stay in because it's what's is best for her? I tried to at least make you believe that he thinks he's doing the right thing.





• The scene on the roof: classic. I have no idea whether it was Ping or me who first came up with it, but it's the big scene I was waiting to write. I'm going to say it was my idea, and that I set it on the roof. It's a classic love scene where two people say they love each other, without actually using those words.


• It's one of those few scenes that didn't actually change very much from the first to the final draft. Ironically, Ping changed the scene because it was too long at the beginning. (And maybe he thought the dialogue sucked, but he didn't really say that, and I don't think that was the case either.) It ended up running a little longer, split up across two scenes.


• The line about the Twin Towers? Originally came from Ping. It's okay to use cheese if you point out it's very Drama Minggu Ini-ish in the dialogue. And when you can get a rooftop with the Twin Towers in the background. It has my blessings anyway, and I edited to keep it in with full gusto. And relish.


• One thing that did change for the rooftop scene was the song that Melody sings. Originally it was All By Myself, and I wrote the dialogue so that the lyrics really fit in with what Melody wanted to say ("Hard to be sure / Sometimes I feel so insecure / And love so distant and obscure / Remains the cure"). When Ping switched songs, he paid scant attention to the words. Who can blame him, he's just the director. I pointed this out to him, but he didn't feel moved enough by my impassionate plea to change it back. Gah. Producers.


• You do realise that all the songs the kids perform are by local artists? The simple reason is because the license to use is much cheaper than for foreign artists. I did a fair amount of research, trying to get just the right song to fit a scene, and all of it - all of it - got thrown down the drain.


• SMS competition time: SMS 'real' to 33838 for a chance to win Swatch watches and a Phil Collins CD.


• The Jay/Amir scene is really long, and surprisingly holds up, I think. Basically, long scenes with long dialogue is Dzof, shorter scenes are from Ping. He says the actors get angry with me because my dialogue so tough to say. I like the West Wing and am living proof that without skill, wordy dialogue comes out less clever, and more difficult.


• A lot of the stage preparation shots came from season 2 Malaysian Idol grand final in Genting.


• I think that in one of my earlier drafts, the kids have to force their way through a swathe of fans, and we have Burn and Amir fans fighting each other. This boils over to Burn and Amir actually fighting themselves. But it's out, probably because of budget and because it's not directly relevant to the story.





• "Ingat lirik, ya Burn" - I don't remember writing it, but it's in one of my early drafts, so it must have been my line. It gets confusing sometimes remembering which work Ping did and which I did. I want the credit, but TV writing so much a collaboration. Even the actors ad-lib a lot of the time. At the end of the day, it's a huge messy ramli-burger like thing that you hope is still edible despite the irritating undigestible bits in them.


• Aishah Sinclair (Ashraf's sister) is the host for the showdown. The judges are Fat Fabes, Carmen Soo and Fly Guy. I had a chance to watch the Carmen Soo shoot, but somebody forced me to go floating in the Klang harbour instead. (He obviously isn't a fan of Carmen Soo.)


• Songs this week: Baby by Douglas Lim (specially written for Baby), Detik Bersamamu by VE (Nickson), Venusia by OAG (Amir), Ratu Hati by Innuendo (Melody), Tiada Lagi Cinta by Ruffedge (Burn).


• The thing is, I have absolutely no idea how the kids will sing when I write the script. So, I put in the judges to make comments, so you'd have a clue of how well or badly they perform. After that, it's out of my hands, baby. Pun intended.


• One thing I almost forgot: Ping and I had a loooong discussion/argument about how Burn was going to exit the studio. I originally had him storming out before the announcer finished speaking, and then he got violent in the lobby, punching out Mac, and ended up on the back of a big black motorbike driven by Joe. And then, in the next draft, I had him punching out David. And then Amir. And then Mac again (I think). And the bike turned into a car. But, all the while, Ping kept cutting all the good stuff now, so all you get is Burn pushing away the camera in disgust. I still think a good fight would have been better.


• So Melody has a stash of drugs in her diary, and a big one at that. I liked the idea that something so personal, would also be where she hid her sin. Makes you think again why she was angry when Burn read her diary in episode 5.

Realiti. 10pm Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Nazrudin Rahman, Juliana Ibrahim, Lydia Ibtisam, Nell Ng, Kee Thuan Chye, Cheyenne Stutzriem, Aishah Sinclair. Special appearances by Fat Fabes, Carmen Soo and Fly Guy. What would you do to become a star?

Labels: realiti, tv

Realiti - Episode 6 notes

Sorry this has taken some time, but I shall put the blame squarely on Raz (who had written the episode) because I only got her notes from her today.

Watch before you read, courtest of YouTube: 1, 2, 3, 4

Photos courtesy of Popiah Pictures and Chelsia Ng


Notes are by Razlina Ramli. Notes in green by me.

By the way, Raz's employers, 95% Trainings, have a writing workshop this Sunday (15 October 2006) - get in touch with them if you want to know more.

• Well I enjoyed it. There were times I had to remind myself I wrote this piece. Ah… what a nice change from me cringing at the sofa and watching the show from in between my fingers.


• The pace picks up from here to the end of the season, as we're about to hit the elimination stretch of the show. The debate is still a little out I guess on whether we should have kicked out contestants earlier on, since some on the forums are saying, "Eh, how come nobody voted out yet?", but I don't want to have lost characters before we had a chance to tell their stories.


• Melody and Burn’s character have blossomed which is, yeah. When we were at pre, pre- production stages, we weren’t sure with whom Burn should have a relationship with or at least seemingly having a relationship with. A lot of hours debating in a particular coffee shop ensued, with Ping wanted him to go with Baby, Dzof was … can’t remember but I am certain he had a long commentary on who should go with whom and why. So much so, Ping decided it is not working to have all the writers in one sitting because he said we kind of sidetracked from the storylines, sometimes, …Okay so Dzof and I joked a lot because we were looking at our past experiences to see whether the story sticks or was it too incomprehensible. Anyway, I thought it would not be much fun having Burn and Baby together because I imagined Baby would have many of those kinds of friends in the past. Melody provided a much needed stress for Burn because for one, she’s kind of messed up, does not clamour for his undying attention unlike the rest of the fans and she is a chick in trouble. So, that worked out pretty well. Besides, Baby would not have given him a toss.
• Agreed. Although I thought the Melody/Amir combo had a lot of nice possibilities too.


• Speaking of Baby, I like it when she told Amir, “Get out of my sight!” that was fun to write and watch. I like writing such things for her and I like Amir to be the rough diamond type but somehow I didn’t get it out the way I had envisaged him as. Amir seemed a bit lost, which maybe I am not too sure why but maybe Dzof can fill us in as he is always at the shoot. Well, seemingly he is always at the shoot.
• Indeed. I live for the reflected glory that are Malaysian TV stars.


• I kind of like the way Ping had grilled and re-grill me when I was writing this episode. Every time I am pleased with my writing and send him the copy with a glee on my face, he will undoubtedly comeback with remarks such as “..the opening not fast enough-la”or “The middle too slow,..” sometimes I get, “the juicy bits too late it’s about to end already….” That went on for several weeks. It could get quite arghhhh!! But I liked it, it was all worth the anxiety, frustration et el because the end product was fun (to me). In particular I liked the ending, it was fast, lots of going ons and a cliff hanger… although I remembered mine had a car chase…. Yeah when I wrote in Ping did look skeptical that I was turning it into a thriller. The only comment was I thought the police were slow. I mean like the car boot scene, huh? He had to wait? Why not just smash the windscreen and open the boot? Right? I missed something there.
• I was talking to Anne the other day, and she said that she thought the original chase scene was a little bit 24-ish. And out of budget too. What I always say as a writer is just write first, worry about the budget later!


• Dzof thought the ending was a bit ….blah and maybe he said cliché. Okay can’t have everything. But one thing for sure the heat is on.
• Hah. You just wait for the cliff-hanger next week.


• Dayang has more emotions in this one, so does Melody, Burn and Wahida. Amir is kind of Mr. Perfect, I didn’t see the dilemma he was suppose to be in as Ping had wanted in, so maybe that’s the writer’s shortcomings. Other wise it was fun. Okay Dzof now you can say whatever you like. Hahahaha.
• Already have, babe.


• Some thoughts on the Nickson storyline. I swear, this episode's story came out before a similar storyline on Lost (the one where the Korean girl meets that hotel manager). Complete coincidence. I thought I may have came up with it, but a quick search through email shows the first time it's mentioned to me is in script form already. Things get so confusing sometimes. I do remember saying that maybe Nickson should help the girl solve her problem, and in doing so realise that he is in a similar predicament, but it was shortened.


• Talking about short, this episode comes in at under forty minutes, which must be some sort of record for what some call a 1-hour show. As it is, anything over forty four minutes is long, so I'm trying to figure out if anything was cut. There was that bit when Amir goes and visits Baby, and the video goes all slow, six-million dollar man like, but I looked at the script, and I don't think there really was anything cut out.

Realiti. 10pm Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Nazrudin Rahman, Juliana Ibrahim, Maria Farida, Lydia Ibtisam, Nell Ng, Reefa, Mazin Siraj. What would you do to become a star?

