Taiwanese BL drama: First Note of Love

[amedia]

I started this drama in November of last year and managed to finish it earlier this month. I watched it purely to see Liu Minting, a.k.a. Tim Minting, better known in Guardian fandom as the adorkable scientist Lin Jing, in a secondary role. I got to see more of him than I expected!



The "screencaps" were taken by me aiming my cell phone at a television, so they're maybe not as sharp as they could be. But I think they'll give you a pretty good idea!

Liu Minting plays a pop music manager named Reese, who is trying to orchestrate a comeback for a former idol ("Neil") by teaming him with a promising composer ("Sea"); the idol and composer form the BL pairing featured in the ads for the show. Neil, traumatized by death of his brother, who was also his musical partner, has been schlepping around being miserable and avoiding music for years; Sea is one of those staple blank-faced BL characters with zero communication skills. I mean, this kid makes Adachi from Cherry Magic look garrulous.

So I found the main pairing pretty annoying and watched the show mostly in half-episode chunks. It was very nice, however, to glimpse Liu Minting fairly often. You know how some actors look kind of ... unfinished in their early roles, and then look quite a bit better once they're a bit older?

The first examples I thought of were Sean Connery and Michelle Yeoh, both of whom IMHO became a lot hotter when they hit middle age. This fella hasn't had quite as much time to age, but there's still visible improvement.

Liu Minting ages up nicely! It's amazing what a better haircut (or a less dorky wig), a sharper outfit, and a few years can do for an actor:


Getting all business-y! (By "let's" here, he's referring to Neil and Sea.)

But wait, there's more! A few episodes in, an old flame of Reese's turns up ... and Reese gets a BL storyline of his own. I was not expecting that! Orca, as he is called, brings a lot of welcome energy to his scenes.



Reese and Orca.



Orca is from Thailand; he mostly converses with the other characters in English, but wants to speak Thai with Reese. "Speak Thai with" is apparently what the kids are calling it these days. ;-)




Later episodes show us a good bit more of Reese! Waking up, for example.



In a flashback scene (you can tell by the bangs), where Reese appears to be in a relationship with Orca, he manages to look surprisingly yummy in pajama pants and a bathrobe.



Here he is in the present, looking at a tablet (clipboard? mini-whiteboard?) topless. As one does.



Somehow Orca and Reese wind up on an outdoor stage singing at one point. Just roll with it. Honestly, this show is not about the plot.

Comments

[trobadora]

Aw! Liu Minting! I may have to take a look at this at some point. :D

(Why don't I have a Lin Jing icon???)

[amedia]

Aw! Liu Minting! I may have to take a look at this at some point. :D

Let me know what you think, if you do!

(Why don't I have a Lin Jing icon???)

I didn't have one until I made one for this entry! It's gankable if you'd like to use it. :-)

[trobadora]

Thank you for offering! I'm not entirely sure what I want out of a Lin Jing icon yet, but I might take you up on it!

[awanderingcoyote]

Oh what fab screenshots!!!

[amedia]

Aw, thank you!

[nnozomi]

Thank you for the post, what a fun show! Right on Liu Minting, I'm glad he's getting roles at home in Taiwan. (I do find him quite attractive as Lin Jing, when he's outside his lab, ie no mad scientist glasses and combed hair ;) ).

[amedia]

Right on Liu Minting, I'm glad he's getting roles at home in Taiwan.

Me too!

I do find him quite attractive as Lin Jing, when he's outside his lab, ie no mad scientist glasses and combed hair ;) .

Good point! The first time I saw him outside his lab it took me a while to figure out who he was, he looked so different. (And so much better!)

[trepkos]

It's good to see the cast getting more work!

[amedia]

It really is!

[facethestrange]

This is so cool! I have to say, I did not expect LIN JING to be the one who gets to be gay on tv. xD :D GOOD FOR HIM x 2. :D

""Speak Thai with" is apparently what the kids are calling it these days. ;-)"

:D :D

"looking at a tablet (clipboard? mini-whiteboard?) topless. As one does."

:D :D :D Your commentary = ♡♡♡!

[amedia]

:D :D :D Your commentary = ♡♡♡! LOL, thank you!!!

[tinypinkmouse]

I've seen some screencaps from the show before and I did not recognise him as the same actor, until someone told me repeatedly. My brain still refuses to see it, that can't be the same person. He looks entirely different in these pics than he did in Guardian. He's definitely aged well.

[amedia]

I did not recognise him as the same actor

I had a similar experience! When I first started watching, I knew the character's name, so I knew who to look at, but it took several scenes before I could really register him as Liu Minting! I will say it's easier when you see him moving, so you get him from a number of different angles, as well as the way he moves, instead of just a 2-d still image in screencaps.

[tinypinkmouse]

Oh yeah, people usually are easier to recognise when they're moving. Maybe if I manage to watch some clips one day I'll finally believe it's actually him. :D