Don't Stop Believin' (TV series)

Don't Stop Believin' (Chinese: 我们等你!) is a Singaporean Chinese drama which was telecast on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp Channel 8. It made its debut on 14 August 2012.[1] This drama serial consists of 20 episodes and was screened on weekdays at 9:00 pm. It stars Felicia Chin, Elvin Ng, Romeo Tan, Edwin Goh, Kimberly Chia, Ian Fang & Xu Bin as the casts of this series.

Don't Stop Believin'
我们等你!
GenreDrama
Romance
School
Youth
Education
Created byLau Ching Poon 刘清盆
Written byLau Ching Poon 刘清盆
Cynthia Chong 张湄纭
Directed byLeong Lye Lin 梁来玲
Foo Seng Peng 符之炳
Lim Bee Nah 林美娜
StarringFelicia Chin
Elvin Ng
Romeo Tan
Edwin Goh
Kimberly Chia
Ian Fang
Xu Bin
Opening theme《真善美》 by Tay Kewei & Wei En
Ending theme《桃李》 by Foo Jierong
Country of originSingapore
Original languageChinese
No. of episodes20
Production
ProducerSoh Bee Lian 苏美莲
Running time1 hour
Release
Original networkMediaCorp Channel 8
Original release14 August (2012-08-14) 
10 September 2012 (2012-09-10)
Related

Plot

Du Siman (Felicia Chin) is a passionate teacher of a top school. After clashing with the principal over a student, she decides to join Brilliante Secondary School, the school with the worst academic results in Singapore as it accepts pupils who have failed the Primary School Leaving Examinations at least twice. Through sheer determination, she manages to convince the principal, Zhou Yaoguang (Cavin Soh) and vice principal Li Shengchun (Constance Song), to recruit her. Unfortunately, Siman's first day at the school turns out disastrous.

Wu Yanbin (Elvin Ng) is a counselor in the school. Initially, Siman was furious with Yanbin after he did not respond to her calls for help when she was locked inside a recreation room. He even seemingly rejects Siman's profession of love for him. However, her stance towards him softened after she found out that Yanbin suffers from frequent bouts of sudden deafness.

In Siman's class is a student by the name of Bai Zhixiang (Ian Fang). If not for a home visit, she will not have believed that in a prosperous First World country like Singapore, there exists such a poor family who not only cannot pay their utility bills, they do not even have gas at home. Then there is another student Cai Wensheng (Edwin Goh) who is studying, and working at the same time to support the family at such a tender age because his father, Tianshi (Wang Yuqing), is mentally unwell. Emotions well up when Siman and the new volunteer teacher Angel (Tang Ling Yi) see these students rushing off to work right after school.

Zhong Guo'an (Brandon Wong) is the disciplinary master of the school. In front of the whole school, he canes Junliang (Xu Bin) who is involved in a case where a female student, Jessie (Shelia Tan) is molested. Feeling maligned, the indignant Junliang throws a bag of urine at Jessie sneakily. Unfortunately, Guo'an slips and is rendered paralysed as a result. Full of guilt, Junliang wants to visit Guo'an in hospital but is stopped by Yaoguang. Out of guilt, he protests about not being allowed to see his own father.

Zhixiang has his first taste of love when he falls for a classmate, Yilin (Kimberly Chia), who rejects him. Yilin confides in Yanbin every now and then. Once, when Yilin suffers a nosebleed, Yanbin carefully helps her to stop the bleeding. The young girl somehow develops feelings for him despite knowing that Yanbin is in love with someone else...

Jin Zhengnan (Romeo Tan), Yanbin's good friend, is fond of Siman after meeting her for the time. To get close to her, he volunteers to conduct a bakery class for the students of Brilliante Secondary School. Siman's heart, however, is with Yanbin. Once, Siman sums up her courage to express her feelings for Yanbin. Unfortunately, Yanbin's hearing defect leads to Siman mistaking him for rejecting her love. Disappointed, Siman finally gives in to Zhengnan's wooing.

Siman and Yanbin take the students on an overseas tour. They find out unexpectedly that Yilin is suffering from a terminal illness. In fact, Yilin knows about it all along but chooses to hide the truth from her teachers and classmates. As her condition worsens, she is unable to participate in the culinary competition organized by the TV station. She can only hope that her teammates will fulfill her wish.