Labels: realiti, tv

Realiti - Episode 5 notes

A word before I begin this. Despite what some people might think, I am not a producer for Realiti, merely a humble scriptwriter. The real producers are Ping Ho and Anne Low of Popiah Pictures, who do the hard work of coming up with the original idea, figuring out the structure for the whole series, selling it to the studio, finding sponsors, casting the actors, approving locations, directing, and, yes, occasionally writing for the show.

Because I get along with Ping relatively well, we also spend hours in coffee shops throwing ideas at each other, as well as dissecting scripts. Note that he is the one who decides what stays and what goes. On the other hand, I take immense pride in having helped shape a large part of the series. This is, without doubt, the proudest piece of writing work I have ever been involved with. I'm sure it's not the best I can do, but it feels like I'm getting there.

Anyway, as usual, I have spoilers throughout this post. So, if you prefer, you can first watch it on YouTube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

By the way, Melissa has her own Behind-the-Scenes thing for this episode on her blog. Because she doesn't believe in permalinking her posts (WHY?!!), you'll have to scroll down to the post marked 'excess baggage', and then scroll down a little more after the list. In it she talks about wiping her tears and mascara on Amir, sleazy fans and what she thinks of her singing.

• Minggu Lepas..., Azizan reminds us what happened last time round. Aiyo... looks so dramatic, lo. I tried - really tried - not to fall into the whole Drama Minggu Ini mode of storytelling, but it's easy to be melodramatic if the humour doesn't cut it the other way. Must try better next time.


• Ping had the idea of an episode where Baby gets a poison pen letter from the beginning. For Baby, image is everything, so somebody attacking her from that angle would really hurt her. Obviously, the one person who wouldn't really care is Amir, which is one reason we have them interacting later on.


• There was a contestant on Malaysian Idol who received a poison pen letter and I think the title was, "10 Reasons Why ... Should Not Be Malaysian Idol". I can't remember if I told the team this, or if it's just sheer coincidence that Kartini/Ping used practically the same words.


• Incidentally, I find it quite incredible that people would take the time and effort to sit down and compose poison pen letters. Although those on the receiving end say it doesn't affect them, the truth is that it does. In most cases, there is some truth in the letters, albeit a truth that has been twisted into something bitter and unrecognisable. My take on them? Peoples' private lives are their own and just because they're stars, it doesn't mean you have full permission to probe and expose what they want to keep personal.

Photos couresy of Popiah Pictures and Chelsia Ng




• Ah Tak is played by Douglas Lim, who is also responsible for all the music you hear the kids sing on the show. Well, if he hasn't written it, then he's produced it or arranged it.


• Songs sung this week: Back to You by Douglas Lim (Baby); Izinkan by VE (Burn); Higher Deeper by Ferhad (Nickson); Tears and Flowers by Douglas Lim (Melody); and Amir sings a song by John's Mistress (don't know the title). (Thanks to Chelsia and Douglas for this info)


• Okay, this is what I really can't stand. The whole point is that Amir is not comfortable singing in English. So why the hell would he pick an English song to serenade Dayang with? Incidentally, in the script, it just says "Amir serenades Dayang", no song title.


• Heh. I'm pretty sure I came up with the Ramly Burger scene, although originally Joe was involved, and he was teasing Burn about getting the hots for Melody. It turned into this "So, Daddy said, huh?" scene, which is much better. Kudos to Kartini/Ping.


• The Pop TV announcer is basically a tool for exposition, so Juliana really doesn't have much opportunity to shine in this role - but I do think she looks nice in her top.


• Okay, I don't like those banner ads interupting the show, but since it's related to Realiti, I'll forgive it this one time. If you want pictures of the kids on your handphone, send an SMS to 33838, with the message 8TVRC 40609 for Amir, 8TVRC 40611 for Baby, 8TVRC 40612 for Burn, 8TVRC 40610 for Nickson and 8TVRC 40613 for Melody. And, no, I don't get a cut of this.


• In real life, people aren't so rude as to laugh at you when you're not singing well, but this is TV land. Having said that, I personally have stifled huge chuckles when watching some contestants perform. So I'm a bad person, sorry.


• Okay, for all those out there who write 'that girl who plays Baby cannot act-lah' or something similar, you can just watch Melissa's performance in this episode and eat it. I think she's pretty good, and has definitely improved since her debut in Table for Two.





• Something's that surprised me is some reaction out there on Burn and Melody kissing. I don't think it's such a big deal, really. You do know you don't actually see it happen, right? At the moment, this is what we're assuming the censors will accept. If you don't actually see it happen, then it's okay. Anyway, I prefer the anticipation of something happening than the actual seeing.


• Amir's story only works if you believe that he's singing in english because of Dayang. I think I suggested a whole scene where Amir and Dayang are working together, and they confirm their feelings for each other. This got reduced in the episode to where he asks her to help him, but you miss (I feel), Dayang's feelings for him in return.


• Okay, believe it or not, that scene where Burn and Melody play with utensils in the kitchen? I was told that in the original script, it said "Burn and Melody fool around". In my dictionary (and Ping's), "fooling around" means getting hot and heavy, with a lot of clumsy fumbling, but the director for this episode disagreed, I guess...


• "Just because dia pakai sexy, orang kena undi dia, lah". Erm... yah. But overall, I don't really like that scene. It feels too forced. How Baby's plot unfolds was a sticking point of sorts. I think I did suggest that Baby wrote the letters herself (which on hindsight doesn't look like such a bad idea after all), but in the end we went with a fan of Melody's having written it. I'm not really completely satisfied with that, but I guess it's okay.


• On the other hand, the "You read my journal?!!" scene really works.


• We did debate who the different characters would hook up with. And we had all sorts of combinations between Amir/Burn and Melody/Baby. In the end, having Burn go with Melody pretty much forced the Amir/Baby link.

Realiti. 10pm Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Nazrudin Rahman, Juliana Ibrahim, Maria Farida, Lydia Ibtisam, Gambit, Kee Thuan Chye, Nell Ng, Cheyenne Stutzriem, Reefa, Aishah Sinclair, Mazin Siraj. Guest appearance by Douglas Lim. What would you do to become a star?

Labels: realiti, tv

Realiti on YouTube

Thanks to artyfeelhoneyme, who left a comment about this below, I now know that you can find episodes of Realiti on YouTube. For example, if you are able to search here and here, and are patient enough to wait for the thing to load, and then willing to watch it as a small-sized version with slightly less than average sound quality, and to repeat it three or four times for each episode... hell, you can watch Realiti on the net.

The truth is, I don't think Ping quite imagined that people would be enjoying the show like this. I remember how much he fussed (and me too, actually) when he found out that when TV3 were broadcasting Table for Two in mono, when he had laboriously hard-crafted a stereo soundtrack. (For Realiti, he has simply lowered the bar of expectation to tripping-over point by supplying 8TV only mono versions of the episodes.)

I mean, lets face it. YouTube is not where you go when you want to watch high-quality picture video. And only if you have enough bandwidth. But, yeah, I get it. It's the only place people who can't get 8TV on Sunday nights can go to. They have no choice. And yet there are those who still wait to download and watch it. I am impressed.

And more. I think that the profit-making point for DVDs of TV shows is very low: somewhere in the region of a thousand discs (I'm talking about legal copies here, selling for forty or fifty ringgit a disc). Somebody just needs to be persuaded that there's a market out there for this. However, I think that Popiah Pictures doesn't have the final say, because the rights pretty much belong to 8TV. But money persuades, right?

If Realiti goes to DVD, we're talking about people being able to enjoy an even better version of the show than what you see on TV. In proper letterbox format. With no censorship. With extras (imagine: full versions of the kids' performances on stage, Baby in full flirty glory).

In stereo, even.

Labels: realiti, tv

Realiti - Episode 4 notes

Sorry if some of you think this is a little late, I have classes to teach this week. Anyway, here are the notes, and some pics. Enjoy.

(This episode on YouTube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

• "Sebelum ini dalam Realiti...". Ashraf says this before this week's episode begins. I think every week has somebody different saying it.


• This episode is written by Kartini Ariffin, of 3R fame. She's also written a few episodes for Impian Illyana.


• This is my least favourite episode in the entire series. For me, the main story (Amir running back to kampung) just doesn't really do anything. On top of that, it's hard to really see the theme in the episode. It would have been an opportunity to explore surface image vs what we think underneath, but it didn't turn out that way.


• The business about gaining weight at the buffet is based on real life. You eat buffets every day, of course some of the kids are going to gain a little weight.


• I remember discussing with Ping how Amir would run back to the kampung. At first, Ping was reluctant to follow him all the way back, simply because it was an additional location and costs. I had a storyline where Mac confronts him in Pudu bus station, but Ping wasn't happy with that. The other problem was trying to figure out why he wanted to stay in the competition. I don't think that bit was ever really solved. We sort of have this idea that it's because his mother gives him the push, because his father was a great musician, but then gave it up. I don't quite get it, though. Originally, this storyline was meant to extend until the end of the season, but I think we both agreed it didn't have the legs to take through. Hence, the introduction of a new storyline for Amir later...


