A Tale of 2 Cities
A Tale of 2 Cities (Chinese: 乐在双城; pinyin: Lè Zài Shuāng Chéng) is a Singaporean Chinese drama which was co-produced by Media Prima Berhad and MediaCorp TV. It was telecasted on Singapore's free-to-air terrestrial television channel form MediaCorp TV Channel 8. It stars Rui En, Joanne Peh, Pierre Png, Zhang Yaodong, Mimi Chu, Zhang Zhenhuan, Kate Pang, Yao Wenlong & Julie Tan as the casts of the series. Live it made its debut on 14 February to 11 March 2011. This drama serial consists of 21-episodes and was screened on every weekday nightlife at 21:00 until 22:00 SST and rerun it made from 19 to 30 December 2011 at every weekday night at 21:00 until 22:00 SST.
| A Tale of 2 Cities 乐在双城 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Idol drama Romance |
| Written by | Tang Yeow 陈耀 / Paul Yuen |
| Directed by | Loo Yin Kam 卢燕金 |
| Starring | Rui En Joanne Peh Pierre Png Zhang Yaodong Mimi Chu Zhang Zhenhuan Kate Pang Yao Wenlong Julie Tan |
| Theme music composer | Johann Strauss |
| Opening theme | "Springtime Voices Waltz" by Masahiro Kawasaki |
| Ending theme | "Himitsu no Akko-chan" by Satoko Shimonari |
| Composer(s) | Johann Strauss |
| Country of origin | Singapore Malaysia |
| Original language(s) | Chinese Subtitles English (Singapore) Malay (Malaysia) |
| No. of episodes | 21 episodes |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Paul Yuen 袁树伟 |
| Production location(s) | Singapore Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company(s) | MediaCorp Media Prima Berhad |
| Distributor | MediaCorp Studios STMB |
| Release | |
| Original network | MediaCorp TV Channel 8 (Singapore) NTV7 (Malaysia) |
| Picture format | SDTV (480i 4:3) PAL (576i 4:3) HDTV (1080i 16:9) |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 Datasat Digital Sound 5.1 Sony Dynamic Digital Sound 5.1 |
| First shown in | 14 February 2011 |
| Original release | 14 February – 11 March 2011 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Prosperity |
| Followed by | Be Happy |
| External links | |
| Website | |
It was telecasted on Malaysia's free-to-air terrestrial television channel form NTV7 channel it was telecasted on Singapore's free-to-air terrestrial television channel form MediaCorp TV Channel 8.
In Malaysia, it will be broadcast on the NTV7 primetime drama slot at every weekday evening at 18:00 until 19:00 MST it was filming locations is done in Singapore (a national capital of Singapore) and Kuala Lumpur (a national capital of Malaysia).
This drama has four main couples, namely, Rui En with Pierre Png, Joanne Peh with Zhang Yaodong, Julie Tan with Zhang Zhenhuan, and Kate Pang with Yao Wenlong. Due to a number of famous artistes acting in this drama it attracted 904,000 viewers. All episodes can be viewed in xinmsn catchup.
Episodes 6, 12, 13, 16 to 20 were rated PG in the encore version.
Synopsis
This drama tells a tale of four women, whom all has the character "乐 (lè)", meaning "happiness", in their names, namely Zhang Yale (Rui En), Pan Leyao (Joanne Peh), Lin Le (Kate Pang) and Pan Lexuan (Julie Tan). They go through many ups and downs in their respective lives, and eventually learns that happiness lies in simple living, in knowing what one wants in life and undauntedly daring to pursue it.
Yale was born into a wealthy family. When her parents pass away, she inherits their wealth. Yale leads a carefree and indulgent life, nonchalant about the running of the family bridal business and the investments she holds, and leaves these to her employees. Reality bites one day and Ya Le realizes that the bridal business is in the red, the investments have largely reaped no returns and the banks are hounding for repayment of the loans. She tries to seek help from her friends, but she is hurt to find out that they were only interested in her friendship because of her wealth and the lifestyle she could afford to share with them. Yale is now down and out, and her "friends" have all deserted her.
Just when Yale is at her wit's end, she finds out that her late mother had invested in a bridal business "Blissful Times" in Singapore with her aunt, Jinfeng (Mimi Chu), who is running the business. Yale tries to sell her late mother's shares in "Blissful Times" to Jinfeng to raise cash to repay the banks. However, Jinfeng has other plans. She refuses to buy over Yale's share in the business and insists that Yale works in "Blissful Times" with her. Left without a choice, Yale agrees.