Alex (Xavier Ong), a problem student who bears a grudge against Yanbin for punishing him, threatens another student into accusing Yanbin of molestation. He even trumps up a load of evidence and produces false witnesses, leaving Yanbin defenceless. In view of the damning evidence, the school board unanimously decides to fire Yanbin. Yaoguang goes all out to defend Yanbin, and makes up his mind to pursue the matter with him. He vows to resign as Principal if Yanbin is dismissed from his job. Siman is roused to join their camp.

Cast

Teachers

Cast Role Description
Felicia Chin
陈凤玲
Du Siman
杜思曼

Miss Du (杜老师/毒老师)
A passionate teacher
Yanbin's Girlfriend
Jin Zhennan's ex-girlfriend

Elvin Ng
黄俊雄
Wu Yanbin
吴彦彬

Mr Goh
Brilliante's guidance counselor
Siman's Boyfriend
Jin Zhennan Rival in Love

Romeo Tan
陈罗密欧
Jin Zhennan
金正南

Du Siman's ex-boyfriend
Wu Yanbin Rival in Love

Cavin Soh
苏梽诚
Zhou Yaoguang
周耀光

The Principal of Brilliante

Constance Song
宋怡霏
Li Shenchun
李圣春

Vice-principal of Brilliante

Ben Yeo
杨志龙
Cui Dabao
崔大保

A teacher at Brilliante
Temporary discipline master when Guo An was hospitalized.

Tang Ling YiAngel

Yaoguang's niece who is a teacher at Brilliante.

Brandon Wong
黄炯耀
Zhong Guo An
钟国安

Potty Mouth (大马桶) The discipline master of Brilliante
Junliang's father

Zhang WeiUncle LimA Cleaner in the school

Students

Cast Role Description
Edwin Goh
吴劲威
Cai Wensheng
蔡文胜

The student with the worst academic result at Brilliante
Deng Yilin & Bai Zhixiang Best Friends

Kimberly Chia
谢静仪
Deng Yilin
邓怡琳

A girl who suffers from kidney cancer and died
Her parents are divorced
Died after her operation with cancer
Has a crush on Wu Yanbin
Cai Wensheng & Bai Zhixiang Best Friends
Deceased - Episode 20

Ian Fang
方伟杰
Bai Zhixiang
白志翔

A student with poor academic results. He is a hyperactive student who loves food and dreams to become a chef
Has a crush on Deng Yilin.

Xu Bin
徐彬
Zhong Junliang
钟俊良

Boss (老大)
A student who got transferred to the school. It was later revealed that he was Zhong Guo An's son. He was transferred out of the school to pursue his interest with everyone's support. Jessie's Love interest.
Left for oversea to pursue his dream
Left the school - Episode 15

Phua YidaWu Qinghua 吴清华

A student who worships Junliang.

Shelia TanJessie

The class representative. She once did not want to go to school because she thought that she had no friends in school and she had been molested.
Has a crush on Junliang.

Ang Ching HuiChen Xiaohe 筱禾

A student who is a slow-learner.

Scott C. HillyardZheng Lida 郑立达

A student.

Xavier Ong
王胜宇
AlexMain Villain of the Drama The most rebellious student in school. However, his results are better than the other students. He stays with his abusive mother.

Parents / Other cast

Cast Role Description
May PhuaWang Lihong
王丽虹

She is Chen Xiaohe's mother and is also Yaoguang's ex-fiancée.

Teo Ser LeeAnitaYaoguang's elder sister and Angel's mother.
Silver AngIreneAnita's newly hired maid in episode 4

Du Siman's Family

Cast Role Description
Li Wenhai
李文海
Du Qiucheng
杜秋成
Siman and Siwei's parents
林倩如Feng Yun 凤云Siman and Siwei's parents
Felicia Chin
陈凤玲
Du Siman
杜思曼

She is a passionate teacher and is in love with Yanbin
Yanbin's Girlfriend
Jin Zhennan's ex Boyfriend

Shane Pow
包勋评
Du Siwei
杜思维
Du Siman younger brother.

Cai Wensheng's Family

Cast Role Description
Wang Yuqing
王昱清
Cai Weifeng
蔡威风

Cai Wensheng's father.

Edwin Goh
吴劲威
Cai Wensheng
蔡文胜

The student with the worst academic result at Brilliante. He has to study and work at the same time to support his father
Has a crush on Deng Yilin.

Deng Yilin's Family

Cast Role Description
Huang ShinanKenYilin's father
Kimberly Chia
谢静仪
Deng Yilin
邓怡琳

A girl who suffers from kidney cancer and died. Her parents are divorced.