• On some of the forums, there have been comparisons between Amir and Mawi based on the fact he's engaged to Dayang and then breaks off with her, and that he comes from the kampung. As far as I am concerned, this wasn't entirely intentional. We did want the popular kampung boy, primarily as an antithesis to Baby, and we did want to explore what does being popular mean. But I primarily had Faizal in mind of a lot of these themes.






• Amir was always meant to be from Kedah. Notice that his accent doesn't keep up throughout the whole show, but when he talks to Jay, it reemerges. I could sort of explain this by saying that after being in KL for so long, he knows he has to keep the accent down in day-to-day conversation. But I wish now that I made it reemerge when he was upset or excited.


• Jay was a character we came up with relatively late in the series. In fact, I think I came up with him in order to write episode 7, and then he sort of spread from there (could be wrong, must check emails to find out). We needed a contrast to Mac, somebody in the industry who focussed on things that Mac didn't care for. Glamour. Popularity. Image. For Jay, the music is the lowest thing on the list.


• Naz Rahman is an excellent choice for Jay. I'm happy about that casting.


• That whole "One flush yes, two flush no" conversation Burn has with Melody; that was Ping's work entirely, and I didn't really like it. Sounds a little cheesy. But maybe Melody likes cheese. In large creamy blocks.


• It was mentioned somewhere that Alvin said that Nickson was based on Daniel MI2. Perhaps that's where Alvin drew his inspiration from, but I was thinking of other people. There were guys in MI2 and AF who leant towards the feminine side, and the judges kept telling them to be more manly. I didn't really get that, because you're always told to 'be yourself' when you perform. I imagined that these guys would be torn inside on what they should do. Anyway, for me, that's where Nickson came from.


• The song that Melody is inspired by is Quizzical by Juliet The Orange. I like the song, but it's not my choice for Melody's song by a long way. I would have picked something slower, less quirky.


• That exchange between Baby and the photography, where she asks what needs to be done to get the other 50%, is a little sleezy to me. It would have been slightly better if the photographer had just asked "How about dinner?" at the end of all that. Then, we could get all sleazoid later, right?


• But crossing that Juliet the Orange song with Baby's willingness to give in to the photographer, pure genius.


• That line that Burn says, "All I need is the girl"? Ping says: "Classic". Dzof says: "Chedder central".


• Amir serenades his family with Widuri by the great Broery Marantika. And, yes, it's really Azizan singing.






• The reaction on the forums to that whole Baby sleeping with the photographer plot has surprised me. Mainly, it's because people are asking, "really, ah, people sleep with other people just to get on the magazine cover?". Well, despite what you might think of Malaysians, there's an awful lot of extra-marital sex going on in KL. And Baby is super-ambitious. So, it isn't so far-fetched, right?


• Okay, here is the scene that makes me cringe. It's the part where Amir's mum explains to him that his father gave up on his dream to be a muscian, so Amir must carry on with the competition. Not good enough for me. My original suggestion was that the music made his father regain some of his memory, and then the father tells him that he's really good and should carry on with the competition. Don't really know why that idea was nixed.


• So, Amir comes back, and what has really changed? At the moment, only Dayang's relationship with Amir. In hindsight, I think it might have been good to have increased his popularity with the Malaysian Star voters as a result of his actions as well. It's about the competition, right?


• Argh! You know what really makes me mad? The 'Minggu Depan' segment pretty much tells the story for the whole episode. That sucks, big time. But I think it's a good episode, so watch it.

Realiti. 10pm Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Juliana Ibrahim, Maria Farida, Lydia Ibtisam. What would you do to become a star?

Labels: realiti, tv

Realiti - Episode 3 notes

Okay for those of you who complained that I hadn't gotten episode 3 notes up quickly enough (you know who you are), I just want you to know that there is a reason for it. The bulk of this week's episode notes come from Razlina Ramli, the writer for this week's epsiode. However, even with the magic of email, it takes time for notes to travel across the ether.

Anyway, if you like this week's episode and want to be able to write like that, you can actually learn how to do so from Raz. She teaches creative writing at 95% Trainings. Yes, a free plug, but I like her.

(This episode on YouTube: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

I haven't been able to keep completely quiet though. The notes in italics are mine, everything else comes from Raz.

• What did I like about the show? Baby fitted her role and so did Melody.


• What I did not like about the show? When I saw the scene in a rehearsal hall/ room. And I was kind of ‘Oh…interesting…ok not bad.


• When Melody had her first come back line to Burn’s sniggering about her not looking the type who would like Gwen Stefani, I thought there would be enough sexual tension to get everyone to sit up and wonder and look at Melody for another point of view. Something along the line of “hey this girl has claws and she knows how to use them”. However on screen, the chemistry between them was not there. She didn’t bring out the claws. She didn’t even show her claws. She merely said the words. I guess, when I wrote it, I saw someone who was able to show others that she has claws and that she knows how to use it, so watch out. I guess I thought she would be sarcastic enough for Burn to feel the scratch. Burn reacted yeah but … I still feel it lacked the punch. I watched it with my 20 year old cousin and my mom and both of them agree that that scene was not punchy enough. I heard Ping did his best to bring out the bitch in Melody. It was not too bad but I would’ve loved it had she said it like she really meant it.


• I like what Ping did with the scene between Wahida and Amir. He improved my script by having it shown and not tell. Yes, so sometimes I get caught by telling and not showing.


• I was looking forward to it. Amir did fine but somehow I felt Wahida was not as inquisitive and nosy as I had imagined her to be. But then again that’s the director’s prerogative. In the script, when Wahida asked about Amir’s parents he reacted and said ok… the usual answer he gives Wahida to all of her questions. But in the scene there was a visual before he answered and I found it slow. Maybe again because the director thought it was so under run that he wanted to prolonged that particular part.


• The next scene Ping had Dayang coming from the opposite direction, passing and ignoring Amir in the corridor of the hotel which I thought was great but on screen I saw them pushing the cart together and I felt the impact was kind of lost. I like it went they flirted with each other it was kind of cute, where she commented that he was already famous and how he was beginning to ignore her but here it showed them together and none of it came out. Which is a pity cause it was a nice set up for what was to happen next in their relationship.


• Must say again, props to Lydia in her role as Dayang in this episode.


• Oh another thing, I wrote Dayang as a Sarawakian girl and I think Lydia is playing Dayang as a Semenanjung girl… which is okay. I just liked to hear the Sarawkian accent on screen.


• I guess the script was really under run when they showed Burn going up to the roof and punching the bag and sweating it out. Cause in mine it showed Burn already punching the bag and was drenching in sweats with an earphone firmly stuck in his ears. That to me showed that he has a lone wolf and not the type to go out and happy happy kind of fellow to help anyone. And that later on, on the way back to his room, he sees Melody rehearsing with her ogre dad and you see that he, of all people, felt pity for her. It is a big thing that Burn can actually feel for someone, because all this while, he has shown that he can’t be bothered with other peoples feelings. It was kind of a romantic scene without being all mushy and gooey, but I didn’t get that. I saw Burn passing by, stopping and looking and then there was nothing. Ahhhh…. What happened to my romantic scene? Was it all in my head?? Apparently so.


• The song that Melody sings is White Roses. Composed and originally sung by Douglas Lim on his and Chelsia's album Indecisive. Good luck finding a copy. If you really want one, go and pester 8TV to release it as a download.


• Oh the other thing, I know Ping hates it when I put accents into the characters’ voices. Of course it adds colour but I guess if they can’t do it, it's better to be without it. I guess that’s why in my script Dayang had an accent and Wahida puts on different accents depending on whom she’s talking to. In the script, whenever Wahida talks to people from the north she adopts a northern accent – for me it was her way of establishing the relationship and getting people to be at ease when she starts prodding into their lives and also how she gets people to do things for her quite easily. In the show Wahida is accentless which I felt oohhh…. It lost the character in her.


• I had one scene with Amir coming back home tired and was about to sleep when he saw a breakfast order slip on his pillow. It was from Burn. I really liked that. It so Burn to rile people up. However I didn’t see that part. (The scene was there)


• There was also some flirtatious / romantic scenes between Dayang and Amir that Ping had inserted in in the original script. Nickson, Amir and Burn were walking along the corridor and they bumped into Dayang. Dayang smiled, Amir did not smile until she was out of his view. But what I liked most about that scene was Burn noticed that there is something between the two. Which is great for the upcoming episodes.


• There was a scene where we see the girls coming out of the lift, with Baby wearing really a short skirt that reveals her legs and Melody looking insipid as usual. It showed me their personalities as they approached the meet the fan session. Didn’t see that in the final product.

Photos courtesy of Popiah Pictures and Chelsia Ng.

• Due to budget constraints, the show unfortunately does not truly replicate how chaotic and crazy fans get when they meet reality show contestants. Instead of tens of fans, think hundreds, more than a thousand. Instead of polite chit-chat, think screaming, and the occasional faint. And the business about asking for phone numbers? Happens all the time.


