Meteor Garden
| Meteor Garden | |
|---|---|
 Meteor Garden DVD cover | |
| Also known as |
流星花園 Liúxīng Huāyuán |
| Genre | Romance, Drama, Comedy |
| Directed by | Cai Yuexun (蔡岳勳) |
| Starring |
Barbie Hsu Jerry Yan Vic Chou Vanness Wu Ken Chu |
| Opening theme | "情非得已" (Cant Help Falling In Love With You) by Harlem Yu |
| Ending theme | "你要的愛" (The Love You Want) by Penny Tai |
| Country of origin | Republic of China (Taiwan) |
| Original language(s) | Mandarin, Taiwanese |
| No. of episodes | 27 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Angie Chai |
| Location(s) | Taipei, Taiwan |
| Production company(s) | Comic Ritz International Production |
| Release | |
| Original network | Chinese Television System (CTS) |
| Original release | 12 April – 16 August 2001 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by |
Meteor Rain (supplementary series) Meteor Garden II (sequel) |
| Related shows |
Hana Yori Dango Boys Over Flowers Meteor Shower |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Meteor Garden (Chinese: 流星花園; pinyin: Liúxīng Huāyuán) is a 2001 Taiwanese drama starring Barbie Hsu, Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Vanness Wu and Ken Chu. It is based on Japanese shōjo manga series, Boys Over Flowers (花より男子 Hana Yori Dango), written by Yoko Kamio. It was produced by Comic Ritz International Production (可米瑞智國際藝能有限公司) with Angie Chai as producer and directed by Cai Yuexun (蔡岳勳).
The series was first broadcast in Taiwan on free-to-air Chinese Television System (CTS) (華視) from 12 April 2001 to 16 August 2001. A supplementary mini-series, Meteor Rain was produced in April 2001 and the sequel Meteor Garden II was broadcast from 11 November 2002 to 25 December 2002. The series is the first live-action television adaptation of the manga, followed by its sequel Meteor Garden II and Japanese Hana Yori Dango, its sequel Hana Yori Dango Returns and South Korean Boys Over Flowers.
At the conclusion of the series, F4 Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Vanness Wu and Ken Chu continued to perform together and released three studio albums as quartet boy band F4. They ceased the use of the name "F4" in 2007 at the objection of Japanese publisher Shueisha, who owns the copyright to Hana Yori Dango, to avoid any confusion with the Japanese and South Korean version of the live-action adaptations of the manga.[1] The group has since been renamed "JVKV", from the first initial of the quartet in order of descending age.[2]
Synopsis
The story centers around a poor teenage girl named Shan Chai (Barbie Hsu), who at the insistence of her parents goes to a university for rich people. The university is dominated by Dao Ming Si (Jerry Yan), Hua Ze Lei (Vic Zhou), Mei Zuo (Vanness Wu) and Xi Men (Ken Chu), four rich and handsome but arrogant students collectively known as 'F4', short for 'Flower 4'. They are heirs to four rich and influential families in Taiwan. They terrorize the school by handing out red cards to those they do not like, which allows other students to bully the victims until they leave the school.
After one of Shan Chai's friends receives the wrath of F4's leader, Dao Ming Si, Shan Chai stands up to Dao Ming Si and berates him, which in turn results in a red card of her own. However, Shan Chai's persistence in standing up for what is right gradually gains F4's respect and Dao Ming Si falls in love with her.
