Rhapsody in Blue (Drama)
Encyclopedia
Rhapsody In Blue (Pinyin: lán sè xiān rén zhǎng, literally translated means "Blue Cactus" with "lán sè" meaning blue) is a Singapore
an Chinese
drama
which is being telecast on Singapore
's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp TV Channel 8
every weekday at 7pm in June, 2006. The show stars Jesseca Liu
, Christopher Lee
, Guo Liang, Phyllis Quek
, Eelyn Kok and Chen Hanwei
.
) decides to marry 40-year-old widower Guo Yongtao (Chen Hanwei
) despite vehement objections from her parents and disapproval from Yongtao’s 11-year-old daughter Doudou (Boon Hui Lu). The stubborn and wilful girl runs away from home as a sign of protest and during the frantic search, Yongtao is killed instantly in a hit-and-run accident. Traumatised, Doudou loses her ability to speak. Yirou, out of guilt and love for Yongtao, decides to be Doudou’s guardian and takes the child into her family home.
The entire Ding family is against the idea of the anti-social Doudou moving into the household. However, Doudou hates Yirou for causing her father’s death and resents living with the ‘murderer’, thus deliberately causing chaos in the family.
Despite that, Yirou still takes on the role of a mother and brings Doudou for counseling, standing up to protect her when she is bullied at school and at home, even going great lengths to get Doudou transferred to the school where she teaches. Still, the girl is unmoved.
Cuiping (Eelyn Kok
) and her boyfriend music therapist Ziyuan (Christopher Lee
) are facing a crisis of their own: Cuiping had hit a man during a fight with Ziyuan in his car and had driven off in shaking fear when they realized the man is dead. The accident haunts Cuiping, escalating wildly when she discovers the deceased is her colleague Yirou’s fiancé!
She has no courage to own up to the accident and so tries her best to be a better person to Yirou and Doudou to make up for it. Ziyuan also helps out by giving Doudou music therapy. Under his guidance and care, Doudou begins to open up about her hatred for Yirou. Ziyuan tries his best to let Doudou see the many things her guardian does for her behind her back.
Meanwhile, Alice (Phyllis Quek
), Yixing's (Guo Liang) guileful wife, often disrespect and henpeck him. Yixing only find solace when he is with her secretary, Ya Er (Ong Ai Leng). When Alice stumbles upon the truth, she vents her frustrations on her maid, Timmi, with an iron. A scalded Timmi runs off to the police and Alice was apprehended for maid abuse.
Yirou does not let up on trying to track down the driver who killed Yongtao. Her determination ironically causes Cuiping such panic that the latter develops a mental disorder and turns suicidal.
On the other hand, Ziyuan has been giving Yirou a lot of moral, spiritual and physical support and both begin to develop affections for each other. Nevertheless both withhold their feelings out of guilt and obligations to Yongtao and Cuiping respectively.
Their suspect relationship finally comes to Cuiping’s attention who wrangles out a confession from Ziyuan. His change of heart comes as a huge blow to Cuiping, who packs a weapon and tries to harm Yirou.
2006. However, only Boon Hui Lu (Doudou) managed to bag an award.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
which is being telecast on Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp TV Channel 8
MediaCorp TV Channel 8
MediaCorp Channel 8 is a 24-hour free-to-air Mandarin Chinese general entertainment television channel in Singapore...
every weekday at 7pm in June, 2006. The show stars Jesseca Liu
Jesseca Liu
Jesseca Liu Zhi Xuan is a Malaysian actress and model working in Singapore.-Early life:Jesseca Liu was born in Langkawi, Malaysia. She began modeling after graduating from Saito Academy in 2001. Languages often spoken by Liu are Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Bahasa Melayu. First known as Lao...
, Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee (Singaporean actor)
Christopher Lee , born Lee Meng Soon, is a Singapore-based Malaysian Chinese film and television actor, host and singer.-Early life:Lee studied up to form 5 in Sekolah Menangah Seri Kota, Air Leleh, Malacca, Malaysia...