• Some of the fans are quite famous in their own right. Cindy's mum is played by Soefira Jaafar, well established stage actress. The girl flirting with Burn is January Low, who won Best Solo Performer (Dance) at the 2003 Boh Cameronian Arts Awards. I believe this is her TV acting debut.


• Okay now to Ben. I wrote him to be 30 something distinguish looking suave, debonair. I saw him on screen and I saw... The guy playing the character Ben, did not fit into what I wrote Ben as. I had written as suave and man about town, man with money and power. At least I thought so. However when I saw Ben on the screen, my mouth dropped. He looks like a character out of one of Naguib Mahfouz’s books. In fact what I see in my head as I write, is this character who works at a lonely petrol station out in the dessert in the middle of nowhere. He had a silly grin and looked oily and not at all a sight for sore eyes when you’ve been traveling for miles looking at nothing but the sand. Okay back to Ben. It makes me feel that Baby has bad taste to have ever had wanted him or had an affair with him. I am not sure why she was taken by this fellow. Perhaps it was money.


• I liked it that before this episode, no one thought of Nickson being gay. But as soon as Calvin appeared both my mom and cousin went, "Oh he is gay." Before this scene, they may have thought about it but may consider him to be effeminate and if they had thought of him to be gay, they had dismissed it altogether. So I really liked that part. I think Dzof and Ping liked too. A nice show not tell. Didn’t have to wait for mummy to call and say that the photograph could mislead people into thinking that he is gay/ effeminate.


• The thing that kept going through my mind about the Nickson storyline was, what would have happened to Daniel (of Malaysian Idol 2) if he had suddenly said he was gay? It might have been disastrous, but then again, it might have made him even more popular.


• Burn’s street wise/ smart-lone wolf guy comes across as a spoilt rich boy. There’s not enough edge. Okay, so that’s my point of view. But if he was a tight-lipped, scowling lone wolf, I think the girls will like him more. Girls just like bad boys and Burn’s bad boy is a city urban bad boy.


• What I really like, was that Burn and Melody’s scene on the ledge of the building. I thought that was a really cool scene. Both of them basking in the glow of the night and sharing some time together. Mine was boring; it was just at the pool area. (I agree, freaking awesome visual.)

• When Burn was drunk, and Amir and Nickson had saved him, in the final scene we see Amir had thrown both Nickson and Burn in a storeroom. However, in my script I or Ping had them inside the pushcart trolley, which I thought was cute. Seeing two men squeezed in a tightly enclosed space. I was thinking hey, is Nickson going to do anything here?


• My only other comment is the ending. It didn’t give me the tang tang tang. Oh me gawd he ran away?? ? It was kind of lembik. And even I was thinking, eh, so what la he ran away. The tension was kind of missing, maybe my writing was not strong enough, maybe the tension was all in my head. Hmm, looks like it.


• The traffic noise is a bit too distracting. It got me thinking, hey way up there and the noise of the traffic is still apparent. And at some places the echo sound of the room was not what I would be rah rah for.

Realiti. 10pm Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Juliana Ibrahim, Maria Farida, Lydia Ibtisam, Gambit, Kee Thuan Chye, Nell Ng. Guest appearances by Mazin Siraj, January Low, Maimon Mutallib, Abu Bakar Juah, Natasha Saeed Megad, Soefira Jaafar, Cheyenne Stutzriem. What would you do to become a star?

Labels: realiti, tv

Negative reviews for Episode 2

The chatter on the boards for episode 2 is that it is a little boring, presumably not as good as episode 1. This, naturally, is a little disappointing, especially since I thought it was quite okay. I wasn't expecting "great", but to get "bosan" and "merepek" is a blow to the ego.

I suppose, in hindsight, what looks to be the main storyline takes a while to wrap up - but there are other stories as well. Hmm. Must get some distance and watch it again in a few week's time to try and see what could have been improved.

Labels: realiti, tv

Realiti - Episode 2 notes

This episode, I wrote. Or, at least, my name is on the writing credits. To be honest, every episode written goes under Ping's scrutinous eye and he usually ends up re-writing various scenes. Even then, there are changes between the final draft and what goes on screen. On the whole I am fairly happy with the episode, and I think it's pretty okay. Not the best I can do, and not the best in the series, but okay-lah.

Of course, spoilers abound, so take care if you haven't seen the show yet. (This episode on YouTube: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

• You can take a look at the latest version of the script of episode 2 that I happen to have. This is the final draft script, but probably not the shooting script. If you are keen enough to compare, you'll see plenty of changes between this draft and the final version that appears on the screen. Also, the script has a lot of dual-language dialogue. This is partly because the series was going to be bilingual and we weren't always sure which character would speak in which language, and also because we didn't want to lose things in translation.


• One reason that I think this episode could be better is because it gets its themes mixed up. What is the story about? Originally, it was about being yourself versus being what other people want you to be. However, over time, we put in Melody's story and Burn's story changed (I think), and that theme wasn't reinforced with those two stories. If I had to do it all over again, I would tweak the theme slightly to "It's good to be who you are, but only if you recognise your strengths and weaknesses". But say it in a snappier way, of course.


• The original theme is very clear in the storyline about singing the song in your style and in Amir's storyline where he tries to sing in English to impress the judges. To put it all in perspective, the kids learn how important putting a good image is when they talk to Wahida. One story says it's good to broaden your horizons, and the counter-theme is "don't be who you're not". The idea for this came from the fact that budding stars are always encouraged to potray an image, but I don't think everyone really understands what that's all about. Some think it's about looking pretty and palatable, but I think if you don't at least partially portray yourself, it'll bite you in the end. Have a clear, suitable image can also help you find a focus for yourself. In this story, Mac tells the kids that they should explore other styles to improve themselves, and the kids don't get that at first.


• On hindsight, the first singer who tries out on Pop TV should have sung the verse well and only then massacred the chorus. Or been funnier.


• Juliana pretty much ad-libs all her dialogue as the Pop TV host. Buat susah je ku tulis dialogue. Next time, don't want to write any dialogue for her anymore-lah. Okaylah, Reefa adlibs his stuff a lot too, and Ashraf quite a lot too. And, to be fair, they make it better most of the time. Most.


• The theme song in the credits is Scarecrow Adams by Disagree. And a very beautiful-looking credit sequence it is too. Really makes you want to watch the show, I think. You can also buy the song from musiccanteen.com.

Photos courtesy of Popiah Pictures and Chelsia Ng.

• Woohoo! My name (finally) is not obscured by subtitles. If this is the only thing that I liked in this episode, then it's worth it.


• I think I considered expanding the whole Nickson-is-not-manly-enough storyline in this episode, but too many stories as it is, so we ditched the idea early on.


• Lydia really did not like her dialogue between Dayang and Amir where Amir casually says out loud he will marry her next year. "Eh... geli," she said.


• That conversation between four of them at dinner - very casual, very jokey. I had written one or two more scenes like that throughout the series, but they were either cut or I never really just tried to push them. Shame, it would have lightened the mood in the more serious episodes.


• Melody's tells Wahida that she and her father have been preparing for the competition for a year. This line was inspired by one of the contestants in Malaysian Idol who saw Jac win the competition and then vowed to win it for themselves the next year. For a whole year, every decision in his/her life was made in order to win the competition. I don't know if this person has told the world this or not, but it's true. This competition can take over people's lives.


• Mac goes on quite a bit about the styles, right? I could have cut thirty seconds out. Not needed.

• "Whatever, man". I almost always have a character saying "whatever" in my scripts. Don't know why. I have it three or four times in this one. Another one is "belum cuba, belum tahu".


• The judges that see Amir are Fly Guy, Bernie Chan and Carmen Soo, credited with original names such as Judge 1, Judge 2 and Judge 3.


• Amir's audition song is Bob Dylan's classic Knocking on Heaven's Door. It was either going to be that or Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter.


• The Amir audition scene isn't quite what I had thought of. I expected him to be more nervous, compounded with singing in English. The "I can also dance" line was meant to be a bombshell he drops after three or four seconds of silence. Nervous funny, not desperate.


• I love the Amir/Dayang fight scene on the roof. Look at it carefully. It's a hand-held shot, practically no cuts, high-intensity, scene. It doesn't break the tension between the two characters. And it's great acting. I think so, anyway.


• The whole Baby-gets-her-own-room storyline was Ping's idea. I wasn't such a big fan of it, but it's okay-lah.


• The Baby/Wahida conversation was entirely Ping, I think. It's quite good.


• I wanted in this episode to show how strong Amir and Dayang's relationship is. Because later, you know, it all just... erm... watch the series-lah.


• I'm surprised that "screw" is worthy of censorship. "Screw up", "Screw you", "Don't screw with me", all these got silenced out on 8TV.


• One problem with the idea of Baby staying in the rehearsal hall, though. Burn also goes into the rehearsal hall to practice at night, but he doesn't bump into Baby? A scene was cut out because of time, you see. Baby comes back to her room (after spending a night in the rehearsal hall) and finds that the cupboard is full of Melody's clothes. Melody, of course, says "That cupboard's mine. Go find your own."


• Melody's confrontation with her dad. I like it a lot. And it's not very well written, either!