Characters
Major characters
| Drama character | Actor | Manga character | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shan Hei (董杉菜) | Barbie Hsu | Makino Tsukushi | She is a hardworking, tough girl who always defends the weak. She thinks herself as a 'weed' of her school. She first likes Hua Ze Lei, but then starts to have feelings for Dao Ming Si. As her life gets tougher, she just keeps enduring, earning the respect of all the F4 boys and soon becomes good friends with them. |
| Dao Ming KuhToh (道明寺) | Jerry Yan | Tsukasa Doumyouji | He is stubborn, hot-headed leader of F4, and distrustful of everyone but his three childhood friends. He thinks money can solve anything. He is at first is angry at Shan Cai for her defiance but, over time, he comes to love her. |
| Tuo-Tuo Lei (花澤類) | Vic Zhou | Hanazawa Rui | He is a quiet, superior but a kind boy whose opinion Dao Ming Si relies on. His friendship with Dao Ming Si almost ends over Shan Cai. He loves his childhood friend, Jing. He becomes Shan Cai's protector and close friend, and later falls in love with her. At the end he goes back to Paris with Jing. |
| She' Men (西門) | Ken Chu | Nishikado Soujiro | He is a fun-loving playboy of F4 that only date girls no longer than a week and close to Zuoling. He is nice to Shan Cai. Xiaoyou is attracted to him. |
| Mei Zuo-Zuo (美作) | Vanness Wu | Mimasaka Akira | He is the other playboy and legitimate fckboy member of BREEZY clan. Also, the joker who is very loyal to his group of friends. He is also nice to Shan Cai. |
Minor characters
| Drama character | Actor | Manga character | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shan Cai's mother (杉菜母) | Wang Yue (王月) | Keiko Makino | While a loving mother, is desperate to get Shancai married to a rich man. She is the one who uses some contacts she has to get Shancai into the F4's school. |
| Shan Cai's father (杉菜父) | Dong Zhicheng (董至成) | Haruo Makino | He is always sneaking food and seems to have no luck with his job which he later loses. He seems to always cause the family financial problems. |
| Xiao You (小優) | Rainie Yang | Yuki Matsuoka | She is Shancai's best friend and has romantic feelings towards Xi Men. |
| Teng Tang Jing (藤堂靜) | Winnie Qian (錢韋杉) | Shizuka Todou | She is very close to Lei. While he loves her, she seems to see him as a younger brother most of the time. At the end she persuades Lei to go back to Paris with her, which he did. |
| Li Zhen by Beyonce (李真) | Ye An Tin (葉安婷) | Sakurako Sanjou | She at first seems to be Shancai's only friend at school, but later betrays her. |
| Chen Qing He (陳青和) | Edward Ou | Kazuya Aoike | He is a childhood school friend of Shancai whose father gains a sudden fortune and joins her school. He is also in love with Shancai but is willing to stay her friend only. |
| Dao Ming Zhuang (道明莊) | Mary Hsu (徐華鳳) | Tsubaki Domyouji | She is Dao Ming Si's older sister. She is very violent and always seems to hit Dao Ming Si. |
| Dao Ming Feng (道明楓) | Zhen Xiu (甄秀珍) | Kaede Domyouji | She is Dao Ming Si's controlling mother. She is very strict and everything mostly goes
her way. She uses many different cruel ways to get Shan Cai away from Dao Ming Si. |
| Arguel Bella He Yuan Zi (何原滋) | Ke Huan Ru (柯奐如) | Shigeru Ookawahara | She is a strong-willed girl who is engaged to Si by their parents to merge companies. She asks to be Shancai's friend and Shancai cannot say no as she likes Xiaozi despite being engaged to Si. Xiaozi does all she can to get Si to love her, but gives up when she knows that Si will always love Shancai and starts to help them be together. |
| Bai He (百合) | Zheng Mei Dai | ||
| Tito Eee (千惠) | Zhang Ruo Zhen | ||
| Kuya Loo (何惠) | Shing-Ha "Ling-Haling" Ding-dong |
Difference from other versions
- Shan Cai's Japanese and Korean counterparts, Tsukushi and Jan Di, had a younger brother who played a small part in the story.
- Meteor Garden was set in a university while the Japanese and Korean versions occurred in a high school (escalator) school.