Has a crush on Wu Yanbin.
Deceased - Episode 20

Zhong Junliang's Family

Cast Role Description
Xu Bin
徐彬
Zhong Junliang
钟俊良

A student who got transferred to the school. It was later revealed that he was Zhong Guo An's son.He was transferred out of the school to pursue his interest with everyone's support. Jessie's Love interest.
Left the school - Episode 15

Brandon Wong
黄炯耀
Zhong Guo An
钟国安

The discipline master of Brilliante and Junliang's father. An unfortunate incident resulted in him requiring a wheelchair.

Production

Filming for Don't Stop Believin' started on 10 May 2012 and ended on 16 July 2012. The school scenes would be filmed at East Coast Primary School and the production studio. Out-of-studio filmed scenes included locations like NEX, City Square Mall, Punggol, Serangoon, Bishan and Sentosa.

Producer Soh Bee Lian said that there might be a sequel to Don't Stop Believin', though this sequel would involve a new cast and would take some time to produce.[2] The sequel may replace Unriddle 2 in having a third instalment.

Reception

Don't Stop Believin' was well received by Singaporean viewers. It was the most-watched television drama of 2012 in Singapore, garnering an average viewership of 919,000 over its 20 episodes.[2] Although its debut episode garnered only 852,000 viewers,[3] the drama's last episode was attracted a total of 1,047,800 viewers, beating the previous viewership record of 993,000 viewers set by the period drama Joys of Life.[2]

A review in The Straits Times described this drama as "refreshing".[4] It also praised "the energy of the young cast", who "makes the drama more enjoyable than you expect it to be".[4] However, it added that "At second sight, Channel 8 touches, such as repetitive lines and ideas, are more apparent".[4] Overall, the newspaper gave this television drama a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.[4]

Overseas broadcast

This drama is one of the first dramas to be broadcast exclusive in Malaysia after its first telecast of two weeks, but there are possible plans to broadcast worldwide.

Country of Broadcast Broadcasting Network Debut Finale Preceded by Followed by
 Malaysia Astro Shuang Xing[5] 30 August 2012 at 4.30pm, weekdays
(encore on 31 August at 3.30pm, weekdays)
26 September 2012
(encore on 27 September)
Joys of Life Poetic Justice

Awards and nominations

Star Awards 2013

Don't Stop Believin' clinched 4 out of 10 nominations in the Star Awards 2013, including Top Rated Drama Serial of the year. The other dramas nominated for Best Drama Series Poetic Justice, Unriddle 2, Game Plan & Pillow Talk. The other dramas that are nominated for Best Theme Song are It Takes Two, Joys of Life, Show Hand & Yours Fatefully.

Nominee / WorkAwardAccoladeResult
《真善美》sung by Tay Kewei and Wei En 郑可为、薇恩Star Awards 2013 Show 1
红星大奖2013 亮闪八方
Best Theme Song
最佳主题曲
Nominated
Lau Ching Poon 刘清盆
Cynthia Chong Mei Ying 张湄纭
Best Screenplay
最佳剧本
Won
Xu Bin 徐彬Favourite Male Character
最喜爱男角色
Won
Kimberly Chia 谢静仪Favourite Female Character
最喜爱女角色
Nominated
Felicia Chin 陈靓瑄Nominated
Top Rated Drama Serial 2012
最高收视率电视剧 2012
Won
Ian Fang 方伟杰Rocket Award
年度飞跃奖
Nominated
Star Awards 2013
红星大奖2013
Best Newcomer
最佳新人奖
Ian Fang 方伟杰Won
Edwin Goh 吴劲威Nominated
Constance Song 宋怡霏Best Supporting Actress
最佳女配角
Nominated
Best Drama Serial
最佳电视剧
Nominated

PPCTV AWARDS

Nominee / WorkAwardAccoladeResult
Felicia Chin 陈凤玲PPCTV MediaCorp Awards 2015Favourite Female TV CharacterNominated
Elvin Ng 黄俊雄/Felicia Chin 陈凤玲Favourite On-Screen CoupleNominated

See also

References

  1. "Don't Stop Believin' tops Channel 8 drama ratings". Today. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  2. "Don't Stop Believin' crosses the million mark". Today. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  3. "Don't Stop Believin' crosses the million mark". xin.msn.com. 12 September 2012. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  4. Woei Wan (6 September 2012). "TV reviews". The Straits Times. Singapore. p. C6.
  5. 我们等你: 第1集. Astro TV (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
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