• Amir's song shown on Pop TV: Venusia by OAG. Between that and Akustatik, Amir is clearly an OAG fan.


• So, Melody is on drugs. And I kind of fought that idea for a long time. I was afraid it might turn all Drama Minggu Ini. And which drug? At first, we looked at ketamine, but it doesn't give the high that Melody needs. In the end, Ping went for the generic white powder thing. Looks like cocaine if you ask me.

Realiti. On Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Juliana Ibrahim, Maria Farida, Reefa, Lydia Ibtisam, Kee Thuan Chye. Special appearances by Fly Guy, Bernie Chan and Carmen Soo. What would you do to become a star?

Labels: realiti, tv

I don't like the billboard for Realiti

If you drive down the Federal Highway from PJ to the city, as you're passing Amcorp Mall, you'll notice the very large ad with the pretty Ambank girl on the right hand side (Google Map overhead). At this point, flick your eyes to the front, and you'll see a billboard promoting Realiti, the new drama show on 8TV.

The ad looks a little like this:


I don't like it very much. Not only do the stars not look very good on it (I blame lighting, makeup and post-production, not the actors themselves, you understand), it really doesn't tell you very much about the show. Well, "Lima Peserta, Satu Impian" is kind of okay, it's still not quite there.

Of course, I must try to do better-lah. So in my very amateurish way, here is my suggestion for a billboard:


I prefer this because it tells you more about the kids themselves, and they look more personable and welcoming (the key word here is 'identifiable). The down-side is that there are too many words, and you might not take it all as you whiz past at 90kmh. Nevertheless, I know of more than a few guys who'd drive back and forth just to get a better look at Melissa Maureen. And girls who want to see Ashraf Sinclair. It's no accident pretty people are used in a TV series, you know.

Labels: realiti, tv

What? Another Realiti TV show?

Realiti is a new fictional drama set in the world of reality television. It will be on air on 8TV 'sometime' this year, which may mean anywhere between May and August 2006. The series will star Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng and Melissa Maureen. As you might guess, each character is distinct from one another: You have a melayu rocker, an urban bad boy, a glamour diva, an opportunistic vixen and a talented girl-next-door. Of course, the reality is that nobody is quite who they seem.

It's something that has been in the works since the middle of last year, but I'm fine writing about this now because 8TV has already announced it in their "shows to watch this year" presentation event. (Normally I don't like talking about shows that haven't been confirmed yet. Doing things like that has this whole jinxy feel about it.)

(By the way, I wrote two and two-half episodes for it, which is why I'm blogging about it.)

Shooting has just begun last week and what I've seen so far looks interesting. I think Ping Ho (one of the producers) wants this to stand out a little in terms of writing (can you say 'tri-lingual dialogue'?) and cinematography (for example, more continuous hand-held shots).

Those of you who were at the Channel 8/Media Prima preview probably saw a demo pilot for the show. And you will probably notice some differences between that pilot and what I'm describing here.

For a start there were originally six main characters who have now be pruned to five. Those Cheryl Samad fans out there will just have to wait for a second season of Realiti (ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease) for her to make an appearance. For some bizarre reason, she'd rather go traipsing around Australia than get stuck shooting on an abandoned floor in an old building in KL. Go figure.

And Ashraf Sinclair takes time off wooing the ladies of Gol and Gincu to take Awal Ashari's place. Yes, yes, it's still eye candy for the girls. Not that I understand it at all.

I'm also happy to work with Azizan, Melissa and Alvin again (since I write first and then they complain about my writing later, it's a quantumesque working-at-a-distance type of deal where I just hide my face when necessary). After all, Table for Two will always hold a special place in my heart and my CV, so anything to do with that group rocks for me.

Chelsia rounds off the cast, and since the show is about a singing talent show, and she can sing (and boy, she can sing), it's a good fit. Being good-looking enough to finish third runner-up in the Miss Malaysia/ World pageant (in 2003, for those who care) doesn't hurt either.

There are other supporting cast, of course, but I'll write about them later.

Labels: realiti, tv

Numb3rs does add up

A lot of people have asked my opinion about Numb3rs, simply because it's a TV show about maths (for you Americans out there, I mean 'math'). Being a writer with a degree in the subject, what I can say is that overall it's a pretty good show.

Dramatically, it's a buddy cop show with maths as the gimmick. One is a hardened FBI agent; his brother is a mathematical genius. The FBI comes up against tough cases, and the maths genius comes up with the clever way of solving them.

The stories are usually solid but unspectacular, and if it wasn't for the maths, it wouldn't be that interesting. The dialogue is actually pretty good and the character insights are well done, especially for the mathematical brother. Mathematicians like the world to fit. We're always looking for patterns and we get especially annoyed when something just doesn't jive. When we figure it out, we rejoice because the world makes sense again. I think the show at times captures that sort of thinking well.

The maths for the first season of the series is fairly solid. Credit for authenticity goes to a Professor at CalTech who acted as a consultant, and a lot of the techniques used are ones that have been applied in real-life cases. The only problem I forsee is that they'll run out of clever ideas and will have to resort to the stupid hand-waving technobabble that we see in most geek shows. The facts seem to bear this out; none of the first four episodes of the second season are as interesting as what's in the first season - mathematically speaking, that is.

On top of everything, the show also co-stars Navi Rawat, and I don't say no to a hot mathematician. What they say to me is a different matter altogether.

Labels: tv

Shows currently on Astro worth watching

Wow. To be honest, I don't actually watch too much TV or Astro these days. There are shows that I pretty much always catch Malaysian Idol (because it's the local Idol show that isn't AF) and Impian Illyana (for obvious reasons), but this post isn't about them. This post is about well-written, well-produced shows that run against the current opinion that US TV shows are reality-based or rot or both.

• Wonderfalls Star World, Mondays, 10pm Jaye Tyler is unambitious, unassuming and utterly cynical of everything around her. So, she finds it difficult to accept things when inanimate animals begin talking to her: A wax lion, a cow creamer, a teddy bear - anything with an animal design is fair game. Despite her natural skepticism, these totems set Jaye off on bizarre adventures of surprise and serendipity. Very funny, very well written, yet cancelled unexpectedly after half a season. Doesn't matter. At least it'll be easy to watch every episode.


• Lost AXN, Thursdays, 9pm A plane crashes on a not-very-deserted island, and the survivors must learn to cope with the land, the local inhabitants - and each other. I think that this show is the best new series to appear on US televisions last season (and, yes, I'm taking Desperate Housewives into consideration here). It's taut, tense and not afraid to present entire storylines in Korean. Some may find it slow, I say that patient viewers will discover that each episode builds up to an explosive climax.



• House Star World, Tuesdays, 10pm Greg House is a doctor who heals with unusual talent, and yet manages to find time to cut his patients to size with laser-like sarcasm. Like a dramatic Becker who solves medical mysteries. Now add to it some of the funniest dialogue you'll find on dramatic TV, as well as acting so good that by the end you'll willingly hand them a scalpel and a signed consent form. Despite the huge plot holes that most first-year medical students (if not kindergarten graduates) would poke through, it is engrossing, engaging and, yes, entertaining.


• World's Most Dramatic Animal Attacks On Midgets During Police Chases AXN, Wenesd- All right, you got me there. Just kidding. Sheesh.

Labels: tv

Malaysian Idol: Latest episode on BitTorrent

Update August 2005: Anyone searching Google and hitting this post should try looking at http://www.torrentmalaya.com/.

This is technology for you. You can now get the latest episode of Malaysian Idol on BitTorrent.

You don't have to use BitTorrent; you can also download it from the Malaysian Idol Viewer Site. But using BitTorrent will reduce the load on the source servers, and if enough people seed the show, it can be as fast as downloading it directly.

Of course, if you don't know what BitTorrent is, I don't suppose this post will make much sense to you...

Labels: tv

Malaysian Idol on Kazaa

You can now get Malaysian Idol on Kazaa, which is pretty cool. They don't have the whole show per se, but what you can find are individual singers in the various heats and auditions. Just search for 'Malaysian Idol'.

Alternatively, you can go to The Malaysian Idol Viewer's Site and download videos directly. Incidentally, this is a great site, and I think it's better than the official site. Of course, by downloading from this website you're defeating the whole idea of sharing bandwidth and load that P2P networks aim for.

Some may think, "Is this legal?". The short answer is "probably not", but I suspect there won't be any prosecutions from this, as long as people are sharing and not selling.

Since I'm on the subject, let me just say that I have my own particular favourite. I won't mention names except to say that her nick has three characters, begins with a 'J', ends with a 'C' and has an 'A' somewhere in the middle of it.

Also, Dina quite good too.

Labels: tv

Table for Two: Episode 9 and mini-competition!

Where on Earth is my brain? I should have posted this up ages earlier.

Anyway, synopsis sez, "Adam becomes jealous and suspicious when Sue starts spending more time with a colleague". The biggie about this episode is that it'll say "written by Dzofrain Azmi" on the front credits.