Cast
Main cast
| Cast | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rui En 瑞恩 |
Zhang Yale 章雅乐 |
Mei Jinfeng's niece Designer for "Blissful Times" Lin Wentao's girlfriend and later wife |
| Joanne Peh 白薇秀 |
Pan Leyao 潘乐瑶 |
Pan Jiaxiang and Wang Cuilan's daughter Ouyang Ming's girlfriend and later wife |
| Pierre Png 方展发 |
Lin Wentao 林文涛 |
"Blissful Times" photographer Adopted son of Mei Jinfeng Student of Induk Taekwondo Academy Four-time champion (National Taekwondo Championships) Zhang Yale's boyfriend and later husband Guan Yiting's ex-boyfriend |
| Mimi Chu 朱咪咪 |
Mei Jinfeng 梅金凤 |
"Blissful Times" lady boss Instructor of Induk Taekwondo Academy |
| Zhang Yaodong 张耀栋 |
Ouyang Ming 欧阳明 |
Ouyang Feng's son Leyao's constant companion Pan Leyao's boyfriend and later husband |
| Zhang Zhenhuan 张振寰 |
Yin Zhengkai 殷正凯 |
CEO of Mika Group Pan Lexuan's boyfriend and later husband Yin Zhengwen's younger brother |
| Kate Pang 庞蕾馨 |
Lin Le 林乐 |
Daughter of Mei Jinfeng Pan Weisong's girlfriend and later wife |
| Yao Wenlong 姚彣隆 |
Pan Weisong 潘伟松 |
Pan Jiaxiang and Wang Cuilan's son Lin Le's boyfriend and later husband Used to be in love with Zhang Yale Student of Induk Taekwondo |
| Julie Tan 陈欣淇 |
Pan Lexuan 潘乐萱 |
Pan Jiaxiang and Fengping's daughter Yin Zhengkai's girlfriend and later wife |
| Ho Kwai Lam 何貴林 |
Ouyang Feng 欧阳风 |
Mei Jinfeng's ex-enemy Father of Ouyang Ming Ex-boss of "I Do I Do" Instructor of Jinshan Taekwondo Academy Later Mei Jinfeng's suitor |
Other cast
| Cast | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Huang Wenyong | Pan Jiaxiang | Wang Cuilan's husband Pan Weisong, Pan Leyao and Pan Lexuan's father |
| Xiang Yun | Wang Cuilan | Pan Jiaxiang's wife Pan Weisong and Pan Leyao's mother |
| Constance Song | Yin Zhengwen | Yin Zhengkai's elder sister Chairman of Mika Group |
| Ya Hui | Guan Yiting | Lin Wentao's ex-girlfriend |
| Darren Lim | Li Zhenbang | Ex-student of Jinshan Taekwondo Academy Student of Red Sun Taekwondo Academy Two-time champion (National Taekwondo Championships) |
| Jerry Yeo | Star | Singer at a bar Cross-dresses Lin Le's ex-boyfriend |
| Joshua Ang | Qian Wenlong | Pan Lexuan's ex-boyfriend |
Trivia
- This drama is the first MediaCorp TV drama in 2011 to have an instrumental music for the opening theme, the next three shows with music as the opening theme are C.L.I.F., On the Fringe and Bountiful Blessings.
- Some scenes in this drama were shot in Kuala Lumpur. However, it is not a co-production with NTV7. Some Kuala Lumpur scenes were also shot in Singapore.
- Originally this drama had intended to produce 21-episodes, but there would be an additional episode due to overruns in filming.
- Mimi Chu apparently plays two roles, as Mei Jinfeng and the "Fairy Godmother" in Yale's dreams (eps 1 & 21).
- Joanne Peh and Zhang Yaodong paired up again after The Greatest Love of All and Your Hand In Mine.
- Huang Wenyong and Xiang Yun were paired up for many times. Their recent pair-up was The Score.
- In Your Hand In Mine, Huang Wenyong and Yao Wenlong were brothers. In this drama, they are father and son.
- In Joys of Life, Yao Wenlong and Kate Pang were father and daughter. In this drama, they are husband and wife
- The show was originally called 'Love In Two Cities'
2012 Accolades
Show 1
| Nominee | Award | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Loo Yin Kam 卢燕金 | Best Director 最佳导演 | Nominated |
| Paul Yuen and Tang Yeow 陈耀 | Best Screenplay 最佳剧本 | Nominated |
| Soh Kok Leong | Best Cameraman Award 最佳戏剧摄影 | Nominated |
| Rui En 瑞恩 | Star Awards for Favourite Female Character 最喜爱女角色 | Won |
Show 2
| Award | Nominee | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Best Actress 最佳女主角 | Rui En 瑞恩 | Nominated |
| Joanne Peh 白薇秀 | Won | |
| Best Newcomer 最佳新人奖 | Kate Pang 龐蕾馨 | Won |
International broadcast
| Country/Region | Original network | Original channel | Daily | Start timeslot | End timeslot | Time zone | Episode premiere | Episode finale | Dubbed | Subtitle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Media Prima Berhad | NTV7 | Weekday | 18:00 | 19:00 | MST | 2 January 2012 | present | Chinese | Malay |
 |
MediaCorp TV | Channel 8 | 21:00 | 22:00 | SST | 14 February 2011 | 11 March 2011 | English |
See also
- The Making of A Tale of 2 Cities (1) on Youtube
- The Making of A Tale of 2 Cities (2) on Youtube
- List of programmes broadcast by MediaCorp Channel 8