, Guo Liang, Phyllis Quek
Phyllis Quek
Phyllis Quek is a model-turned-actress in Singapore. She first came into the public eye after entering Star Search 1995, a showbiz entry competition in Singapore...
, Eelyn Kok and Chen Hanwei
Chen Hanwei
Chen Han Wei , is a MediaCorp TV artiste in Singapore. He is a permanent resident of Singapore.-Early life:Chen grew up and lived in Kampung Ungku Mohsin, Johor Bahru. Born into a poor family, Chen nonetheless excelled academically and studied at one of the most famous Chinese independent schools...
.
Cast
- Jesseca LiuJesseca LiuJesseca Liu Zhi Xuan is a Malaysian actress and model working in Singapore.-Early life:Jesseca Liu was born in Langkawi, Malaysia. She began modeling after graduating from Saito Academy in 2001. Languages often spoken by Liu are Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Bahasa Melayu. First known as Lao...
as Ding Yirou - Chen HanweiChen HanweiChen Han Wei , is a MediaCorp TV artiste in Singapore. He is a permanent resident of Singapore.-Early life:Chen grew up and lived in Kampung Ungku Mohsin, Johor Bahru. Born into a poor family, Chen nonetheless excelled academically and studied at one of the most famous Chinese independent schools...
as Guo Yongtao - Christopher LeeChristopher Lee (Singaporean actor)Christopher Lee , born Lee Meng Soon, is a Singapore-based Malaysian Chinese film and television actor, host and singer.-Early life:Lee studied up to form 5 in Sekolah Menangah Seri Kota, Air Leleh, Malacca, Malaysia...
as Lan Ziyuan - Boon Hui Lu as Doudou
- Eelyn KokEelyn Kok-Career:Eelyn started out playing supporting roles in her starting years. She had two Best Supporting Actress nominations, in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, Eelyn starred in My Buddy as the first female lead. She starred as Huang Jinhao, 2nd female lead in Channel 8 Blockbuster drama, Together opposite...
as Zhao Cuiping - Guo LiangGuo LiangGuo Liang was a martyr who sacrificed for the liberation of China.-Life Story:Guo Liang was a CPC central committee alternate committee member, secretary of Hunan provincial Party committee....
as Ding Yixing - Phyllis QuekPhyllis QuekPhyllis Quek is a model-turned-actress in Singapore. She first came into the public eye after entering Star Search 1995, a showbiz entry competition in Singapore...
as Alice - Ong Ai LengOng Ai LengOng Ai Leng is a Malaysian MediaCorp actress, most notable for her debutanté role in Home Coming.-Filmography:*Home Coming *2046 *Redness of Seventh Month *Perfect Woman *Changing Lane *A Life of Hope...
as Ya Er - May Phua as Doudou's mother
- Zhu Houren as Ding Zhengda
- Hong Huifang as Guiying
- ??? as Bryan
- ??? as Timmi
Story
Twenty-four-year-old teacher Ding Yirou (Jesseca LiuJesseca Liu
Jesseca Liu Zhi Xuan is a Malaysian actress and model working in Singapore.-Early life:Jesseca Liu was born in Langkawi, Malaysia. She began modeling after graduating from Saito Academy in 2001. Languages often spoken by Liu are Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Bahasa Melayu. First known as Lao...
) decides to marry 40-year-old widower Guo Yongtao (Chen Hanwei
Chen Hanwei
Chen Han Wei , is a MediaCorp TV artiste in Singapore. He is a permanent resident of Singapore.-Early life:Chen grew up and lived in Kampung Ungku Mohsin, Johor Bahru. Born into a poor family, Chen nonetheless excelled academically and studied at one of the most famous Chinese independent schools...
) despite vehement objections from her parents and disapproval from Yongtao’s 11-year-old daughter Doudou (Boon Hui Lu). The stubborn and wilful girl runs away from home as a sign of protest and during the frantic search, Yongtao is killed instantly in a hit-and-run accident. Traumatised, Doudou loses her ability to speak. Yirou, out of guilt and love for Yongtao, decides to be Doudou’s guardian and takes the child into her family home.