I have to point out that Ping Ho, the producer/director, has name on three times altogether - front credits, 'directed by' and then at the end. Because although life isn't fair, everyone should do whatever they can to make it so, I suggest that y'all tape the episode and then replay it to my name and leave it on pause for, oh, say, thirty seconds or so. And then write in to TV3 and say, "What a wonderful episode, More Please".

Remember, Table for Two, Saturdays on TV3 at 7pm. And for the benefit of search engines out there, starring Azizan Nin and Melissa Maureen Rizal. As well as Cheryl Samad, Jien and Azura.

Also, small prize for the person who can spot the Debbie Gibson song title intentionally embedded in the dialogue. And it isn't one word like "Sure" or "Goodbye" - that would be too easy!

Labels: tv

Table for Two: The Music

I've gotten some enquiries about the theme tune and the music in Table for Two. In short, most of the music is written and performed by Douglas Lim (yes, the one who played Steven in Kopitiam). This includes the theme music and other incidental music.

I was told that he hadn't written it specifically for Table for Two, and that it was recorded sometime before. However it's not available on general release as an album. If you like it, write in. It may persuade him to release it.

Finally, for that one person who asked, here is a recording of the theme tune (MP3, 716KB). It's in gorgeous stereo, which is something you can't get off TV3 since there's some problem with them playing stereo. I'm not saying whose fault it is, just that it'd be nice for it to be in dual channel, since that's how it's made.

I guess all I want now is for somebody to figure out the lyrics. What's that last line again? "All I need is one... oar?". :)

Labels: tv

Table for Two: Episode 4 ratings and Episode 5

Firstly, ratings for the week that episode 4 are now out and... well, Table for Two isn't in the top 10 list for its category. On the other hand, the lowest listed show (Euro 2004 Highlights) pulled in 30,000 viewers, which is around what T42 normally gets. For comparison, the Euro 2004 finals had 108,000 viewers, and even that was beaten by 3R (115,000 viewers). Top of the heap was Pilihan Senario with 3.241 million viewers.

Secondly, tonight is episode 5, That Thing You Do. Synopsis says, When Sue finds out that Adam has done 'that popcorn thing' with another girl, she decides to test him to see if he's being honest with her. You also get to see the inside of Astro radio studios and Fat Fabes' acting debut.

Labels: tv

Table for Two: Episodes 3 and 4

Just updating stuff about Table for Two. They showed episodes 3 and 4, and so far the stuff has been okay. Episode 3 in particular wasn't very good, but the next one was fairly touching with some laugh-out-loud moments. Just my two cents.

Ratings for Episode 3 are now available - 27,000 viewers, a substantial dip from episode 2. This compares to:

• Gerak Khas with 2.988 million (the top rated show according to the ratings)


• Malaysian Idol repeat on TV3 with 72,000.


• The Portugal vs Holland Euro 2004 game with 35,000 viewers.

Labels: tv

Table for Two: Episode 3 coming up

Just doing my usual, "don't forget to lock the doors, stay at home and watch Table for Two at 7pm on TV3 this Saturday". The synopsis says: "Sue is offended when Adam has no intention of bringing her along to a family dinner". Also, Bobby brings in his son (played by Douglas Lim) as an intern.

Just sayin', so you know.

Also, Episode 2 of Table for Two pulled in 38,000 viewers, according to TV3's/Nielsen's/BMG's figures. This compares to:

• The top rating of 3.248 million for '999'


• 398,000 for Kelab Disney Malaysia


• 51,000 for WWE International Bottomline


• 31,000 for the Croatia vs England Euro 2004 game

So, it's somewhere between a football game and a wrestling match.

Labels: tv

Table for Two: Episode 2 notes

Episode 2 aired last night and, well, I thought it was pretty good. 'Exceeded Expectations' would be the phrase to use. Anyway, here is the list of ten thoughts about the show:

1. Am I the only one that thinks that Pete (played by Soo Kui Jien)keeps looking like a deer? That's caught in the headlights? Of an oncoming truck?


2. "You don't know her handphone number? That's like forgetting her birthday, man." Melissa's birthday is 19 March 1980. Azizan's birthday is 17 May 1973. Just in case you wanted to know.


3. The girl who played the angry girlfriend in the coffee shop who threw water over her boyfriend was played by Haryati Hamzah. She is one of the winners of the audition competition organised by Ponds in conjunction with the series.


4. "Sue, I'm sure he still loves you. It's just that guys have an attention span of a goldfish." If that's true, it's frightening, since goldfish have an attention span of about three seconds.


5. Note that only trendy Sue has an iMac on her desk in the office. Everybody else has little beige PC boxes.


6. "Rita, could you get the number for ID designs for me. I'll be out for a while." The number given to Adam for Sue's office is a 7-digit number beginning with '272. '272' (now '2272') numbers are allocated to phones in Brickfields, which is very near Plaza Pantai, which is where the set for Sue's office is located.


7. "She wrote this down when I first asked her out."The movie ticket with Sue's number on it is dated 26/03 and is for a showing of Scooby Doo 2 at GSC Mid-Valley Megamall.


8. "So you want to show me what you've done so far? See if you're in the right direction?" The doodles that you see Sue doing are probably really Melissa's scribbles, so graphologists out there can have a field day analysing her.


9. "You know that Starbucks, just downstairs from your office?" You shouldn't be surprised to see a Starbucks in a Popiah Productions show. Producer and director Ping Ho has been known to write scripts and hold meetings at Starbucks.


10. Both Aroma's and the new wing of 1 Utama are featured again.

Well, episode 3 will air next week and it'll be all about parents and fish head curry restaurants.

Labels: tv

Table for Two: Episode 2 tonight

Just a heads-up that the second episode of Table for Two is due tonight. The synopsis is: A case of a lost handphone and number leads Sue to suspect that Adam is having an affair. I don't know much about the episode, really.

The ratings for last week are now up on the TV3 website. Unfortunately Table for Two is nowhere to be seen. Depending on which category it's in, it could mean that it got less than 453,000 viewers (still not necessarily bad) or less than 34,000 viewers (less good).

Incidentally, Malaysian Idol received 50,000 for the TV3 repeat on Sunday. Phua Chu Kang brought in 47,000.

Top rated show was 999 with 3.182 million viewers.

Labels: tv

Is TV entertainment or... what?

There are too many television and radio stations in the country now, said Information Minister Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir.

He said the ministry was discussing with the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry on whether there was a need to stop issuing licences for private television and radio stations.

"If the competition is too stiff, they will tend be more concerned about making money and forget their responsibilities," he added.

Kadir also said that private television stations were not broadcasting enough programmes that promoted family values, peace and unity among Malaysians.

"The stations are more concerned about competing to screen imported films to attract viewers and increase revenue."

"Kadir: Too many TV and radio stations", The Star, 23 June 2004

It boggles my simple brain. I want to rant about this but I'm not sure where to begin. There is a danger that I will ramble.

How about, "Yes, a private company does try to make money"?

Or "Like you have guidelines as to what are 'family values, peace and unity'?"

Or "No s*** Sherlock - imported films are attracting viewers and increasing revenue"?

It isn't even necessarily true that Malaysians are obsessed with foreign programming. According to the ratings:


Maybe what annoys me is this: Television in Malaysia is already regulated. The Government decides to whom and when licenses will be issued. These presumably come with conditions, along with the right to revoke licenses if these conditions are not met or broken. We already have censorship boards. And all it takes to close down an entire production is a single letter of complaint in a newspaper.

I believe that "their responsibility" isn't specifically to safeguard the morality of Malaysians. I believe their primary responsibility is to make a profit. It is assumed that they will not make a profit if whatever they air isn't watched. I don't want TV companies determining what I should be able to watch. I decide what I want to watch.

There is no need for a single politician to supplant both legislative frameworks and market forces or, more importantly, my personal judgement.

Worse, there is a danger that a threat with non-specific triggers makes people less likely to take risks. What exactly are programmes that promote "family values, peace and unity"?

I like greater competition. Competition means that companies try harder to out-do one another and should result in higher quality shows and hopefully, more innovation. Of course, there is the problem of lowest common denominator (think "midget wrestlers") but it's clear that there will be no pressure to improve without competition. The reward for this is greater profits.

Yet, drawing boundaries as to what can or cannot be shown limits the amount of innovation possible.

Rant over, I guess.

Labels: tv

Malaysian Idol: Whinging about whingers

There is a discussion titled "Complains everywhere!!!! NO PROFESIONAL JUDGEMENT" on the Bluehyppo/Malaysian Idol discussion board. Basically some people are upset (others are very upset) that there is a pre-audition round and not all the contestants meet Paul/Roslan/Jee. Words like "unfair" are being used. The crux of the complaint is that bad singers are getting through the pre-audtition and good singers are not.

How do I put this? Erm... STOP WHINGING. Yeah, that's right. I could add, "Life is unfair", "the world isn't Malaysian Idol" and "then do something about it already".

I think some people hold on to unreasonable expectations:

• All contestants should meet the three judges: It was announced that auditions would take place in four cities, for a total of twelve days altogether. At the last count, nearly 10,000 people auditioned for Malaysian Idol (6,000 in KL alone). If the three judges saw each of them for two minutes each, we'd be looking at about two months of auditions. You could have figured out before auditions even began that there would have been no way for the judges to meet everybody. And for those of you who say "But the judges meet everyone on American Idol", do the maths yourself: For AI3 70,000 people auditioned. Did they really meet everyone?


