心星的淚光 - Starlit

心星的淚光 (Starlit) is a 2009 drama out of Taiwan. The drama stars Jerry Yan, Terri Kwan and Alice Tzeng. It runs a quick 22 episodes (47-49 minutes each). I was surprised at how fast I got through it.



Jerry Yan plays Ah Yue. Terri Kwan as plays Xiao Lu. Alice plays Rui Zhan. Zhang Xi Xi plays Da Hong. These are the major players in the drama and they all put on quite a show.

Xiao Lu is on assignment in Taiwan from Beijing. Xiao Lu takes some time out to take pictures in Jioufen. Ah Yue is walking by when Xiao Lu is in the middle of the street. Xiao Lu can't move and Ah Yue pushes her out of the way, but gets hit by the bus. After the hit, Ah Yue falls on the ground and the bus runs over his hand. Taken to the hospital and Xiao Lu follows. But Xiao Lu's plane is leaving and she does not want to miss her flight back to Beijing. Xiao Lu leaves her information, but through the magic of dramas, it is lost.

Well, Ah Lu recovers, but his hand can no longer return to the way it was. Which was that of a piano prodigy. Now that Ah Yue was lost everything he's lived his life for, he takes to the road. Two years later, Ah Yue ends up in Shanghai. Through the magic of dramas, Ah Yue and Xiao Lu bump into each other. You know how it goes from there...

Well, I was impressed and really dug this drama. The story, formula, etc. have all played out someway in other dramas. But there was something about all the played out clichés and drama magic that didn't turn me off. I am also not a big fan of Terri Kwan. But somehow, none of that seemed to bother me. Jerry is Jerry and played the character well. The rest of the cast somehow made everything work for me.


Zhang Xi Xi (章西西) was the biggest surprise for me. I'm not sure if I'll see her in any other dramas as she's a China actress and isn't going to be many idol dramas from Taiwan. But 章西西 was someone I hoped had a bigger supporting part. Maybe 章西西 will have a big supporting role in Always Smile! Check out this blog page for more of 章西西. I am a fan!

The drama actually spends only 3-4 episodes in Taiwan. The rest is in Shanghai. The majority of the secondary cast seemed native to China and not Taiwan. All but 2 the major parts were played by Taiwan based actors. Maybe this is the future for Taiwan dramas that want more penetration in China's emerging market.

But I must warn that the ultimate subject matter is quite depressing. Doom and gloom is a heavy subject. The first half is the chase, the second half is the doom and gloom.