The entire Ding family is against the idea of the anti-social Doudou moving into the household. However, Doudou hates Yirou for causing her father’s death and resents living with the ‘murderer’, thus deliberately causing chaos in the family.
Despite that, Yirou still takes on the role of a mother and brings Doudou for counseling, standing up to protect her when she is bullied at school and at home, even going great lengths to get Doudou transferred to the school where she teaches. Still, the girl is unmoved.
Cuiping (Eelyn Kok
Eelyn Kok
-Career:Eelyn started out playing supporting roles in her starting years. She had two Best Supporting Actress nominations, in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, Eelyn starred in My Buddy as the first female lead. She starred as Huang Jinhao, 2nd female lead in Channel 8 Blockbuster drama, Together opposite...
) and her boyfriend music therapist Ziyuan (Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee (Singaporean actor)
Christopher Lee , born Lee Meng Soon, is a Singapore-based Malaysian Chinese film and television actor, host and singer.-Early life:Lee studied up to form 5 in Sekolah Menangah Seri Kota, Air Leleh, Malacca, Malaysia...
) are facing a crisis of their own: Cuiping had hit a man during a fight with Ziyuan in his car and had driven off in shaking fear when they realized the man is dead. The accident haunts Cuiping, escalating wildly when she discovers the deceased is her colleague Yirou’s fiancé!
She has no courage to own up to the accident and so tries her best to be a better person to Yirou and Doudou to make up for it. Ziyuan also helps out by giving Doudou music therapy. Under his guidance and care, Doudou begins to open up about her hatred for Yirou. Ziyuan tries his best to let Doudou see the many things her guardian does for her behind her back.
Meanwhile, Alice (Phyllis Quek
Phyllis Quek
Phyllis Quek is a model-turned-actress in Singapore. She first came into the public eye after entering Star Search 1995, a showbiz entry competition in Singapore...
), Yixing's (Guo Liang) guileful wife, often disrespect and henpeck him. Yixing only find solace when he is with her secretary, Ya Er (Ong Ai Leng). When Alice stumbles upon the truth, she vents her frustrations on her maid, Timmi, with an iron. A scalded Timmi runs off to the police and Alice was apprehended for maid abuse.
Yirou does not let up on trying to track down the driver who killed Yongtao. Her determination ironically causes Cuiping such panic that the latter develops a mental disorder and turns suicidal.
On the other hand, Ziyuan has been giving Yirou a lot of moral, spiritual and physical support and both begin to develop affections for each other. Nevertheless both withhold their feelings out of guilt and obligations to Yongtao and Cuiping respectively.
Their suspect relationship finally comes to Cuiping’s attention who wrangles out a confession from Ziyuan. His change of heart comes as a huge blow to Cuiping, who packs a weapon and tries to harm Yirou.
Awards
Rhapsody In Blue has been nominated for four awards at Star AwardsStar Awards
The Star Awards is an annual ceremony where the media organisation, Mediacorp, recognises entertainers in their employ for their outstanding performances...
2006. However, only Boon Hui Lu (Doudou) managed to bag an award.
- Rhapsody in Blue - Best Drama Series
- Jesseca LiuJesseca LiuJesseca Liu Zhi Xuan is a Malaysian actress and model working in Singapore.-Early life:Jesseca Liu was born in Langkawi, Malaysia. She began modeling after graduating from Saito Academy in 2001. Languages often spoken by Liu are Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Bahasa Melayu. First known as Lao...
- Best Actress - Boon Hui Lu - Young Talent Award
- Joi ChuaJoi ChuaJoi Chua or Joi Tsai is a Singaporean female singer signed under Play Music.Joi was educated at Raffles Girls' Primary School, Clementi Town Secondary School, and Singapore Polytechnic in Optometry....
's 风铃 - Best Theme Song
Trivia
- The opening theme 风铃 was adapted from Punch's single Ying Gwah Sia Jai.
- The name of the show is based on the famous Jazz ballad , "Rhapsody in BlueRhapsody in BlueRhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
".