• They should only let good people through pre-auditions: The Idol series is entertainment. And the bad singers are funny. Entertaining, even. Given the success of this format overseas, it is unreasonable to expect people to stop doing this in Malaysia.


• If they select "bad" over "good", good singers will miss their chance to impress: The questions to ask are "How many good singers have lost out because they let bad ones through?" and "Of those singers who lost out, how many would have made it to the top 100?". My guess? The bottom 10% (of those short-listed) would have lost out to "bad" singers. And the top 20% (of those short-listed) would have been picked for the top 100. Fudging the maths a little, assuming that the bottom 10% would have been visibly worse than the top 20%, I would guess that out of everyone who auditioned (10,000), maybe 10 people or so lost out the chance to be in the top 100. 10 out of 10,000. Roughly your chances of getting 2nd prize on Magnum 4D.

Let's face it: If you're auditioining because you want to win MI, then yeah, it might seem harsh. But if you're auditioning because you want a recording contract - then this is one out of many options out there. If you're really good (good enough to win MI), then this is just a minor setback, and put into perspective of the sweat and tears involved, it's nothing.

Stop whinging.

Labels: tv

Malaysian Idol: Kuching Auditions

I watched AH-HA the other night and I watched Malaysian Idol today. And, honestly, I laugh much harder during Malaysian Idol. As I've always said, my favourite bits of the Idol programs are the auditions, when people who are so sure they can sing come and fail. Just fail.

Amongst the quotes from the Kuching show:

Paul: It was amazing. Not one single note was right... Please, don't sing. You're beautiful, but don't sing.

Roslan (after telling a guy he was no good): Tapi awak menyanyi tu lagi bagus dari Anuar Zain.

Paul (mouthed when that KK girl hit the high bit of Emotions): Oh Shit!

Paul: You're shouting, you're not singing.
...
Thalia: I can sing another song. Maybe this shouting song is not good for me.

Paul: You were in Penang, weren't you?
Julian: I was hoping you wouldn't recognise me.

Roslan: Laki-laki ke perempuan ni... Lelaki? Macam perempuan.
...
Roslan: I'm looking and hearing at a singer, who looks like a girl, but sounds like a boy... I think you are the most beautiful contestant we've had.
Paul: Take it as a compliment.

Contestant (when told he was bad): Lama sangat tunggu
...
Fauziah (finally showing a little fire): Then why are you still waiting... Kalau dah lama tunggu kenapa tunggu lagi?... Tak patut cakap macam tu...
...
Roslan: Walau bagaimanapun apa yang awak nyanyi tadi tidak bagus
Paul: So it's a 'no', is it?
Roslan: Yes. In English... the meaning is "no".

The show is actually shaping up well. Roslan Aziz is less annoying than in the first episode (perhaps I should say, "better edited"). There are some really talented people out there (both the girls who have sung Alicia Keys come to mind). And, darn it, it's entertaining.

Labels: tv

Table for Two - Pilot episode debuts on TV3

Just caught the debut of T42 on TV3. Well, it's OK-lah. I mean, I had a pretty good idea of how it'd turn out and I liked some of the more 'touching' moments, but I'd have preferred more 'funny' bits.

Anyway, ten things about the episode:

1. The lead-in to the show was a Chinese-language variety program. Don't know if there'll be much spill-over.


2. The 'Next on TV3' sign said "Pond Table For Two". OK, missing an aprotophe-s or a verb, not such a great thing.


3. The people featured in the photos in the title sequence are real-life couples. I think Ping said that one of them was his kuey teow vendor.


4. Both Sue's and Adam's are locations in a Bangsar condominium. Yes, they rented a pair of apartments for a few months, redecorated it and made it real (to the extent that people actually sometimes bunked the night there).


5. Despite the brandname-dropping in the choosing-a-restaurant scene (Bombay Palace, Burger King), I think neither of them were sponsored. And personally, I don't see how going to Burger King is that much less cheap than going to a food court.


6. Incidentally, the food court was Aroma's in 1 Utama. Or whatever that new wing is called.


7. The only way that Manchester Utd and Arsenal could play on a Thursday is if the FA made some sort of special dispensation or it actually was an early morning Champions League game (for us Malaysians). In short, impossible. Of course, I pointed this out, but does anyone listen to a writer? Nah.


8. When Sue was working out in the health club complaining about boys and football, the people in the background were film crew. I guess the best way to make it on TV is to apply to be a lowly-paid gofer with a production company.


9. Note that Sue puts as Sue is putting on Pond's makeup, she decides not to answer Adam's phone call. Current Pond's Placement Points for the series: 1.


10. If you want to take part in the SMS competition, but missed the details, send the word 'PONDS' to 39330. What you'll get back is a message saying "Purchase POND's products & retain receipt for unlimited entries" as well as a question. Which is extremely easy, so I won't even bother to print it here with the answer.

Labels: tv

Article in Utusan Malaysia about Table for Two

Utusan Malaysia published an article about Table for Two. Nothing very new in here, but there is an previously unpublished picture.

Labels: tv

Table for Two Press Release Kit Thingamajiggy

Hah. A copy of the press release kit for T42 made it's way to my grubby little hands. I took the liberty of scanning some of them in:

• An introduction to the series (639 KB)


• More about the filmakers and actors (352 KB)


• The characters' bios in higher res (302 KB)

There was more stuff, but they were kinda boring so I didn't bother scanning them in.

Labels: tv

TV3 listing for Table for Two

OK, not meaning to get too upset, but... THE TV3 WEBSITE DOESN'T LIST TABLE FOR TWO IN THE PROGRAM SCHEDULE FOR THIS SATURDAY!!!

Idiots.

UPDATE: I don't ******* believe it! Astro's TV3 listing doesn't have T42 either! A Robbie Williams Special?

Just for the record, AFAIK, T42 is on TV3, Saturdays, 7pm. It will compete directly (I assume) with Jejak on RTM, Crayon Shin Chan on NTV7, World's Scariest Explosion on AXN, Riverworld, Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, on channels 40-42 and Xena: Warrior Princess on Star TV.

In other words, the only thing that people who watch Table For Two would watch in that time slot is Table For Two. Well, except for that big fat Greek thing. But that'll repeat, 'kay?

Labels: tv

Sneaking around the Malaysian Idol audition waiting room

I was in Berjaya Times Square again on Saturday and took a quick peek into the Malaysian Idol waiting room. They were still doing auditions, but since they were recalls, there were no crowds and practically no security. E and I just walked in and sat amongst waiting auditionees, their friends and family.

If any of you ave the chance to walk in (perhps security is better outside Kuala Lumpur), these are some of the few free things you can pick up: A copy of the Malay Mail, sneak peeks as people practice for their turn, tins of coca-cola, TMNet hand fans, BlueHyppo temporary tattoos, copies of release forms and chairs to sit on.

The release forms were interesting because if you signed them, you effectively gave up your life to 8TV. Well, actually, it basically said that anything you did belonged to them (presumably, including any songs you might sing), you couldn't say or do anything bad and 8TV had final say on what was shown on TV, and if it made you look like a selfish evil b**tard, tough. Completely pro-8TV, completely expected, probably worth it for a shot at a recording contact.

I wonder what would happen if you put down the wrong name on the consent form.

While we were there, they called some of the contestents up to audition, including friends and family. I wanted to join in as an imaginary friend, but E didn't want to. Good choice too, since I think later they wanted to identify which friend went with which contestant.

We went upstairs nonetheless, and stood outside the security rope. Fortunately Jien happened to be there and thankfully he remembered me from the Table For Two shooting. We chatted for awhile - Jien said that the overall quality of performers from KL was higher than Penang, but that he could think of two from Penang that he felt had a good chance of going all the way. He also said that he thought the judges had dropped some good singers, probably because they could only shortlist 100-120 people for the next round. So, if you auditioned and didn't make it, it doesn't necessarily mean that you couldn't sing - it's as much luck as talent.

Finally, he confirmed that the format closely followed American Idol's, with the hundred cut down to thirty or so before public voting begins.

And If you look closely, Jien has begun to cultivate a little chin fuzz - he said the beard's a normal thing, but that he couldn't keep one when hosting shows for Disney. Pop Quiz: How many Disney animated heroes have beards?

Labels: tv

Sunday Mail article on Table for Two

Whoah. The Sunday Mail published an article on Azizan and Melissa, Harian Metro also had an article, and I received 30 hits on Sunday. A quick check on referrals showed lots of searches on "Melissa Maureen", "TV3" and "Table for Two".

OK, so thirty hits ain't so much, but it's loads more than what I usually get, and at least it means that somebody out there is interested, which means that the newspaper articles are doing their job. Excellent.

I saw the promo on TV3 and I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. Firstly, it's so short that if you blink, you miss it. Secondly, it potrays Table for Two as a romantic series, full of laughter, tears and love. Well, yes, it is that, but I would have preferred a misleading trailer full of exploding cars, scantily clad women and the Italian football team, 'cos that would have pushed the ratings waaay up there. At least for the first ten minutes of the pilot.

