Where can I find a Chinese soap opera on DVD?

anarky · Post by **anarky** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:36 pm

This is going to seem like a fucking weird question, I know. My wife was following this Chinese soap that was, well, I started to call it a train wreck, but that's a grave disservice to train wrecks everywhere. It's BAD. But so bad that it transcends the "so bad it's good" label.

And since she was watching it every day, I kinda got sucked into it. It's always more fun to watch something MST3K style with a partner, y'know?

Anywho. . . long story short, it turns out this is a 27-episode self-contained story, not exactly the way soaps are in the US where they drag on for decades. And last night, she was working at a football game where she teaches and missed the climactic ending.

I thought it would be a cool present to get her the show on DVD, if it exists. (Especially since she'd figure out it was a DVD from the size of the package, and she'd get that "Why'd you buy me a damn movie" look until she realizes what it is.

So on the one hand, I figure it should be out there on DVD. One episode shows a photograph with a date stamp in October of 2004, so my guess is it's rather recent and may not be available through legit channels. But, then again, it is from the capital of the bootlegging industry, and if it's only available via that fashion, I can live with that. [ninja]

I could also make up a DVD package if I could find the damned thing in some downloadable format.

I probably could find this on some Chinese website, but, uh, I don't speak or read a word of Mandarin. And it's probably in a video store in Chinatown, but that's a pretty long drive to not know for sure about it.

If anyone knows where I might be able to turn in this endeavor, any hep would be hot.

In case you're curious, the show is called Le Robe de Mariage Des Cieux (don't ask me why a show from Taiwan has a frigging French title!), or Heaven's Wedding Gown in English. It ran for 27 days and, based upon the immense number of commercials, I estimate the running time to be between 13 and 20 hours.

jjreason · Post by **jjreason** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 11:56 pm

Ebay?

anarky · Post by **anarky** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 12:01 am

Tried it, believe me. Tried every outlet I can think of. I found a reference to a place in Hong Kong that has it available for rental on VCD, but that's it so far.

Maybe if I could read Mandarin, it might be a different story. I have a feeling I'll need to come up with an excuse to take a trip to Chinatown and hope the gas I use up is worth it.

mabudon · Post by **mabudon** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 8:04 am

my friends wife is Chinese- I will see what I can do, man, i'll them up later on today- she has lots of connections in the Chinese community, as well, so if anyone could help out, I think she's the one

anarky · Post by **anarky** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 2:28 pm

I'd be super-dee-duper appreciative. Maybe even enough to send a compilation of Fleetwood Mac stuff your way. [:)] Seriously, though, I'd appreciate it.

If it's not on DVD, a downloadable format I can save to a DVD would work. I can put together packaging in the mackalicious Adobe CS2. And I think my "cover showing the stupid rabbit in a dress" would probably be cooler than anything a real DVD would have.

mabudon · Post by **mabudon** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 6:53 am

Okay chux- can ya tell me the name of the production company??? Or maybe the channel and time of the broadcast???
I talked to my buddy and she said she would ask her taiwanese friends, but that more information would be helpful too, just in case

anarky · Post by **anarky** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 9:51 am

I'll see if I can track it down. It aired on KSCI in LA, but I have no idea who originally produced or aired it in Taiwan.

mabudon · Post by **mabudon** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 3:35 pm

Okay, well, here's hoping that we already gots it nailed, I may have to wait a day or two before I hear's anything, but I'll pm ya elsewhere's if/when I hear anything

anarky · Post by **anarky** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 10:42 am

Thanks, Optimus. I've been trying to track down the production company's name, but about all I can find are sites in Chinese and scary obsessive fan forums that make the other site and all its n00b insanity look positively normal.

The official site (in Chinese) is supposedly http://www.settv.net/metro/m089/, but I've never actually been able to get it to load.

Slicker · Post by **Slicker** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 11:48 am

I managed to find this site on MSN Chux.

http://groups.msn.com/settv/

EDIT: Here's Episodes 1-12 on VCD. http://fusionbeat.com/proddetail.asp?prod=E00913798027

Here's an Ebay auction but the language is in Mandarin and the subtitles are in Chinese. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... tegory=617

mabudon · Post by **mabudon** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 4:25 pm

Good move, Slick- I haven't heard back yet, so I'll giva a call to my buddy on saturday and see where her questions may have led

anarky · Post by **anarky** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 10:46 am

I found a site that has two books on this show. It's pretty fucking scary when you see all the shit that's available. Thank God Saved by the Bell never had this kind of obsessive following here.

Well, maybe it did. I avoided that crap like the plague. Now if it had subtitles like "If you do not be have i will tide you down"....

Y'know, I've not seen Shittad lately. I wonder if he's been in Taiwan doing subtitles for bad TV shows?

anarky · Post by **anarky** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 11:05 am

Ehh, fuckit. I'm sick of finding sellers' pages I can't fucking read. I'll settle for download in a format I can put on DVD at this point. Hell, I can make my own ridiculous sleeve artwork for it:

"Gasp as the rabbit Oolong Tea escapes the house naked!
Scratch your head over whether the lead character is Ivy or Ai Chi, and whether her surname is spelled 'Tau' or 'Tao.'
Find out how do Jean Sun feel to be <s>raped</s> abused*!"

*--Based on an actual horrid translation from the series that still makes me laugh to this day.

Sorry for the doubling-up, Doom, but Human Torch told me it was okay just this once, and if you had a problem to come see him.

Snigtad Flornbi · Post by **Snigtad Flornbi** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 6:44 pm

Man yuo are a fucking pussey, I am going too kick you're nuts.

Snigtad Flornbi · Post by **Snigtad Flornbi** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 1:05 pm

God dam it sure smells gay in here!!!