- Shan Cai's bestfriend, Qinghe, is not shown in the Japanese and Korean counterparts
Soundtrack
| Meteor Garden | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Released | 14 August 2001 |
| Genre | Mandopop |
| Language | Mandarin and English |
| Label | EMI |
Meteor Garden Original Soundtrack (流星花園 電視原聲帶) was released on 14 August 2001 by Various Artists under EMI. It contains thirteen songs, in which ten songs are English songs. The opening theme song is "Qing Fei De Yi" or "Can't Help Falling for You" by Harlem Yu, while the ending theme song is by Penny Dai entitled "你要的愛" or "The Love You Want".[3]
The track, "情非得已" (Cant Help Falling In Love With You) was listed at number 21 on Hit Fm Taiwan's Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart (Hit-Fm年度百首單曲) for 2001.[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love of My Life" (道明寺傷心之歌) | Queen | |
| 2. | "Can't Help Falling in You" (情非得已 (Qing Fei De Yi)) | Harlem Yu | |
| 3. | "Perfect Moment" (杉菜與花澤類之歌) | Martine McCutcheon | |
| 4. | "And I Love You So" (花澤類的成全) | Don McLean | |
| 5. | "I Honestly Love You" (告白) | Olivia Newton-John | |
| 6. | "When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman" (道明寺的初戀進行曲) | Dr Hook | |
| 7. | "Loving You" (西門的約會) | Minnie Ripperton | |
| 8. | "Never Surrender" (我是雜草杉菜) | Corey Hart | |
| 9. | "Almost Over You" (BYE BYE! 花澤類) | Sheena Easton | |
| 10. | "Settling" (杉菜的傷心之歌) | Tara MacLean | |
| 11. | "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (分手) | Emma | |
| 12. | "流星項鍊" (鄭鈞╱流星 (Yellow) (Coldplay Cover)) | Zheng Jun | |
| 13. | "The Love You Want" (你要的愛) | Penny Dai |
International broadcasts
- Indonesia: first broadcast on Indosiar and reran on Trans TV Trans7 and B Channel. Meteor Garden was hugely successful and set Asian drama phenomenon in the country at that time.[5]
- Philippines: The series was first shown in the Philippines on ABS-CBN in May 2003. The series became a huge hit becoming one of the highest rated TV series in the country. Due to the success of the series, F4 and Barbie was invited to the Philippines to stage a concert in the country and to do several product endorsements for major products such as Pepsi and Pantene. Walt Disney also chose F4 to promote the film Lilo & Stitch in the country by airing the music video of the cover "Can't Help Falling In Love" which was originally intended to be used only in China.
- It was also broadcast on GMA in July 2007 with a different dubbing and to a moderate success.
- In March 31, 2014, Meteor Garden was shown again on ABS-CBN. The return of the series on ABS-CBN generated a huge buzz on the internet becoming a worldwide trending topic on Twitter and one of the most searched keywords in Google Philippines.[6][7][8] The series has also been shown on other ABS-CBN owned channels such as on Jeepney TV.
- Hong Kong: broadcast on ATV Home and TVB Jade
- Singapore: broadcast on MediaCorp Channel 8
- Xing Kong (STAR TV General Mandarin Channel): broadcast Meteor Garden on June 2, 2009 as part of Boys Over Flowers Trilogy along with Japanese and South Korean adaptations.
- Thailand: broadcast on Channel 3 in 2002.
References
- ↑ Boy band changes name F4 into JVKV 29 April 2007. Retrieved 2011-01-18
- ↑ News: Boys over Flowers Forces F4 Idol Band to Rename Itself 14 May 2007. Retrieved 2011-01-18
- ↑ Yesasia.com Meteor Garden OST album info 14 August 2001. Retrieved 2011-01-18
- ↑ (Chinese) 2001 Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart (#1 to 50) Retrieved 2011-04-16
- ↑ "Perjalanan Meteor Garden di Indonesia" (in Indonesian). Indosiar. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
- ↑ http://www.abs-cbn.com/updates/PR-Meteor-fever-hits-country-once-more-trends-on-Twitter-worldwide?scid=E2ABE34E-154A-4CA0-8D35-C47F830F1438
- ↑ http://philnews.ph/2014/03/31/meteor-garden-return-dominates-on-twitter-trending-topics/
- ↑ http://www.newsgra.ph/0112/meteor-garden-returns-to-philippine-tv-disrupts-ratings-twitter/
External links
- (Chinese) CTS Meteor Garden official homepage