And I also include Harian Metro's picture just to satisfy some of the demand out there.

(N.B. The Sunday Mail article says that the Ponds ads have been out since 2001, but that's a mistake, surely?!!)

Labels: tv

Table for Two promos and Melissa Maureen in KLue

So I was going through my logs and I was curious why there were a large number of searches for "Melissa Maureen" and "Ponds" referring to this website. Well, it seems that KLue has a short article featuring Melissa. E thinks that it's ultra-wierd for people to search for other people on the Internet - I just say, "The Internet is a wonderful thing".

The next thing is that TV3 should be showing promos for Table for Two. I haven't seen it yet, but I've been assured by Ping that it's good (but he would say that, wouldn't he ;) ). Also, it seems that it says "Pond's Presents..." in big letters, which is a little bit at odds with the whole "subtle-in-the-background" idea of promotion.

It was pointed out to me, though, that the only time Sue (Melissa) uses Ponds products is when she's upset and she'd prefer to apply makeup instead of answering the phone. ("Unhappy? Use Pond's and ignore that idiot boyfriend of yours.")

Labels: tv

Malaysian Idol Fever!

Or at least the beginnings of it.

I dropped by Berjaya Mall yesterday hoping to see people auditioning for Malaysian Idol, but all I saw were lines, lines, lines. And a couple of strange people.

Incidentally, I'm not acutally a big Idol fan, but I do find the auditions amusing, especially people who really, really believe that they can sing well, but don't.

There are already a few websites out there with Malaysian Idol material: An MSN group, message boards and even a personal photo essay.

There are also photos from Penang and KL auditions on the official website.

And then there's the actual program on 8TV (Fridays at 8.45pm) and TV3 (Sundays at noon).

Labels: tv

Firefly on TV3!

Wow. I didn't realise that TV3 was carrying Firefly. If you're a fan of Sci-Fi shows with a brain, I would heartily recommend it. If you like smartish stories with sharp dialogue, I recommend it.

It's created and written by Joss Whedon, the man responsible for Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and shares a lot of the style. The big difference is that while Buffy is story of a girl who is a "chosen one" and has to come to terms with it, the lead character in Firefly has lost his purpose and tries to lead by his principles. Or something like that.

But I warn you - there's only a limited number of episodes. It was cancelled in the US mid-way through its first season.

And from what I'm seeing now, it looks like TV3 has split the pilot episode into two parts. Bad idea. It kind of kills the mood stopping it suddenly and then starting again. Not to mention confusing the heck out of people who only watch the second half.

Firefly, now on TV3, Tuesdays at 11pm.

Labels: tv

Table For Two article in the Star

Wow. There was an article in The Star today about Table for Two and the traffic to this website tripled - got all of twelve hits.

It was obviously a promo for the show that will debut in all of... three weeks or so? Nothing like creating awareness. It seems it will debut on TV3 on 19 June at 7pm. Take out your diary, pencil that in.

It was mostly accurate as I know it, but I do take some offence from the insinuation that Ping and Bernard Chauly were alone responsible for the scripts. That's not true! I'm responsible for at least 2% of 2% of two of the scripts. There's also at least one other scriptwriter whose name now I can't recall and can't find (but it's a pretty cool name - look out for it). For the record, the other two scriptwriters are Rafidah Abdullah and Zona Marie Tan (cool name, eh?).

Of course, between a guy who has an MA in Drama and a guy who has an MA in Maths, I know who'd I'd choose to write scripts and give credit for it. But again...

Labels: tv

Table For Two: Director and Cast

My scriptwriting saga continues. Well, at least the saga of the scripts I wrote continues. I managed to steal onto the sets a few times while they were shooting my scripts. MY scripts. Take note of that word in bold.

I should begin by introducing Ng Ping Ho. You may have heard that name before - he's one of the heads at Poh-Piah Pictures and is the creative force behind shows like Kopitiam, Getting Together and Each Other. I know him from our old school days and have tracked him as he made the transition from shy six former to budding film-maker all the way through to bona fide big-shot producer. He's even got an IMDB entry. He's a really nice guy. And I have never ever taken advantage of him. Until now.

I think Ping likes to have quite a lot of control over his shows. He's not dictatorial in the Roman Polanski/David Lynch sense, but he knows what he wants. Watching him work, you kind of see how he moves the pictures in his head onto film. But since I'm not really inside his head, I wouldn't really know. Just my two cents.

A quick summary: Table for Two is a TV series which is an extension of the Pond's advertisments on TV. They follow the continuing trails and tribulations of a budding romance between a young lady who uses whitening-cream and her new man. No, really. Read my previous post for more.

The two leads in the show are played by Azizan Nin and Melissa Maureen Rizal. You know them from the Ponds ad. As a caveat, I have to say that my entire knowledge of them stems from my few days on set. This is my disclaimer, in case anyone out there should read this and believe everything I write. I don't really know them, honest.

Azizan plays Adam. He seems a nice guy but I think he's miscast for his role. Adam is meant to be this cool guy from college that all the girls wowed over. Azizan is just a nice guy. I suppose actors are meant to act, but it's difficult to pull off a naturally cool and hip exterior if you're not that sort of person. On top of all that, these two episodes show Adam as being idiotic and desperate, touched with a smidgen of vulnerability. The objective was to throw a kink in the relationship, and me being the guy I am, writing what I know, the guy ended up a bit, well, idiotic, desperate and vulnerable. Don't blame me, blame my life experiences.

Melissa Maureen plays Sue. Now that I've written this up, I anticipate a slew of Google searches in this direction, seeing the intrest she drummed up on at least a few notice boards when she did the Ponds ad. She also gets confused for that cute Nokia girl, for some reason. (No, I don't know how you can get in touch with Melissa, I don't have her phone number/email/fax/telex/address - but if you want to send her jewelry and gifts, you can pass them on to me. But nothing in pink, please.)

Melissa is, I think, the one main reason why people will tune in week after week after week. Let's face it, she's a pretty girl. And a pretty good actress. Even if I didn't write a script to help show that. But I think she looks good on-screen and has a nice natural style. Even when grumpy.

I wrote this scene where Adam gets extremely upset with Sue and acts like a bit of an idiot. Sue, of course, doesn't take it well and gets upset back with Adam. The thing is, the dialogue was getting Melissa genuinely upset. "If this was my boyfriend, I would have dumped him already," she fumed. And then she bore a stare straight through me. My words, my fault? Well, at least I know idiotic male dialogue. I write what I know.

Bernie Chan plays Auntie Syaz, Sue's aunt. She's meant to be one of the sensible voices in the show, I guess. She's like the "you know, Timmy" part of any sitcom - after the trials and tribulation there is a brief five minutes when the lesson of the day, is learnt. (You can see I've stopped watching TV for fun and started watching TV for analysis. The stress on the "anal", please.)

I know Bernie from my brief days as a Dramalab gopher. She rather stands out in a crowd, and if instead she was shorter and not so good looking, she'd still do a good job advertising her presence. I like Bernie. She's fun to be with and is definitely one of the better actors.

The incredibly talented Cheryl Samad plays Zoe, Sue's good friend and confidante. That and the fact she used to be a VJ on MTV Pulse is all I can say, really, because I don't know her at all, and only watched from the sidelines while she did her stuff. I hate the fact that she's pretty, can act, can sing and is an all-round bon vivante. Nobody should be that talented. Cheryl is an alumni of Ping's previous show, Each Other, and it's clear he thinks very highly of her.


Alvin Wong plays Sam, Adam's close friend and confidante, although you couldn't really say he was a good influence on Adam. He's a little wild, a little woolly but can ultimately be trusted upon. And Alvin is similarly wild and wooolly too. Pretty much how I imagined him to be from the beginning, except that Ping had originally said he was Indian (hence the proliferation of "ayo's" in the original scripts). Alvin was also in Each Other.

Soo Kui Jien, of Disney Buzz fame, plays Pete, Sue's work-mate and secret admirer. Jien's stock is sure to rise as he will be hosting Malaysian Idol - my comment to him was, "You know Ryan Seacrest? I can't stand him". Here's to a distinctly un-Seacrest-like Jien.

My two episodes deal heavily with Pete's crush on Sue, so I got to see quite a bit of Jien in action.

Jien's partner-in-crime on the Disney channel, Azura Zainal, is also into the act - she plays Amy, who is Adam's ex. My episodes have very little of Amy, who only serves as a prop for the party scene - sorry!


There's also Zara, who's played by Wong Sze Zen. Keeping in tradition with Ping's habit of hiring beautiful young women, Zen just happens to be Miss Malaysia / World 2003. It must be a hard life being a TV producer. Zara is my creation - I invented and fleshed her out, unlike the rest who already existed, so I feel a bit of pride seeing her brought to the screen. She actually has a few appearances after my episodes, so if Table for Two makes it to a second season (cough, cough), here's to seeing more of her.

Then there's Bobby, who is Adam's boss, but I haven't met him yet. More on this later.

Labels: tv